God points to the peaceful attitude of suffering people to teach others about Himself.

When life is rosy, we may slide by with knowing about Jesus, with imitating him and quoting him and speaking of him. But only in suffering will we know Jesus.

Only God is capable of telling us what our rights and needs are. You have to surrender that right to Him.

Now, most people who suffer realize that the Bible contains answers for their plight; they just don't know where to look.

True, God hates Alzheimer's, spinal cord injury, mental illness, autism, and the rest (these conditions are all symptoms of the Fall). Yet he permits these things to accomplish something far more precious in our lives: patience, endurance, compassion for others who hurt, and refined faith and trust in God, to name a few.

Thankfully, God brought wise Christian friends alongside to help me discover life-transforming precepts in his Word.

Like art, like music, like so many other disciplines, prayer can only be appreciated when you actually spend time in it. Spending time with the Master will elevate your thinking. The more you pray, the more will be revealed. You will appreciate not only the greatness of prayer, but the greatness of God.