PRAYING TOGETHER - for physical and spiritual hunger

This Wednesday, January 26th at 7pm in B1, we will be "Praying Together" for the issue of physical hunger, which is one of the Arizona CityFest's focus points.  We will also be learning about how we can pray for friends and family to come to know Christ - and of course actually praying for them!  Everyone is invited to come, pray, and also if you are able, bring an item of canned food to support our Open Door Food Bank and bless others.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY - BIGGER

Lord, I am overwhelmed today with the bigness of so much frailty and need - mine and all around me.  Help me to trust You to the point that I am overwhelmed even more by how so much bigger You are.

A New Year - A New Way to Pray?

 

Have you ever heard the expression “praying the scriptures” and wondered what that actually means? How do you pray the scriptures? Do you just repeat the verses to God? What does it mean? How do you do it?

Praying the scriptures is not as confusing or intimidating (or, frankly, as tedious) as it might sound. The first step for me is to simply slow down a little as I read through a passage. As the words on the page describe events in someone's life (such as in the Old Testament or Acts), I can think about their responses to God, His responses to them, and what my responses might be in similar circumstances. My circumstances are different but might the same challenges be present? What are my needs and desires regarding the challenge? When I pray for those needs and desires, I am praying the scriptures. When the verses I read are words that reaffirm God's love for me or remind me of the freedom He died to give us, and I linger there awhile, I can imagine how my life would change if I truly believed that in every corner of my heart. It's then that I'm led to pray for that depth of belief to be true of me, and suddenly I'm praying the scriptures.

I could try to explain it some more but sometimes it's just better to see it. When I was at a recent writers' conference, I met a writer who is doing just that for us. Diane Guthmuller is showing us through her blog what it looks like to pray the scriptures. It's her 2011 Prayer Journey where she's reading through the Bible and posting prayers based on what she's read. It's a perfect time to jump on board and subscribe to her prayer posts. She lists the Bible passages from which her prayer comes so we can see how she turns her scripture reading into prayers. I've subscribed to her posts and they arrive in my email every day. I'm enjoying the life, and depth, and personalness that she's bringing to Bible passages for me. It gives me keener eyes to see my own life in the lives, needs, and challenges written about in the Bible. If you've ever wondered about “praying the scriptures” give this blog a look.