# Prayer After Deconstruction: Letting Go of the Cosmic Vending Machine

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/unbelief-7067208/prayer-after-deconstruction-letting-go-of-the-cosmic-vending-machine
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/unbelief-7067208/prayer-after-deconstruction-letting-go-of-the-cosmic-vending-machine.md
Podcast: [Unbelief](https://stenobird.com/podcast/unbelief-7067208)
Published: 2026-01-18T08:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://unbeliefpodcast.com/episodes/prayer-after-deconstruction-letting-go-of-the-cosmic-vending-machine-qobqm7pB
Audio file: https://afp-13455-injected.calisto.simplecastaudio.com/8aed8ada-bfb4-4ae3-a7d7-915f51b641fd/episodes/d7c15d6a-8939-48b5-8dde-77ef804f737c/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=8aed8ada-bfb4-4ae3-a7d7-915f51b641fd&awEpisodeId=d7c15d6a-8939-48b5-8dde-77ef804f737c&feed=dHXZnHby
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/unbelief-7067208/episodes/prayer-after-deconstruction-letting-go-of-the-cosmic-vending-machine
Duration seconds: 2458

## Resource

If prayer has ever felt like a spiritual performance review, this episode is for you. Jeremy talks with Wes Ellis, author of Abide in Amen, about why prayer gets weaponized into guilt, why “spiritual discipline” often turns into self-blame, and how the church trained a lot of us to treat God like a cosmic vending machine. Wes offers a different frame: prayer as God moving toward you, not you climbing toward God. Less control, less shame, more resonance.

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## Transcript

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