Prosper.
The word conjures a plethora of thoughts in the mind of most, but in the Word of God, prospering is not found in the plenitude of possessions, physical prowess, or political power. Rather, it is in the sweet savor of meditating on God's Word, soaking in God's law, and intimately knowing the heart of God.
Do we live in a state of spiritual poverty when God invites us to truly prosper? What is the journey from merely knowing about God to enjoying intimacy with Him? What if your trying circumstances are actually perfectly suited for you to know and enjoy God more?
Written during his bout with cancer, Nate takes the reader on a journey through Psalm 1:2-3 examining thirty-one angles of the blessed life. To prosper isn't an ambiguous idea in Scripture; it is a Divine invitation to all who want to "know their God...stand firm and take action" (Daniel 11:32). Rather than seeking easy answers, this book requires the reader to ask and contemplate heart-probing questions which investigate the root causes that keep Christ's followers from the joy of intimacy with Himself.
The question remains. Are you willing to take the journey?
Nate Bramsen was born in Senegal and has spent the majority of his life on the African Continent. While working with street children in the Middle East, he founded ROCK International, an organization seeking to be the lap of Jesus (as demonstrated in Mark 9:36-37) for children trapped in situations of crisis. He now oversees international development projects while carrying out a global itinerant and media ministry. He is also the author of the book, What If Jesus Meant What He Said?
"Our family read this book out loud together this year and I have been meaning to share about it for awhile now because it is not only excellent in what it talks about, but it also asks really good questions. Prosper, Enjoying Intimacy with God by Nate Bramsen is a fitting and excellent book that will encourage and challenge any believer. I will limit my review of it to the context of a read aloud for family devotions HOWEVER, I will say we have gifted over a dozen copies of this book and it's been met with an enthusiastic response from a variety of Christians in a variety of unique situations. Each chapter stands as it's own read aloud for a devotional, perfectly suitable for reading with company should you happen to have guests over who haven't enjoyed earlier chapters. But what we truly LOVED as a family was the assortment of 'questions to consider' at the end of each chapter. From truly challenging questions to deeply reflective the conversations inspired by the questions were SO good for our family to discuss. We found many of the questions to be edifying for the church - causing us to think about the impact other believers have had on our life and appreciate their obedience to God and how that affected us. Truly precious conversations to have with one's teenagers! Our family would recommend this book as read aloud for family devotions for preteen age on up." — Jessica, https://www.amazon.com/Prosper-Enjoying-Intimacy-Nate-Bramsen
"Great resource for your personal devotions or in a discipleship study. Each chapter contains challenging life application questions. Definitely one you will revisit! It also has some excellent suggestions regarding Bible study methods in the appendix. Well worth the investment of your time and resources." — Kenny, https://www.amazon.com/Prosper-Enjoying-Intimacy-Nate-Bramsen
