The Connection Corner

Joy on the Court Again

1 John 5:14-15 — And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.

I couldn’t stop smiling over the phone when I heard my dad. He sounded happy—really happy. And at the end he said, “Alright, I’ve gotta go. I’m about to play pickleball.”

Like what? Pickleball. My dad is 70 years old.

Now he’s always been in great shape. He’s 6’3, athletic, and you would think he was probably 45. But him going to play pickleball just made me smile even more.

I laughed and asked who he was playing with. He said people his age. And some younger guys too. He sounded excited. It meant so much to me to hear this. It wasn’t just that my dad had found something fun to do. It was that this happiness—had been missing for a while.

My mom passed away seven years ago. And ever since, I’ve carried this prayer for my dad.

Lord, send him friends. Send him joy again. Send him something to look forward to. I just wanted to hear him laugh again like this. And I kept coming back to this confidence when I prayed—that when I ask according to God’s will, God hears me, and He’s already working, even when I can’t see it yet. Now through pickleball, of all things, I’m seeing just how faithful God truly is.

It felt like God gently tapping my heart, saying, I heard you.

So today I’m choosing to notice the ways He has answered my prayers. To thank God for the phone calls, the laughter, the friends, and yes—even for my dad pickle-balling it up.

Take time to notice those pickleball-shaped moments in your own life today. The laughter bouncing like a ball. The friendships that surprise you. The small, fresh joys tucked in the ordinary. That is the echo of God’s faithfulness—and it’s amazing.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Is there a prayer you’ve been carrying for a long time that you haven’t seen answered yet?
How does knowing that God hears you (even when you don’t see immediate results) change the way you pray?
Can you identify a “pickleball moment” in your life—something small that now feels like a quiet answer to prayer?
What does it look like for you to trust God’s will, even when the answer doesn’t come the way you expected?
How can you practice noticing and thanking God for the ways He is already at work around you?

March 21, 2026/by Bri Dunn

Prayers That Won’t Let Go

Brenda Price, Daily Devotional

Romans 12:12 — Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

I know what it’s like to hit rock bottom and feel like nothing—not even prayer—could reach you there.

I’m seventeen years clean from drug addiction, and I don’t say that lightly. I know I didn’t get here on my own. I know someone was praying for me when I couldn’t pray for myself. I know there were people who wore out their carpet, crying out to God, even when I looked like a lost cause.

That’s why Raymond’s story stays with me.

Raymond is a dad. Just a regular father who loved his son and watched his son’s addiction take more than it ever gave. For over a decade, he prayed. Not polished prayers. Real ones. The kind whispered in bedrooms and spoken at kitchen tables late at night. There were relapses. Heartbreak. Long stretches of silence when the phone didn’t ring and hope felt impossible.

But Raymond made some decisions. He never stopped loving his son. He chose to be joyful in hope when there wasn’t much evidence for it, patient in affliction when the pain dragged on, and faithful in prayer when quitting would have been easier.

Years passed. Slowly. Quietly. And then something shifted. His son got sober. Not for a month. Not for a year. Five years. And it didn’t stop there. He began mentoring others walking the same road he once stumbled down.

That’s when Raymond said something I love. “God restoring my son in His timing, not mine.”

When I hear that, something just clicks. God’s timing may feel slow, but it is never careless. It helps me realize the prayers that helped save my life probably sounded a lot like Raymond’s. Faithful. Tired. But full of hope anyway.

It doesn’t rush the process. It anchors you while you wait.

“Prayer doesn’t always change things right away—but it keeps us anchored long enough to see what God is doing.”

If you’re praying for someone and it feels like nothing is happening, you’re not wasting your breath. You’re standing in the gap. You’re loving them in a way that reaches farther than you can see.

Faithful prayer plants seeds that grow on God’s timeline, not ours. So keep praying. Keep loving. Keep hoping. Even when nothing is happening. Even when it hurts.

God hears every prayer—and He is still working, even now.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Is there someone in your life you’ve been praying for, even when it feels like nothing is changing?
What emotions come up when you think about waiting on God’s timing instead of your own?
In what ways have you seen prayer sustain you—even if the situation hasn’t changed yet?
How does the encouragement in Epistle to the Romans 12:12 challenge or strengthen your perspective on hope, patience, and prayer?
What would it look like for you to keep showing up in prayer this week with renewed faith and trust?

March 20, 2026/by Brenda Price

Slow Down to See God

Daily Devotional, Sarah Hall

Psalm 46:10 — Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.

The house wasn’t awake yet when I heard footsteps and stirring from the living room.

Drawers opening. Cabinets closing.

What in the world?

I walked out to find my husband already dressed, frantically flipping cushions and retracing his steps. He had lost his keys. He needed to get to work, and now he was on the phone with his dad, asking him to bring over a spare set.

He was officially out of options.

That’s when I saw them.

Hanging neatly on the hook.

The same hook where we always put them.

I stood there for a moment and grinned. Then I picked them up and held them out.

He paused, looked… and smiled too.

All that effort. All that worrying.

And what he needed had been in plain sight the whole time.

If I’m honest, I’ve lived that out more times than I’d like to admit—and I have a feeling you have too.

I rush. I panic. I search everywhere for peace. I listen to people, podcasts, and sermons, hoping something will finally settle my heart.

But what I need isn’t out there somewhere.

It’s right here.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

Not scramble.
Not strive.
Be still.

Stillness isn’t weakness—it’s trust. It’s the quiet confidence that God isn’t withholding what we need.

Life is loud. Mornings are rushed. Decisions feel heavy.

But clarity often comes when we stop long enough to notice what’s already true:

God is still God.

He is present.
He is steady.
He is enough.

So today, take a moment to breathe.

Slow down on purpose. Even if it’s just for a minute.

Because God is not absent in your stress.

And more often than we realize, what we’re searching for… has been right in front of us all along.

Found in Him.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

When life feels stressful or overwhelming, what is your first instinct—do you pause, or do you scramble to fix things?
Can you think of a recent moment where what you needed was already present, but you overlooked it?
What makes it difficult for you to “be still” before God?
How does remembering that “God is still God” change the way you approach your current situation?
What is one practical way you can create space for stillness in your day today?

March 19, 2026/by Sarah Hall