I admit it: this past year, I went for months without having a disciplined time of prayer. I didn't stop praying altogether, of course. I sent up "arrow prayers" (God, help me get through this morning without collapsing!) and felt growing guilt over my missed devotions. I wasn't suffering from doubt: God was still real and powerful to me. But the act of prayer itself was empty. When I folded my hands to pray, my words yielded nothing. I'm doing something wrong, I thought.
Halfway through October, I picked up Susan Howatch's Absolute Truths at a booksale. And as I read, in quiet moments snatched before sleep, I discovered myself in the novel. I was the wife of the bishop, a woman spiritually drained, exhausted by the demands of parenthood
Absolute Truths By Susan Howatch
Fawcett Crest, 1994
624 pp.; $6.50, paper
The Art of Prayer: A Simple Guide By Timothy Jones
Ballantine Books, 1997
256 pp.; $11, paper
Prayer in the Unseen Warfare By Jack N. Sparks
Conciliar Press, 1996
142 pp.; $9.95, paper
Dimensions of Prayer: Cultivating a Relationship with God By Douglas V. Steere
Upper Room Books, 1997
128 pp.; $13.95, hardcover
Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness By Nan C. Merrill
Continuum Books, 1997
311 pp.; $16.95, paperThe Book of Daily Prayer, 1998 Edited by Kim Sadler
United Church Press, 1997
384 pp.; $12.95, paper
The Book of Uncommon Prayer Edited by Daniel and Constance Pollock
Word, 1996
198 pp.; $16.99, hardcover
So Amazing, So Divine By Isaac Watts
Paraclete Press, 1997
204 pp.; $10.95, paper
Children and Prayer: A Shared Pilgrimage By Betty Shannon Cloyd
Upper Room Books, 1997
165 pp.; $11.95, paper
Whole Prayer: Speaking and Listening to GodBy Walter Wangerin
Zondervan, 1997
208 pp.; $16.99, hardcover ...
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This year was the end for the last remaining national chain and the longtime trade association, but the industry is still pushing forward with stubborn faith.
The International Days of Prayer for the Persecuted Church draw attention to China and other countries where Christian minorities have suffered blows over the past year.
Why their prophets exalt Trump and Paula White pastors him.
This year was the end for the last remaining national chain and the longtime trade association, but the industry is still pushing forward with stubborn faith.
The International Days of Prayer for the Persecuted Church draw attention to China and other countries where Christian minorities have suffered blows over the past year.
Why Chinese diaspora churches remain silent while Christians in Hong Kong take to the streets.
