Prayer

INTRODUCTION Speaking to a group of aspiring writers, author and editor Jeremy Langford once said, “Write the book that you want to read.” Very often as I settle down to pray, I’m preoccupied by a particular mood or situation in my life. I might be filled with joy returning from a family camping trip, or I might be seething with anger about an argument I’ve just had with my best friend. I might have my dying grandmother in mind, or I simply might want to relax in the stillness of the evening. Often I have a strong sense that God is calling me to bring this mood or situation to our quiet time together. But often, I feel the need for a customized “prayer starter”: a Bible passage that deals with my current mood, a short reflection I can use to begin my conversation with God, a concrete suggestion about how to pray in this particular situation or a pithy quote I can easily memorize and carry with me as I exit my prayer and enter my day. Sitting in my prayer chair with coffee mug in hand, I’ve found myself thinking, “I wish I had a book in which I could look up the mood I’m in today to get me started on my prayer.” Searching long and hard for such a book and not finding one, I decided that I ought to take Langford’s advice and write one myself. God, I Have Issues is not intended to be read from cover to cover. It is a reference manual to help you bring the stuff of your life into your daily prayer time. The concept is simple: using the various indexes in the back of the book, find the entry that best fits your situation or mood. You can read the entire entry in the first few minutes of your prayer time and plan your prayer accordingly, meditating on one of the suggested Scriptures, pondering the reflection or trying out one of the prayer pointers. In the days that follow, you can use the “Suggested Scripture Passages” section to continue your reflections. If you’re still needing more, or if this entry does not quite fit your particular situation, you can check out the suggestions from the “Related Entries” section. Finally, you can memorize or scribble down a quote from the “Words to Take with You” section so that you can return to prayer at quiet moments in your day. Some of the quotes are profound and thought provoking, some are just downright silly. But I hope you will find them to be a helpful way of bringing you back to the reflective state of your earlier prayer time. ...