But many of us don't feel right expressing our anger, frustration, and sadness in prayer.From Job to David to Christ, men and women of the Bible understood the importance of pouring one's heart out to the Father. Examine their stories and expand your definition of worship.

    

    "But take heart, I have overcome the world."If life hasn't turned out the way you planned, you're not alone. Cancer comes. Loved ones die. Spouses leave. Dreams slip through our fingers. Anxiety and depression steal precious seasons. But what if you knew you weren't alone in your pain, and sorrow isn't in the end of the story?In this 100-day devotional, the (in)courage community comes alongside you when your heart is grieving, your faith is shaking, or it's just one of those mundane hard days. In these vulnerable stories, you won't find tidy bows or trite quick fixes, but you will find arrows pointing you straight to Jesus. Each day includes a key Scripture, a heartening devotion, and a prayer to remind you that God is near and hope is possible.Let this book be like a trusted friend, wrapping your heart with comfort and assurance that you are seen. Together we can find ourselves and God again in one another's stories. Together we can take heart!

    First released in 1995, this spiritual classic continues to be a best-seller, as thousands each year accept her invitation to the Christian spiritual life. Offering a framework for understanding the spiritual disciplines and instruction for developing and nurturing those practices, Soul Feast continues to be a favorite for individual reflection and group study. Now engagingly redesigned to appeal to contemporary spiritual-seekers and repackaged for easier use in study and reflection, Soul Feast is a must-have.

    But in the hurriedness of December, sometimes we find ourselves sacrificing a sacred pace for hustle, leaving us feeling more stressed than blessed. What if you approached this Advent more open to the things of God? What if you decided to be expectant that God would move in your midst? What if you made room for the true joy found in the coming of our King? Prepare Him Room invites you to give God sacred space in your holiday season as you ponder the miracle of Christ within you and respond to His work in your life. As you begin your Christmas preparations this year, journey through Luke's account of Jesus' birth, life, death, and ultimate resurrection. God invites you to be still and let Jesus radically transform you this holy season. Let earth receive her King!

    A beautifully written, theologically astute Advent study that focuses on the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth.

    Trusted theologian Dale Ralph Davis leads readers through a careful study of Psalms 1—12 with clear application for daily life. The Psalmist begins with the most essential truth for mankind, Davis explains: "Nothing is so crucial as your belonging to the congregation of the righteous." And it is the Word of God that provides the direction for the believer's life. It is here, Davis points out, that "the righteous man gets his signals for living." The delight of the righteous is in the "law"—the teachings—of the Lord. Indeed, for those who belong to Him, meditating on God's Word is "the pursuit of pleasure"! And the Psalms are a treasure trove for such a pursuit. As the first 12 Psalms continue, we see basic principles unfold with great clarity. Much like our troubles today, the Psalmist endured wickedness all around, a world hostile to the true God—and on a very personal level—deceit and persecution from his enemies. Readers are pointed toward the glorious rule of the Messiah, to whom the whole world belongs. In light of this realization, we are prepared to face all kinds of troubles that cause despair. The righteous rely on God, and the Psalms teach us how. This book is ideal for use by small groups, as a teaching guide or for reference.

    Most of us are clueless at praying. Why is that? And how come we've never done anything about it? In Confessions of a Prayer Slacker, author Diane Moody traces her own personal prayer journey with a touch of humor and a healthy dose of transparency. ''I want my readers to stop the merry-go-round of prayerlessness, quit acting like a bunch of spiritual babies, and get serious about this thing called prayer. Without it, we'll never experience the warm, one-on-one relationship God desires to have with each one of us.''

     Trouble has you gasping beside the narrow road. This is your invitation back to the adventure. Some Christians leave their relationship with God in a sealed box like a collectible that will be worth something "someday." Not you. You wholeheartedly answered the call to follow Him into the great adventure. Then, something unexpected happened that left you gasping beside the narrow road. You thought you were following Jesus but now it feels as if all you re doing is running from a crazy man. Even knocked down, though, you seek the strength to continue the journey. This isn’t a book for the happily comfortable. This is a book for the restless Jesus lover, the longsuffering disciple, the openhearted believer. Be forewarned. The challenges inside are designed to unsettle you as well as provide practical suggestions for thriving on the narrow road even if trouble is your travel companion. Running from a Crazy Man (and Other Adventures Traveling with Jesus) is a siren call to the modern believer that the God-adventure can happen even when, like King David, you re running from a crazy man.

    One of the fiercest foes in this battle dwells within our own hearts: the enemy of indwelling sin. The Scriptures command us to put sin to death. This is what pastors and theologians of another generation called the mortificationof sin. But how do we mortify sin? And what role does the gospel play in this effort to apply lethal force against sin? How can we avoid falling into legalism while still maintaining a passion for holiness? And what kinds of strategies actually work in the daily battle? Brian Hedges answers these questions and more in this biblical and practical guide for waging war against sin in the power of the gospel and dependence on the Spirit.

    In 2006, Pope Benedict stressed that "Divine Mercy is not a secondary devotion, but an integral dimension of Christian faith and prayer." Now Pope Francis has proclaimed an extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, which will begin on December 8, 2015. These three Popes have made it very clear that Divine Mercy is a major part of the Christian faith, and now this powerful new book reveals why.Best-selling author Vinny Flynn continues his popular "7 Secrets" series with a book that brings him back to his roots. Vinny was one of the original editors of the official English edition of the actual Diary of St. Faustina, and he has written and edited a vast number of the Divine Mercy materials that are used today.Through his "secrets" of Divine Mercy, Vinny shows how Divine Mercy is not just another worthy "private devotion"; it is the key devotion, the umbrella devotion over everything else. Every other devotion in the Church, every ritual, every activity, every teaching is under that umbrella of Divine Mercy. It’s all there to help us understand and enter into Divine Mercy. He shows us how everything in our lives can become more meaningful, more powerful, more life-changing once we really embrace the gift of Divine Mercy — the overflow of love from the Holy Trinity.In this compelling and timely book, Flynn draws from Scripture, the teachings of the Church, and the Diary of St. Faustina to not only reveal the heart of Divine Mercy, but to offer you an invitation and a road map so that this mercy can transform your life.If you're not yet convinced of the impact Divine Mercy can have on your life, if you've never heard of this message and devotion, or if you're curious to learn more about it, this book is perfect for you. It shows us all how to respond to the call of Pope Francis "to live lives shaped by mercy", and benefit greatly from the "Year of Mercy".

    When the Soul Listens will guide you away from formulas and step-by-step plans toward true contemplative prayer. Learn to find rest and guidance in God, opening yourself to God's presence and direction through this practical approach. If you are disillusioned, searching for something that makes sense, or experiencing spiritual dryness, When the Soul Listens offers a clear path to a fulfilling connection with God and helps you allow God to work change in your life through prayer. Isn't that what you want?

    "Long ago," Calvin Miller writes, "when the Celts built their own rustic kingdom of God in what would later be the British Isles, their fervor in prayer washed their world in a vital revival." In uncertain and dangerous days of high infant-mortality rates, leprosy and plagues, the Celts breathed candid prayers out of the reality of their lives: Desperate prayers for protection. Praise for the God who was king over all creation. Honest prayers of confession. In these pages, Miller introduces us to six types of Celtic prayer that can connect us to God more deeply by helping us pray out of the circumstances and uncertainties of our own life. "This book proposes a kind of prayer that can end our amputated feelings of separateness from God," says Miller. What was true for the Celts is still true for us: "Hunger for Christ keeps us talking to God till our separation is swallowed up in our unending togetherness with him." As rich as the faith they describe, these pages lead us on an ancient path that gives guidance for present and future prayers, until the day the Celts longed for, when all separation is gone and we live forever in the presence of God.

    In Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg shows how instead we can freshly appreciate all the essential elements of the Old and New Testaments—from Genesis to Revelation—in a way that can open up a new world of intelligent faith.In Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, Borg reveals how it is possible to reconcile a scientific and critical way of thinking with our deepest spiritual needs, leading to an insightful experience of ancient text. This unique book invites every reader—whatever his or her religious background—to engage the Bible, to wrestle with its meaning, to explore its mysteries, and to understand its relevance. Reading the Bible Again for the First Time shows us how to encounter the Bible in a fresh, new way that rejects the limits of simple literalism and opens up the rich possibility of living a life of authentic faith.

    The Christian prayer tradition known as contemplation, primarily preserved in monasteries through practices such as centering prayer, was the answer he didn’t want to find. If his Protestant faith was going to survive, he needed to move beyond his past grudges in order to learn Christian meditation and contemplative prayer from Catholic teachers.Contemplative prayer goes beyond the limits of Bible study and experiences the loving presence of God described in the scriptures. While scripture and spiritual disciplines have their place, Cyzewski learned that the unstoppable love of God forms the foundation of all Christian spirituality, and that daily contemplative prayer helps us rest in God’s loving presence.Using Henrí Nouwen’s The Way of the Heart to highlight the three movements into contemplation with the words flee, be silent, pray, Cyzewski found what it means to quiet his religious anxiety by resting in the love of God. Anxious evangelicals and Christians on the brink of losing their faith will find an accessible path toward using this simple, proven approach to daily prayer.