Spiritual Formation: Prayer
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Four Prayers for Your Financial Crisis
No money for movies. No money for dinners out. No money for anything but essentials like food, gas, and toilet paper. Not exactly the dream life, is it?
But it's the life millions of Americans face in the current economic crisis. Foreclosures, unemployment, and stock market drops were once topics for news headlines. Now those topics fill our dinner conversations and our prayer requests.
I know what ...
Related Topics: Finances, financial problems, Prayer
Great Question: Does repeated prayer for a need show lack of faith?
This important question has been pondered many times throughout church history. As a matter of fact, theologian John Calvin was dealing with the exact same question when he preached these wise words almost 500 years ago: "We must repeat the same supplications not twice or three times only, but as often as we have a need, a hundred and a thousand times. … We must never weary in waiting for God's ...
I Was a Failure at Prayer
Ever since I became a Christian, I've worried about praying. Should I pray to God the Father? To Jesus? To the Comforter God sent to advocate for us after Jesus left our world? Should I favor unmistakably sacred topics—gratitude, praise, others' salvation—over my daily worries and complaints? And how, precisely, does one go about conversing with someone not physically present?
Expert advice ...
Creative Connection
For years, my prayers were scattered. I'd start with the crisis of the day, then mentally spin off to groceries I needed or calls I had to make. Then I'd nod off for a short nap, and wake with the resolution to "pray harder" next time.
That all changed the day I leafed through a stack of family photographs and found myself praying for each person pictured. As I looked at my children's smiling, hope-filled ...
Related Topics: Busyness, Creativity, Family, Friends, Prayer, Time management
"I'll Be Praying for You"
I sat across the table from my friend Susan, searching her pain-filled eyes and wondering how I could help. Her situation was outside my realm of influence: She had suffered an unexpected personal attack from former friends within the congregation her husband pastored. And I had no words to right the wrongs or ease her aching heart. "I'm sorry," I attempted weakly. She half-smiled, then asked me to ...
Related Topics: Friendship, Hardship, Prayer
Honda Prayers
Five minutes before arriving at church this past Sunday, I turned off the too–loud worship music (it was a sunny day that demanded volume) and had a conversation with God.
It had been one of those mornings. When I'd put on my pants, five minutes after I'd meant to leave for church, I remembered that my left pant–leg hem had ripped out the last time I'd worn them. I chuckled when I saw ...
Fresh Air
It's ironic. I used to call the time I set aside for God my "quiet time." However, those times, filled with words—the words I read, studied, wrote, or whispered toward the ceiling, wondering if God even heard—felt anything but quiet. They felt more like "doing" times—as in completing tasks on a list. And, truth be told, sometimes they also felt like "doing time," as in punishment or ...
Related Topics: Bible Study, God, Listening to, God, Talking to, Lectio Divina, Prayer, Breath, Quiet Time, Slowing Down
Prayer Partner
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But this ordinary man has an extraordinary insight and commitment to prayer. To become a prayer warrior, he says, we simply need to recognize windows of opportunity. Windows that are all around us as we move through our daily routine: eating, working, playing, sleeping—even grocery shopping.
Ray wasn't always this committed to his faith. Though a pastor's son and raised in a Christian home, ...
A Skeptic's Singleness Prayers
"I've told God this is going to be the year," my friend Jenny announced recently over lunch. "I don't have to get married within the next year, I just want to meet the guy."
"Oh really," I said with what I hoped was a small amount of skepticism in my voice. Something about "telling God" anything made me a smidge nervous. But I wanted to hear my friend out before jumping in with my reservations.
"Yeah," ...
Mountain Mover
It's 9 p.m., and a busy hotel isn't the best place to conduct an interview. So Patricia Raybon has a simple idea: "Let's call it a day and try again later," she says. "We'll find a better time."
Patricia's learned a thing or two about the importance of timing. She knows waiting can be a good thing, even when it involves waiting for answers to prayer. But her wisdom on this subject is hard-earned; just ...
Related Topics: Healing, Pray, How to, Prayer, power of, Prodigals
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