Last Father’s Day I received a gift from my wife and children more precious than I can describe. Without my knowledge, they had repurposed some wood from my late father’s workshop and built a kneeling bench, or prie-dieu, for my…
When crisis prompts the question: ‘Lord, teach us how to pray’
Jesus tells us that one important way to pray is to pray through our action, working to ensure that the kingdom of God becomes a reality on earth. He says our way forward is to work to make this world better for others.
Celebration a key discipline like fasting and prayer, ministers say
Spiritual formation usually brings to mind practices like contemplative prayer and fasting, silence and meditation, walking the labyrinth and celebration. Wait, celebration?
A Social Media Prayer
Words can be toxic. The apostle Paul knew that. Little has changed since the first century, though back then the only social media Paul had to contend with was the chatter at the well or outside the synagogue.
A time for prayer, but what kind?
Sunday night several hundred people gathered in my city to pray. We went to our prayer vigil place — the steps of the governmental plaza in Greensboro, N.C., where we’d gathered before. Some of the candles still held the wax…
For some imams, Ramadan is a month-long revival, Muslim style
Imad Enchassi likens the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to what some Christians described as getting some of that old-time religion. “I call it a revival camp” for Muslims, said Enchassi, imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City….
Laying on of hands? A lot of Americans do it, study says
A new study has found that nearly nine in 10 Americans have relied upon healing prayer at some point in their lives, praying for others even more than for themselves. “The most surprising finding is that more than a quarter…
Your commute as a spiritual discipline
My morning commute reminds me that I am not the Christian I should be. I drive nine miles to my job — two miles of neighborhood, three miles of suburban commerce, and four miles of houses close enough to Atlanta…
Praying the Psalms in time of grief
By Joe LaGuardia Like many who grieve the loss of a loved one over the holidays, this past Christmas was particularly difficult for me. I lost my father over two years ago as a result of a mass shooting in…