Even Silence Is Praise

Are you curious about biblical Christian meditation? Through stories, practical advice, and helpful prompts, Rick Hamlin guides Christians to center their minds and hearts on God as they seek to hear the still small voice above all the noise and chaos in the world. Rick Hamlin has been unpacking the power of prayer in Finding God on the A Train and Ten Prayers You Can’t Live Without and the special Guideposts book, Prayer Works. In this new book, you will discover how meditation has deep Christian roots that go back for millennia, how it can be used to live more authentically and let go of anxiety, how to love more generously and find God’s will in your life, and how to grow in compassion, forgiveness, and acceptance. The steps are simple, and at the end of each chapter Hamlin offers specific exercises to enhance your practice. “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take his cross daily and follow me,” Jesus said to his followers. Meditative prayer offers a rich resource to do just that. Silence speaks volumes and becomes a tool for all Jesus followers.

In a crisis, all you can do is trust. You have to surrender, and surrender is at the heart of prayer. When Rick Hamlin was rushed to the ER, he was immediately admitted to the ICU. No quick diagnosis was made, and for two weeks the doctors struggled to keep his body alive as Rick struggled to keep his faith alive. PRAY FOR ME is the story of one man's spiritual odyssey to learn how to pray in a new way as healing slowly came and a medical crisis became a spiritual opportunity--a chance for him to learn he was being called to something new, to be born anew. In the end the doctors were never able to diagnose the cause of his illness, but Rick is convinced that the healing came through prayer.

A fresh new voice on the Christian writing scene offers the candid story of his search for an authentic spirituality. In this eloquent and moving portrait of prayer, every reader seeking genuine spiritual connection will find gentle lessons about how to pray and a glimpse of the blessings that prayer bestows, even in the midst of life's daily rush.

In this inspirational "how-to" book, Guideposts executive editor Rick Hamlin shares ten real-life ways of praying to God. He draws on the practical insight he has gained from the everyday men and women in the pages of Guideposts magazine and from his own lifelong journey in prayer. He encourages readers to think of prayer as an ongoing conversation that God; an ongoing conversation that should include everything. He expounds on the power of prayer. He discusses how to find a time and place for prayer every day, the importance of praying in times of crisis, of how to ask for forgiveness, and how to listen to the spiritual nudges God gives us. The 10 prayers are: Conversational prayers Mealtime prayers Prayers for others The Lord's Prayer Forgiveness prayers Crisis prayers Singing prayers Thanksgiving prayers The Jesus prayer "Yes and . . ." prayers (aka possibility prayers) This is a book filled with practical advice, insight, and inspirational stories; a book for anyone who wants to develop a rich and vibrant spiritual practice.

Fans of Bridgerton will love this "exuberant novel of manners for our own gilded age" (Stacy Schiff, author of Cleopatra) as we follow the Wilcox family's journey through riches and ruin. Among New York City's Gilded Age elite, one family will defy convention. Helen Wilcox has one desire: to successfully launch her daughters into society. From the upper crust herself, Helen's unconventional--if happy--marriage has made the girls' social position precarious. Then her husband gambles the family fortunes on an elevated railroad that he claims will transform the face of the city and the way the people of New York live, but will it ruin the Wilcoxes first? As daughters Jemima and Alice navigate the rise and fall of their family--each is forced to re-examine who she is, and even who she is meant to love. From the author of To Marry an English Lord, an inspiration for Downton Abbey, comes a charming and cutthroat tale of a world in which an invitation or an avoided glance can be the difference between fortune and ruin.

A deeply thoughtful, honest and illuminating memoir about a phenomenon too often neglected in the contemporary world.

It is traditional to think we should praise Abraham for his willingness to sacrifice his son as proof of his love for God. But have we misread the point of the story? Is it possible that a careful reading of Genesis 22 could reveal that God was not pleased with Abraham's silent obedience? Widely respected biblical theologian, creative thinker, and public speaker J. Richard Middleton suggests we have misread and misapplied the story of the binding of Isaac and shows that God desires something other than silent obedience in difficult times. Middleton focuses on the ethical and theological problem of Abraham's silence and explores the rich biblical tradition of vigorous prayer, including the lament psalms, as a resource for faith. Middleton also examines the book of Job in terms of God validating Job's lament as "right speech," showing how the vocal Job provides an alternative to the silent Abraham. This book provides a fresh interpretation of Genesis 22 and reinforces the church's resurgent interest in lament as an appropriate response to God.

He Speaks in the Silence is about Diane Comer’s search for the kind of intimacy with God every woman longs for. It is a story of trying to be a good girl, of following the rules, of longing for a satisfaction that eludes us. Disappointed with all Diane had been told was supposed to fulfill her, she begged God in desperation to give her more. And He did. But first He took her through a trial so debilitating it almost destroyed what little faith she had. He let her go deaf. Using vivid parallels between her deafness and every woman’s struggle to hear God, this book shows women not only how Diane, as a deaf woman, hears in everyday life, but also how she can learn to listen to God in the midst of her own loud life, finding intimacy with God and the deep soul satisfaction she longs for.