Secular prayer
Most legislative bodies in this country begin with a prayer, whether by an official chaplain as in the United States Congress or by visiting clergy, who are allowed to pray according to their...
View ArticleA prayer for dogs
Michael Dirda reviews Mr. and Mrs. Dog by Donald McCaig, hailed as “the Mark Twain of dog writers.” It’s about two dogs that the author took to the World Sheepdog Trials. The event was opened with...
View ArticleAtheists who pray
As many as 6% of atheists pray, as many non-believers seek the benefits of religion without, you know, believing in it. Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post talks to some of them. From the...
View ArticleObama administration defends government-sponsored Christian prayers
The Supreme Court is hearing a case that will decide whether or not it is constitutional for a city council to begin with an explicitly Christian prayer. Surprisingly to both sides, the Obama...
View Article“The Lord sustains my life”
A Nigerian ship sank to the bottom of the Atlantic. Three days later, divers went down to recover the bodies. As a diver reached out to a floating hand, the hand grabbed him. A man survived, thanks...
View ArticleGeorge Herbert on prayer
We blogged about Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, who wrote about how she was converted from atheism in part through the poetry of George Herbert. She is following that up with a series of articles in the...
View ArticleSupreme Court allows Christian prayers in public meetings
The Supreme Court has ruled that public meetings, including those involving local governments, may feature distinctly Christian prayers, including those that are in the name of Jesus. From High court...
View ArticleFDR’s D-Day Prayer
Once D-Day was underway, 70 years ago, President Roosevelt got on the radio and asked the American public to join him in this prayer:. Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set...
View ArticleCall to prayer from the Continental Congress
Very often, in the early days of our nation, Congress would call for a day of “fasting, humiliation, and prayer.” (Google the phrase and compare the resolutions from the Continental Congress through...
View ArticleThe unchurched and non-religious still pray
Church attendance and other marks of religious observance are in decline, but a new study has found that people–including the non-religious–are still praying. In fact, 57% of Americans say they pray...
View ArticleBanning the Lord’s Prayer video
This video was made by the Church of England to help publicize a new prayer website. A cinema advertising firm was paid to show it as one of those advertisements that run before the previews. But then...
View ArticlePrayer shaming while praying to the government
When a tragedy strikes, it seems natural for those affected to ask for people’s prayers and for those concerned to pray for the victims. This held true with the recent shootings in Colorado Springs...
View ArticleProblems praying? Pray the Psalms
Continuing our reflections on the Psalms, Pastor Peters at Pastoral Meanderings has a great post on praying the Psalms. He shows the centrality of the Psalms for Luther and then makes a superb...
View ArticleWho will pray at Trump’s inauguration
The six religious leaders who will offer prayers at Donald Trump’s inauguration have been announced. They include three Pentecostals: Paula White, Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, and Samuel Rodriguez....
View ArticlePraying the Catechism
Many Christians have problems praying. Our minds wander; we run through our wants and needs; we forget what to pray for; and we soon turn to something else. Christians in the past, though, often...
View ArticleSaying grace
About half of Americans say grace before meals, according to a new study. Even 11% of those who don’t believe in religion a say some sort of grace. (For regional, ethnic, political, age, and...
View ArticleA painting of “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest. . .”
In researching yesterday’s post on Saying Grace, I came across this painting. I said to myself, that’s the Lutheran table prayer! Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest And let these gifts to us be blest....
View Article“God bless America” vs. “God bless the whole world”
Some people are saying we shouldn’t say or sing “God Bless America.” That is too exclusive. Rather, we should say, “God Bless the Whole World.” Matt Reynolds at Christianity Today explains why praying...
View ArticleA Vast Online Collection of Prayers
My daughter Mary Moerbe, at her blog Meet, Write, and Salutary, alerted me to a remarkable and potentially invaluable web resource: A Collection of Prayers: Christian Prayers, Ancient and Modern....
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