Daily Prayer for November 22
Be patient, then, my brothers, until the Lord comes. See how patient a farmer is as he waits for his land to produce precious crops. He waits patiently for the autumn and spring rains. James 5:7, TEV Lord Jesus, hear our prayer and reveal your hand in our days. May those things be done that bring your future nearer and that let the world see you as the Savior who can lead us to our Father. Bless your Word within us. May our hearts be strengthened, and may we always live in your presence. We draw our life from your Word, from your promise, and we set our hope on you, our Lord and Savior. Show your might, Lord Jesus, and carry out the will of God over all the world, so that we may rejoice when we see God’s glory appear and his will being done on earth as in heaven. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Education Should Begin Early John Amos Comenius A seventeenth-century educator knew formation of character starts while children are young. Read now When Faith Hardens Gabriel Barsawme When threatened, we humans naturally choose rigid certainty and clarity over remaining open to the truth. Ephrem the Syrian can help. Read now The Angel Who Wanted a Hamburger Cameron Garden Karl Rahner helps us take angels seriously, even if they are admittedly hard to pin down. Read now The Spirit of Early Christianity Eberhard Arnold Why has the example of the first Christians never ceased to fuel renewal and reform? Read now Read Your Enemies David Mills “Know your enemy” is always good advice, but knowing your enemy may include knowing in what ways they’re not enemies but allies. Read now
Daily Prayer for November 19
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 1 Corinthians 1:27, RSV Lord our God, we come to you poor and yet rich, weak and yet strong, with the prayer that your promise may be fulfilled in Jesus Christ, our dear Lord and Savior. Let the time come when the heavens open and a new light shines over the earth, a time when people will praise and thank you and receive everlasting peace and happiness with you. Remember the many people who come into need these days. Remember our nation and all who work for the good of our country. Bless them and help them. And help the dying, O Lord our God; grant that they come to you, for they are yours. Your help will bring life out of death, joy out of grief and need. May your name be honored, dear Father in heaven, may your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as in heaven. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Read Your Enemies David Mills “Know your enemy” is always good advice, but knowing your enemy may include knowing in what ways they’re not enemies but allies. Read now The Beauty of Dissonance Jay Nordlinger Music has a variety of jobs to do, as the other arts do. It can calm, soothe, and delight. It can also provoke, disturb, bite. Read now Yes in My Spare Room Andrew Berg What would a truly Christian response to America’s housing shortage look like? I have some ideas. Read now Not My Will, but Yours Adolphe Monod We don’t have to make a road for ourselves; we just have to walk in one that God has made for us. Read now A History of Plough Magazine Ian M. Randall Trace the history of Plough magazine from its first English edition to the present day. Read now
Daily Prayer for November 17
What answer shall be given to the envoys of that nation? “The Lord has established Zion, and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.” Isaiah 14:32, NIV Lord our God, you are our refuge. We wait for you, for your purpose will never fail and your promise will be fulfilled. This we may firmly believe, and from this we may draw strength every day. Even when our life brings sorrow, we do not want to grieve. We want to hope and believe and endure until your day comes. Your kingdom will come on earth, and in the meantime you are watching over your people. In the midst of the world’s daily affairs there will be people who hope in you, who belong to you, and who are firmly rooted in the grace of Jesus Christ until the time is fulfilled. Amen. Recent articles on Plough The Beauty of Dissonance Jay Nordlinger Music has a variety of jobs to do, as the other arts do. It can calm, soothe, and delight. It can also provoke, disturb, bite. Read now Yes in My Spare Room Andrew Berg What would a truly Christian response to America’s housing shortage look like? I have some ideas. Read now Not My Will, but Yours Adolphe Monod We don’t have to make a road for ourselves; we just have to walk in one that God has made for us. Read now A History of Plough Magazine Ian M. Randall Trace the history of Plough magazine from its first English edition to the present day. Read now When Migrants Land in Britain Horatio Clare A journalist heads to Dover to gauge local reactions to an influx of migrant dinghies – and discovers that the headlines get it all wrong. Read now
Daily Prayer for November 11
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. Exodus 20:2–4, NIV Lord our God, we come to you, the source of all being. You have said to us, “I am your God. You shall have no other gods besides me. Honor none but me, your God.” We thank you for this wonderful message. Help us to recognize you more and more, so that our hearts are full of the goodness and blessing we already have on earth, so that we hear you, the mighty One, say, “Stop, O people. Make peace. No one of you is more important than any other. Remember that I am God of all, in south and north, in west and east, on the oceans and everywhere. I am the one God, and through Jesus Christ I am now your Father.” Amen. Recent articles on Plough The Freedom to Raise Our Children John W. Huleatt, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik and William Haun What is the role of the state and what rights do parents have in the education of their children? Read now The Collective Burden of War Phil Klay and Joy Marie Clarkson Phil Klay, a US Marines veteran, talks to Joy Clarkson about going to war, honor, penance, and the burden we should all share. Read now He Died to Save Civilization? Arthur Henry Woolston A soldier’s last letters home from the muddy trenches of World War I reveal no such idealism. Read now The Only Way to Work John Ruskin If you can’t work wholeheartedly, it might be better not to work at all. Read now A Story for the Making Joe Knight What’s the good of a family legacy if we fail to pass it on to our children? Read now
Daily Prayer for November 7
Has the Lord ever abandoned anyone who held him in constant reverence? Has the Lord ever ignored anyone who prayed to him? The Lord is kind and merciful; he forgives our sins and keeps us safe in time of trouble. Sirach 2:10–11, TEV Dear Father in heaven, Mighty God in heaven and on earth, quicken us by the Word you have sent and by all you have done for us in your mercy and steadfast love. Keep us eager and joyful even in difficult and troubled days. Grant us unfailing trust in you, to give us firm ground under our feet so that we can always thank and glorify you. For you, O Lord, are our God. You are our Father, and you will never forsake your children in all eternity. Amen. Recent articles on Plough A Story for the Making Joe Knight What’s the good of a family legacy if we fail to pass it on to our children? Read now When Christians Follow Nietzsche John Ehrett Enthusiasm for Nietzsche’s ideal of human excellence and vitality has given rise to calls for manly Christian warriors to flex their superiority. Read now Lord, Lord George MacDonald and Wendell Berry One word of the Lord humbly heard and received will suffice to send all the demons of false theology into the abyss. Read now The Blessings of the Desert Margaret Wardlaw A medical doctor returns to the quiet of a desert monastery to make sense of the suffering she faces daily. Read now The Silence Around the Name Yahia Lababidi Rilke’s poetry becomes less religious as he draws nearer to God. Read now
Daily Prayer for October 29
Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they celebrate your righteousness. Psalm 89:15–16, NIV Dear Father in heaven, how lovingly you have thought of us! How much good you let us experience again and again! So our hearts are happy, and we go to rest this night full of joy and thanks because we are your children. Our thanks and joy shall be our service to you day and night. More than this you do not ask, and in this we will be faithful. We want to be joyful and to be glad for our lives. Even when we face dark hours, O Lord our God, we are filled with hope that brings us joy for the future as well as for the present, with assurance that your salvation is coming. We rejoice in what you give us already today. Amen. Recent articles on Plough The Gift of Repentence Johann Christoph Arnold The goal of church discipline should never be punishment, but rather restoration. Read now What the Weeds Are Telling Us Ragan Sutterfield In Arkansas, farmers are fighting and dying over pigweed. Are weeds just an ancient curse on humankind, or can they teach us something? Read now Why Are People Returning to Church? Andrew Davison and Joy Marie Clarkson We are seeing an unexpected resurgence of openness to God and spiritual matters, and an uptick in religious participation. What’s behind it? Read now Choose the Cashier Midge Goldberg Here’s one simple thing we can all do to stay human, love our neighbor, and build community. Read now The Dazzling Light of God Madeleine Delbrêl To have living faith is to be blinded by it, in order to be led by it. Read now
Daily Prayer for October 27
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 2 Corinthians 4:8–10, NIV Lord God, we thank you for your voice even when it is stern and we must go through hardship and suffering. Your voice speaks to us, and in your voice we can be glad and victorious in our life on earth. Come into our lives. May each of us realize that all we have gone through has been for the good. Be God and Lord over the nations. Be a refuge for all people. Grant that the sin and distress of this terrible time may soon pass and that we may hear your words, “Be comforted. I will come soon. All these terrors must pass by. My will is being done. My name must be honored. My kingdom and my rule are coming. So take heart and at all times look to your God and Father in heaven.” Amen. Recent articles on Plough Choose the Cashier Midge Goldberg Here’s one simple thing we can all do to stay human, love our neighbor, and build community. Read now The Dazzling Light of God Madeleine Delbrêl To have living faith is to be blinded by it, in order to be led by it. Read now Poem: “After Helping My Father Rake the Leaves” Jean L. Kreiling A daughter remembers raking leaves with her father, an effort he made despite battling depression. Read now Two Millennia of Christian Community Alden Bass Christians throughout history have found new ways to emulate the communal ideal of the early church. Read now A Book to End All Walls Uk-Bae Lee and Chungyon Won Korea’s demilitarized zone has become an accidental nature preserve that gives hope for a brighter future. Read now
Daily Prayer for October 20
Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. Psalm 33:8–10, NIV Lord our God, we gather together in your presence and ask you to let your light shine in our hearts to strengthen us in times of need and trouble. May we come to know that through all the storms and distress of the world, you are mighty in protecting and sheltering those who trust in you. May we realize the power of your kingdom. Even if all the kingdoms of the world rise in rebellion, you are with us. You are with those who have set their hope on your kingdom and who go on hoping that even in evil days something must happen through your great and holy rule. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Angels in the Cellar Ian Barth A review of Peter Hahn’s Angels in the Cellar: Notes from a French Vineyard. Read now What I’d Give for the Pearl of Great Price Derek Furr When Alzheimer’s came for my mother, I turned to a medieval poem about a man who lost his pearl. Read now The Miracle of Simple Happiness Marianne Wright Music to touch the heart, to instill joy, to delight the ear. Read now The Quiet Faith of a Man Maureen Swinger Plough’s oldest staffer passes on a legacy. Read now Simone Weil and the Sacred Work of Doubt Stefani Ruper For Weil, doubt was not the opposite of faith. It was the most faithful posture she could imagine. Read now
Daily Prayer for October 16
I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way – with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge. 1 Corinthians 1:4–5, NIV Lord our God, we thank you that you are so near to us that we may feel and know we are your children, your children who are in your hands with all that belongs to our earthly life, all our needs and temptations, all our efforts and pain. We come together to thank you, and our thanksgiving wins a victory over everything that makes life difficult for us. In this thanksgiving the harshness, crookedness, and injustice on earth cannot harm us. Protect us with your light, which gives us wisdom for all situations and which lifts us above everything that is base and meaningless and must pass away. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Simone Weil and the Sacred Work of Doubt Stefani Ruper For Weil, doubt was not the opposite of faith. It was the most faithful posture she could imagine. Read now Lord, Teach Me to Pray Dorothy Day If you have to force yourself to pray, those prayers are of far more account with God than prayers which bring comfort. Read now Down There by the Train Brandon McNeice Tom Waits’s outlaw hymn reminds us that there will be a place at the wedding feast for some unlikely characters – and for each of us sinners. Read now Introducing Another Life Podcast Joy Marie Clarkson, Peter Mommsen and Maureen Swinger To live better we have to begin with the conviction that another life is possible. That is what this podcast aims to explore. Read now Mind Your Own Scapegoats Frank Mulder René Girard has influenced both conservative and liberal thinkers, yet few have been as sharp in dissecting the violent tendencies in each of us. Read now
Daily Prayer for October 3
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18–19, NIV Lord our God, our Father in heaven, we come to you as your children. Bless us, we pray. Bless us especially in days when fear tries to take hold of us. Let your help come down to us as you have promised, the great help in Jesus Christ, who shall come to redeem the whole world. Bless us through your Word. Renew us again and again to stand firm and true to you, for you are our help for redemption and reconciliation through Jesus Christ. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Mothers of Srebrenica Hannah Rose Thomas and Rachel Miner Thirty years later, genocide survivors still unearth bones. Read now The Berry Family’s Founding Myth Jeffrey Bilbro Wendell Berry’s new novel, Marce Catlett, blurs the line between fiction and autobiography more than ever before. Read now Inwardness in a Distracted Age Eberhard Arnold What is Christianity’s answer when civilization is falling apart? The most effective way to resist evil starts with becoming quiet before God. But it doesn’t stop there. Read now The Marvel of Apple Trees Tara Couture Each apple tree in our orchard has its own character. Read now Daughters of Palestine Nicole Schrag A review of Leyla K. King’s Daughters of Palestine: A Memoir in Five Generations. Read now