by Susan Barnes | 24 Jul 2026 | Podcast
“The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer.” Psalm 6:9 We have a God who hears. When we are heard, we’re acknowledged and validated as a person. We aren’t an invisible blob in a mass of humanity. We have worth and value. Our words matter. Elijah was...
by Susan Barnes | 9 Mar 2026 | Short Devotion>People
On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away. Nehemiah 12:43 Nehemiah leads the third group of Jews returning from the...
by Susan Barnes | 10 Oct 2025 | Short Devotion>People
The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10) Samuel is listening, not asking, requesting, or petitioning. Are we listening to God? Or are we distracted? Many...
by Susan Barnes | 29 Sep 2025 | Short Devotion>People
The Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord. (1 Samuel 2:21) Hannah was childless “year after year” (1:3, 7). Yet God had great blessings in store for her as she...
by Susan Barnes | 15 Aug 2025 | Devotions
When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! (Matthew 6:7-8) An example of God...
by Susan Barnes | 23 Jun 2025 | Short Devotion>People
The Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.” (Exodus 17:14) Joshua is busy fighting the Amalekites and is unaware that Moses...
by Susan Barnes | 5 Sep 2024 | Short Devotion
… the prayer of the upright pleases him. Proverbs 15:8 Our prayers please God. When we pray, we’re acknowledging God’s existence. We wouldn’t pray if we didn’t think God was powerful enough to help. We wouldn’t pray if we thought God didn’t care. We pray because we...
by Susan Barnes | 26 Aug 2024 | Articles
Why didn’t I pray? About six months after becoming a Christian, I decided to buy myself a modern translation of the Bible, that was the same as my youth group friends. I saved up my pocket money and one Saturday morning, caught the bus into town. I arrived at...
