Discovering God

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Hineni!

Praying As You Go /

Hineni! I’m Listening, Lord When I was in the fourth grade, my parents invited the musicians from the “Liberated Wailing Wall” to dinner. They were associated with Jews for Jesus and had come to our church to encourage us to love the Jewish community surrounding us. It was a night filled with laughter as they regaled us with stories of their travels and all the people they’d met along the way. A couple of things stood out for me. The first was when the group’s tenor sang Aaron’s blessing from the Bible over my family. The other was a song they sang during their concert, “Hineni!” by Stuart Dauermann. Hineni is a Hebrew word that conveys the idea that I’m here, ready and willing to go and do whatever is asked of me. It’s used in the Bible when people are called by God to do something. We bought their album, and I played that song over and over for months. My goal since then has been to be prepared to respond eagerly to God’s plans.  I want to do what God wants me to do and go where I’m called to go. It hasn’t always been easy. Often, I feel like Gideon, the guy God asked to lead an army. He didn’t feel qualified, so he asked God to confirm the call in several ways. I also often ask God for reassurance that I have understood His will. But ultimately, I say my Hineni, and get on with it! One of these instances is writing books. Though I’ve dreamed of writing most of my life, I felt like I had nothing of value to share. I struggled with dyslexia and knew my grammar was awful. I lost hope. So, when I felt I was supposed to become an author, I balked and asked God over and over if I really should try. Finally, one night before bed, I prayed, “Okay, God, this is my last ask – do You really want me to write books?” The next morning, I opened my daily devotional book, and the title for the day was, “Now, Go Write.” No kidding. The author of the devotional had gone through a similar struggle until he opened his Bible one day to Isaiah 30:8 and got the same message.  God loves me no matter how many times I ask the same question, but I also need to be ready to receive the answer. I need to be open to the many ways that God can communicate with me. It takes practice, but it’s not hard. It’s a matter of paying attention as I go about my day. Being ready to say Hineni when I finally get what’s being communicated to me.  Are you asking questions? Are all your senses alert to possible answers? Are you taking time to be still with God? Are you ready with your Hineni? God is waiting to reveal things to you.

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Discovering God Through Tears

Discovering God /

Discovering God Through Tears “I’m sorry that I’m crying.” I hear that sentence far too often, and every time, something in me bristles. As a prayer coach, I’ve spent years helping people embrace honest, unfiltered communication with God—and I’ve learned that tears are not a problem to apologize for. They are a language. A doorway. A holy signal that something real is happening. I’ve watched tears unlock forgiveness that someone thought was impossible. I’ve seen them mark the moment we stepped onto sacred ground—where God’s presence was so thick that words simply couldn’t carry the weight of it. I’ve recognized them as a warning light, revealing a place that needs deeper attention before the Lord. And I’ve celebrated tears of joy when someone glimpsed the future God was opening for them. Some of my favorite moments are when a person receives a download from God and tears spill over—because that’s when they’ve crossed into a oneness with Him that defies explanation. I love people who cry. I trust people who cry. Because I know God is right there with them. When I see tears, I think of Psalm 56:8 (TPT):“You’ve kept track of all my wandering and my weeping.You’ve stored my many tears in your bottle—not one will be lost.”For they are all recorded in your book of remembrance. God doesn’t just tolerate our tears—He treasures them. He keeps them. He records them. And then there’s the woman in Luke 7:38 (TPT), the one everyone in the room labeled a sinner: “Broken and weeping, she covered His feet with her tears… drying them with her hair… kissing them… anointing them with costly perfume.” The room tried to silence her. Jesus refused. He made sure her tears would be remembered for all time. Just the other day, I found myself crying out of sheer frustration and anger. And God was there. I know because later that night, as my husband read our devotion, the lesson spoke directly to those tears—addressing them as if God had been sitting beside me the whole time. Which, of course, He was. So please—don’t tell someone not to cry. Don’t make them feel embarrassed. And whatever you do, don’t hand them a tissue before they ask. A premature tissue is a silent message: Your emotions are too much. I can’t handle them. Please tidy this up. I’ve watched the movement of God evaporate because of one well‑intentioned tissue. It often triggers a cascade of apologies that makes me want to cry for them. Tears are not a disruption. They are the blessing of raw emotion, revealing the truth of a situation. So cry, baby, cry. Let the waterworks flow. Think of tears as fuel that moves heaven. When God stirs something deep, either join Him or step aside and let Him work. My prayer is that each of us learns to stand firm in this God‑given gift of crying—guarding it like the rare and holy treasure it is.

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