Longing to Pray – Day 16 “So is there a “right” time for prayer? The psalmists would endorse morning, noon, night, any hour, every hour. Saints in the Christian tradition would reinforce the idea that any time is an appropriate time for prayer; and most of them would also emphasize the importance of prayer early …
Longing to Pray – Day 15 “any place can become sacred space. The secret is not location, but the attitude of the heart. Because of our psychological makeup, we do well to establish some given spot, whether in our home, our church, or a walking path. It’s important also that we mark that place by …
Longing to Pray – Day 14 “So is a church – to move the Old Testament writer into our world – the best place to pray? In truth, there is something special about a church as a place to pray. Quite simply, when a building or a place is dedicated to a particular purpose, it …
Longing to Pray – Day 13 “Thinking that our posture wins favor with God or that it ensures an answer to prayer reduces prayer to magic; however, if we refuse to place ourselves under some particular, reasonable physical discipline, our pride can separate us from God.” Dr. Ellsworth Kalas, “Longing to Pray” Prayer prompt (also …
Longing to Pray – Day 12 Presumptuous Friendship: part 2 “The more we experience of the goodness of God, the more we are in danger of the ingratitude that neglects the source of that goodness. In any friendship, human or divine, we need to pause at frequent intervals and ask ourselves if we have allowed …
Longing to Pray – Day 11 Presumptuous Friendship: part 1 “The more we experience of the goodness of God, the more we are in danger of the ingratitude that neglects the source of that goodness. In any friendship, human or divine, we need to pause at frequent intervals and ask ourselves if we have allowed …
Longing to Pray – Day 10 “The psalmists didn’t lecture about time with God, they simply implemented it. Is there something to be said to God? Then say it – not once, but twice or three times. And don’t say it the same way each time to do so would be to engage in the …
Longing to Pray – Day 9 “those who pray best are those who schedule prayer into their day the way they schedule everything else that is important. I believe in Paul’s admonition to “pray without ceasing”, and I seek in my uneven way to fulfill his counsel. But I have learned – as perhaps you …
Longing to Pray – Day 8 “Now and then, as an average friendship grows, we confess that we had at first sold the other person short. We didn’t know how much there was to the person; we might even have thought the person was shallow, until we got below the surface. Then we realized the …
Longing to Pray – Day 7 “I take some strange comfort in Bonhoeffer’s saying that we “are inclined to pray too hurriedly.” Then it is not simply our speed-ridden, computer-driven, instant-satisfaction culture that can’t find time to pray, or that seeks quick-fix spirituality; Bonhoeffer dealt with the same problem sixty or seventy years ago. And …