You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me. Psalm 86:5-7 Sometimes prayer is a cry from our heart. It is a raw pleading for mercy in times of trouble. There may be times of trouble when we find ourselves thinking, "I can't go to God in … [Read more...] about Crying as Prayer

Trust in him at all times, O people, pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8 When we listen with an open heart to the outpouring of another person's heart, something happens. A bond forms. A closeness grows. And out of this relationship healing begins to take place. But sharing one's heart requires trust in the other person. It requires trust that the other person … [Read more...] about Pouring Out Our Hearts as Prayer

Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress, my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed with anguish and my years with groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. Psalm 31: 8-9 This text is a gripping and painful description of grief. It is a grief that goes on and on, a grief that consumes, a grief that wears … [Read more...] about Grieving as Prayer

All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him. I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves... Song of Songs 3:1,2 When we are suffering, when we need God the most, we may have the greatest sense of being abandoned by God. The suffering we experience may feel like … [Read more...] about Seeking God as Prayer

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent. Psalm 22:1-2 This psalm gives expression to our deepest suffering. God absent. God silent. God hidden. God forsaking us. Even Jesus cried out to God from this place of terrible darkness. As he was … [Read more...] about Lament as Prayer

Be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul. Joshua 22:5 Prayer is sometimes holding on to God. Holding fast is something that infants do when they catch your finger in their little hand and … [Read more...] about Holding Fast as Prayer

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 Prayer is the act of making room within us for the gift of hope. Hope does not come naturally to us. For many of us, despair is what comes most naturally. We have a tendency to project our worst fears into the future. We imagine … [Read more...] about Making Room for Hope as Prayer