Ancient Collects and Other Prayers, Selected from Various Rituals
Book review of Ancient Collections and Other Prayers, for the Praying Through the Bible Project by Mark McDowell.
Sincere Prayer (The Cowherd and the Sage)
A story about prayer, a cowherd, and a Jewish sage, reaching us that prayer is more about relationship than duty.
The Kaddish (The Mourner’s Prayer)
The “Kaddish” is an ancient Jewish prayer, going back at least to the 13th century. It is a prayer of praise, often used in worship services, usually as a responsive prayer between a speaker and the congregation. But it is most well-known for its use in the mourning ritual. It is usually recited three times…
A Failure To Pray (Joshua 9.14)
So the leaders partook of their provisions, and did not ask direction from the LORD… Background This passage mentions prayer, but there is no prayer. Unlike the passages in 1.17 and 7.20–21, where it was not clear if there was a prayer or not, here the writer tells us that the leaders did not pray. …
Too Busy for Prayer? (Joshua 1.17)
Join Dr. Mark McDowell as he explores this Passage from Joshua, which may or may not be a prayer. What can we learn about being too busy to pray?
The book of Joshua and Prayer: Introduction
The book of Joshua is an interesting book because of the seemingly contradictory issues or themes. On one hand, the story demonstrates God’s faithfulness to his people. He had promised them their own land, and, in the book of Joshua, he gives it to them. On the other hand, the book is filled with instances…
The Open Gate (book review)
Review of The Open Gate: Celtic Prayers for Growing Spirituality. Review by Mark McDowell for the Praying through the Bible project.
Book on Prayer in the Ancient World (Hebrew Bible)
This is not exactly by area of research, but it is similar. I had not seen this resource before, but it is worth mentioning. Basson, Alec. Divine Metaphors in Selected Hebrew Psalms of Lamentation. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006. Reviewed by Christine Treu here for RBL. Description: In this book, Alec Basson examines the divine metaphors…
Ancient Prayers and Biblical Prayers: Types
In the ancient world, all religions and similarities between the types of prayers offered to their gods and goddess. This makes sense, of course, because prayer is communication, and all communication takes certain forms. Here are some of the major types of prayer we find in ancient religions: Name Prayers, Congregational Laments, Hymns, Personal Laments, Petitions, and Intercessions. Name Prayers. These were…
The Prayers in the Hebrew Bible and Other Prayers in the Ancient World
The prayers found in the Bible are not separated from time and location. While the message and principles in the Bible are timeless, the stories are couched in the culture, language, history, ab viewpoint of an ancient world—a world that is quite foreign sometimes to modern Westerners. Over the next few weeks, in between our…