Jesus was a master of grace: he attracted sinners and moral outcasts even as he offended the religious and responsible people of his day.

If prayer stands as the place where God and human beings meet, then I must learn about prayer. Most of my struggles in the Christian life circle around the same two themes: why God doesn't act the way we want God to, and why I don't act the way God wants me to. Prayer is the precise point where those themes converge.

We tend to think, 'Life should be fair because God is fair.' But God is not life. And if I confuse God with the physical reality of life- by expecting constant good health for example- then I set myself up for crashing disappointment.

I have learned that faith means trusting in advance what will make sense only in reverse.

We whine about things we have little control over; we lament what we believe ought to be changed.

The self-sacrificing, servant aspect of the Christian life has many parallels to parenthood.

Some who attempt prayer never have the sense of anyone listening on the other end. They blame themselves for doing it wrong.... Prayer requires the faith to believe that God listens.