Pope mix-up story; Jesus' habit of praying alone
- How can someone pray honestly and without distraction?
A host recounts that a man mistook him for 'pope' in a text thread and demanded papal advice; reflecting on it, he realized how often Jesus goes off to pray alone for long stretches — Mark 1 (after healing the leper he vanishes to a mountain to pray while the disciples mount a search party) and Luke (Jesus praying alone even with the disciples nearby). He confesses he has no pull to talk to God for even an hour, that his mind wanders at home because everything he is responsible for is within twenty feet, and that nature works because nothing out there is his responsibility. Prayer, he argues, is simply spiritual communication between a person and God; when you have nothing to say, be quiet and let God talk, or pray the Lord's Prayer. Jesus models both the thirty-second prayer and the all-night prayer, and neither is holier than the other.
More on Honesty
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Dear LFTP: explaining an invisible disability
- How do I explain my invisible disability to friends who act like I'm making it up?
Mike reads a letter from a listener with polyneuropathy, seven back surgeries, and arthritis in every joint who lives in constant invisible pain and doesn't know how to explain it to friends who act like she's making it up.
From No. 585 · Split Ends | Interacting with other Denominations
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Dear LFTP: ending a friendship or ghosting the young couple
- Should I ghost an unwanted friendship or tell them honestly I want to end it?
A listener wants to end a relationship with a younger couple who guilt-tripped them into visits, now with toddlers she dislikes; her husband disagrees and wants to keep up the charade.
From No. 568 · Like Jesus
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Dear LFTP: the boyfriend's uncomfortably hard bed and couch
- How do I tell my boyfriend his expensive bed and couch are too uncomfortable to sleep on?
A host hands the advice segment to Mike ("Alright. Mike, let's give some advice") and a host reads the Dear LFTP letter: a woman in a tumultuous-but-currently-good relationship…
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Dear LFTP: the aggressively negative colleague
- Should I make excuses or be honest with a negative, aggressive friend?
Mike reads the third Dear LFTP letter: a listener reconnected with a former colleague who has become negative, aggressive, and angry — bashing family, colleagues, and service workers, and refusing to stop talking politics.
From No. 554 · The Simple Life