are embedded theologically, historically and culturally; and thus the same practice of prayer takes on different meanings in different contexts.14 It is this multifaceted, endlessly generative, interestingly elastic nature of prayer that makes prayer such a fascinating topic of study. But it also makes prayer rather tricky to pin down. In equal measure, prayer is strikingly ordinary and vastly complicated. On the one hand, prayer comes as naturally to us as breathing. Hence in his lengthy engagement