The Folly Of Prayer

Prayer can feel mysteriously difficult, boringly perfunctory and frustratingly out of our control. Often prayer brings us comfort, but sometimes, especially when there aren t easy resolutions or prayers go unanswered, it intensifies and focuses our sense of longing, pain and care. And often God uses our times of darkness and desperation to awaken our hearts to the ache within us--and the cries of those suffering around us. Prayer is all about coming before God to face life head-on, with all its jagged edges of mystery, joy, longing and agony. In fact, says pastor Matt Woodley, prayer is actually a real encounter with the untamable God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore our experience of it should reflect the power, mystery and even risk of entering into relationship with the Lord of the universe. In this book Woodley strips away all the religious-speak and presuppositions we have about prayer, distilling it to the essence of wholehearted engagement with the living God. Exploring an earthy, unadorned, jargon-free approach to prayer, Woodley unpacks a host of fresh synonyms for God-encounters, including prayer as desperation, invocation, mystery, astonishment, groaning and even absence. These marginal ways of praying compel us to engage marginal people--the desperate, the groaning, the victimized and the ignored. As we pray God will open our eyes to the pain of the world around us. With stories from his own experience and biblical and historical examples, Woodley gives fresh language to describe a life grounded in prayer that leads to compassion and service.

Sometimes our walk with God seems so difficult. We struggle to find the time to pray, the words to say, and the way to pray them. Are we making prayer more complicated than it needs to be? Charlie Dawes is a pastor and professor who understands both the desires and the challenges of deepening our prayer lives. He has identified simple, biblical prayers that will help you unlock the mystery of conversing with God by paring our words down to their most elemental level. By focusing our prayers, we can open up a new way of relating with God that we have never before experienced. Simple prayer is far from simplistic. Instead, it will help you connect with God at a heart level that cannot be mastered with words alone.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. [ Hebrews 4:16 NKJV ] You have been given a tremendous gift, rooted in God's desire to know you personally. It is called prayer. Prayer is God's invitation for you to enter into his presence with confidence, to hand Him all your hurts, needs, and worries. Prayer is God's antidote to the toxins of fear, cynicism, skepticism, and self-centeredness that swirl around us. In this book, you will find prayers for your every need in life— finances, career, marriage, family, attitudes both good and bad, temptation, purpose, your country, and so much more.

Offers fresh answers to the age-old question, "Why pray?" Building from the shared prayer forms of many faiths, Wikstrom offers a modern prayer bead practice that you can make your own. In addition, the author includes practical suggestions for composing prayers to use with the beads. Simply Pray is an excellent guide for anyone seeking a unique spiritual practice that is deeply rooted in the world's great religions. Wikstrom identifies and defines the four major types of prayer that are practiced by all the world's major religions: * Naming the many ways in which the holy is present in daily life and the wider world * Knowing the self introspectively --both in its strengths and weaknesses * Listening to the "voice of quiet stillness" that resides in each individual * Loving by reaching out to the world Simply Pray uses these four core prayer types to develop a modern worship practice, using prayer beads as a frame of reference. The book offers illustrated prayer-bead techniques that can be used directly or customized for personal use. There are also helpful tips on how to make prayer a part of your daily routine, as well as how to to make prayer beads and the benefits of using them: * Prayer beads serve as a focus for meditation. Much more than a mnemonic aid to prayer, prayer beads engage the senses to create a state of mindfulness. * Prayer beads are mobile altars. Simply touching the beads as they rest in a pocket, briefcase, or purse brings a prayerful presence to mundane moments. * Prayer beads serve as reminders of prayer and help keep track of prayers. Simply Pray is for anyone who is seeking a modern prayer practice that is deeply rooted in world tradition.