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Prayer

Select a Category "cultured despisers" "Knife: Meditations after an Attempted Murder" "Mountaintop" Experiences "The Second Coming" 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 1 Timothy 1:12-17 1 Timothy 1:14 1776 21st Century 24-Hour News Cycle 250 Anniversary 9/11 Abide abortion Abraham Abraham Cycle Absolution Abuse ACNA Acts Acts 2 Advent Advent 3 Advent One Afghanistan Aging Agnosticism Agnostics Akedah Al Mohler Albert Mohler Albert Outler All Saints All Saints Day Allies Ally ALS Alzheimer's America AMIA Amy Coney Barrett Anarchists Anarchy Anger Anglican Anglican Church Anglican Communion Animals Anniversaries of Loss anorexia Anxiety Apocalypse Apocalyptic Apocalyptic Dread apocalyptic literature Apologetic Theology Apologize Apology Apostle Apostle Paul Archbishop Desmond Tutu Archbishop of Canterbury Art Acevedo Asbury University Ascension Ash Wednesday Ashes to Go Ashes with glitter Atheism Atheists Atonement Augustine Authority Authors Awake Awareness Baptism Baptism and Eucharist Baptism by fire Baptism by Spirit and by Fire Baptism of Christ Baptism of the Holy Spirit Baptismal Covenant baptismal vows Baptizing Jesus Baton Rouge BBC BCP Beatitudes Belief Believing Benedict Benedict's Rule Benedictine Benefactor Beneficiary Benton Johnson Beth Dutton Bexley Bi-vocational Ministry Bible biblical creation Biblical Interpretation Biblical Narrative Big Bang Bill Brosend Bill of Rights Bioethics Bishops Black Lives Matter Blessed Board of Examining Chaplains Body Image Body of Christ Book of Common Prayer Book of Discipline Book of Revelation Book subtitles Book titles Books Boomers Boundaries Bret Weinstien Brian Thompson Buddy Christ Buffalo Buildings bulemia C. 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Lyon Robin DiAngelo Robin Williams Rock Concert Roman Catholic Church Romans 13:1-7 Ronald A. Binzley Ronald L. Numbers Rosh Hashanah Rough beast Rowan Williams Royal Wedding Rueben P. Job Rule of Life running Russia Ruth Bader Ginsburg sacrament Sacramental Sacraments Sacred Space Sacrifice of Isaac SAG Awards Saints Salman Rushdie Salvation Sanctification Sarah Mullally Sarah Olson Saving Work of God SBNR SBNRs Schism School safety School shootings Science Science and Christianity Science and Religion Scientific rationalism Scot McKnight Scripture Seabury Seabury-Bexley Second Corinthians Seeing Seekers Self-Care Self-examination Self-Governance semeia Seminarians Seminaries Seminary Seminary education Seneca Sentimentality Sequel Sergey Brin Sermon Preparation Sermons Servant Service SETs Sex Sexism Sexual Harrassment Sexual Revolution Shame Shanghai Shenandoah Shutdown signs Silence Sin Sin and Guilt Skepticism Slavery Snake Pit Snakes Sobriety Social agenda Social Media Sola Scriptura Solidarity Son of Man Soren Kierkegaard Sorrow Soteriology Soul Care South Africa Southern Baptist Church Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Sovereignty speaking truth to power Speech Spin Spiritual Spiritual but not religious Spiritual Community Spiritual Direction Spiritual Directors International Spiritual Disciplines Spiritual Formation Spiritual Formaton Spiritual growth Spiritual Guidance Spiritual journey Spiritual Leadership Spiritual maturity Spiritual Perspectives Spiritual practice Spiritual Receptivity Spirituality Spiritually awake Squirrel Hill St. Francis of Assisi St. Ignatius St. Ignatius of Loyola St. John Chrysostom St. Matthew St. Paul Star Wars Stephen Hawking Steven Charleston Stewardship Stoicism Story Stranger Things Stuck Student Evaluations Suffering Suffering Messiah Suicide supernatural Supreme Court Syria Søren Kierkegaard Teaching of Jesus TEC TED Talk Television Temple Temptation Temptation of Jesus teras Termination of Care Terrorism Test Pattern testimony Texas Texas Hill Country Thanksgiving The 12 Disciples The Ascension The Avengers The Body of Christ The Book of Job The centre cannot hold The Church and Covid-19 The Church and Online Communities The Dave Test The Dual Commandment The Episcopal Church The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem The Feast of St. Matthew The future The Good The Gospel of John The Grave The Great Pastor Resignation The Kingdom of God The Language of Derision The Last Seven Words of Jesus The Last Temptation The Law The Lord's Prayer The Mandalorian the means of salvation The New American Spirituality The New Normal The Parable of the Good Samaritan The Parable of the Sower The Peace The Problem of Pain The Saints Go Marching In The Thursday of Holy Mysteries The Trinity The United Methodist Church The War on Poverty The Week The Weight of Glory The White Helmets the wrong side of history Theodicy Theodore Dalrymple Theological Education Theology theories of communion Theosis Therapy Thomas Aquinas Thomas Attig Thomas Merton Thomas O'Loughlin Thought and prayers Tiger Woods Tim Keller Tim LaHaye Tithing Tolerance Torah Tornado Totalitarianism Trade Towers Tradition Tragedy Transfiguration transubstantiation Travel Trinity Trinity Episcopal Church Trump Trust Truth Turmoil TX Ukraine Uncategorized Unemployment Union Theological Seminary United Methodist Church United States United States and the Holocaust United States Armed Forces United States Congress United States of America Unity Universal Communion Until We Have Faces violence Virginia Virtual Church Virtue Virtues Vision Vladimir Putin Vocation Volodymyr Zelensky Voting Vow of Stability W. B. Yeatts War Washington National Cathedral Way Wealth wedding weddings Wesleyan Western Civilization Whataboutism When Suffering Persists White Supremacists Will of God William D. Davidson William J. Abraham witness Woman Women Women's bodies wonder Woody Allen Words Work World War II world weariness Worship Writers Yellowstone Youth Ministry Zacchaeus Zealots

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September 2025

September 22, 2025

A Prayer for the Feast of St. Matthew

I have never been completely happy with the Collect for the Feast of Saint Matthew. ...

November 2024

November 05, 2024

A Prayer for Election Night

  Gracious, loving God, we have been entrusted with a nation that honors its citizenry...

August 2024

August 26, 2024

Chapter 8: “Why should we pray?”

Throughout the summer, my wife -- The Reverend Canon Natalie Van Kirk -- and I...

November 2022

November 07, 2022

Context Is Everything: Notes on Prayer in the Teaching of Jesus

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and...

February 2022

February 27, 2022

More Prayers for the People of Ukraine

Loving and merciful God, on this night in Ukraine, where the hatred and malice of...

September 2021

September 17, 2021

Trusting in Prayer, Trusting in God: The Crucible of Suffering

Over the years I have written on the subject of suffering.  I didn’t set out...

September 11, 2021

A Prayer on 9/11

Reduced to dust, in a white-hot moment, under a clear, blue sky. Where do we...

September 09, 2021

Praying in a Snake Pit

I have divided my career between the academy and the church.  And more than one...

August 2021

August 25, 2021

A Prayer for the Crisis in Afghanistan

  Gracious and loving God, Forgive us the arrogance that supposes we can live at...

September 2019

September 11, 2019

9/11

Events like those that occurred on September 11, 2001 challenge us. For those who mourn...

March 2019

March 25, 2019

Why Pray?

In recent weeks, my wife and I have been tag-teaming on a sermon series devoted...

April 2017

April 20, 2017

Recovering Confirmation

Our conversations about the church’s pastoral prayers led to a conversation this week with my...

March 2017

March 09, 2017

3 Reasons We Find it Difficult to Lament

Prayers of lament wedge their way into the American psyche from time to time, much...

March 01, 2017

Lent is not a tightrope, it’s a journey.

Popular assumptions about Lent come from a variety of places. Some arise out of the...

October 2016

October 26, 2016

Three Ways to Navigate Anniversaries of Loss

  In a world of people that are regularly divided into “the glass is half...

September 2016

September 01, 2016

5 Reasons Spirituality is No Longer Important to the American Church

There are isolated and scattered signs of spiritual vitality in the American Protestantism. There are...

July 2016

July 19, 2016

Mark Burns illustrates how not to pray

Some years ago I was invited to a Congressman’s office along with leaders to discuss...

March 2016

March 28, 2016

4 Ways the Culture Misunderstands Spiritual Formation

For much of the late 20th Century and all of the early 21st Century, an...

April 2015

April 07, 2015

Rare Prayer: Cries of Lament

According to Rebekah Ann Eklund a “lament is a persistent cry for salvation to the...

December 2013

December 17, 2013

No Cause for Celebration: Question Five of Ten

   Taking The Dave Test during the Holidays                  ...

September 2012

September 05, 2012

The Unspoken Prayer

Formulas and language are so much at the forefront of our conversation about prayer, that...

August 2012

August 16, 2012

True Silence

  Silence, true silence Is not just about the absence of sound.   That, in...

July 2012

July 20, 2012

Life Prayers

In our search for spiritual direction we often look for the exceptional and the extraordinary. ...

June 2012

June 17, 2012

The Embodiment of Prayer: Joe Cajero

Sculptor Joe Cajero was raised on the Jemez pueblo in New Mexico and his work...

April 2012

April 23, 2012

Be a Prayer

Should we say our prayers or read them? Some fairly strong opinions on the subject...

October 2010

October 28, 2010

Be careful what you pray for

A student of mine drew my attention to this story from Anthony Bloom’s Beginning to...

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