Prayer: Finding Peace in the Face of Panic
Martin Luther once wrote that we ought to "Work as though everything depends on us, because it does. But pray as though everything depends on God, because it does." Because of our wealth and privilege, for most of our lives we have had no trouble living by the first half of Luther's encouragement: working as though everything depends on us. But that's where it has stopped. We have been functional atheists: professing a belief in God, but living in a way that proclaims that we don't really need God. But what happens when everything is stripped away and God is all we have? Instead of being tempted towards panic, how can we learn to lean into prayer instead?
Martin Luther once wrote that we ought to "Work as though everything depends on us, because it does. But pray as though everything depends on God, because it does." Because of our wealth and privilege, for most of our lives we have had no trouble living by the first half of Luther's encouragement: working as though everything depends on us. But that's where it has stopped. We have been functional atheists: professing a belief in God, but living in a way that proclaims that we don't really need God. But what happens when everything is stripped away and God is all we have? Instead of being tempted towards panic, how can we learn to lean into prayer instead?
