Devotional writer, BA in Theology
Has written devotional material for churches and publishers for twelve years, with a BA in Theology. She prefers texts that explain the context of a verse over texts that only repeat it, and is wary of any easy promise made in the Bible's name.
Verses
The chapter read at almost every wedding was written to settle an argument in a divided church. Here is what 1 Corinthians 13 actually says, plus the other passages that carry the Bible's teaching on love.
Grace Whitfield ·
Prayers
Prayer does not require beautiful words or a set formula. Here is what the Bible actually shows about prayer, four movements to organize what to say, and what to do when nothing comes.
Grace Whitfield ·
Prayers
Praying for another person is called intercession, and the Bible gives it more space than almost any other kind of prayer. Here is what to ask, how to keep it short, and what to do when you have no words.
Grace Whitfield ·
Verses
The Bible never defines the family in a single line. It shows a household and argues about how the people in it should treat each other. Here are fifteen passages, each with the situation it was written into.
Grace Whitfield ·
Reflections
Philippians 4:6-7, Matthew 6:34 and 1 Peter 5:7 are the verses most quoted about anxiety. Here is what each says in context, what the Bible actually promises, and why faith and treatment are not rivals.
Grace Whitfield ·
Prayers
Praying for a sick person is mostly about asking for the right things and saying less than you want to. Here is what to ask beyond a cure, a short bedside script, and five sentences to avoid.
Grace Whitfield ·
Verses
Forgiveness in the Bible is release from a debt, not an agreement that the debt never existed. Here is what the key passages say, what they ask of you, and the three things they never require.
Grace Whitfield ·
Prayers
What parents ask for changes as children grow, and so does what they can control. Here is what to pray at each age, what the Bible shows about praying parents, and what prayer does not guarantee.
Grace Whitfield ·
Verses
Fourteen passages about fear, sorted by the kind of fear they were spoken into — a new job nobody asked for, an enemy at the gate, a dark valley, a sleepless night — with the context of each.
Grace Whitfield ·
Verses
A list for the days when your legs give way, each verse with one line on what it actually promises — and what it does not.
Grace Whitfield ·
Prayers
Praying together at home stalls for one reason: nobody wants to go first. Here is a five-minute shape that works with teenagers in the room, and what to do when one person in the house does not believe.
Grace Whitfield ·
Verses
Give thanks in everything, says a letter written by a man who had been beaten and jailed. Here is what the Bible's main passages on gratitude ask for, and the one thing they carefully do not ask for.
Grace Whitfield ·
Prayers
Most people praying about a decision are hoping for a sign. The biblical accounts show something less dramatic and more useful. Here is what to ask, a seven-day process, and how traditions differ.
Grace Whitfield ·
Verses
The Bible talks about money constantly and promises far less about it than people expect. Here are the key passages on wealth, debt, contentment and giving, each with its context.
Grace Whitfield ·
Verses
Work appears in the Bible before anything goes wrong, and the instructions about it are aimed as often at bosses as at workers. Here is what the main passages actually say.
Grace Whitfield ·
Reflections
Paul asked three times and was told no. Jesus asked in Gethsemane and was not spared. Here is what the biblical texts actually record about unanswered prayer, and what they do not promise.
Grace Whitfield ·
Bible Study
In most churches the two words describe the same service. Here is where "christening" came from, which traditions still use it, and the one case where a christening is not a baptism at all.
Grace Whitfield ·
Verses
Proverbs on loyalty, a covenant between David and Jonathan, three friends who sat with Job in silence for a week. Twelve passages about friendship, each with the situation behind it.
Grace Whitfield ·
Bible Study
One, two, three or none, depending on the church. Here is the usual rule in each tradition, who is eligible, what a Christian witness is, and what to do about the friends who are not on the certificate.
Grace Whitfield ·
Verses
Biblical hope is not optimism about the near future. It is confidence in an outcome you cannot see yet — which is why the strongest passages about it were written by people in ruins.
Grace Whitfield ·
Bible Study
What guests wear depends on the church, and an immersion baptism has rules a cathedral does not. Here is how to dress for each kind of service, what to bring, and how much a gift usually is.
Grace Whitfield ·
Bible Study
Fasting appears throughout the Bible with almost no instructions attached. Here is what the texts actually say, how Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Pentecostal practice differs, and who should not fast.
Grace Whitfield ·
Verses
The passages read at weddings are usually the gentle ones. Here are the marriage texts in full, including the demanding halves, and an honest note on where Christian traditions disagree.
Grace Whitfield ·
Bible Study
Why a Catholic child receives communion at about seven and is confirmed years later, why Orthodox infants receive both at once, and why many Protestant churches have confirmation without a first communion.
Grace Whitfield ·