I recently read a biography of Mother Angelica, the feisty nun who founded the Eternal Word Television Network.

At our house we have a saying: “No matter where you go, no matter what you do, there will always be at least one annoying person.”

It’s an unfortunate fact of life, but we have to figure out how to work with the people who get under our skin ... and even learn to love them. To which my kids reply skeptically, “But how?” Here’s what I tell them:

I’ve been trying a prayer experiment lately. Whenever I start to get annoyed with my kids or my spouse I pray, Show me the plank in my own eye, Lord (from Luke 6:42).

As I was teaching one of my kids the five Ws of writing the other day (who, what, when, where, why), it occurred to me there must be some parallel for prayer.

So I asked myself what questions I need to pose before I sit down to pray. I know God hears us no matter how we ask, but sometimes I hear Him better when I pay closer attention to what I'm saying. And when it comes to petition, there are three queries that definitely improve the quality of my conversations:

My 10-year-old takes medication that has the side effect of suppressing her appetite. She eats a solid breakfast, but then often neglects to eat lunch. By mid-afternoon she has low blood sugar and is so out of sorts that she doesn't even realize she’s hungry.

I was up early trying to pray this morning. I say trying, because I was uneasy about something with one of my kids, and I wasn’t entirely sure what it was.

So I paused and did some test-runs. Lord, help her see ... No, that wasn’t it. Father, give her the courage ... That wasn’t it, either. Trying to uncover my concern was like mining for silver, chopping slowly through rock in search of a seam. It was work.

Need a little something to juice up your devotional life? Chances are you already have it. Here are 12 people who probably aren’t on your prayer list—but who ought to be:

1. The guy who cut you off in traffic
2. That rude store clerk or customer-service representative
3. The thoughtless person who caused you extra work and inconvenience
4. That ineffective mother whose kid is out of control
5. The homeless man who smells so bad your eyes water
6. That unbelievably bad candidate in the opposite political party

In the church my family attends, we read the passion narrative on Palm Sunday. We read it from start to finish, with various people assigned speaking roles.

It’s not a performance, just Scripture proclaimed in different voices: Jesus, Pilate, Peter. The congregation is given the part of being the crowd. We’re the ones who cry out, “Crucify him!”

I was at church a while back when out of the blue I thought: What if Jesus were here just as fully as that man in front of me?

Patti, a friend from my moms’ group, is moving. This week someone asked her what her biggest concern is about the move.

Without hesitation she replied, “Comfort. People keep telling me I’m moving to a great place: The schools are solid, the quality of life is terrific. It sounds attractive, but I don’t want to find my security in comfort. I want my security to rest in God.”