I asked about a tradition I’d read about called a minyan. “When ten people pray together in a room, it’s called a minyan,” the rabbi said. “Is that why everyone has such big families?” I asked. They all laughed. “You can still pray on your own or with a few others, but it’s better with…

Crisis prayer is the most popular of the three. Such prayers are urgent, earthly, and temporal. The help-me-pass-this-test, please-heal-my-neighbour, fix-my-marriage kind of prayers that we all pray. Then there are calling prayers. The prayers of Paul were dominated by calling, especially in Colossians 4. Paul had received a word from God—a very clear direction and…