Nature Abhors a Vacuum

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1  NIV Teach us – Heschel provides an amazing collection of thoughts about prayer.  Here’s the one we will deal with today: “Prayer cannot live in…

Praying Words

“Pray, then, in this way.”  Matthew 6:9 Pray – Do you say the Lord’s Prayer?  Most of us do.  We have since childhood.  It’s part of the liturgy now.  But I wonder if we actually pray as the Lord instructed.  You see, Jesus was not teaching us a prayer.  He was teaching how to pray. …

“Deliver us from evil”

But do we really want to be delivered?Delivered means facing reality as it is, no fantasies, no band-aids, no idol protection.It’s interesting that Isaiah the prophet complains that Israel is seeking alliances with its past enemies as though these enemies will now protect them.God is quite provoked by this attempted alliance.He intends to be Israel’s…