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My niece's baptism is this weekend, and in the faith of my family, baptism is the sacrament through which God enters our hearts and binds Himself to us.

The last time I saw her was four months ago—or in her perspective, half a lifetime ago. I tried to guess how much she had figured out . . . if she understood yet that the breeze cooling her face was the same force that made the leaves shudder. If she knew water when she saw it, or if she had to touch it first.

It’s hard to imagine that I was ever the same as this tiny baby, with an entirely unknown life stretching out before her and a million things to learn. But I was.

Which can only mean that one day she’ll be like me. She'll have developed a host of fears and dreams. She will have accumulated a lifetime of memories and will have to balance different relationships in different aspects of her life. She'll search for understanding, ache for guidance, hope for love. She'll need God.

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- Abigail Wurdeman

Abigail Wurdeman is a founding member of the Prayables Pray Maker Council, freelance writer and editor. She is a writing coach at Jeannette Katzir, and contributing writer at AskGirl.com. Abi lives in Los Angeles and can be reached at abigail.wurdeman@prayables.com.

The Making of a Star

It's not fame that I seek,
but a grand opportunity to shine through service.
Isn't that what follows all the buffing and refining?  
Shininess. You blow Your warm breath on me,
and then rub-rub-rub.
The lessons and the love
are to restore me with a high-gloss finish
that glistens and reflects You.
Give me the courage to neither shrink
nor cloak the living light You put inside me.

- Erika Harris

"WHAT IS YOUR HOPE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION?"

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He was watching the Pentagon burn from his office window.  It was the morning of September 11, 2001. At that precise moment, he knew for certain, the time had come to make a change in his life. Brian became a Rabbi.

Rabbi means teacher, But that’s not the only thing a Rabbi does. Like clergy of all faiths, they provide comfort to the sick and bereaved, run charitable missions, give sermons, and conduct worship services. A religious leader touches the minds, hearts, and souls of us ordinary folk.

The tragedy of 9-11 caused one young man to step out from behind his desk and answer a higher calling.  Brian found a way to honor the deceased through inspired leadership. Countless others have found ways to make sense of senseless hatred, by living a life of kindness, understanding and charity.

In blessed memory of the victims of 9-11, offer a prayer today.  Give thanks to the Creator for the ability to find good in bad, and opportunity from destruction.

READ MORE from a selection of 9-11 prayers on Beliefnet.com

- Susan Diamond

Faith vs. Reason

I'm here,
You're there,
and yet, we're together.
I've been around the block, around the world.
Somehow, You're everywhere I go.

Make me mindful that life
is not all or nothing.
Embolden me as I fail forward
knowing that the only mistake
would be not to try.

Inspire me to progress every single day.
Remind me not to take it personally
when I call and You don't pick up.
You gave me the gift of reason
precisely so I would ask questions.
Be patient with me as I engage my senses
and still find the faith to follow my heart.

-Ruth Williams

"WHERE WERE YOU WHEN 9-11 HAPPENED?"

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A friend of mine asked me if I write prayers. I assured him I do. He said,

"I thought we’re supposed to just read prayers. Like from scripture or whatever."

I guess this perspective shouldn't surprise me. Many people view spirituality as the act of a human being humbly approaching a powerful and frightening force with strict rules to follow. Don't chew gum, don't wear jeans, and for the love of all that is literally holy, do not address God in your own clumsy words.

I believe God wants to hear our sloppy rambling. He craves the sound of our slang, the music of our sincerest praise, and the cacophony of a billion honest rants coming to Him from all corners of the globe.

After all, our fellowship with God is about building a relationship. God sees us as we truly are; reaching Him with our actual words can't hurt. The worst we can do is cause God to laugh with our alleged crises or elaborate plans. And the best we can do? We can find ourselves deep in an intimate dialogue, our hearts open, words sincere, and voices heard by the Ears that matter most.

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- Abigail Wurdeman

Abigail Wurdeman is a founding member of the Prayables Pray Maker Council, freelance writer and editor. She is a writing coach at Jeannette Katzir, and contributing writer at AskGirl.com. Abi lives in Los Angeles and can be reached at abigail.wurdeman@prayables.com.

In My Own Words

Thank you for accepting my words,
for opening Your arms
to the sloppy child I am,
my voice tripping and stuttering
over a limited vocabulary,
a warped perspective,
an inconsistent temperament.

Please help me accept
that Your holiness is here to cover me,
that I am not expected to bring my own
or to impress you
with an eloquence that implies spiritual genius.

Rather, let me bring myself to You
just as I am—
open, honest,
ready to find true brilliance in You.

- Abigail Wurdeman

"HOW DO YOU TALK TO GOD?"

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Sometimes a breakdown can be the beginning of a breakthrough.

For years, Harvard Business School tried to teach business success.  But they found that you couldn’t learn very much by teaching about successful businesses.  So they changed their whole curriculum.  They now teach failure.  They concentrate on certain businesses that have failed and why they have done so.  They have found that you can learn five times as much from failure as you can from success.

You can cope with failure in the right way: Believe that it’s not final, take God's hand and say,

"OK, God I have gotten myself into another mess.  It is time to turn around and go a different way.”  

Call forth, in prayer, to God, and use any failure as fuel to fan the flames of the success. In God, you are lifted above the turmoil that may have been going on around you.  You are kept relaxed and at peace when people and conditions crowd in upon you.  In God, you are given mastery over your world. Turn your breakdowns into breakthroughs.

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- Christopher Chenoweth, Positive Christianity

Christopher Chenoweth is the leader of Positive Christianity, the worldwide Internet place for prayer. All faiths are welcome, it is a ministry without physical, or denominational walls, that the world can instantly access, and use, without cost. 

Arms Around Me

I thought I knew this person,
but I have not loved wisely.
The relationship is ending;
it was toxic for us both.

Teach me to move on
without bitterness and regret.
Help me to forgive myself
while I seek a better other.

Let me feel Your spiritual arms
supporting me as I weep.
Let me gain from You the certainty:
This decision is good
and sits well in my soul.

- Brenda Scott

"HOW HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM FAILURE?"