|
|
Article: Prayer for the hurried, the undisciplined and the disorganized.
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- March 24, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
MUCH RECENT literature on prayer and spiritual formation has taken the "pumping iron" approach. The central theme is "try harder." But trying has a short shelf life, and I suspect recidivism is greatest not among dieters or smokers but among those who commit themselves to prayer.
People in trouble, reaching out in prayer, are desperately aware of their own weakness, instability and sin. Initially prayer is often a frantic garble with little faith in any answering help. As faith grows, confidence in our ability in spiritual matters is likely to decrease even more because of the discovery that good things come from God and not from human enterprise. The saints who ...