{"id":7142,"date":"2019-03-05T20:10:04","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T19:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/?p=7142"},"modified":"2019-03-05T20:19:27","modified_gmt":"2019-03-05T19:19:27","slug":"desert-wisdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/","title":{"rendered":"Desert wisdom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nAngel in the window  (Photo: Margriet van Overbeeke)<\/span><\/p>\n

 
\nA gem from the Desert Fathers and Mothers:<\/p>\n

\u201cBetter to have short times of prayer than long times, because in the long times you get distracted anyway!\u201d<\/div>\n

 
\n 
\nsource: https:\/\/stillpointsa.org.au<\/a>
\n <\/p>\n\n

 
\nDigging deeper<\/strong>
\nUnderstanding desert monasticism<\/a><\/p>\n

From the blog<\/strong>
\nWilderness encouragement<\/a>
\nTesting ground<\/a>
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Angel in the window  (Photo: Margriet van Overbeeke)   A gem from the Desert Fathers and Mothers: \u201cBetter to have short times of prayer than long times, because in the long times you get distracted anyway!\u201d     source: https:\/\/stillpointsa.org.au     Digging deeper Understanding desert monasticism From the blog Wilderness encouragement Testing ground  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,127],"tags":[153],"class_list":["post-7142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prayer","category-quote","tag-desert"],"yoast_head":"\nDesert wisdom - Prayer matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Desert wisdom: \u201cBetter to have short times of prayer than long times, because in the long times you get distracted anyway!\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Desert wisdom - Prayer matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Desert wisdom: \u201cBetter to have short times of prayer than long times, because in the long times you get distracted anyway!\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Prayer matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-05T19:10:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-05T19:19:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/angel_in_the_window.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Irene Bom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Irene Bom\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/05\\\/desert-wisdom\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/05\\\/desert-wisdom\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Irene Bom\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/73ccc5dd58556662821340064c0d24a4\"},\"headline\":\"Desert wisdom\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-05T19:10:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-05T19:19:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/05\\\/desert-wisdom\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":61,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/73ccc5dd58556662821340064c0d24a4\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/05\\\/desert-wisdom\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/angel_in_the_window.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Desert\"],\"articleSection\":[\"prayer\",\"quote\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/05\\\/desert-wisdom\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/05\\\/desert-wisdom\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/05\\\/desert-wisdom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Desert wisdom - Prayer matters\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/05\\\/desert-wisdom\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/05\\\/desert-wisdom\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/angel_in_the_window.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-05T19:10:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-05T19:19:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"Desert wisdom: \u201cBetter to have short times of prayer than long times, because in the long times you get distracted anyway!\u201d\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/05\\\/desert-wisdom\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/05\\\/desert-wisdom\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/05\\\/desert-wisdom\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/angel_in_the_window.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/angel_in_the_window.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1\",\"width\":800,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/05\\\/desert-wisdom\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Desert wisdom\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/\",\"name\":\"Prayer matters\",\"description\":\"International Presbytery of the Church of Scotland\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/73ccc5dd58556662821340064c0d24a4\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.irenebom.com\\\/prayer_matters\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/73ccc5dd58556662821340064c0d24a4\",\"name\":\"Irene Bom\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e6cb38123f3f0db25e487520afc310f04816935f0795f0254ae6811317d0aa46?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e6cb38123f3f0db25e487520afc310f04816935f0795f0254ae6811317d0aa46?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e6cb38123f3f0db25e487520afc310f04816935f0795f0254ae6811317d0aa46?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Irene Bom\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e6cb38123f3f0db25e487520afc310f04816935f0795f0254ae6811317d0aa46?s=96&d=mm&r=g\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Desert wisdom - Prayer matters","description":"Desert wisdom: \u201cBetter to have short times of prayer than long times, because in the long times you get distracted anyway!\u201d","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Desert wisdom - Prayer matters","og_description":"Desert wisdom: \u201cBetter to have short times of prayer than long times, because in the long times you get distracted anyway!\u201d","og_url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/","og_site_name":"Prayer matters","article_published_time":"2019-03-05T19:10:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-03-05T19:19:27+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/angel_in_the_window.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Irene Bom","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Irene Bom"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/"},"author":{"name":"Irene Bom","@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/#\/schema\/person\/73ccc5dd58556662821340064c0d24a4"},"headline":"Desert wisdom","datePublished":"2019-03-05T19:10:04+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-05T19:19:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/"},"wordCount":61,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/#\/schema\/person\/73ccc5dd58556662821340064c0d24a4"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/angel_in_the_window.jpg","keywords":["Desert"],"articleSection":["prayer","quote"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/","url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/","name":"Desert wisdom - Prayer matters","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/angel_in_the_window.jpg","datePublished":"2019-03-05T19:10:04+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-05T19:19:27+00:00","description":"Desert wisdom: \u201cBetter to have short times of prayer than long times, because in the long times you get distracted anyway!\u201d","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/angel_in_the_window.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/angel_in_the_window.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1","width":800,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/05\/desert-wisdom\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Desert wisdom"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/","name":"Prayer matters","description":"International Presbytery of the Church of Scotland","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/#\/schema\/person\/73ccc5dd58556662821340064c0d24a4"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/#\/schema\/person\/73ccc5dd58556662821340064c0d24a4","name":"Irene Bom","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e6cb38123f3f0db25e487520afc310f04816935f0795f0254ae6811317d0aa46?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e6cb38123f3f0db25e487520afc310f04816935f0795f0254ae6811317d0aa46?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e6cb38123f3f0db25e487520afc310f04816935f0795f0254ae6811317d0aa46?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Irene Bom"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e6cb38123f3f0db25e487520afc310f04816935f0795f0254ae6811317d0aa46?s=96&d=mm&r=g"}}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8u2Du-1Rc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12269,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2021\/11\/14\/consider-their-splendour\/","url_meta":{"origin":7142,"position":0},"title":"Consider their splendour","author":"Irene Bom","date":"November 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u201cConsider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these.\" (Luke 12:27) \u00a0 A prayer - for splendour restored inspired by Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalm 146:5-10 For the speechless tongues of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "bible"","block_context":{"text":"bible","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/bible\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/dandelions.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/dandelions.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/dandelions.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/dandelions.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7180,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/22\/3-prayers-for-lent\/","url_meta":{"origin":7142,"position":1},"title":"3 Prayers for Lent","author":"Irene Bom","date":"March 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Lent is a time to get real and take stock. Here are 3 prayers that you might find helpful in your Lenten journey this year. \u00a0 #1 God of the desert, as we follow Jesus into the unknown, may we recognize the tempter when he comes; let it be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "call to worship"","block_context":{"text":"call to worship","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/call-to-worship\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/remnants.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/remnants.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/remnants.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/remnants.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15100,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2024\/03\/06\/tears-on-the-way\/","url_meta":{"origin":7142,"position":2},"title":"Tears on the way","author":"Irene Bom","date":"March 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A prayer Sometimes we don't realize the intensity of the things for which we pray, Lord. \u00a0Keep us courageously mindful that your way is laden with tears on the way to resurrection. Amen. from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro, p.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "prayer"","block_context":{"text":"prayer","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/prayer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/station_night_sky.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/station_night_sky.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/station_night_sky.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/station_night_sky.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17256,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2026\/06\/01\/slow-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":7142,"position":3},"title":"Slow down","author":"Irene Bom","date":"June 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Wise words Desert father Abba Anthony said, 'Pay attention to what I tell you: whoever you may be, always have God before your eyes; whatever you do, do it according to the testimony of the holy Scriptures; in whatever place you live, do not easily leave it. Keep these\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "poetry"","block_context":{"text":"poetry","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/slow_down_sign.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/slow_down_sign.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/slow_down_sign.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/slow_down_sign.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4329,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2018\/02\/25\/wild-hope-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":7142,"position":4},"title":"Wild hope #1","author":"Irene Bom","date":"February 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"On the coast near Belfast, Northern Ireland (Photo: Irene Bom) \u00a0 On 25 February (Lent 2) I preached in my home church in Rotterdam. One of the strands of my sermon was about being in \"God's waiting room\", like Abraham and Sarah were. As part of my sermon I shared\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "prayer"","block_context":{"text":"prayer","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/prayer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/northern_ireland_beach_dogwalker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/northern_ireland_beach_dogwalker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/northern_ireland_beach_dogwalker.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/northern_ireland_beach_dogwalker.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7241,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2019\/03\/29\/not-deserted\/","url_meta":{"origin":7142,"position":5},"title":"Not deserted","author":"Irene Bom","date":"March 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Ethiopian blessing \u00a0(Photo: Irene Bom) \u00a0 Prayer of Lament inspired by Psalm 77: 1-20 God, we call out to you! From the depths of our hearts, we cry, \u201cLord, hear our prayer!\u201d We are consumed by grief. The events of the past few days have overwhelmed us \u2014 it\u2019s hard\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "prayer"","block_context":{"text":"prayer","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/prayer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ethiopian_blessing.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ethiopian_blessing.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ethiopian_blessing.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ethiopian_blessing.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Irene Bom","author_link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/author\/irenebom-com\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/prayer\/\" rel=\"category tag\">prayer<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/quote\/\" rel=\"category tag\">quote<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Angel in the window  (Photo: Margriet van Overbeeke)   A gem from the Desert Fathers and Mothers: \u201cBetter to have short times of prayer than long times, because in the long times you get distracted anyway!\u201d     source: https:\/\/stillpointsa.org.au     Digging deeper Understanding desert monasticism From the blog Wilderness encouragement Testing ground  ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7142\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}