Eugene H. Peterson

One of the indignities to which pastors are routinely subjected is to be approached, as a group of people are gathering for a meeting or meal, with the request, “Reverend, get things started for us with a little prayer, will ya?” It would be wonderful if we would counter by bellowing William McNamara’s fantasized response: “I will not! There are no LITTLE prayers! Prayer enters the lion’s den, brings us before the holy where it is uncertain whether we will come back alive or sane, for “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God.'”