Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84Plough Quarterly • Spring 2016 75 on Jesus’ nearness, on the silent coming of the Holy Spirit, ready for everything to be changed by his intervention. P rayer must never supplant work. If we sincerely ask God for his will to be done, for his nature to be revealed in our work, for his rule to bring humankind to unity, justice, and love, then our life will be one of work. Faith without works is dead. Prayer without work is hypocrisy. Unless we actively work to build up God’s kingdom, the Lord’s Prayer – “Your kingdom come” – is a lie on our lips. The purpose of Jesus’ prayer is to bring us to the point where its meaning is lived out, where it actually happens and becomes part of history. Each of us needs to find a way to devote our whole working strength so that God is honored, his will is done, and his kingdom comes. Unless our love for Jesus results in deeds, our connection to the Tree of Life will wither. In addition, if we are going to endure the weight of evil and suffering in this world, we must not only ask God to forgive our sins, but that he would grant us the love that forgives everyone all the evil they have done to us. . . . If our prayer is genuine, if we really want nothing but the kingdom of God, then we will think of all the regions of the world. We will call on God to intervene in the history of the nations, the history of classes and ranks, the history that has brought injustice to a climax. We will call on him to come with his judgment and to let his righteousness and peace break in like the dawn. This should be our prayer and the prayer of the church.   Taken from Eberhard Arnold’s The Prayer God Answers, newly released by Plough with an intro- duction by Richard J. Foster, www.plough.com Eberhard Arnold An Appreciation R I C H A R D J . F O S T E R From the introduction to Arnold’s book The Prayer God Answers (Plough, 2016): E berhard Arnold’s astonishing ministry occurred in Germany between the enormous upheavals of World War I and World War II. His major work, Innerland, absorbed his energies for most of his life. The manuscript had to be packed in metal boxes and buried at night for safekeeping from the Nazis, who raided his study on two occasions. Innerland spoke forcefully against the demonic spirits that animated German society in that day: the murderous strains of racism and bigotry, the heady nationalistic fervor, the mindless mass hysteria, and the vulgar materialism. In 1933 the Bruderhof, the intentional Christian community that Arnold had founded, was stormed by the Gestapo, SS, and police; and its school was closed. Ultimately the Bruderhof community was forced to flee Nazi oppression, first to Liechtenstein and then to England. Today Bruderhof communities can be found in several countries around the world. In the midst of this tumultuous era in human history, Arnold penned his lucid and wise essay, The Prayer God Answers. In it he traverses the land- scape of Christian prayer, providing us with vital and hard-won insights into the life of faith.  Richard J. Foster is the founder of Renovaré, an ecumi- cal Christian community, and the author of several books including A Celebration of Discipline (Harper San Francisco, 1988). Photograph courtesy of Bruderhof Archives