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Prayer—that mysterious conversation with the divine—takes center stage in this deeply personal episode recorded from a Swiss bus stop, a Northern Irish coastline, and everywhere in between.

Chris opens with a moving story that left him teary-eyed: after 32 years, he returned to the exact mountain bench in Switzerland where, as a younger man, he had desperately begged God to reveal Himself. Miraculously, upon arriving with his wife, the bench cleared of tourists precisely as they approached—a divine appointment three decades in the making. "There he was waiting for me," Chris shares, his voice catching with emotion. "If anything, he's just waiting to be discovered again and again, every time we dare to look for him."

The conversation shifts to prayer postures when Chris recalls a seminary professor who challenged him: "Why do you pray with folded hands? It looks like you're trying to grab something." This insight transformed his approach, adopting open palms as if "catching water from a waterfall"—a posture of receptivity rather than grasping. Frances confirms this wisdom, describing artwork she created for her church featuring open hands receiving a dove. Lisa adds that simply opening her hands during prayer released tension she hadn't realized she was carrying.

For spiritual leaders, maintaining freshness in prayer presents unique challenges. Chris candidly acknowledges how church leaders can become "dry"—mechanically leading congregations while spiritually depleted themselves. The antidote? Finding spaces where leaders can simply receive rather than always give. Frances shares her wonderful practice of "gripe time"—a dedicated 30-minute period each evening for honest conversation with God about her frustrations and questions.

The episode concludes with Frances offering a beautiful prayer for listeners, demonstrating the gentle yet powerful intercession that makes her Chris's "prayer warrior of prayer warriors." Through mountains and bus stops, open hands and honest gripes, this conversation invites listeners to discover prayer not as a transaction but as a transformative relationship.

What life-changing conversation with God are you putting off? Listen, then find your own mountain bench or quiet corner to reconnect with the divine presence that's been waiting for you all along.

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Send us a Message

Support the show

Send us a Message

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Send us a Message

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What do World War II bombers and Christian healing have in common? More than you might think. Join hosts Lisa Way and Reverend Chris Kramer as they explore the fascinating concept of "survivorship bias" and how it affects our approach to spiritual and emotional healing.

The conversation begins with heartwarming reflections on virtual "Sip and Pray" gatherings, where team members share their morning beverages and life experiences across distances. When elderly members recount growing up during wartime bombings in Bournemouth, a surprising revelation emerges—many felt safer during those predictable dangers than in today's uncertain world. This leads to profound questions about trauma, resilience, and how we process difficult experiences.

Chris shares a compelling wartime analogy about aircraft reinforcement. Military analysts examined returning bombers covered in bullet holes to determine where to add protection, until statistician Abraham Wald pointed out they were only looking at planes that survived. The truly vulnerable areas were where the destroyed aircraft had been hit—an invisible dataset. This powerful metaphor illuminates how we often address superficial wounds while neglecting catastrophic vulnerabilities in our healing journeys.

The discussion deepens with a remarkable hospital story about a woman experiencing what appeared to be a mental health crisis, until one curious nurse discovered the true cause—a severe urinary tract infection creating neurological symptoms. This perfectly illustrates Acorn's healing approach: looking beyond visible symptoms to discover the true sources of suffering. Most striking is that this profound ministry is offered freely, without charge. As Chris beautifully expresses, "It's a bowl of water on a table... The cost was paid by the Lord."

Ready to experience healing that goes beyond the surface? Connect with an Acorn prayer hub near you through our website, or join our virtual gatherings where distance is no barrier to encountering God's restorative power.

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What does it truly mean to be healed? Beyond the physical cures we often seek lies something deeper—a return to the wholeness that was our original design.

This episode takes you on a profound journey through the concept of healing hubs as sacred connectors, places where people can restore balance when life feels out of kilter. Whether facing physical ailments, emotional distress, or spiritual disorientation, these spaces offer a chance to reconnect with God without prescribing a specific outcome. As Lisa and Reverend Kris explore, sometimes what we need isn't a definitive cure but a restoration of equilibrium—that sense of coming back to ourselves as we were meant to be.

The conversation dives into the rich Hebrew concept of "shellamute"—complete wholeness—and unpacks the difference between healing and curing. Through the powerful metaphor of a silversmith purifying precious metal until it perfectly reflects their image, we see how God works to remove impurities from our lives so we might better reflect divine goodness. This process isn't always comfortable; life's challenges cause tensions to bubble up, yet these very struggles often create space for deeper healing.

Perhaps most transformative is Richard Rohr's concept of the "three G's": glance, glare, and gaze. How might our lives change if we moved beyond superficial glances or judgmental glares to truly gazing at the world around us with appreciation and wonder? Could such attentiveness help us notice God's presence in unexpected places—a stranger's birthday wishes, a conversation during a dog walk, or the simple scent of spring flowers? Listen and discover how everyday moments of connection might be your pathway back to the wholeness that is your birthright.

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