I have been immersing myself in Irish poet Padraig O'Tuama's gentle prayer book, "Being Here: Prayers for Curiosity, Justice and Love" each morning. It is gorgeous, spare and thought-provoking in the best ways. Here is the opening prayer I read each morning: Turning to the day and to each other we open ourselves to the […]

I preached a sermon this past weekend on prayer. I shared this quote from monk David Steindl-Rast: “Prayer is waking up to the presence of God no matter where I am or what I am doing.” Isn't that lovely? So simple. All pressure removed to have some kind of formalized ritual or program. It brings […]

I love how author Brian Doyle writes about prayer: "I have never thought that prayers of request can be answered; I do not think that is the way of the Mercy; yet we do whisper prayers of supplication; I think we always have, since long before our species arrived in this form. Sometimes I think […]

I am in the midst of re-reading one of my favorite books, The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality, by Ronald Rolheiser. I seek out Rolheiser's writing when my weariness about the American church and its unhappy romance with politics causes me to feel despair. I ground myself in the deeper truths of […]

A few days ago I wrote about a deeper kind of silence described by Robert Mulholland. Have you ever asked yourself, "What am I supposed to do during times of silence? ???? Today, I want to share one of the most profoundly helpful tips ever offered to me as I think about what I might […]

One thing I despise is simple answers to questions about prayer. There is something that rings so false to me when people act like they have prayer and God all figured out. As if God could ever be "figured out." As if prayer is like some kind of cosmic slot machine. This is why I […]