Thomas Umstattd Jr.

Spoken Prayer and Our Insecurities (Praying Aloud Part 4)

Praying aloud can be scary particularly in a group setting where others can agree or disagree. Fear in Prayer Praying out loud can hit the root of our insecurities. We fear man. We fear our own pride. But it is as we pray anyway that we begin to find true healing. What better way to find freedom from the fear of man than in prayer to God. Remember, if you have turned from your sins and put your trust...

The Benefits of Praying Aloud: Power (Part 2)

Power of the Tongue We live in a world spoken into existence. The power of God’s tongue created the world. He made us in His image and our tongues have power as well. In fact, of all of the faculties imparted to mankind the tongue may be the most powerful. “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” - King Solomon “The tongue that brings healing...

The Benefits of Praying Aloud: Agreement (Part 1)

Someone once asked me. “Why should we bother to voice our prayers when God already knows our thoughts?” In response I have come up with four benefits to praying aloud. This is an adaptation from a series I did on my old blog. Silent Prayer is Fine Using our tongue to pray is by no means the only way to pray. In fact, it is possible to pray aloud for the wrong motives Matthew 6:5-8. We...

New Site: PracticalCourtship.com

I have started a new website Practical Courtship! The goal of the website is to help make courtship work. So in a way it is a critique of courtship but it is also a guide. So far, it has received a fair bit of traffic and a ton of great comments. I encourage you to come by and check it out. Leave a comment and join the conversation. Also, let me know if you are interested in writing an article for...

The Thin Line Between Creepy and Charming

Yesterday I tweeted “The only difference between creepy and charming is permission.” Some explanation is in order. No, I did not go on a date last night. No, I did not have yet another awkward encounter with a woman. But there is a story here and an interesting conclusion. The tweet was the result of three completely unrelated things blending in my mind. Thing 1: Barrack Obama There has...

My take on the gifts of the Spirit.

From the archive… Some are gifted at intercession, but we are all called to pray. Some are gifted at understanding the scriptures, but we are all called study the Word. Some are gifted at mercy, but we are all called to act with compassion. And some are gifted at evangelism, but we are all called to fulfill the great commission. Sharing the Gospel is just as essential as prayer and Bible study...

What is a godly man?

Here is another post from the archive. I talked with a good friend the other day about what a Godly man looks like. We have both been reading Wild at Heart and we decided to compile this list. A Godly Man is… Someone who knows he is a man Willing to take risks Spiritually Violent (Mat 11:12) Knows where his strength comes from Tenacious Confident in God Respected Full of wisdom Willing to...

Rethinking Church

Why do you go to church? If you are like me you go for the wrong reasons. I used to go to church to learn the word, fellowship with other believers and to minister to them. I picked a church that I would get a lot out of. But something has happened in the last two weeks that has changed all that. I have spent the service in the Boiler Room the last two weeks and it has changed my life. What if...

In Defense of Religion

In recent years religion has become the whipping boy of society. The left says that organized religion is the root of all evil. The right considers religion a bad word insisting that “being a Christian is all about a relationship and not about religion.” Some Christians even go so far as to pray against the “spirit of religion.” The Bible disagrees with both of these views. “If...

The Kristi Question

Today is the 3 year anniversary of my run in with an Big Rig truck on I-35. I thought this would be a good time to repost some of my thoughts after that wreck. There are more photos on Facebook. The van after the wreck. Why did God spare me and Mark when He did not spare Kristi in her car wreck last week?I pondered this question as I read my Bible this morning. I read a character overview of the...