God, we pray for the shattered people of Israel. **Lord, have mercy ... And for the innocent civilians in Palestine. Lord, have mercy ... May the hostages be freed safe and sound. Lord, have mercy ... May the grief-stricken and traumatized be allowed their grief and offered comfort in the midst of the unimaginable. Lord, […]
My oldest daughter was studying overseas in Rabat, Morocco. We flew over to visit. I had never been to a primarily Muslim country. It felt strange and beautiful. One afternoon we walked through the city to meet our daughter for lunch. For the second time that day, the call to prayer rose up from the […]
"Is there an angel in the house? If there is, come to me… and if you aren't too tired, or otherwise occupied, and if it isn't too tacky a request, please rock me. I am bruised. If you will hold me until morning, I promise I will rise and light the fire and break the […]
One idea that has helped me with prayer more than almost any other comes from a Norwegian Christian named Ole Hallesby. In his classic book, simply called Prayer, I first encountered this idea: "Prayer is simply helplessness combined with faith." Hallesby says more to help us understand this simple, yet profound truth: "Prayer and helplessness […]
We make prayer so hard … Sometimes, I think we make it so hard as a way to avoid praying. Other times, I think we make it hard because we want to make prayer seem bigger and more magical than it really is … But sometimes, I think we make it hard because we are […]
