Remember that the privileged access you have to the Father came through Jesus the Son. What a marvelous path Jesus has paved for sinners to call upon the Holy One with confidence (see Hebrews 4:16). 

I don’t think I’ve ever met a Christian who was completely satisfied with his prayer life. You might know what it’s like: you try to pray, but it feels as if the words disintegrate before hitting the ceiling, and you start to wonder, “Is God listening, or am I talking to myself?” Then there’s that awful sluggishness. We try to stay up and pray, but like the disciples, no sooner do we shut our eyes and begin, “Dear Lord,” before the words hit us like a Benadryl. Or we might find ourselves distracted by tomorrow’s cares, and what begins as a petition soon becomes a mental conversation with a coworker. Alas, discouragement sets in: Why am I so bad at praying?
The truth is, we often make things harder than they need to be. Think of prayer as an exercise. You’re not always going to feel like praying, and some workouts are more satisfying than others. In exercise, consistency yields results, but you need to make sure you have proper form and realistic expectations. Here are a few simple tips for strengthening the muscle of prayer.
Repent
First, repent. God isn’t interested in pretend petitions that serve as attempts to cover rebellious hearts. It’s no coincidence that before Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, He gave a series of instructions on how not to pray. To summarize, Jesus warned against being hypocritical and being superstitious (Matt. 6:5–8).
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When do we need to know where another person or group stands in terms of their religious beliefs and theological stances, and when does it not matter so much? It seems to me that in some cases it is very important that we know – and act accordingly – where someone is in terms of their beliefs. But in other cases, it really does not matter very much at all. 

A perennial problem for the Christian is learning how to be in the world but not of it. That is, the believer wants to reach people in the world for Christ, but he does not want to be unduly contaminated by worldly behaviour, worldviews and the like.
And as always, church history shows us that there are extremes to be avoided. Some believers, to remain pure and un-spotted from the world, will withdraw altogether, living in caves, or at least going into monasteries, and so on. And there CAN be a place for some of that activity for some people, to some degree.
The other extreme of course is to totally embrace the world, its values, its beliefs, and its behaviours. But worldliness is something we are repeatedly warned about in Scripture. So the issue once again is about trying to find the biblical balance.
And all this has once again come to a head with the release of the film Sound of Freedom. Much of the recent criticism about it had to do with religious and theological differences. Some folks thought we should stay away from the film altogether because not all those involved in it are fully onside theologically. I already penned two articles looking in detail at those critics and their criticisms.
In that case it was about doctrinal and theological purity. Some Christians thought we must avoid this film like the plague. Never mind the rescue of trafficked children. But I argued – once again – that there is a place for working with others for various worthwhile purposes. It is called co-belligerency.
What I want to discuss here follows on from all that, but it has a somewhat broader application. As I just mentioned, how do we stay “pure” in various ways while living in the world? The New Testament does speak about the need for separation at times. But it also speaks about being involved in the world to make a difference.
As but one example of the former, Christians of course should avoid sexual impurity. So in 1 Corinthians 5 Paul says we are to avoid those involved in sexual immorality. Yet he says that in terms of those claiming to be believers. He says that if we seek to avoid ALL sexually immoral people, then we “would need to go out of the world” (see 1 Cor. 5:9-11).
If Paul were here today he would not be telling us to never buy a coffee at some shop for fear that the barista is sexually immoral. He would not tell us never to fill our cars with petrol because the one taking our cash might be immoral, or an atheist, or a cultist, or a witch. So he would seek for a bit of common sense here. We should as well.
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It seems that the transgender movement is growing, preying upon adolescents who don’t like their bodies, and despise how God made them. Transgender advocates often speak of how common self-harm is in the transgender movement, and that is not surprising. It is a movement that teaches people that to love themselves, they have to hate themselves. It is a no-win situation. It is like being stuck in a bad dream.

Imagine you are a youth soccer coach, and a girl you have coached for five seasons takes you aside at practice and asks you, “Coach: I’m going through some changes in my life, and one of them is that I’ve decided I want to be known as a guy. Can you please address me by he/him, instead of her/she?”
What would you say?
This scenario is becoming more and more common. Last year I wrote about a teacher in the area who was fired by his school for asking the school board to not compel him to use “preferred pronouns” for students. He said, “I love my students too much to lie to them.” That cost him his job.
What would you do?
Here are some principles I’d want to communicate to the person:
1). “I love you and care for you.” The transgender movement teaches people—and in particular kids—that anyone who does not affirm their preferred gender is acting out of hate to them. It is important to bracket your response to the person by refuting that head-on.  Any response has to be framed in love (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 19:19; Mark 12:31; Romans 13:9).
2). “I love you the way God made you.” The heart of the transgender movement is an attempt to sever gender from sex. This is not an issue the Bible is silent about. The Bible uses the expression “male and female” over fifty times, often to drive home the point that God makes people male and female. For example: “When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created” (Genesis 5:1-12). Or: “From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6). In fact, many of those fifty references to “male and female” go on to connect the distinctions of the sexes to the biological ability to procreate (including Mark 10:7).
The point is, God makes us male and female. Biology is not a Choose Your Own Adventure.
Thus, for me to affirm my love to you, I have to affirm my love for you the way God made you.
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