Amen: Short Prayers for Any Time, is a collection of brief prayers that have been uttered over the centuries by followers of Christ. Human beings seem hardwired to pray, a practice as natural as breathing. The basics of human relationships resemble the structure of prayer. “Please,” “thank you,” “I’m sorry,” and “I love you” reflect petition, thanksgiving, confession, and adoration. Two hundred years ago, the Scottish poet James Montgomery wrote, “Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire, unuttered or expressed.” It’s what we really, desperately live for, whether put it into words or not. “Prayer is the burden of a sigh, the falling of a tear, the upward glancing of an eye when none but God is near.” In gratitude and grief, wonder and lament, the human spirit attempts to reach beyond its understanding. Prayer can be described perhaps, but defining it is like telling an unsighted person how lovely is the sunset. Ultimately, we must pray, however we do it.This collection of brief prayers had their origin as social media posts, and now have been collected in this small edition to keep beside the bed or to carry in a pocket. They are offered with the author’s prayer that they will bring the one who prays these words closer to Almighty God.