When It Feels Impossible to Pray

When It Feels Impossible to Pray

Author: Thomas McPherson

Publisher: Paraclete Press

Published: 2018-01-01

Total Pages: 65

ISBN-13: 1640601007

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When words don't come easily, there are still ways to pray. This little book can be your entry to talking with God — with and without words — in this most difficult time. For those who have experienced a sudden and terrible loss, it is important to realize that you don’t have to do the things one normally associates with prayer to actually be connecting with God in a way that’s prayer-like. Just sit still, if you like. Grieving people often find themselves doing a lot of sitting still. Stunned. Allow yourself a time to be quiet, to answer to no one, to accomplish nothing at all. Quietness in itself is where prayerfulness begins. “In the end prayer’s essence is simply this: We need to open ourselves to God in such a way that we are capable of hearing God say to us, individually, ‘I love you!’” —Ronald Rolheiser


Book Synopsis When It Feels Impossible to Pray by : Thomas McPherson

Download or read book When It Feels Impossible to Pray written by Thomas McPherson and published by Paraclete Press. This book was released on 2018-01-01 with total page 65 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When words don't come easily, there are still ways to pray. This little book can be your entry to talking with God — with and without words — in this most difficult time. For those who have experienced a sudden and terrible loss, it is important to realize that you don’t have to do the things one normally associates with prayer to actually be connecting with God in a way that’s prayer-like. Just sit still, if you like. Grieving people often find themselves doing a lot of sitting still. Stunned. Allow yourself a time to be quiet, to answer to no one, to accomplish nothing at all. Quietness in itself is where prayerfulness begins. “In the end prayer’s essence is simply this: We need to open ourselves to God in such a way that we are capable of hearing God say to us, individually, ‘I love you!’” —Ronald Rolheiser


What If I Don't Desire to Pray?

What If I Don't Desire to Pray?

Author: John Onwuchekwa

Publisher: Crossway

Published: 2020-02-27

Total Pages: 30

ISBN-13: 143356808X

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Many new believers have questions about what it means to live as a Christian in the context of a local church, and pastors are looking for resources to pass along to their congregations to help them think biblically about the Christian life. 9Marks Church Questions is a new series that seeks to provide ordinary Christians with sound and accessible biblical teaching by answering common questions Christians have about church life. Each volume offers biblical answers and practical applications with the goal of nurturing healthy church practice and commitment. This booklet aims to encourage Christians to speak to their heavenly Father through prayer as it helps them understand the basics of why, what, and how to pray, especially as they worship and serve alongside other Christians.


Book Synopsis What If I Don't Desire to Pray? by : John Onwuchekwa

Download or read book What If I Don't Desire to Pray? written by John Onwuchekwa and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2020-02-27 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many new believers have questions about what it means to live as a Christian in the context of a local church, and pastors are looking for resources to pass along to their congregations to help them think biblically about the Christian life. 9Marks Church Questions is a new series that seeks to provide ordinary Christians with sound and accessible biblical teaching by answering common questions Christians have about church life. Each volume offers biblical answers and practical applications with the goal of nurturing healthy church practice and commitment. This booklet aims to encourage Christians to speak to their heavenly Father through prayer as it helps them understand the basics of why, what, and how to pray, especially as they worship and serve alongside other Christians.


Extreme Prayer

Extreme Prayer

Author: Greg Pruett

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Published: 2014-03-01

Total Pages: 143

ISBN-13: 1414390661

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What do you do when your whole spiritual life falls apart? It is in these heart-hungry moments—when we feel overwhelmed or alone, struggle with unanswered prayers, aren’t sure what to do, or are crying out for God’s help—that we are surprisingly poised to pray the most effective kinds of prayers possible. Extreme Prayer taps into that longing for connection with God when we need it most by teaching us to pray the kinds of prayers Jesus promised to answer with unlimited power. It’s not about how to pray more . . . it’s about praying differently, and intentionally tapping into all of Jesus’s open-ended promises in a way that achieves maximum Kingdom impact. In Extreme Prayer, Greg Pruett searches the Scriptures to discover the kinds of prayers that God has promised to answer, challenging you to access their power and see His immeasurable glory unleashed in your prayer life.


Book Synopsis Extreme Prayer by : Greg Pruett

Download or read book Extreme Prayer written by Greg Pruett and published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2014-03-01 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What do you do when your whole spiritual life falls apart? It is in these heart-hungry moments—when we feel overwhelmed or alone, struggle with unanswered prayers, aren’t sure what to do, or are crying out for God’s help—that we are surprisingly poised to pray the most effective kinds of prayers possible. Extreme Prayer taps into that longing for connection with God when we need it most by teaching us to pray the kinds of prayers Jesus promised to answer with unlimited power. It’s not about how to pray more . . . it’s about praying differently, and intentionally tapping into all of Jesus’s open-ended promises in a way that achieves maximum Kingdom impact. In Extreme Prayer, Greg Pruett searches the Scriptures to discover the kinds of prayers that God has promised to answer, challenging you to access their power and see His immeasurable glory unleashed in your prayer life.


Learning to Pray

Learning to Pray

Author: James Martin

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2021-02-02

Total Pages: 395

ISBN-13: 0062643258

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A smart, wise, often side-splittingly funny master class in seeking God. Any spiritual seeker—from atheist to professional religious—will cherish this bravura tome from one of our great spiritual guides, in the lineage of C. S. Lewis, Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, Gandhi, and Mother Teresa. Hallelujah & amen!”—Mary Karr, author of Lit and The Liar’s Club One of America’s most beloved spiritual leaders and the New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Jesus: A Pilgrimage teaches anyone to converse with God in this comprehensive guide to prayer. In The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, Father James Martin included a chapter on communicating with God. Now, he expands those thoughts in this profound and practical handbook. Learning to Pray explains what prayer is, what to expect from praying, how to do it, and how it can transform us when we make it a regular practice in our lives. A trusted guide walking beside us as we navigate our unique spiritual paths, Martin lays out the different styles and traditions of prayer throughout Christian history and invites us to experiment and discover which works best to feed our soul and build intimacy with our Creator. Father Martin makes clear there is not one secret formula for praying. But like any relationship, each person can discover the best style for building an intimate relationship with God, regardless of religion or denomination. Prayer, he teaches us, is open and accessible to anyone willing to open their heart.


Book Synopsis Learning to Pray by : James Martin

Download or read book Learning to Pray written by James Martin and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-02-02 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A smart, wise, often side-splittingly funny master class in seeking God. Any spiritual seeker—from atheist to professional religious—will cherish this bravura tome from one of our great spiritual guides, in the lineage of C. S. Lewis, Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, Gandhi, and Mother Teresa. Hallelujah & amen!”—Mary Karr, author of Lit and The Liar’s Club One of America’s most beloved spiritual leaders and the New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Jesus: A Pilgrimage teaches anyone to converse with God in this comprehensive guide to prayer. In The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, Father James Martin included a chapter on communicating with God. Now, he expands those thoughts in this profound and practical handbook. Learning to Pray explains what prayer is, what to expect from praying, how to do it, and how it can transform us when we make it a regular practice in our lives. A trusted guide walking beside us as we navigate our unique spiritual paths, Martin lays out the different styles and traditions of prayer throughout Christian history and invites us to experiment and discover which works best to feed our soul and build intimacy with our Creator. Father Martin makes clear there is not one secret formula for praying. But like any relationship, each person can discover the best style for building an intimate relationship with God, regardless of religion or denomination. Prayer, he teaches us, is open and accessible to anyone willing to open their heart.


When You Don't Know What to Pray

When You Don't Know What to Pray

Author: Linda Evans Shepherd

Publisher: Baker Books

Published: 2010-02-01

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 9781441207692

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It's easy to pray for others' needs. If God takes a long time in answering--or answers with a no--it's easier to take. Far more difficult is focusing on your own needs, when sometimes you don't get the answers you want. What do you pray when life gets hard or even unbearable? When you lose a spouse or a child? When your health deteriorates? When your spiritual life seems barren? Linda Evans Shepherd knows what it's like to pray in the most dire of circumstances. She shows readers the how, what, and when of praying for themselves. As she takes readers through her own prayer journey and the stories of others, they will be encouraged and equipped to pray for themselves in any circumstance. They'll also find that whether or not God changes their circumstances, he will use prayer to change them.


Book Synopsis When You Don't Know What to Pray by : Linda Evans Shepherd

Download or read book When You Don't Know What to Pray written by Linda Evans Shepherd and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2010-02-01 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's easy to pray for others' needs. If God takes a long time in answering--or answers with a no--it's easier to take. Far more difficult is focusing on your own needs, when sometimes you don't get the answers you want. What do you pray when life gets hard or even unbearable? When you lose a spouse or a child? When your health deteriorates? When your spiritual life seems barren? Linda Evans Shepherd knows what it's like to pray in the most dire of circumstances. She shows readers the how, what, and when of praying for themselves. As she takes readers through her own prayer journey and the stories of others, they will be encouraged and equipped to pray for themselves in any circumstance. They'll also find that whether or not God changes their circumstances, he will use prayer to change them.


How to Pray When You're Pissed at God

How to Pray When You're Pissed at God

Author: Ian Punnett

Publisher: Harmony

Published: 2013-04-30

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 0307986047

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When things really go wrong, what do you do with the feeling that God is to blame? A popular Coast to Coast radio host (and Episcopal clergy) provides some answers. In a first of its kind book, Ian Punnett provides a spiritual path for expressing your rawest emotions through prayer and how to rebuild a relationship with one's higher power--or anybody else in your life. In this important and practical book, Ian Punnett provides insight on feeling anger and resentment toward God and offers advice on how to deal with the pain and blame that accompanies these emotions. In a book that is edgy, timely, funny and compassionate, Punnett presents real help in everyday language for transforming the negativity of anger into a positive and useful force that will ultimately help us pray more effectively, bring us closer to God, enhance our spiritual relationship, and change the way we live and love others. After a divorce, a broken friendship, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job or even the accumulation of all the tiny cracks in our spirit from life's disappointments, it’s easy to feel pissed at God. When anger is left unchecked, it is harmful to our minds, bodies and souls. “How to Pray When You’re Pissed at God is not “the last word” on angry prayer,” Punnett writes, “but it might be the first words you have ever heard on the topic. By the end of the book, it is my hope that you’ll understand the role of anger in our lives, the benefit of honest prayer, and the need for honest, angry prayer in the lives of the faithful and faithless.”


Book Synopsis How to Pray When You're Pissed at God by : Ian Punnett

Download or read book How to Pray When You're Pissed at God written by Ian Punnett and published by Harmony. This book was released on 2013-04-30 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When things really go wrong, what do you do with the feeling that God is to blame? A popular Coast to Coast radio host (and Episcopal clergy) provides some answers. In a first of its kind book, Ian Punnett provides a spiritual path for expressing your rawest emotions through prayer and how to rebuild a relationship with one's higher power--or anybody else in your life. In this important and practical book, Ian Punnett provides insight on feeling anger and resentment toward God and offers advice on how to deal with the pain and blame that accompanies these emotions. In a book that is edgy, timely, funny and compassionate, Punnett presents real help in everyday language for transforming the negativity of anger into a positive and useful force that will ultimately help us pray more effectively, bring us closer to God, enhance our spiritual relationship, and change the way we live and love others. After a divorce, a broken friendship, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job or even the accumulation of all the tiny cracks in our spirit from life's disappointments, it’s easy to feel pissed at God. When anger is left unchecked, it is harmful to our minds, bodies and souls. “How to Pray When You’re Pissed at God is not “the last word” on angry prayer,” Punnett writes, “but it might be the first words you have ever heard on the topic. By the end of the book, it is my hope that you’ll understand the role of anger in our lives, the benefit of honest prayer, and the need for honest, angry prayer in the lives of the faithful and faithless.”


Praying Through

Praying Through

Author: Jarrett Stevens

Publisher: NavPress

Published: 2020-01-07

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1631469843

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Life can be hard. Prayer doesn’t have to be. Whatever is going on with you right now, God is actually interested. And yet connecting with God through prayer can often feel foreign, challenging, or beyond our reach. But here’s the thing: You’re already awesome at prayer. You just don’t know it . . . yet. Through over twenty years of pastoring and writing, Jarrett Stevens has made it his mission to connect the dots between God and our everyday lives. With fresh biblical insights, powerful stories, and spiritually practical practices, Praying Through will help you connect with God in fresh and meaningful ways no matter what season you may be going through. Whether you’re new to prayer, or God seems silent, or you’re grieving a loss, or you need direction, or you're feeling grateful and don’t know how to express it—you don’t have to let these obstacles keep you from God. There is a way for you to pray through!


Book Synopsis Praying Through by : Jarrett Stevens

Download or read book Praying Through written by Jarrett Stevens and published by NavPress. This book was released on 2020-01-07 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life can be hard. Prayer doesn’t have to be. Whatever is going on with you right now, God is actually interested. And yet connecting with God through prayer can often feel foreign, challenging, or beyond our reach. But here’s the thing: You’re already awesome at prayer. You just don’t know it . . . yet. Through over twenty years of pastoring and writing, Jarrett Stevens has made it his mission to connect the dots between God and our everyday lives. With fresh biblical insights, powerful stories, and spiritually practical practices, Praying Through will help you connect with God in fresh and meaningful ways no matter what season you may be going through. Whether you’re new to prayer, or God seems silent, or you’re grieving a loss, or you need direction, or you're feeling grateful and don’t know how to express it—you don’t have to let these obstacles keep you from God. There is a way for you to pray through!


Prayer Power

Prayer Power

Author: Marci Alborghetti

Publisher: Ideals Publications

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780824947163

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This comprehensive guide to spiritual renewal offers practical advice to anyone who has ever felt stuck in their prayer life or has felt that God seems far away. Specific points of need include caregiving, times of mourning, periods of illness, when dangers threaten, and feelings of failure.


Book Synopsis Prayer Power by : Marci Alborghetti

Download or read book Prayer Power written by Marci Alborghetti and published by Ideals Publications. This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive guide to spiritual renewal offers practical advice to anyone who has ever felt stuck in their prayer life or has felt that God seems far away. Specific points of need include caregiving, times of mourning, periods of illness, when dangers threaten, and feelings of failure.


Praying the Rosary Like Never Before

Praying the Rosary Like Never Before

Author: Edward Sri

Publisher: Franciscan Media

Published: 2017-07-14

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 1632531798

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Fans of Edward Sri’s The New Rosary in Scripture will love this updated and expanded collection of his thoughts on the rosary! “These words express, so to speak, the wonder of heaven and earth; they could be said to give a glimpse of God’s own wonderment as he contemplates his ‘masterpiece’—the Incarnation of the Son in the womb of the Virgin Mary.” —Saint John Paul II Do you have two and a half minutes in your day that you can give to God? This is the beauty of the rosary. You don’t have to pray the rosary all at once and you can pray it anywhere! Do you struggle with praying the rosary: finding time, fighting distractions, worrying about your mind wandering? In Praying the Rosary Like Never Before, Edward Sri offers practical suggestions that come from the rosary’s tradition and, most especially, St. John Paul II. These helpful tips will make the rosary a constant companions through the different seasons, moments, and challenges we all face. These tips serve as easy on-ramps for those who don’t pray the rosary regularly motivate avid devotees of the rosary to go deeper with the Lord. “Offering God a decade or two in the midst of my daily life gives him something beautiful, even if I give it without my full, relaxed, undivided attention,” says Sri. “I’m giving God some space in my day and filling it with words of praise for him.” You will find answers to common questions such as the significance of the Hail Mary, whether the attention given to Mary distracts us from God, the meaning of all the repetition, where the rosary came from, what to think about for each of the mysteries, and whether one should focus on the prayers or the mysteries. You will also find biblical reflections on the twenty mysteries of the rosary that provide practical insights to help you not only understand the twenty mysteries but also live them. In this book, Sri takes what he did in The New Rosary in Scripture to a new level.


Book Synopsis Praying the Rosary Like Never Before by : Edward Sri

Download or read book Praying the Rosary Like Never Before written by Edward Sri and published by Franciscan Media. This book was released on 2017-07-14 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fans of Edward Sri’s The New Rosary in Scripture will love this updated and expanded collection of his thoughts on the rosary! “These words express, so to speak, the wonder of heaven and earth; they could be said to give a glimpse of God’s own wonderment as he contemplates his ‘masterpiece’—the Incarnation of the Son in the womb of the Virgin Mary.” —Saint John Paul II Do you have two and a half minutes in your day that you can give to God? This is the beauty of the rosary. You don’t have to pray the rosary all at once and you can pray it anywhere! Do you struggle with praying the rosary: finding time, fighting distractions, worrying about your mind wandering? In Praying the Rosary Like Never Before, Edward Sri offers practical suggestions that come from the rosary’s tradition and, most especially, St. John Paul II. These helpful tips will make the rosary a constant companions through the different seasons, moments, and challenges we all face. These tips serve as easy on-ramps for those who don’t pray the rosary regularly motivate avid devotees of the rosary to go deeper with the Lord. “Offering God a decade or two in the midst of my daily life gives him something beautiful, even if I give it without my full, relaxed, undivided attention,” says Sri. “I’m giving God some space in my day and filling it with words of praise for him.” You will find answers to common questions such as the significance of the Hail Mary, whether the attention given to Mary distracts us from God, the meaning of all the repetition, where the rosary came from, what to think about for each of the mysteries, and whether one should focus on the prayers or the mysteries. You will also find biblical reflections on the twenty mysteries of the rosary that provide practical insights to help you not only understand the twenty mysteries but also live them. In this book, Sri takes what he did in The New Rosary in Scripture to a new level.


Where the Light Fell

Where the Light Fell

Author: Philip Yancey

Publisher: Convergent Books

Published: 2023-03-14

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0593238524

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In this searing meditation on the bonds of family and the allure of extremist faith, one of today’s most celebrated Christian writers recounts his unexpected journey from a strict fundamentalist upbringing to a life of compassion and grace—a revelatory memoir that “invites comparison to Hillbilly Elegy” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). “Searing, heartrending . . . This stunning tale reminds us that the only way to keep living is to ask God for the impossible: love, forgiveness, and hope.”—Kate Bowler, New York Times bestselling author of Everything Happens for a Reason Raised by an impoverished widow who earned room and board as a Bible teacher in 1950s Atlanta, Philip Yancey and his brother, Marshall, found ways to venture out beyond the confines of their eight-foot-wide trailer. But when Yancey was in college, he uncovered a shocking secret about his father’s death—a secret that began to illuminate the motivations that drove his mother to extreme, often hostile religious convictions and a belief that her sons had been ordained for a divine cause. Searching for answers, Yancey dives into his family origins, taking us on an evocative journey from the backwoods of the Bible Belt to the bustling streets of Philadelphia; from trailer parks to church sanctuaries; from family oddballs to fire-and-brimstone preachers and childhood awakenings through nature, music, and literature. In time, the weight of religious and family pressure sent both sons on opposite paths—one toward healing from the impact of what he calls a “toxic faith,” the other into a self-destructive spiral. Where the Light Fell is a gripping family narrative set against a turbulent time in post–World War II America, shaped by the collision of Southern fundamentalism with the mounting pressures of the civil rights movement and Sixties-era forces of social change. In piecing together his fragmented personal history and his search for redemption, Yancey gives testament to the enduring power of our hunger for truth and the possibility of faith rooted in grace instead of fear. “I truly believe this is the one book I was put on earth to write,” says Yancey. “So many of the strands from my childhood—racial hostility, political division, culture wars—have resurfaced in modern form. Looking back points me forward.”


Book Synopsis Where the Light Fell by : Philip Yancey

Download or read book Where the Light Fell written by Philip Yancey and published by Convergent Books. This book was released on 2023-03-14 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this searing meditation on the bonds of family and the allure of extremist faith, one of today’s most celebrated Christian writers recounts his unexpected journey from a strict fundamentalist upbringing to a life of compassion and grace—a revelatory memoir that “invites comparison to Hillbilly Elegy” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). “Searing, heartrending . . . This stunning tale reminds us that the only way to keep living is to ask God for the impossible: love, forgiveness, and hope.”—Kate Bowler, New York Times bestselling author of Everything Happens for a Reason Raised by an impoverished widow who earned room and board as a Bible teacher in 1950s Atlanta, Philip Yancey and his brother, Marshall, found ways to venture out beyond the confines of their eight-foot-wide trailer. But when Yancey was in college, he uncovered a shocking secret about his father’s death—a secret that began to illuminate the motivations that drove his mother to extreme, often hostile religious convictions and a belief that her sons had been ordained for a divine cause. Searching for answers, Yancey dives into his family origins, taking us on an evocative journey from the backwoods of the Bible Belt to the bustling streets of Philadelphia; from trailer parks to church sanctuaries; from family oddballs to fire-and-brimstone preachers and childhood awakenings through nature, music, and literature. In time, the weight of religious and family pressure sent both sons on opposite paths—one toward healing from the impact of what he calls a “toxic faith,” the other into a self-destructive spiral. Where the Light Fell is a gripping family narrative set against a turbulent time in post–World War II America, shaped by the collision of Southern fundamentalism with the mounting pressures of the civil rights movement and Sixties-era forces of social change. In piecing together his fragmented personal history and his search for redemption, Yancey gives testament to the enduring power of our hunger for truth and the possibility of faith rooted in grace instead of fear. “I truly believe this is the one book I was put on earth to write,” says Yancey. “So many of the strands from my childhood—racial hostility, political division, culture wars—have resurfaced in modern form. Looking back points me forward.”