Table Of Contents
Special Issue: Teach Us to Pray
2021
Teach Us to Pray
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About This Issue
Prayer is not actually hard to do—and yet even deeply committed believers can struggle with prayerlessness. Underneath our "I’m too busy" rationalizations lies a deeper reason: Our pride pulls us toward self-reliance. Prayer, in contrast, invites us into God-reliance. This special issue spotlights the perspectives of women on this crucial topic. From candid discussions of prayer amid suffering and doubt to stories of prayer mentors from history and God’s answers to prayer, these articles challenge us to experience prayer as the life-giving invitation it truly is rather than as a guilt-ridden "should" on our spiritual to-do list.
  • In this Issue
The Sweet Relief of Utter Dependence
We can always commune with God in a “chapel of the heart.”
She Didn’t Believe, But God Heard Her Cry
I was privileged to be part of his answer.
Our Theology of Prayer Matters More than Our Feelings
For years I’d prayed as if my relationship with God depended on it. Now I view prayer differently.
How Should We Pray When We Suffer?
What looks like “resting in God” might actually be a mask for resignation.
8 Prayer Mentors from History
Prayer empowered them to live their faith with great courage. Their spiritual habits can breathe new life into our own.
My Coparent in Heaven
As a single parent, I’m responsible for a job I’m not strong enough to navigate by myself. Prayer reminds me that I’m not on my own.
Post Without Ceasing? How Social Media Reshapes Our Prayer Lives
Interceding on Instagram may seem like a uniquely 21st-century phenomenon, but Christians in the first century were already praying at a distance.
In Prayer, We Are Fully Seen and Fully Known
How intimacy with God fuels Meg Baatz’s ministry among same-sex-attracted and LGBT peers.
How Doubt Helps Us Pray
Uncertainty can propel us toward God in humility and honesty.
Christ’s Prayers Can Transform Ours
When we look closely at how Jesus’ prayer life is depicted in Luke, we discover how essential prayer is for us.
Quotations on Prayer that Stir the Soul
Insights from Augustine, Teresa of Avila, Martin Luther, and more.