Author: David Ellis

Many thanks to Kiran for recording this session in the transcriptionist’s absence. The latter retains responsibility for any errors in transcription. Don: The prayer of Jesus found in John 17 is by far the longest prayer by Jesus recorded in the gospels. It is sometimes called the “High Priestly Prayer” or the “Farewell Prayer” of…

Don: Michael has posted on The Interface a story  about an unspoken prayer, in the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. David commented that he found this fictional prayer more meaningful than some of the great prayers we have been studying, from the Old Testament. I find myself sometimes personally reflected in them. Like Jonah,…

Don: There is still a tension between the concepts of prayer and free will. If I successfully pray for help for someone else and that person does not want help, then I have violated that person’s free will. In scripture, we see god doing this all the time. Three personal prayers from the Old Testament…

Don: The world in which we live and must function is governed by natural laws. In a general sense, natural laws control our environment. They have to do with causes—gravity, for instance; and their effects—falling apples, for instance. They can be predicted, and therefore they can be managed, Newtonian laws determines how physics work; economic…

Don: The story of Jonah is not really about Jonah, or about the Ninevites, or about the great fish that swallowed him. It is about god and god’s grace. Jonah’s first prayer, which occurs in the second chapter, teaches us as much about what is not good prayer as about what is good prayer. Jonah’s…

(Our group was honored today with the participation of Nafe, a visitor from Bethlehem and a boyhood friend of Michael who also comes from that famous town; and of Patrick.) Don: A discussion of the great prayers of scripture—the prayers of Abraham, Jacob, Hannah, Gideon, of Solomon for wisdom, David’s prayer of penitence, the prayer…

Don: What does it mean to live a life of prayer? The notion of living life as a continual prayer is common in scripture. In the preamble to the parable of the importunate widow (Luke 18) which we have been studying lately, Jesus says we should always pray and never give up. In 2 Thessalonians…

Note: When scripture is quoted, I usually copy from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) but in this discussion Don makes many biblical references apparently using the New International Version (NIV), so I have done likewise except where specifically noted. Don: The promise of the parable of the importunate woman is that god’s justice will…

Don: A few weeks ago, Jason raised with us the parable of the importunate widow, also known as the parable of the unjust judge, in Luke 18:1-8. It touches upon one of the building blocks for the “wall of prayer” or “wall of faith” we are trying to build to help us understand prayer and…