The tender mercies of the Lord are available to all of us and...the Redeemer of Israel is eager to bestow such gifts upon us.

Asking in faith requires honesty, effort, commitment, and persistence.

A spiritual 'spurter' is one who is given to short bursts of spectacular effort followed by frequent and lengthy periods of rest.

It's tough for parents to talk to children about heavy-weight topics such as peer pressure, drugs and morality if they don't already have a closeness. A parent can't just all of a sudden pick out an hour and talk to a son about being morally clean if the parent and child haven't spent much time together for three or four years. I think closeness is developed more quickly by having fun together.

Often as we teach and testify about the law of tithing, we emphasize the immediate, dramatic and readily recognizable temporal blessings that we receive. And surely such blessings do occur. Yet some of the diverse blessings we obtain as we are obedient to this commandment are significant but subtle.

Righteousness and faith certainly are instrumental in healing the sick, deaf, or lame - if such healing accomplishes God's purposes and is in accordance with His will. Thus, even with strong faith, many mountains will not be moved. And not all of the sick and infirm will be healed.

Prayer becomes more meaningful as we counsel with the Lord in all of our doings, as we express heartfelt gratitude, and as we pray for others.