Talking to Jesus

Book excerpt: A tax collector hears the call of the Messiah and leaves behind his profession to follow him. Terrified men aboard a tempest-tossed boat beg Jesus to save them from the storm. A ruler pleads for his young daughter to be healed after she has already died. These stories and more are familiar to Christians around the world. Modern believers who value their prayer lives look back to these people and wonder what it must have been like to talk to Jesus face to face. In each conversation presented here, the Bible tells of a Lord and Savior who cares so much for his children that he meets them where they are and addresses every concern they bring him, just as he does when we pray today. Talking to Jesus retells these stories with enough imaginative detail to convince readers of the humanity of Jesus's followers, like believers today they struggled with both faith and unbelief. When seen with a fresh perspective, they are more than familiar biblical figures. They're real people who aren't perfect-but believe Jesus can do the impossible. These early conversations with Jesus point the way for modern believers to engage more authentically with him in prayer.