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Prayer—that mysterious conversation with the divine—takes center stage in this deeply personal episode recorded from a Swiss bus stop, a Northern Irish coastline, and everywhere in between.

Chris opens with a moving story that left him teary-eyed: after 32 years, he returned to the exact mountain bench in Switzerland where, as a younger man, he had desperately begged God to reveal Himself. Miraculously, upon arriving with his wife, the bench cleared of tourists precisely as they approached—a divine appointment three decades in the making. "There he was waiting for me," Chris shares, his voice catching with emotion. "If anything, he's just waiting to be discovered again and again, every time we dare to look for him."

The conversation shifts to prayer postures when Chris recalls a seminary professor who challenged him: "Why do you pray with folded hands? It looks like you're trying to grab something." This insight transformed his approach, adopting open palms as if "catching water from a waterfall"—a posture of receptivity rather than grasping. Frances confirms this wisdom, describing artwork she created for her church featuring open hands receiving a dove. Lisa adds that simply opening her hands during prayer released tension she hadn't realized she was carrying.

For spiritual leaders, maintaining freshness in prayer presents unique challenges. Chris candidly acknowledges how church leaders can become "dry"—mechanically leading congregations while spiritually depleted themselves. The antidote? Finding spaces where leaders can simply receive rather than always give. Frances shares her wonderful practice of "gripe time"—a dedicated 30-minute period each evening for honest conversation with God about her frustrations and questions.

The episode concludes with Frances offering a beautiful prayer for listeners, demonstrating the gentle yet powerful intercession that makes her Chris's "prayer warrior of prayer warriors." Through mountains and bus stops, open hands and honest gripes, this conversation invites listeners to discover prayer not as a transaction but as a transformative relationship.

What life-changing conversation with God are you putting off? Listen, then find your own mountain bench or quiet corner to reconnect with the divine presence that's been waiting for you all along.

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