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Prayer, Plain and Simple

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 – 1153) was a French monk and the inspirational leader behind the Cistercian monastic movement. The Cistercians were influential in reawakening the need for practical work in the world back the Western Christianity. Bernard taught that followers of Jesus should have skills in gardening, farming, architecture, and caring for animals.…

Will God cut a deal? I don’t know about you, but I often pray as though I believe he will. Is bargaining prayer legit? Will God swap favor of favor? Let’s explore this question this week. I’ll prime the pump with another bit from my book, “Six Prayers God Always Answers.”  Does God negotiate? Will…

Kudos to Allen Wright, the Sacramento teenager who dreamed up a brilliant new application for the Apple iPhone called “A Note to God.” Wright, 17 and a student at Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks, California said he got idea while lying in bed and feeling lonesome. He submitted his concept to Medl Mobile,…

Recommendation: Read “Hugo’s” very articulate, very honest response to Friday’s post “The prayer God hates to answer… but will.” Also, read the tender and gracious response to Hugo posted by “All4God.” Hugo and his family endured a bitter and unjust tragedy – the murder of his father. Hugo claims that it’s “nonsense” to suggest that…

On Wednesday I posted an excerpt from an interview that poet and force behind www.popthought.com , Alex Ness posted on his blog last year. Here’s another. Background: We’re talking about “Six Prayers God Always Answers,” one of the books I’ve written with Jennifer Schuchmann. Alex Ness: Your book title suggests that you know which prayers…

Sometimes we learn best by modeling those who go before us. We can learn by our own experiences; we can learn by the experiences and counsel of others. One way to grow in prayer: emulate those who pray easily and naturally and simple. Here’s a beautiful prayer often attributed to the 13th-century saint, Francis of…

Last year, my poet/blogger/cultural-critic/brain-trust behind “Popthought” friend Alex Ness, ran an interview he did reviewing “Six Prayers God Always Answers” the book I wrote last year with Jennifer Schuchmann. Alex has a poignant way of cutting through the “c” to get to the heart of matters of things “spiritual.” Over the next couple days I’ll post…

Sometimes I “try” to pray, with a deliberate discipline and effort. Well and good. But other times I find that prayers come bursting out of me accidently. I wonder, is reaching out to God when I’m at the raw edges of my life really the most natural way to live and the most natural way…

I’m feeling vulnerable in my relationship with God today. I began by asking him for wisdom about our family finances, which – with two kids in college and a couple boys eating us out of house and home – are looking a bit depleted. So I’m praying for wisdom and for blessing. I’m asking God…

God is teaching me to talk. Like a parent patiently listening and answering a stumbling and fumbling 18 month old child who is just learning the ropes of human language, God sitts with me as I bumble my way through the process of learning to communicate. It’s a slow process, learning the ropes in this…
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