For Mercier it was the ceremony of the mass that eased his soul the sweetish smoke trailing from the censer the ringing of the bell the Latin incantations of the priest. In Warsaw he attended early mass at a small church near the apartment once or twice a month confessing to his vocational sins duplicity for example in the oblique forms provided by Catholic protocol. Hed grown up an untroubled believer but the war had put an end to that. What God could permit such misery and slaughter But in time he had found consolation in a God beyond understanding and prayed for those hed lost for those he loved and for an end to evil in the world. Alan Furst The Spies of Warsaw

Its not that we start with beliefs and doctrine and then come up with worship practices that properly express these cognitive beliefs rather we begin with worship and articulated beliefs bubble up from there. Doctrines are the cognitive theoretical articulation of what we understand when we pray.

Prayer for todayDear Lord the eternal ecstatic joy within me is often turned into bondage by my labeling mind. Please give me some meditative wisdom.

I also learned that prayer is not as much about getting God to act in certain ways as it is about getting to the heart of God and getting my heart to reflect His heart.

Cheer up love. Have faith it will get better and if it dont well darlin that is what your knees are for. Pray pray pray.

Alone all day Juniper would remember the animals and places he loved and hold them in his own heart before the great Heart that made them. He was learning to find quietness inside himself. He was learning to pray.

A prayer might actually be worth something to those that are doing it if they believe in it enough. Its a total waste of my time though.

Why bother praying It does not matter if we have developed bad habits in limiting prayer to only asking for things but prayer is much much richer than that. By all means lets keep asking God to keep changing us but lets also give praise and thanksgiving crying out in lamentation affirm our trust and faith sing of our salvation and simply wait upon the Lord. There is a way to pray for all seasons under the sun.

Our prayer life and rule of prayer will be shaped by the different stages of our spiritual journey as well. Many people who have just come to know Christ find that their words flow easily. Prayer is a joy for them. But as with romantic relationships there is a natural movement beyond this honeymoon phase. When feelings of intense connection with God ebb we have a new opportunity to engage God - not based on cool spiritual vibes but as an expression of our genuine love for God. Times of spiritual dryness are normal for almost everyone even if we havent sinned and to the best of our knowledge havent done anything to wall off our relationship with God. God may allow this dryness so that we can mature in our relationship with him and learn to seek him not for an ecstatic spiritual experience but out of a deeper love and commitment.

All the men I know add that hands that prepared it line. They must know its right complimentary an incentive to keep the women cooking.