Teach Us To Pray

In this episode, we consider Mark 14:3-9, the story of an unnamed woman anointing Jesus before his death. Mark places this narrative in a prominent place, and Jesus praises the woman's actions beyond any other response in Mark's gospel. To pray this text is to allow our lives to conform to Jesus' lavish sacrifice for us.

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In this episode, the Teach Us to Pray Podcast interviews its first guest - Peter Greer, President & CEO of HOPE International. Listen in as we hear more about the work Peter is doing and hear insights from his recently released book Lead with Prayer: The Spiritual Habits of World-Changing Leaders.

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Lead with Prayer Resources

Isaiah declares the wonder and beauty of Christmas in three little words: "for unto us." Who is your "us"? God takes on human flesh so as to bring the divine into human community, a community that is, profoundly, not limited to the living. Handel's "Unto Us" Chorus takes center stage in this episode, guiding us in joyful prayer. Merry Christmas!

In this episode, we look at the prominent biblical theme of light and darkness through the lens of Movement 10 of Handel's Messiah. Light does not exist without darkness. Through prayer, we can both become aware of darkness and boldly face it.

Prayer is how we yield to God's refining work in our lives. God uses difficulty to bring us, ultimately, to delight - the joy of a transformed life. In this episode, I focus on Handel's surprising musical interpretation of Malachi 3:3 and share personally about how God has refined me.

This Advent on Teach us to Pray, we will be praying through some of the texts from Handel's Messiah. This episode focuses on the first words spoken in Messiah, "Comfort Ye."

Much is hidden in the common words, "thank you," including in how we use them in prayer. Gratitude toward God carries the possibility of seeing God for who he really is, and also, profoundly, can shape a transformative posture of repentance.

This episode concludes our prayerful examination of the Priestly Blessing.

What does the blessing "the Lord make his face shine on you" mean? This part of the Priestly Blessing is about recognition, which is humanity's primary need. We can receive this divine recognition through prayer, and this changes everything.

Tucked into some familiar lines of Scripture is an overlooked metaphor for who God is and how he works in our lives. Prayer is our we yield to and participate in the work of the Divine Gardener.