A mountain climbing team worked its way up one of the ice slopes in the Alps. It was very dangerous. The frozen snow ledges were fragile, ready to break loose.

Suddenly, one climber's foot slipped. Startled, he screamed in fright.

'Quiet. Noise can start an avalanche.' The team leader's warning was too late. Shaken loose by the vibrating sound waves of the man's cry, the snow started to slide down the mountain, tearing away everything in its path.

That man's voice had the power to cause great damage. God's voice has much greater power. The Bible says God spoke and the world came into being. God's Word, recorded in the Bible, has the power to change human lives.

Have you read God's Word today?

Prayer: Lord, help me to let Your powerful word change my life for good. Amen.

'How often should I pray?' Billy asked his dad.

'What do you think?' Dad replied.

'I pray when I get up every morning. And I pray before I go to bed every night. I think that's good,' Billy said.

'How long does that take?'

'Oh, a couple of minutes each time.' Billy scrunched up his face. 'Not very much, is it.'

'I wouldn't like it if you only spoke to me twice a day and just a couple of minutes each time.' Dad smiled. 'I like it when you share things with me through the day as well. Like right now, we're talking.'

'Yea,' Billy responded. 'I never thought about prayer like that.'

'You know, God's word tells us to pray evening, morning and noon. But that's not all.' Dad opened his Bible. 'It says, 'pray without ceasing' - that means without stopping.'

'I can't get on my knees and pray out loud in school - or in recess,' Billy said.

'You can always pray to God in your heart, whatever you're doing.'

Billy thought about that. 'You're right, Dad. I'm still going to pray when I get up and when I go to bed. But I'm going to pray all day long as well.'

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You that we can pray anytime in our hearts and You always hear us. Amen.

Did you ever help Mom to wash dishes after a meal? Spaghetti sauce; bits of melted cheese already hardened. So you take the plate, soak it in the hot water and scrub it until it's clean.

While you are doing that, what is the plate doing? Nothing! It lies unmoving in your hands as you wash it clean.

That's washing a plate. Have you ever had to wash a dog? If so, you know that dogs are hard to wash. No matter how badly they need a bath, dogs resist. They struggle, and twist, and wiggle and try to get away. It's a slippery job to soap up and rinse off a dog.

God wants us to be clean. He is in the business of forgiving AND cleansing us from sin. When we confess our sins we are agreeing with God that we need a spiritual bath. God forgives us when we ask Him to. And God cleans us up.

Better for us if we're like the plate, lying still in God's Hands, not like the struggling dog.

Prayer: Dear Father, thank You that You love us and always forgive and cleanse us when we confess our sins. Amen.

'Hi, Mom, I'm home.' Bursting through the door, Erik rushed over to the cookie jar to grab a handful of Mom's homemade cookies. When he lifted the lid, the jar was empty.

'Mom, where are all the cookies?' Erik was puzzled. This was the first time he'd found the jar empty.

'I gave them away to some needy people. But I picked up some nice apples at the farmer's market. They're fresh from the tree this morning. Look how red they are. Don't they smell great,' Mom answered.

Erik selected the biggest, reddest apple from the bowl. Happily he dug his teeth into the crunchy fruit. As he pulled the apple from his mouth, he saw a fat round white worm.

'Yuck! Mom, this apple has a worm in it!' Erik yelled. 'I nearly bit a worm? Yuck.'

'Oops.' Mom took a little knife and cut another apple into four pieces. 'This one's alright. Here, have it.'

As Erik munched on the good apple, Mom sat beside him.  'There's a lesson here, Erik,' she said. 'Sometimes people are like the apple with the worm. Everything looks good on the outside - but it's a different story on the inside. I know that's true because Jesus told us so.'

Sally E. Smith. Blind River, Canada.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus. Help me to be clean and pure on the inside. Amen.

On her birthday, Sally ran down the stairs and rushed to the living room where Dad always left her gift. When she got there, she stopped short.'Where's my-?' Full of disappointment, she checked around the room. Where were the big boxes she'd waited for so long? Not in the living room. Nothing there, except a little envelope with her name on it. Sally didn't even pick it up.

Disappointed, Sally hurried back upstairs and into her parents' bedroom.

'Dad. Where's my new computer. You promised! Dad, you promised!' She burst into tears.

'Didn't you see the envelope with your name on it?' Dad asked quietly.

'I don't want an envelope. I want to see my computer.'

'I bought you a computer,' Dad said. 'I told you I would and I did.'

'Well, where is it?' Sally demanded. 'I don't believe you did.'

'But I did,' Dad repeated.

'I'll believe it when I see it,' Sally grunted as she flopped out of the room.

'Check the envelope,' Dad called after her.

A few minutes later, Sally came back, the envelope in her hand. 'I'm sorry, Dad.'

'They didn't have the computer you wanted so they ordered one in. That receipt says it'll be delivered this morning. And Sally,' Dad sounded a bit sad, 'I do what I promise.'

Prayer: Lord, thank You that whatever Your word promises, You will do.  Please help me to believe without having to first see. Amen.