NorthStar Church Blog

Digging Deeper: Prayer is Aligning My Heart with My Father’s Heart

Larry Grays on October 7, 2026

“Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 6:9-10 (NLT)

PRAYER IS ALIGNING MY HEART WITH MY FATHER’S HEART

In orchestral music, every musician tunes their instrument to a single standard pitch, usually an A played by the oboe before the performance begins. No matter how talented the individual players are, the beauty of the symphony depends entirely on everyone tuning themselves to the exact same reference point.

When Jesus gave His disciples the Lord’s Prayer, He was handing them the ultimate tuning fork for their souls. Prayer is not primarily about bending God’s will to fit our earthly desires; it is about realigning our human hearts with the perfect, holy will of our heavenly Father. By beginning with “May your name be kept holy” and “May your Kingdom come,” Jesus reorients our perspective away from our immediate stress and up toward God’s majesty.

When we pray this way, our priorities begin to shift. We stop treating God like an errand runner and start treating Him like the sovereign King whose purposes are good. Aligning our hearts with His brings peace to our anxieties and clarity to our chaos, ensuring that our deepest desires match His heavenly design.

Reflection Questions

● In what areas of your life are you currently trying to bend God’s will to match yours instead of aligning yours with His?

● How does starting your prayer time by focusing on God’s holiness change the way you bring Him your requests?

Suggested Prayer

Father in heaven, let Your name be honored above all else in my life. Align my heart with Your kingdom purposes so that Your will is done in me today. Amen.

Dr. Larry Grays is passionate about helping churches grow and reaching people in fresh, creative ways. He launched a church in a Midtown Atlanta movie theater and later served as an Urban Church Planting Strategist with the North American Mission Board. Today, he speaks, writes, and coaches pastors and leaders. Larry has degrees from UCF, Southeastern Seminary, and Southern Seminary—but more importantly, he loves Jesus, good coffee, and seeing the next generation step into their calling. He and his wife Lori love raising their incredible kids and love doing life and ministry together.

Doubt: The Foundation of Faith

Jeff Swarr on October 7, 2026

5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. 7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! 9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today the food we need, 12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

Matthew 6:5-13

PRAY FREELY

Play freely. Play fearlessly. These are all attributes of the teams that make the winning plays. These are also the characteristics of people who live for God.

We live this way when we bring our life to God in prayer. In my life, I’ve experienced barriers to praying. God knows what we need and is waiting for us to just bring it to Him in prayer. He tells us this in Matthew 6:8: “Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him!”

The barriers I have experienced are wanting to find the right words or thinking that my needs are too small for God. As we see, He already knows our needs, so stop worrying about having the right words. How can I say He knows our needs? I can say this because He’s answered prayers before.

In the spring of 2025, during our baseball season, there were two times that I got to our locker room before our players and took the time to just walk through our locker room and pray for each player. I did this because it came up in our Monday morning Scouts and Coaches Bible study when one of the coaches talked about it. I actually don’t remember who, and that’s not the point, but I learned it from others. The key piece in this was that nobody else knew that I was doing it—well, not at least another human being—but God knew.

The Monday after Easter of the 2025 season, I needed to have a conversation with one of our seniors about his life and some of the decisions he was making that impacted our team. I knew this conversation would be difficult, and it ended up taking two hours, with a lot of discussion back and forth covering many aspects of life and even faith. During this chat, I shared with our player that I had walked around the locker room and prayed for each player, including him. At that moment, the chat we were having shifted from confrontational to cooperative, and God’s presence was felt; God showed up. Or maybe I should say God was always there—we just recognized His presence. Looking back, as I walked around the locker room praying, God already knew our needs. He already knew that the players and I would need those prayers two weeks later.

Taking the time to pray allowed our players and me to align our lives with God’s plan for us. Take the time to pray. Take the time to share your needs freely. Take the time to pray and share your needs fearlessly.

If we want to live freely and live fearlessly, we are called to pray freely and pray fearlessly.

Lead well. Love better.

Jeff

Jeffrey Swarr is a baseball coach, author, and educator dedicated to helping others unlock their potential through mindset, resilience, leadership, and positive self-talk. A seasoned high school head baseball coach and author of works such as A Competitor’s Heart and The Daily Competitor, he shares daily insights on personal growth and purposeful living. Jeffrey strives to share his Christian faith with the students and athletes he is blessed to coach. He is married to Emily and the proud father of Simon, Spencer, and Shepherd.

Digging Deeper: Why People Don’t Pray More

Larry Grays on October 6, 2026

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

Matthew 6:7-8 (NLT)

WHY PEOPLE DON’T PRAY MORE

During the early days of radio communication, operators often flooded the airwaves with repetitive distress signals, worrying that a single message wouldn’t be heard across the static. They thought that volume and repetition were the keys to catching someone’s attention. Yet, experienced operators knew that a single clear transmission to a receiver who was already listening was far more effective than mindless noise.

Many believers approach prayer with that same anxious mindset, falling into common traps that keep us from praying more often. We get bored or distracted; we falsely believe our requests are too small for a busy God; we wonder if our words actually make a difference; or we simply feel like we don’t know the right “formula” to use.

Jesus addresses this directly in Matthew 6:7–8, cautioning against mindless repetition and religious babble. He reminds us that we are not trying to twist the arm of a reluctant deity or wake up a distant king. Instead, we are coming to a Father who already knows our needs before we even speak. Understanding His attentiveness cures our hesitation, turning prayer from a confusing chore into a comforting relief.

Reflection Questions

● Which of the common barriers—boredom, feeling too small, doubting impact, or not knowing how—creates the most struggles in your prayer life?

● How does the truth that God “knows what you need even before you ask” shift your perspective on approaching Him?

Suggested Prayer

Lord, forgive me for overcomplicating prayer or doubting that You care. Help me to trust that You already know my needs, and free me from anxiety as I bring them to You. Amen.

Digging Deeper: Teach Us to Pray

Larry Grays on October 5, 2026

“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”

Matthew 6:5-6 (NLT)

TEACH US TO PRAY

In the late 19th century, inventor Thomas Edison was known for his relentless focus, often working for days in his private laboratory without leaving. When visitors or reporters wanted to see him, they had to go through a closed door, cutting out the noise and distractions of the outside world. Edison knew that true invention and deep focus require a controlled environment, away from the applause and opinions of onlookers.

Jesus prescribed a very similar approach when it came to our communication with God. In Matthew 6:5–6, Jesus warns against the performative prayers of the hypocrites who use religion as a stage for public applause. Instead, He invites us behind a closed door into a private space with our Father.

Prayer is not meant to be a performance to impress people but an intimate conversation with the One who knows us best. When we step away from the noise and distractions of daily life to seek God in secret, we align our hearts with the posture of a true child coming to a loving parent. This private devotion breaks through our insecurities and teaches us that prayer is fundamentally about connection, not showmanship.

Reflection Questions

● What are the primary distractions that keep you from finding a quiet, private space to pray?

● How does viewing prayer as an intimate conversation rather than a public performance change your approach to God?

Suggested Prayer

Father, strip away any desire for human applause when I come to You. Teach me how to shut the door on distractions and meet with You in secret, resting in Your loving presence. Amen.

Digging Deeper – Conditional Response?

David Griffith on October 2, 2026

But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

James 1:6-8

CONDITIONAL RESPONSE?

Remember when I said that James was the most Jewish of all the writers of the New Testament? He was the most like the Old Testament prophets, priests, and kings we find in the early church. What were the Old Testament writers known for? That’s right, the law. James is laying down the “law” as it relates to the trials we face, the position we take, the help we seek, and the condition of our hearts and minds when we seek God’s help. But is God conditional, or is James just being pragmatic?

If our position in Christ is that of one of God’s elect only, and we have not willfully placed ourselves at Jesus’ feet in servant submission, then we will most likely ask with some doubt as to whether God will give us the wisdom we seek. We will ask for relief, not growth. Read the verse again, slowly; meaningfully. James is telling the Jewish believers that wisdom is available to them from a generous God, but they must submit to Him as James has submitted to Him if they expect to get a response. Slaves do not doubt an all-powerful master when it comes to his provision for their needs. And wisdom in time of trial is a need.

What does it mean to “ask in faith”? What is faith?

Hebrews 11 gives us a synopsis and then a lot of examples of faith lived out in the lives of the Old Testament saints. Vs. 1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

A slave in spirit has both hope and assurance in his master. It was only by faith that these men and women of old gained approval from God. It is only by faith that we New Testament saints can gain His approval as well. Faith is a gift from God. It is not something that we can manufacture when we need it; it comes from God Himself (Ephesians 2:8-9). Faith is as available to us as wisdom is. We must only ask for it when it is needed, and God will supply abundantly. It is the same with all of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and the gifts of the Spirit (I Cor. 12 and 14). They are all given for our good and His glory!

And what is the purpose of a servant of God? I believe that God has only one purpose for his slaves; slaves He has placed in every walk of life, vocation, circumstance, and situation: TO KNOW HIM, AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN! At North Star Church, we say: Love God (Know Him), Love People, Live Sent (Make Him Known).

I will be honest with you, as a SAVED person, I have not always fulfilled God’s purpose for me. I have, on many occasions, gone through the motions, or worse yet, I have not even recognized the opportunities the Holy Spirit has placed before me! Sound familiar, or is it just me?

But as a SLAVED person, I have almost always fulfilled that purpose.

The choice, as His child, is always mine. Do I submit to my joyful slave state and accomplish God’s amazing will in the place He has put me to serve Him? Or do I drift through this world, saved, but not used?

I love Jesus because He first loved me, so the choice is easy; and being His doulos is the most freeing place to BE!

I choose more and more to serve my Lord as He would choose to use me. I pray that you will as well so we can serve together 🙂

He loves you so much, forever!

Quite simply, Dave Griffith loves getting to know Jesus better by studying His Word daily and is passionate about teaching his siblings in Christ how to study His Word as well. He is passionately in love and like with his helpmate, Jackie; and is most fulfilled when he is hanging with his 10 kids (3 of his, 2 of Jackie’s, 3 are married, 2 more spiritually adopted) and 9 grandkids. He is a small group leader and a men’s group leader. He is a serial entrepreneur owning or having owned numerous businesses. He also enjoys naps!

Start, Respond, and Finish

Marlin McPhail on October 1, 2026

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

James 1:2-8

START, RESPOND, and FINISH

Before retiring, I spent 44 years in professional baseball as a player, coach, and scout. That means (not counting years I played at two MiLB levels) I had the opportunity to win 44 championships! I was fortunate to be a part of five titles. That means 39 times my season ended in disappointment. But realistically, winning anything is hard, and winning 11% might be considered good, right? Let’s tighten this up a little. Actually, all five Championships came while I played Minor League Baseball (5/10), and none came as a coach or scout (0/34).

Why do I bring this up? Am I boasting about my playing days? Was I just an adequate coach and scout? Actually, it is because I’ve had as much joy over the last 34 years as I did in the first ten. It turns out, yes, winning is fun, and I love to win, but it’s not all about wins and losses at the end of the day. I’ve learned that JOY can be found in all seasons, and quite frankly, championships are fleeting! In order to be 100% correct, I had to research the years of those championships to make sure I had it right!

As a competitor, I do love to win. Typically, to have a good chance at winning, it is nice to start well. Moreover, it is usually just as important to end well. However, how players and coaches react and respond during the hard times “in” season—that is what will truly determine not only the outcome of the season but what gets remembered in the long run about each season, win or lose!

As much as our athletic portion of life is tested, so will our Faith. As stated in James 1:3, WHEN (not if) your Faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. And that parallels seasons of competition. Name me a season when you were not tested! By a player, umpires, the team, injuries, weather! There are so many obstacles we face with both our human (coaching) life and our spiritual life! How we react can lay the foundation for growth and endurance with our human championship and, similarly, with our faith and an eternal championship!

Don’t let earthly things steal your JOY. You should work to find a way to spread that JOY throughout your team in times of struggle! Use the tests that present themselves and times of adversity to grow with your team on the field and off. It’s the perfect time for connection and building of what is needed physically and spiritually. Do not miss the opportunity to Be and build a disciple on the field and for Jesus.

Be a light, shine bright, don’t hide your Light for Christ under a lamp shade. (Matt. 5:14–16) Growth can happen on the field and off if you lead with the Character of Christ working through you. (Gal. 5:22–23)

Be well, Build well, Serve Well.

Marlin

Marlin McPhail worked in professional baseball for 44 years before retiring in 2025. He played ten years with three different teams in the minors and then spent his final 34 years with the New York Mets as a Minor League Coach and Amateur Scout. Marlin resides with his wife Terry in Irmo, S.C. and has two grown children and five grandchildren.

Digging Deeper – Our Response to Trials

David Griffith on October 1, 2026

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

James 1:5

OUR RESPONSE TO TRIALS

This is a great coffee mug verse that we like to pull out when we need some Godly advice or direction for life. But context in studying the scriptures is important, so let’s remember the context: IF YOU LACK WISDOM REGARDING THIS TRIAL THAT GOD HAS YOU IN TO DEVELOP YOUR ENDURANCE, ASK GOD FOR THAT WISDOM, AND HE WILL GIVE IT TO YOU, AND HE WON’T MOCK YOU FOR ASKING (Dave’s version).

I have to continually remind myself that Jesus came to earth as a man and endured more than He will ever ask me to endure. He knows that life is hard, trials are relentless, the enemy is real, and I am made of dust (Ps. 103:14), so you and I need some help when the road seems all uphill and full of ruts. For crying out loud, Jesus went to His Father relentlessly to seek His counsel. Why wouldn’t I? Why wouldn’t you?

God WILL answer our prayers when we are tired and weary, and He will give us all that we need to endure and to come out the other side closer to Him and looking more like His Son, Jesus!

Just an aside, who of us DOES NOT LACK WISDOM? If you did not say, I DO, then you lack wisdom! All of us lack wisdom, especially in a trial or a difficult situation. The wisest man to ever live, King Solomon, was asked by God what he wanted from the Lord, and Solomon, in complete humility, asked for wisdom. That is how he became so wise. God granted Solomon his request AND gave him wealth as well (1 Kings 3).

Why did the King ask for wisdom and not peace or might or riches? Because he had a posture of a slave. He willfully occupied a position of humility.

I asked my son many years ago, when he was going through a very intense trial that almost wrecked him, how I could pray for him. In brokenness and in all humility, he asked me to pray that God would give him wisdom. He was in a state of absolute surrender to his Lord, and all he wanted to do was hear from heaven. Not as to what he should do necessarily, but as to who he should be. I look at him now, still enduring various trials (not that one, thank God), as we all do, but a wise younger man full of joy and hope. It is one of the stone pillars (Joshua 4 for reference) I look back to when I am in a trial and I need a reminder of God’s goodness.

If you are in the midst of a trial, and you have submitted yourself to Jesus’ Lordship over your life, cry out to God for wisdom; search the scriptures for answers; He promises to give them to you with compassion, not judgment.

Tomorrow we will look at the conditions, not conditional love, of our Lord!

He loves you so much, forever!

Digging Deeper – The Result of Endurance

David Griffith on September 30, 2026

And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:4

THE RESULT OF ENDURANCE

James is speaking from the perspective of a bond-slave. Let the trials come because they are producing in me character that can endure. James wanted to be like his big brother, PERFECT AND COMPLETE, LACKING IN NOTHING!

Paul, in His letter to the Romans, states the following in chapter 5 verses 1-5: Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Paul was a bond-slave as well :), through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, BUT WE ALSO EXULT IN OUR TRIBULATIONS, KNOWING THAT TRIBULATIONS BRINGS ABOUT PERSEVERANCE; AND PERSEVERANCE, PROVEN CHARACTER; AND PROVEN CHARACTER, HOPE; AND HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT, BECAUSE THE LOVE OF GOD HAS BEEN POURED OUT WITHIN OUR HEARTS THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO WAS GIVEN TO US!

Our God and Father uses trials to perfect us. In His letter to the Philippians, Paul reminds them of this fact when he says in 1:6: For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Do I have a bond-servant mentality? Do you? Am I willing to lose everything for the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord? (Phil. 3:7-8). Am I willing to submit myself completely and totally to Jesus, laying down my do’s and don’ts, my service, my righteousness and exchange them for the righteousness of KNOWING Jesus by faith alone.

Do I long to know Jesus intimately by bowing my soul at His feet? Am I willing to suffer for His sake and my sanctification like the Thessalonian believers did?

2 Thessalonians 1:4-5 …therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.

Becoming perfect and complete, lacking in nothing, is only attained by walking the Via Delarosa, The Way of Suffering, that our Jesus walked. Though we may never be made to carry His cross, we will most certainly be made to carry OUR cross. And it will lead to the same place if we submit our will to that of Jesus.

Midway through this week, I am asking you and I am asking me, ARE WE WILLING TO BE HIS SLAVE AND ENDURE WITH JOY THE PATH HE HAS LAID OUT BEFORE US?

Tomorrow we will look at what God calls us to do during the trial!

He loves you so much, forever!

Digging Deeper – Trials Will Come, Be Joyful!

David Griffith on September 29, 2026

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

James 1:2-3

TRIALS WILL COME, BE JOYFUL

I don’t know about you, but I have faced many trials in my 64 years on this planet! I have faced, am facing, and will face many more before the Lord takes me home to be with Him. I can tell you that I have faced those trials as a child of God, saved by grace and grace alone, and the Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of His Spirit, has brought me through them. Praise God! But the anxiety and worry that plagued me during those trials were excruciating. Can I get a witness?

I have also faced different trials from a different posture/perspective of God and as the Lord Jesus Christ’s servant. The trials themselves were really no different when I look back on them. The difference was my expectation as to what the outcome should be. As a child of God, I expected my Heavenly Father to just “take care of it” – take it away and restore my comfort. It took a while because He had work to do in my heart. But as a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, I expected to suffer, knowing that the suffering would be good for my soul. In verse 3, James calls this testing of my faith GOOD because it produces endurance. I can attest, and you probably can too, that when the test was complete, I was closer to Jesus than I was before the trial began. It may have taken just as long, but the trial did not feel as oppressive.

What does it mean to “have joy in the midst of a trial”? (My paraphrase). Is joy the same as happiness? Is joy always humanly pleasant? Not at all, but joy is fruitful. Joy is a sign that the Holy Spirit is working within me to make me more like Jesus!

Galatians 5:22, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

Living as a slave to Christ begets the qualities that Jesus exemplified on earth and exemplifies now in our hearts. Galatians 5:25 sums it up perfectly, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

Living by the Spirit is a given if we have been saved because the Holy Spirit lives inside of us. But walking by the Spirit is a different matter entirely. In order to walk by the Spirit, we have to take the posture of a doulos, a willing servant of our Lord Who allowed our trials for His glory and our good! What is your posture before Him when trials come?

Tomorrow we will look at the result of endurance!

He loves you so much, forever!

Digging Deeper – Who Am I, Really?

David Griffith on September 28, 2026

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ…

James 1:1

WHO AM I, REALLY?

No one is quite sure who actually wrote the book of James. Well, we know it was JAMES, but which James? Most scholars believe that it was the half-brother of Jesus who penned the letter because he was the most Jewish of the church leadership in Jerusalem, and it was written to all of the Jewish believers scattered throughout the known world. Jesus’ half-brother did not believe that He was the Messiah during Jesus’ earthly life. James grew up with Jesus and probably did not like Him very much because Jesus never got in trouble. He was “the perfect child,” and no one likes the parent’s pet, do they? No, James did not come to a saving knowledge of Jesus as Savior and Lord until after Jesus arose from the grave. James had always been known as the brother of Jesus, but at the forefront of this very important letter, James introduces himself in a totally different way, and this introduction is important for me and for you in our own lives. WHO ARE WE, REALLY?

Are we “saved,” meaning one who trusts in Jesus for our eternal security? Someone who the Holy Spirit has made alive in Christ? Are we simply born again and have newness of life? All good things; all amazing ways to describe ourselves if we have actually been saved by the blood of Jesus! But is just being saved God’s plan for us?

James was/is the half-brother of the Savior of the world, yet he does not say that when he introduces himself to believing Jews all over the known world. No, James does not name-drop, as he certainly could have. After all, it was true! Instead, James introduces himself as: JAMES, A BOND-SERVANT OF GOD, AND OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST,…

James introduces himself as a SLAVE! The word in the Greek is: doulos, which is translated: bond-servant, slave. It denotes one whose debt has been paid in full and is now in willful subjection to the one who paid the debt. James is introducing himself as an indentured servant, and he is happy about it.

So here is the question for me and the question for you: ARE YOU SIMPLY SAVED…OR ARE YOU SLAVED?

Our answers are important to how we read and interpret the next seven verses, the Bible as a whole, and ultimately how we live out our calling. The answer to this question determines how we face life’s trials!

So hang tight over the next four days as we discuss the trials of life and what to do about them from the perspective of whether we consider ourselves saved or we consider ourselves slaves of Christ, our Lord and Savior!

He loves you so much, forever!