In his book Thoughts in Solitude, Thomas Merton wrote fifteen lines that have become known as "the Merton Prayer":

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please ...

In his book An Unstoppable Force, Erwin McManus shares the story of how prayers resulted in what can only be called a miraculous re-creation.

While ministering in South Dallas, McManus's small congregation began to grow. Looking for a place to build a larger church building, the leadership spotted an acre of land for sale. Given its location near downtown Dallas, it seemed strange that the property ...

The movie Evan Almighty is about Evan Baxter (Steve Carrell), a congressman who is told by God (Morgan Freeman) to build an ark in preparation for a great flood.

One evening, as Evan and his wife, Joan (Lauren Graham), are getting ready to retire for the evening, Joan comments, "You know, those boys were having so much fun tonight, I thought I would never get them to bed, and then Ryan did the cutest ...

I was born in the waning days of vinyl records. I would watch as my father pulled them from their sleeves and placed them on the turntable. When the needle dropped into the record's grooves, the speakers popped to life with a tide of white noise that was chased away by music. Some records were so worn that they hiccupped along or—even worse—repeated a section, over and over again.

The sound ...

His name was Tim, and he was the bane of my existence. I can't remember now any particular thing he did to irk me; I simply recall from the fourth grade on he gave me a general sense of panic. Tim was unpredictable—content one moment and angry the next—and I half feared and half loathed him.

I thought slugging him in the nose might solve the problem. My mom suggested praying for him. That's ...

When I was 10, I first heard Matthew 21:22, where Jesus, who never lies, said, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." It was the "whatever" model of prayer—believe, ask for whatever you want, and it's yours.

I remember running outside, standing on our driveway, closing my eyes real tight, and praying: God, I want to fly like Superman. And I believe you can do it. So ...

Sarah, a woman who attends our church, had never prayed aloud in her life. She grew up moderately connected to the church, but when a relational crisis hit with her fiancé, she realized she needed more. She began attending church for comfort. Little did she expect that Jesus would also make her uncomfortable.

Sarah was on call for her job as an ultrasound technician for a local emergency room. ...

Pastor and author Tony Evans was in Columbia, South Carolina, to preach at a crusade being held in the University of South Carolina football stadium. Thousands had gathered for the evening session, but news reports indicated a serious thunderstorm was on the way. In fact, the storm was expected to hit at 7:00 pm—the exact time the meeting was scheduled to start.

As the sky grew darker and darker, ...

He arrived at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, during my junior year, 1947-48. A German who had spent time as a prisoner of war, he was now working as a janitor, sweeping the halls and cleaning the restrooms of Blanchard Hall.

Many of my fellow students had served in World War II; some had even been prisoners of war themselves. We heard that this man had served in the German military forces, but ...

What happens to our prayers after we send them out? For 300 people living in the New Jersey area, the answer to that question is not very encouraging.

Bill Lacovara was fishing on the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, when he spotted a plastic bag floating in the water. Inside, he found about 300 prayers that had been mailed to a local pastor—most of which were unopened. The pastor had died ...