Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers: Prayer for Ordinary Radicals

Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers: Prayer for Ordinary Radicals

"Prayer is not so much about convincing God to do what we want God to do as it is about convincing ourselves to do what God wants us to do." ―from the IntroductionActivists Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove show how prayer and action must go together. Their exposition of key Bible passages provides concrete examples of how a life of prayer fuels social engagement and the work of justice. Phrases like "give us this day our daily bread" and "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" take on new meaning when applied to feeding the hungry or advocating for international debt relief.If you hope to see God change society, you must be an ordinary radical who prays―and then is ready to become the answer to your own prayers. Readers will never see prayer or community in quite the same way again. Publisher's Weekly, September 15, 2008 It's both rare and refreshing to discover a new perspective on prayer. But if anyone can provide that perspective, it's Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. Recommended for anyone interested in social justice, intentional communitites and the new monastics, as well as Christians who have grown beyond books on how to pray and want to learn instead how to live out the prayers they're already praying. Marcia Ford, Faithful Reader (faithfulreader.com), March 2009 "This thoughtful treatise offers a concise taste of Bible study, prayer, and myriad church teachers." Angelina Conti, Friends Journal, January 2010 "We in the church are blessed by the imaginations of Claiborne, Wilson-Hartgrove, and their communities." Gavin Dluehosh, The Covenant Companion, February 2010 "Who learns more fully about the importance of prayer than folks living in Christian community and engaged in social activism? The authors of this wonderful little book share graciously and truthfully from the spiritual wisdom they have gathered. Christine D. Pohl, professor of social ethics, Asbury Theological Seminary, author of Making Room "Not everyone will agree with every particular detail of biblical interpretation in this book by Claiborne and Wilson-Hartgrove, but no one can deny the truth of their main argument: God is calling each and all of us to be eager agents fulfilling His purposes in the world! This book compels us passionately to ask, in the power of the Holy Spirit, 'How am I "putting legs on my prayers"?' This is a tested book and a necessary one!" Marva J. Dawn, teaching fellow in Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, and author of Unfettered Hope, Joy in Divine Wisdom and My Soul Waits Claiborne enlists help from his long-time friend Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove to address how prayer and activism are related. Take a small group through this book as you prepare for a summer mission opportunity. Paul Berry, YouthWorker Journal, May/June 2009 Claiborne and Wilson-Hartgrove, "radical" Christians who see the danger of burnout and spiritual erosion when those who tend to the marginalized fail to pursue the divine romance that is prayer. The authors use three NT prayers to move the reader outside ordinary assumptions about prayer and challenge us to a deeper relationship with Christ. Steven Todd, YouthWorker Journal, March/April 2009 Like these men's other books, it is another awakening (and sometimes embarrassing) reminder that the contemporary American church is not the radical social force it was called to be. Rachel Pater, Sarcastic Lutheran (sarcasticluteran.typepad.com), March 23, 2009 Prayer is always a difficult topic for Christians to wrap their heads around. I'd recommend the book if you like Shane or Jonathan, or more generally if you are passionate in areas of social justice and struggle to connect that with your prayer life. Eric, Between the Trees, (wordsfromtheway.com/between-the-trees/), October 22, 2008 "Claiborne and Wilson-Hartgrove have slipped the bonds of the ordinary and leapt the chasm of the customary. They have stood at brightly burning bushes that for most of us just won't catch fire. This book is a small invocation which, once prayed, calls for those who thought they knew the far country to see it for the first time. The far country is not so far as we supposed: it lies vivid and visible betwen our 'our Fathers' and our 'thy will be dones.'" -- Calvin Miller, Beeson Divinity School, author of The Singer and The Path of Celtic Prayer Shane Claiborne is a preacher, writer and lover of Jesus. He attended Eastern University, where he studied sociology and youth ministry. Claiborne is cofounder of The Simple Way and is currently a part of The Alternative Seminary in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. He serves on the board of the Christian Community Development Association. He is the author of The Irresistible Revolution and coauthor of Jesus for President. Catch up with him at thesimpleway.org. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove (MDiv, Duke Divinity School) is a writer, preacher, and moral activist. He and his wife, Leah, founded the Rutb