The most amazing part about that trip wasn’t the difficult bus ride. In fact, I don’t even remember most of it. It was that every person on our mission team was ready to go to work after only a few hours of sleep. We knew why we were there – to share the Gospel with people who had never heard it before. And the joy we experienced in seeing lives changed was worth every bounce on that bus.

Most of us, when given the choice, wouldn’t pick suffering. But there’s something different about being on a mission trip. You expect to not be comfortable. You sign up for it. You pack light, sleep hard, and count the discomfort as part of the calling.

But why is the expectation different at home? Why do I presume to sit comfortably in my pew at church, latte in hand, while the air-conditioning hums in the background? The uncomfortable question I have to ask myself is, “Am I willing to suffer in my own community for the sake of the gospel?”

This is the hard question John Piper puts to us in the last two chapters of Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. He doesn’t let us separate missions from suffering. They belong together. And he takes us straight to Mark 10, where Jesus promises that anyone who gives up home, family, or security for his sake will receive it back a hundredfold. It sounds like a good deal, until you read the next three words: with persecutions.

We’d rather skip those words. I know I would.

But Piper points us to John G. Paton, a missionary who lost his wife and child and found himself hiding in a chestnut tree from the very people he had come to reach. He didn’t find Christ waiting for him on the other side of the suffering. He found him there — in the tree, in the dark, in the grief. He wrote that Jesus had never felt nearer, never spoken more gently to his soul, than in that moment.

We may not choose suffering. But when it finds us, there’s joy in knowing that we don’t have to face it alone. Christ walks through it with us.

On this week’s episode of Well Worn Pages, Lori and I talk about Missions and Suffering in the final episode on Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. We’d love for you to join us.

So what did you think about this book? What things did you agree with? And what things challenged you?

Lori and Christy would love to hear your thoughts! Leave us a comment or send us an email at wellwornpagesbookclub@gmail.com. And if this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend who needs the conversation.

Episode Summary

Episode 9 closes out Season 1 of Well-Worn Pages with Desiring God‘s final two chapters: missions and suffering. Christy and Lori unpack Piper’s distinction between local ministry and frontier missions — reaching the unreached, defined as people groups where fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians. They trace the cost of that calling through Mark 10, Paul’s willingness to count everything as garbage for Christ, and the lived reality of John G. Paton hiding in a tree, praying through grief and hostile pursuit.

From Polycarp’s unbound martyrdom to Joseph the Maasai warrior returning again and again to a village that beat him — until the whole village believed — the episode builds a case that suffering is not incidental to the Christian life but central to its witness. The episode also serves as a season finale, with a summer break before Season 2 launches in August 2026.

5 Key Takeaways

* Frontier missions is a distinct calling. Piper differentiates between local ministry (where a church already exists) and frontier missions — carrying the gospel to unreached people groups where less than 2% of the population are evangelical Christians (IMB definition).

* God is the one who makes missions work. Our role is participation, not production.

* Sacrifice is required, but Christ is the reward. Piper uses Mark 10: 29-30 to show that Jesus doesn’t ask us to count what we’re giving up — he asks us to follow and promises to make up every loss a hundredfold, with persecutions included.

* “With persecutions” cannot be skipped. Mark 10:29-30 adds that phrase deliberately. Joy in suffering is possible because of who we serve.

* Suffering is a witness, not just a hardship. Piper makes no distinction between faith-based persecution and ordinary suffering like cancer — for the believer, all suffering is either a movement toward God or a stumbling block. People are watching how we handle it.

* Reading hard books takes determination. Both Christy and Lori found Desiring God challenging — and both returned to Scripture to test it. That process of examination is what distinguishes Well-Worn Pages from any other book club.

Scripture References

* 1 Corinthians 3:17

* Mark 10:29-30

* Philippians 3:8

* Proverbs 27:17

Links

God’s Smuggler Episode 4: One Person Can Make a Difference

IMB.org (International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention)

Connect with Christy

Connect with Lori

Suggested Reading Schedule & Episode Guide

Episode 5: Christian Hedonism: Why We Almost Put The Book Down (Intro, Chapters 1 & 2, and Appendix)

Episode 6 (This Episode): The Hard Way: Joy, Love, and What the Cross Teaches Us About Both (Chapters 3 & 4)

Episode 7: Before You Pick Up Your Phone: A Conversation About Scripture and Prayer (Chapters 5 & 6)

Episode 8: Where Is Your Heart: An Honest Conversation About Money, Marriage & Who We’re Really Living For (Chapters 7 & 8)

Episode 9 (Finale - This Episode): With Persecutions: The Cost No One Mentions (Chapters 9 & 10)

Coming In August 2026…

Season 2 of Well Worn Pages Book Club Podcast

Get updates directly in your inbox throughout the summer.

Be the first to know our next book pick!

Thanks for listening to the Well Worn Pages Book Club Podcast! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.

At the time, I didn’t really understand the graciousness of what they offered – a room in their already cramped house, meals for all of us on a small pension check, sacrifices made quietly so we could live close by. Their hearts were in the right place. But I wasn’t getting special treatment because I was their granddaughter. My grandparents were always willing to share what little they had with anyone who had a need. That’s the trait I most want to pass on to my own children. It’s the one that, if I’m honest, I struggle with the most.

So why, years later – when there is plenty on the table and scarcity is a distant memory – do I still hold so tightly to everything? It comes down to a heart question. The same one people have wrestled with for generations: Where is my treasure? What do I actually value most?

My grandparents lived out what Piper calls “enough for us, abundance for others.” They were conduits of God’s blessing with the little they had. What’s my excuse with more?

I’ll always treasure the few weeks I had in that cramped little house, eating my grandmother’s pot roast. Now that they’re both gone, I’m realizing that generosity isn’t just an action you take. It’s a lifestyle of holding tighter to Jesus than anything else on earth.

On this week’s episode of Well Worn Pages, Lori and I talk about Money & Marriage from chapters 7 and 8. Pull up a chair and join us.

What are your views on money and marriage, and how has Scripture shaped them?

We would love to hear your thoughts! Leave us a comment or send us an email at wellwornpagesbookclub@gmail.com.

And if this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend who needs the conversation.

Episode Summary

In Episode 8, Christy and Lori continue their discussion of Desiring God by John Piper, diving into chapters 7 and 8 on money and marriage. After checking in on last week’s personal challenges, they tackle two topics that hit close to home.

On money, they explore Piper’s central distinction: it’s not what you earn but what you desire. His wartime vs. peacetime illustration challenges listeners to live on enough and give the rest away — conduits of blessing, not cul-de-sacs.

On marriage, they unpack pursuing joy in the joy of your spouse and marriage as a picture of Christ and the church — a mystery we can barely see this side of heaven.

6 Key Takeaways

* Heart motivation is everything. The heart’s posture determines whether money is a tool or an idol.

* Working hard is not the same as pursuing riches. Piper draws a clear line between earning a living — getting raises, growing a business, building financial stability over time — and the sinful desire for more. Bettering yourself financially is not the problem. The problem is when more is never enough.

* Wartime vs. peacetime living. Piper’s Queen Mary illustration challenges listeners to ask: am I living for the finery, or am I content with what I need and generous with the rest?

* We are conduits, not cul-de-sacs. God blesses us so we can bless others. Abundance is not ours to hoard — it’s meant to flow through us.

* Marriage is harmony, not unison. Men and women are alike but unalike — and when different gifts and roles come together under Christ, the result is something richer than either could create alone.

* Marriage is a parable of Christ and the church. Piper reminds us that marriage is not just personal — it’s a living picture of something bigger. When both spouses submit to God, everything falls into its proper place.

Scripture References

* Matthew 6:19

* Matthew 19:16-30

* Colossians 3:23

* 1 Timothy 6:6-8

* Deuteronomy 8:17-18

Links

Well Worn Pages Book Club Episode 3: God’s Smuggler

Queen Mary Museum in Long Beach California

Connect with Christy @ https://christymillerbell.com

Connect with Lori @ https://loribehrens.com

Suggested Reading Schedule & Episode Guide

Episode 5: Christian Hedonism: Why We Almost Put The Book Down (Intro, Chapters 1 & 2, and Appendix)

Episode 6 (This Episode): The Hard Way: Joy, Love, and What the Cross Teaches Us About Both (Chapters 3 & 4)

Episode 7: Before You Pick Up Your Phone: A Conversation About Scripture and Prayer (Chapters 5 & 6)

Episode 8 (This episode): Where Is Your Heart: An Honest Conversation About Money, Marriage & Who We’re Really Living For (Chapters 7 & 8)

Episode 9: With Persecutions: The Part of the Promise We Skip Over (Chapters 9 & 10)

Next Week

Lori and Christy will conclude the discussion on Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist.

Episode 9: With Persecutions: The Part of the Promise We Skip Over (Chapters 9 & 10)

We’re taking a break for the summer and making big plans for our next season! Stay tuned for more information coming soon!! We can’t wait to share our plans with you!

Mornings are my favorite time of day, but if I’m not careful, my phone can steal away the hours – and my peace. In its wake is left anxiety, stress, and a mind going in a million directions.

Before Your Feet Hit The Floor

What’s the answer? Long ago, a friend described her morning practice of dedicating her day to God. Before the chaos of getting ready for the day, shuttling kids to school, and powering through monumental traffic, she disciplined herself to whisper a prayer before her feet hit the floor. The phone was no longer a temptation for her. Instead, she couldn’t wait to open the Word and hear God speak to her. The phone was still there. She just stopped reaching for it first.

Deeply ingrained habits are hard to break. But here are a few ways to take your mornings back.

Make Some Things Harder

Plug your phone in another room (or at least on the other side of the room). Remove the physical temptation to scroll when you turn off your alarm.

Set focus times on your phone. This allows you to shut down certain apps for periods of time and makes it difficult to access the tempting apps. The more times you have to click to get to an app, the less often you will access that app.

Make Other Things Easier

Prepare for your devotional time the night before. Put your Bible, pens, journals, and devotional materials right by your bed and make them easy to access. Pick out the passage to read and write out a memory verse to meditate on as you go to sleep.

If you need caffeine first (like me) prep the coffee pot the night before, too. Set out your favorite cup and clean off your favorite spot to sit.

Anticipation is its own discipline. When you look forward to something, you protect it.

Tomorrow morning, the alarm will blare again. You’ll reach for your phone — force of habit, muscle memory, sheer reflex. But what if, just once, you set it down? What if the first voice you heard wasn’t a news alert or a friend’s Instagram story, but the quiet of God’s presence waiting for you?

Peace isn’t something you stumble into. It’s something you choose — before your feet hit the floor.

On this week’s episode of Well Worn Pages, Lori and I talk more about Scripture and Prayer. We’d love for you to join us.

Do you know someone who starts her day drowning in her phone instead of in the Word? Send her this episode. It might be the nudge she needs.

Join Lori’s Scripture Memory Challenge!

One verse. One week.

Join us each month for a 7-Day Challenge to study and internalize God’s Word. Spend 7 days immersed in one verse of scripture through daily emails structured using the STORY Bible study method including prayers, study resources, and encouragement to practice God’s truths in your daily life. Don’t miss this opportunity to strengthen your scripture meditation skills and connect with other believers who are passionate about God’s Word.

May 2026 Challenge: 7 Days in Psalm 119:18

Episode Summary

Christy and Lori dig into chapters 5 and 6 of Desiring God — Scripture as the kindling of Christian hedonism and prayer as a wartime walkie-talkie. The conversation covers why the Word comes before everything else in the morning, how meditation naturally leads to prayer, and why a weak prayer life might actually signal something deeper about our relationship with Jesus.

Key Takeaways

* Your joy in God is not a steady flame. It wavers with real life — and that’s normal. Scripture is the kindling that keeps it burning when the enemy tries to blow it out.

* You can’t wield what you don’t wear. The sword of the Spirit is only effective if you’re in the Word daily — not just when you need it.

* God is glorified by doing through Christ what we can’t do for ourselves. Answered prayer comes as a result of a close relationship with Christ. Then God is glorified when we rely on Him completely.

* If you don’t protect the morning, anxiety wins. The phone, the to-do list, the grocery list in your head — Satan doesn’t need to stage a dramatic attack. Distraction is enough.

* Prayer is a walkie-talkie for warfare, not a wish list. We’ve turned direct communication with God into a civilian intercom — calling for more comfort instead of empowerment for mission.

* You have a part to play — and it’s simply asking. We come empty-handed, but we don’t come silent. James says it plainly: you have not because you ask not.

* It starts smaller than you think. One man. Six people. A million converts two years later. Faithful, planned, consistent prayer moves things only God can move.

Scripture references in Episode 7:

* Psalm 119:97

* Deuteronomy 32:47

* Ephesians 6:17

* John 4

* John 16:24

* James 4:2-3

Coming Soon!

A new Bible study from Lori Behrens…

Transform your relationship with God as you walk line-by-line through Psalm 119.

Find joy and peace alongside King David in the pages of Joyful: Learning to Delight in God’s Word. A six-week study in Psalm 119, From the Pen of a King Bible Study Series.

When anxiety keeps you awake at 2 AM and dark thoughts swarm your mind, it can feel like God is absent. But this post explores a profound biblical truth: the darkest moments of our lives are often when God speaks most clearly and offers his greatest promises. From Abram counting stars to Paul singing in prison, Scripture reveals that nighttime suffering is not abandonment but invitation.

Read more here…

Get weekly encouragement from Scripture right in your inbox!

There are some days I (Christy) wake up and my entire body hurts. (A consequence of getting older.) The dog leaves me a nice present on the steps (use your imagination). My favorite shirt has a hole in it. And I spill coffee on my pants on the way to the car. Most of the time, this happens on a Sunday morning on the way to church. And when I get there I’m supposed to be kind, friendly, and demonstrate the love of Christ.

Can I get an amen?! ✋

Sometimes the feelings just aren’t there. But does that mean I turn around and go home? Does that mean I’m excused from worship?

Sometimes worship is hard.

When you’ve been hurt by the church.

When you’ve lost someone close.

When everything in your life seems to be turned upside down.

Today’s book club discussion encouraged me that this struggle is normal. I don’t need to manufacture the good feelings. I simply come to God as I am and allow his presence to fill the gaps — to bring me to the place where I can worship him with all my heart.

It’s a progression of recognizing who God is and who I am in relation to him. It’s a dawning realization that HE CHOSE THE HARD WAY FOR ME and considered it joy (Hebrews 12:2).

But here’s where it gets harder.

True worship doesn’t stay on the inside. It moves outward into how we love other people. When we worship God with all our heart, we can love others with the same self-sacrificing love Christ demonstrated. And the love he showed us cost him his life.

Am I willing to love others like that? To choose the hard way without expecting anything in return? Could I count it all joy just like Jesus?

This kind of love is more than a feeling. It’s a decision.

It’s the way of Christ.

Not easy. Not fun. But pure joy.

What is the motivation of your heart as you worship God and love others? Lori and I want to hear from you. We read every comment!

Episode Summary

Episode 6 digs into chapters 3 & 4 of Desiring God — worship and love — and it’s the densest conversation yet. Christy and Lori work through Piper’s progression of true worship (from stunned silence to longing for God himself) and the important truth that worship requires both heart and mind. They push into the chapter on love and land on its most counterintuitive idea: love and true joy come at a significant cost. The greatest act of love in history — the cross — was possible because Christ pursued joy. The episode closes with a heart-check question about the motivation behind everything: why do we worship, and why do we love others?

6 Key Takeaways

* Worship is a heart issue, not a location issue. Piper uses John 4 to reframe the Samaritan woman’s question about where to worship — Jesus responds with how and whom. The place is beside the point. The heart is the whole point.

* Piper’s progression of worship is honest about where most of us actually start. Stunned silence → awe → holy dread → brokenness → longing → gladness. You don’t have to manufacture the feelings at the top. You start where you are and trust the progression.

* Worship without feeling is possible. Worship without heart is hypocrisy. There’s a difference between not feeling joy yet and choosing to leave your heart entirely out of it.

* Joy and fun are not the same thing. The world confuses them. Piper doesn’t. Joy can exist in suffering, sacrifice, and cost — because Christ himself endured the cross for the joy set before him (Hebrews 12:2).

* Love is the overflow of joy in God. Christy and Lori examine a better way to see love: it isn’t a duty performed. It’s the result of having joy in God that spills outward toward other people. The motivation is everything.

* Genuine love is so contrary to human nature that when you see it, you’re seeing Christ. When we love sacrificially — really love, at real cost — it’s evidence of something beyond us. It’s a testimony.

Suggested Reading Schedule & Episode Guide

Episode 5: Christian Hedonism: Why We Almost Put The Book Down (Intro, Chapters 1 & 2, and Appendix)

Episode 6 (This Episode): The Hard Way: Joy, Love, and What the Cross Teaches Us About Both (Chapters 3 & 4)

Episode 7: Before You Pick Up Your Phone: A Conversation About Scripture and Prayer (Chapters 5 & 6)

Episode 8: Where Is Your Heart: An Honest Conversation About Money, Marriage & Who We’re Really Living For (Chapters 7 & 8)

Episode 9: With Persecutions: The Part of the Promise We Skip Over (Chapters 9 & 10)

Thanks for sticking with us through the first season of Well Worn Pages! We’ve had so much fun creating these episodes, and we’ve learned a lot – about podcasting, about these books, and honestly, about ourselves. We’re still figuring it out and we’d love to hear from you. What’s working? What could be better? Your feedback is important.

We’re excited to start our second book this week: Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonism by John Piper.

Read the Introduction, Chapters 1 & 2, and take a peek at the Appendix. Then tune in to the episode and tell us what you think!

Now On With The Show

We have a confession: this week’s reading was challenging.

Right from the start, John Piper goes after the big questions – sin, evil, and God’s sovereignty. He posed some serious questions that drove us both back to Scripture. To ask ourselves: Wait. Do I actually believe this?

And that’s a good thing. That’s the whole point.

No matter what we think of Piper’s theology or title, we both came to some important conclusions. Wrestling with the hard questions of our faith isn’t optional – it’s how we grow. We study. We think. We push back. And, ultimately, we find our answers in the truth of Scripture.

That’s the reason we started this podcast – to stretch us and have those conversations in community, where we don’t have to wrestle alone.

We’re just getting started with this one, and we want to hear from you. Are you reading along? What did you think of Piper’s opening chapters? What are you hoping to take away from this book?

Jump into the conversation by leaving a comment below.

Think About It:

Both Christy and Lori talked about sitting in the tension of not having all the answers — especially when it comes to hard questions like God’s sovereignty and the existence of evil. Lori put it this way: the things we know about God are what hold us through the things we don’t understand. What are the “knowns” you’re holding onto right now, and where are you still wrestling with the unknown?

We read every comment!

Suggested Reading Schedule & Episode Guide

Episode 5 (This episode): Christian Hedonism: Why We Almost Put The Book Down (Intro, Chapters 1 & 2, and Appendix)

Episode 6: The Hard Way: Joy, Love, and What the Cross Teaches Us About Both (Chapters 3 & 4)

Episode 7: Before You Pick Up Your Phone: A Conversation About Scripture and Prayer (Chapters 5 & 6)

Episode 8: Where Is Your Heart: An Honest Conversation About Money, Marriage & Who We’re Really Living For (Chapters 7 & 8)

Episode 9: With Persecutions: The Part of the Promise We Skip Over (Chapters 9 & 10)

Episode Summary

In this debut episode on Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist by John Piper, Christy and Lori lay important groundwork before diving in — establishing that they approach every book as instructed by Acts 17, holding it up against Scripture as the authority for every question. They unpack Piper’s term “Christian hedonism,” wrestle with whether joy is a fruit of salvation or a requirement for it, grapple honestly with the question of God’s sovereignty and evil, and land on two standout ideas from chapters one and two: the Hebrew word for “delight” as luxuriant self-indulgence in God’s presence, and conversion evidenced by treating God himself — not his gifts — as the treasure worth everything.

6 Key Takeaways

* Read everything as a Berean (see Acts 17). Piper’s work — like any book outside Scripture — should be held against the Bible itself.

* “Christian hedonism” is a provocative term with a legitimate point. We had to dig deep to wrap our minds around accepting this term. But the core idea — that finding your deepest joy in God is not optional or peripheral — is worth considering, even if the label creates friction.

* The Hebrew word for “delight” (Psalm 37:4) refers to luxuriant self-indulgence. Delighting in God isn’t a mild preference — it’s an extravagant, fully immersed communion with an unlimited, eternal God.

* God’s sovereignty and evil can exist together without requiring an explanation. What we know about God — that he is good, faithful, and redemptive — holds us through what we don’t know. It’s ok to sit in the tension of not understanding.

* The real test of conversion: would you want heaven without God? Piper’s question from p. 63 anchored the episode’s close. It cuts past behavior and belief-language straight to heart motivation — do you want God, or do you want what God gives?

Next Week:

Join us as we continue our discussion on Desiring God. We’ll be covering chapters 3 & 4 on the topic of worship and love.

This is the question Brother Andrew asked that set in motion a lifetime of ministry in countries closed to the Gospel. He chose to follow God no matter where it led him, and seventy years later, the work he began is still going strong.

This week, as we wrap up our four-week discussion of God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew, Lori and I asked ourselves this question: What can I do?

Here’s what we kept coming back to: Andrew didn’t start with a grand strategy. He started with a yes. What looked like extraordinary courage was actually ordinary faithfulness. His life was a model of quiet obedience. And God did the rest.

We came into this book expecting an adventure story. What we got was a mirror.

Because the truth is, most of us are still holding onto our “yes, but.” Yes, but I’m not qualified. Yes, but I don’t have the resources. Yes, but my life is ordinary. Andrew had every one of those excuses — and he laid them all down by the side of a canal one afternoon and never picked them back up.

The mission field God has placed in front of you is real — even if it never requires a passport. Your neighborhood, your workplace, your family table. The person sitting across from you who is desperate for someone to notice. That’s not a small assignment. That is the assignment.

Obedience is just doing something. It’s you being willing.

So we want to ask you what we’ve been asking ourselves: Are you willing to go where God calls — whether that’s across the world or across the street? What would it look like to let the Holy Spirit work through your willingness?

Summary

In the fourth and final episode of their God’s Smuggler discussion, Lori and Christy explore how one ordinary person, willing to follow God wherever He leads, can impact the persecuted church around the world and in their own backyard.

Key takeaways:

* The question “What can one person do?” was the catalyst for Brother Andrew’s ministry.

* God uses us most when we feel weakest and least equipped.

* Ministry opportunities exist in your own community, even if you never cross a border.

* Persecution takes many forms, but indifference may be the most dangerous threat the church faces.

* God is never defeated, no matter what opposition He encounters.

Reader Guide Download:

Suggested Reading Schedule

Each episode for God’s Smuggler will discuss a theme woven throughout Brother Andrew’s life. This is a suggested guide for reading if you want to create your own discussion with friends.

Episode 1: Background of Brother Andrew’s Life — Chapters 1-7

Episode 2: Trusting God When All The Evidence Says “No” — Chapters 8-13

Episode 3: Praying It Through — Chapters 14-18

Episode 4: One Person Can Make a Difference — Chapters 19-Epilogue

We’d Love to Hear From You!

We’re making a list of Listener Favorites. Send us your favorite quote from God’s Smuggler - OR one thing that stood out to you from our previous episodes. We will share this list in an upcoming newsletter.

To be included, please leave your short response in the comments below or send us an email at wellwornpagesbookclub@gmail.com.

Our Next Book

Next month we’ll be reading Desiring God by John Piper.

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” This simple but powerful statement has been a cornerstone of John Piper’s ministry for nearly 40 years. Laying out the principles behind this “Christian Hedonism” Desiring God has proved to be a source of rich theological insight for countless readers through the years, guiding them to the fullness of joy found in Christ.

Get your copy HERE!

All product links are affiliate links. Purchasing products from the links on this page helps support our ministry.

We are so grateful for your support through the last few weeks! Our new baby podcast is doing well, growing nicely, and we have you to thank for that!

Today’s podcast made me (Christy) ask myself a pretty hard question:

Why is prayer sometimes my last resort?

When I’ve exhausted every option — when the plan has failed and the backup plan has failed — that’s when I realized that I finally get quiet and talk to God. But it’s not because I expect him to answer. I’m often genuinely shocked when he does.

That’s a hard thing to admit. But I suspect I’m not alone.

There have been times when I begged God for answers and they just weren’t there. And other times I’ve barely whispered a request and the answer came immediately. But there’s no formula for prayer. No method that “works.” In fact, it’s not really about us at all.

Reading God’s Smuggler was a wakeup call for both Lori and me. Brother Andrew didn’t treat prayer like a contingency plan. It was a way of life. As natural as breathing.

At times he prayed what he called “flash prayers” — a quick, under-the-breath recognition of God’s authority in the middle of difficult moments. Not a formal petition. Not a last resort. Just a constant, almost instinctive turning toward God.

It’s what Paul meant when he said pray always. Not occasionally. Not as an act of desperation. Always.

Philippians 4:6-7 — “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

This kind of prayer is not about a list of demands. It’s about a relationship. Like a good Father, God wants us to share our struggles with him—the anxiety we wrestle with, the hurts we harbor, and the joys we experience.

We’re still learning. Still reminding ourselves to pray first. To rest in his peace and trust him with the plan.

Praying with Expectation: Lessons from God’s Smuggler

Summary

In Episode Three of the Well Worn Pages Book Club, hosts Christy Miller-Bell and Lori Behrens dig into one of the most challenging questions a believer can ask: when I pray, do I actually expect God to answer, or am I living with an attitude of lack?

Key takeaways:

* How we pray reveals how much we actually trust God.

* Brother Andrew modeled “flash prayers” — short, constant, breath-level prayers throughout the day — as a way of living out “pray without ceasing.”

* Praying specifically, without dictating to God how to answer, is a mark of real faith.

* Praying in teams — one person speaking, one praying — is a powerful and practical pattern.

* Living in an “attitude of lack” is a form of distrust, even when it looks like humility.

* God’s answers are not always what we expect, but they are always trustworthy.

* Surrendering a blessing can bring more peace than holding on to it.

We’d Love to Hear From You!

How has God answered prayers in your own life in unexpected ways? Comment below or email us at wellwornpagesbookclub@gmail.com.

In our next episode: How can one person make a difference?

Our Next Book

Next month we’ll be reading Desiring God by John Piper.

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” This simple but powerful statement has been a cornerstone of John Piper’s ministry for nearly 40 years. Laying out the principles behind this “Christian Hedonism” Desiring God has proved to be a source of rich theological insight for countless readers through the years, guiding them to the fullness of joy found in Christ.

Get your copy HERE!

All product links are affiliate links. Purchasing products from the links on this page helps support our ministry.

Christy Miller-Bell and Lori Behrens dig into Episode 2 of the Well Worn Pages Book Club, continuing their discussion of God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew. This conversation focuses on what it really means to trust God for daily needs, how obedience and trust are inseparable, and what it looks like to act in faith even when circumstances seem to say no.

Reader Guide Download:

Suggested Reading Schedule

Each episode for God’s Smuggler will discuss a theme woven throughout Brother Andrew’s life. This is a suggested guide for reading if you want to create your own discussion with friends.

Episode 1: Background of Brother Andrew’s Life — Chapters 1-7

Episode 2: Trusting God When All The Evidence Says “No” — Chapters 8-13

Episode 3: Praying It Through — Chapters 14-18

Episode 4: God’s Sovereignty & The Persecuted Church — Chapters 19-Epilogue

Key Takeaways From Episode 2

* Trusting God is not just a feeling. It shows up in how we respond when plans fall apart.

* Brother Andrew’s trust grew through small, repeated experiences of God’s provision.

* Every person’s obedience matters. God often works through a chain of ordinary people who each say yes.

* Trust and obedience go hand in hand. You can’t truly obey God if you don’t trust him.

Do We Really Trust God for Our Daily Needs?

The central question running through this episode is a personal and uncomfortable one. Do we actually trust God, or do we just say we do?

Christy: If you ask me, I would say, yeah, of course I trust God. But when it comes to everyday life, do I really? A lot of examples in this book have opened my eyes to the fact that I say I trust him, but when it comes down to my gut reaction, I rely on my own abilities.

The distinction Brother Andrew makes on page 72 is worth thinking about:

It was that I needed the security of a relationship.

The main point is trusting God, building the relationship with him, and letting him provide however He chooses.

Every Person’s Obedience Is Part the Plan

Christy: Every person’s obedience is important in the plan of God. It’s not just whether Andrew was obedient, but all of these other people in his life had to be obedient too. This quote represents the mindset that I want to have: “That’s the excitement in obedience, finding out later what God had in mind.”

This idea also shows up in how the Hopkins family modeled faith for young Andrew. When he arrived at their home, Mrs. Hopkins told him there was a drunk man asleep in his bed. Her response was not panic. She simply said that when he woke up, they would find him food and clothes, and she didn’t know where those would come from, but God would supply.

Christy: They were modeling obedience for him. And I think even in our own obedience, we are always a model for other people, whether we know it or not.

When All the Evidence Says No

One of the most striking moments in this section of the book comes early in Andrew’s ministry, around page 62. In a single day, three doors slam shut at once. His girlfriend ends their relationship because she wants no part of the ministry life. His English teacher admits she never actually learned to speak English properly. And a letter arrives rejecting Andrew’s application to school.

Lori: If that were me, I would have said, God, I must have heard you wrong. I would start second-guessing everything and making my own plans to go a different direction.

Christy: Andrew had such a close relationship with the Lord that he knew His voice. He knew what God was saying to him, even when it didn’t make logical sense. And he was willing to say, okay Lord, I hear you, and I’m going to be obedient, even if I don’t know what the next step is.

Trust and Obedience Are Inseparable

The thread running through everything Brother Andrew experienced is this: trust and obedience cannot be separated. If you really believe God is who he says he is, and that he will do what he says he will do, then you will act on that belief.

Andrew’s faith grew the way most faith does, not in one dramatic moment, but through small repeated experiences of God coming through. Each provision, each answered prayer, each unexpected door opening strengthened him for the next step.

Next week, Christy and Lori go deeper into Brother Andrew’s prayer life, looking at specific moments when he prayed and how God answered.

The key question to sit with until then is this:

* When I pray, do I expect God to answer, or do I live in an attitude of lack?

Join the Conversation!

Do you trust God when life doesn’t look like you expected?

Leave us a comment at wellwornpages.substack.com or email us at wellwornpagesbookclub@gmail.com.

OUR NEXT BOOK: Desiring God by John Piper

“Thus says the Lord: stand by the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” — Jeremiah 6:16

Part One

Get your reader guide for God’s Smuggler here.

Summary

Christy Miller-Bell and Lori Behrens kick off the Well Worn Pages Book Club with their first discussion of God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew, a Dutch missionary who smuggled Bibles into closed countries and founded Open Doors Ministry. They explore how God used every detail of Andrew’s early life to shape him for a ministry he couldn’t yet imagine.

Key takeaways:

* God begins drawing people to himself long before they are ready to respond.

* Surrender is both gradual and intentional. There is a process, but there is also a moment.

* Saying yes to God means dropping the “yes, but” qualifications.

* We often miss God’s movement because we are looking for something more spectacular.

* Faithfulness in small, ordinary assignments prepares us for larger ones.

* God uses unexpected people to move us forward.

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Who Was Brother Andrew?

Brother Andrew was a Dutch missionary born in Holland in 1928. He became famous for smuggling Bibles into countries where they were banned and went on to found Open Doors Ministry. His autobiography, God’s Smuggler, was first published in 1967. He passed away in 2022 at the age of 94.

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An Adventure-Seeking Kid Shaped by War

Andrew grew up dreaming of being a spy. That hunger for adventure never left him. When Germany invaded Holland in 1942, that restless personality eventually led him into the army.

Before he shipped out, his mother pressed her Bible into his hands.

Christy: “She says, ‘Andrew, will you take this with you?’ And of course I said yes. ‘Will you read it, Andrew?’ And he says, ‘Can you ever say no to your mother? You can do no, but you can’t say no.’ So he took the Bible, put it on the bottom of his duffel bag as far down as it would go, and forgot about it.”

The irony is hard to miss. The man who would later risk his life carrying Bibles across borders stuffed his first one as deep as it would go.

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God Was Always Drawing Him

Even before Andrew came to faith, God was weaving people and circumstances around him. A woman named Thile, a pen pal and believer, pushed him to read the Bible. When he was shot in the ankle and hospitalized, a friend named Jan quietly retrieved that buried Bible and left it at his bedside. The nuns caring for him pointed him toward it. One day he asked a nun why she was so cheerful. She replied, “It’s the love of Christ,” and tapped the little Bible sitting right there.

Lori: “Even in every little moment of his life, God was drawing him into a relationship.”

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The Monkey Story and a Moment He Ignored

One of the most striking scenes comes from his hospital bed. A nun named Sister Patrice told him how natives catch monkeys by placing a pebble inside a coconut with a hole just big enough for a paw. The monkey grabs the pebble but cannot pull his fist back out. He will never let go, so he is easily caught.

She looked at Andrew and asked, “Are you holding on to something, Andrew? Something that’s keeping you from your freedom?” Then she was gone.

Andrew knew exactly what she meant. His response? He got roaring drunk with army survivors to celebrate his 21st birthday.

He was still running.

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The Step of Yes

Surrender came gradually, then all at once. Andrew attended a church service, heard the song “Let My People Go,” and connected it to the monkey story. He dove into Bible study but still hadn’t surrendered. Then one quiet night, lying in bed staring at the ceiling, everything settled.

“All at once, very quietly, I let go of my ego. I turned myself over to God, lock, stock, and adventure. There wasn’t much faith in my prayer. I just said, ‘Lord, if you will show me the way, I will follow you. Amen.’ It was as simple as that.”

But the surrender kept going. Later, walking by a canal, he prayed through every excuse he had been clinging to.

“My yes to God had always been a yes, but. Yes, but I’m not educated. Yes, but I’m lame. And with the next breath, I did say yes. I said it in a brand new way without qualification.”

He called it the step of yes. When he stood up and walked forward, God healed his injured ankle.

Christy: “A pastor friend of mine used to say, ‘Put your yes on the table.’ Obedience is not you doing something. It’s you being willing to do the thing and letting God work.”

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Don’t Miss the Small Things

After surrendering his life to God, Andrew expected something grand. He took a job at a chocolate factory and dreamed the night before that coworkers would crowd around him, recognize he had something different, and kneel in repentance together. That is not what happened.

What did happen was quieter and more lasting. He met his future wife there. He led his first person to salvation there. He learned how to witness without making a show of it. That low-profile skill turned out to be essential for smuggling Bibles across hostile borders later on.

Lori: “Had he been seeking the grand thing and not gone to the chocolate factory, think of what he would have missed in the training God would use.”

This is the pattern throughout Andrew’s story. A magazine article about a youth rally in Warsaw caught his eye and launched his international ministry. An ordinary man named Karl De Graff taught him to drive when he didn’t even know he needed to learn. Small people in small towns doing quiet, faithful work made everything else possible.

As one mentor told Andrew: “Time and place are our own limitations, Andy. We mustn’t impose them upon God.”

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Next week, Christy and Lori ask: would you have the courage to follow God when all the evidence says no? Subscribe and share our podcast at wellwornpages.substack.com.

“Stand by the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” — Jeremiah 6:16

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