It’s an age-old quandary. Why do some of the best people on earth sometimes experience the worst sorrow? I mentioned to a friend at lunch that it’s been my experience that the “unrighteous,” as the Bible puts it, usually do … Continue reading →
I found this gravestone of my eight-times-great-grandfather James Hamlin, 1636-1718, in an old cemetery on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. I like to think we got connected through prayer. I would not have known that I had such an ancestor … Continue reading →
How do you pray for someone who is grieving? How do you look for comfort for them when you are grieving yourself? We mourned the death of a much-loved member of our church this weekend. She was tragically young, with … Continue reading →
Everybody prayed for Mike and for my sister, Diane. People still ask me about Mike. “How’s he doing?” “What’s he doing?” People who’ve never met Mike prayed for him. Total strangers. Or is someone you prayed for ever a total … Continue reading →
Jesus prayed. And showed by his prayers what prayer can be: direct, simple, honest and passionate. Here, in Jesus’s own words (all quotes taken from The Daily Life Bible): Don’t be long-winded. “Watch out for the legal experts. They like … Continue reading →
Prayer opens you up to the unexpected. Or at least, living prayerfully is to delight in the unexpected. As the old saying goes, “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” Last week one of my wife Carol’s good friends was … Continue reading →
Prayer is surprise. Answered prayers, even when expected, are God’s surprises for us. You can explain a rainbow, but isn’t it always a surprise? Here in the office, and among our readers, we’ll say, “That’s a real Mysterious Ways,” not … Continue reading →
