Prayer in the Night

Folks, we've got an early contender for book of the year. Tish Harrison Warren's new book Prayer in the Night is soul medicine – and it couldn't be more timely.

I don't know about you, but ever since the world came to a screeching halt last March, I've had more trouble than usual sleeping at night. Studies suggest I'm in good company. We're all carrying more stress than usual. Even if we've escaped the worst of the pandemic, even if the world continues to spin on its axis, we're feeling the weight of these tumultuous times. We hope that people smarter and more powerful than us are making prudent decisions aimed at the common good, but we haven't always been sure that's the case. As a whole, we're not doing OK.

In this breathtaking, life-giving book, Harrison invites us to admit as much. She does this through personal and pastoral reflections, moving phrase by phrase through the beloved Compline prayer that Christians have been praying – through plague and famine, war and peace, thick and thin – for centuries: "Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen."

I hesitate to say any more than I already have because I want you to read it for yourself without too many preconceived ideas. This is one I expect to revisit again and again in the months and years to come. I hope you will too.