Most regular/common/essential prayers usually consists of
God uses natural things (sometimes) to communicate to us (Elijah's story)
We need to be quiet- silence our surroundings sometimes to listen to what God is saying
1. I love you
When if comes to prayer, all too often i feel like a bat with a broken sonar. I go through life when something unidentifiable- a decision, an opportunity, a possibility enters my trajectory. I dn know how to respond. At the last possible moment i finally remember to cry out “God, is this a trap or a treat?
Some people call it faith. For me, its desperation.
God, whats on your heart?
In my mind, i know that ”God loves me everyday but it is far too rare to feel it in my heart
In my relationship with God, i feel like Dori (from finding Nemo). I constantly forget His love.
The bible is a series of love letters
Because ‘i love you” is not just a piece of information or one time revelation, but an invitation to transformation.
When Jesus said “it is finished”, never has so much been accomplished with so few words.
The story of the woman giving 2 shackles (all she could afford) . I used to read this story as a lesson in generosty and giving but now i recognize this as a love story. The woman gave everything not with any sense of expectation or entitlement from God, but with deep faith, breathless adoration and extravagant love.
2. Sing it again:
Does God ever get distracted listening to me? Does God ever get bored of my prayers?
The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face shine on you
And be gracious to you
The Lord life up His countenance on you
And give you peace
Story of kid being restless and father hugging and singing to him. The words sung by the father were not tiresome, rather they reminded the boy of his fathers love.
Words from scripture repeatedly
Thus says the Lord...He who formed you...Do not rear....i have redeemed you...i have called you by name...you are mine...i will be with you...I am the Lord your God..Your saviour...You are precious in my sight...You are honored...i love you...Do not fear
Definition of prayer” Keeping company with God”
Part of the beauty of prayer is not only hte request but the constant repetition.
Why pray: Because something inherent in us changes inside us when we persist in prayer.
3: How Long?
Third important part of prayer is waiting.
Some prayers you don't need to write down to remember, and others you dont write down lest you remember.
Thumbing through scripture, i cant help seeing waiting woven into the fabric of history.
The first to ask “How Long” was God himself in Exodus “How log will you refuse to humble yourself before me?
Two kinds of wait
-Great wait
-Personal wait
At times, the reality of “in between” is downright scary- that place of blind trust where the precepts of faith meet the narrow path of fortitude and movement is demanded though there is no definitive place to go but forward.
In between places create humility in our heart
John the Baptist knew Jesus, but still he questioned. When he was in jail, he sent a friend with the humble question to Jesus.
Jesus’s response answers to all the 6 davidic proclamations, but also adds a 7th one. He is the ultimate Messiah.
Jesus’s answer leaves me conflicted. I am comforted to know that he can read between the lines. When we place our deepest doubts and longings before him, he does not shrink back from our concerns- he answers us right back where we are, in language we will understand. But like John, i must also face the reality that which i wait for may not always come in this lifetime.
4. Read it again:
Cant get distracted by the other runners. Everyone has their own journey. No short cuts.
while some days rereading unleashes a cache of discovery, all too often weeks and months go by before i fidn something new. Yet the reward is worth the search and wait.
God does not take a one size fits all approach. Instead he is intensely personal
The question exposed something insdie me. My underlying fear that maybe God isnt really good. I began to recognize that mistrust in God was affecting my life.
Am i praying it safe?
I’m learning the importance of pressing God for more. I want all he has to give. I want his full work completed in me. I know that i see things dimly. i need the illumination.
5: You follow me
God was speaking and anchoring me in the truth that above all else the greatest calling in my life was not my Martial status or ministry, but simply to follow him.
Stop being distracted with the people around us.
Jeremiah 29:11 : God doesnt just have a plan for me, but a future too.
When my faith is tattered and i find myself doubting and questioning everything , i am reminded of the simple truth: You follow me.
6. If you dont wear your crown:
Some people pray as if their life depends on it, others live as if their prayers depend on it.
We may definitely need to take risks- for God.
What is this thing you’re calling me to? I dont understand. Even if i did understand, its still hard because i haven't done it before. The mountain feels steep, treacherous and scary. God, cant we go back down yet?
Revelations 3:11 “Hold on to what you have, so no one will take your crown”
If I dont follow God, God’s purpose wont stop. Someone else will do the task instead.
God doesnt want me to work for him with a sense of obligation, but iwth a sense of gratitude.
7: Surrender:
I can sense God wants to go deeper, peeling back the layers of my soul like a steamed artichoke knowing that at hte center its all about the heart. I begin to reflect on how many false positive prayers i pray to God, things i say but dont really mean.
What does it look like to fully surrender?
Prayer is the place where we hand things over to God on the deepest of levels, where he alone can see the exchange.Only after we surrender things to God on the inside can we truly hand them over externally.
All too often , surrender makes me wonder what God wants to take away.
Surrender means willingly giving something over...
No matter what we give up, we are given so much more.
Given that surrender requires wholeheartedly giving myself to God, what if bad things come or worse, what if nothing comes?
The greatest test of faith might be to desire God’s will in my prayer, instead of trying to manipulate Him and constantly wanting “my wish”
The nature of surrender is not external, it is internal. Surrender is not an exploit, something we do. as much as a renovation, something that is done to us.
8: Take care of my people:
Will you live with less so that others can live with more?
Trusting in God’s care when the future is unknown
Asking “God, what is truly important to you?”
Take care of my people!
Jesus asks his disciples to “tend to his sheep” as in his people.
True love translates pragmatically into caring for the saints.
It is often easy to measure material poverty by what someone does or does not have, it can be much more difficult to identify or measure relational poverty and the pain and lss that comes from being alone or without life giving relationships.
Perhaps God is persistant (in talking about care for the poor) because he wants his heart for the poor beating inside of us.
“Give me eyes to see people as you see them, ears to hear what you are speaking, a heart to love as you do, and hands to serve as you want to be served.
God calls different people to do different things. No cookie cutter formula.
The joy of listening to God’s voice and taking care of his people can not be contained.
9: Bring them to me
God asks us to bring our deepest worries and issues and tensions to Him.
I am reminded that some things are beyond understanding but God does not leave me there. He invites me to run back to him.
I’ve noticed that i’m getting bolder in the questions, doubts and pain i take to God in prayer.
If you could ask God anything, what would you ask?
Though ive seen God heal, i’m still afraid of hte dissapointment of he doesnt.
Sometimes God heals, sometimes he does not. While we can point to factors that contribute to one or another, healing remains largely a mystery. Healing also reminds a promise, i cant help but think of the vision John received while imprisoned on the island of Patmos: “Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of hte streets. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month and the leaves of hte tree were the healing of hte nations.”
the healing promised is not just physical but carries a more holistic meaning of making whole. Deep down, thats the pang of my heart, mabe the ache of all our hearts. God- make us whole. And maybe, just maybe when i respond to the invitation “bring them to me”, i become a little bit more whole myself.
10: You are not alone:
Some people never pray for themselves. I don't know the loss, the pain or the hurt she eperienced in the silence from God. As she shared, i couldn't shake the feeling that something inside her had died.
How do we respond when all we hear is silence?
We are prone to make agreements which are not founded in truth.
Tendency” I wont ask God for anything he wont give
I wont ask God for anything too specific, too personal, too meaningful.
Why me? Why now? Why this?
Elijah’s story. “I have had enough Lord”. Afraid. Honest. Exhausted. God got him a buddy.
Good prayer to request God to talk to you.
Self sufficeincy leads to disaster. Sarai and Abram story. Led to Ismael. Lots of trouble.
Even when we draw lines with God, he does not draw them with us.
Am i ready to erase those lines?
“I call them sacred echoes because I noticed that throughout my relationships, daily life, and study, the same scripturally sound idea or phrase or word will keep reappearing until I can no longer avoid its presence." -
“And like an echo, God often uses the repetitive events and themes in daily life to get my attention and draw me closer to himself."
“Slowly, God is opening my eyes to needs all around me. In Scripture, God revisits this issue of caring for the poor- an echo that repeats itself from Genesis to Revelation. The Bible acknowledges that the poor will always be part of society, but God takes on their cause. The Mosaic law of the Old Testament is filled with regulations to prevent and eliminate poverty. The poor were given the right to glean- to take produce from the unharvested edges of the fields, a portion of the tithes, and a daily wage. The law prevented permanent slavery by releasing Jewish bondsmen and women on the sabbatical and Jubilee year and forbade charging interest on loans. In one of his most tender acts, God made sure that the poor- the aliens, widows, and orphans- were all invited to the feasts.”
- Bless
- Protect
- Redeem
- Heal
- Restore
- Reconcile
- Renew
God uses natural things (sometimes) to communicate to us (Elijah's story)
We need to be quiet- silence our surroundings sometimes to listen to what God is saying
- I LOVE YOU
- Sing it again
- How long
- Read it again
- You follow me
- If you dont wear your crown
- Surrender
- Take care of my people
- You are not alone
- Awakened
1. I love you
When if comes to prayer, all too often i feel like a bat with a broken sonar. I go through life when something unidentifiable- a decision, an opportunity, a possibility enters my trajectory. I dn know how to respond. At the last possible moment i finally remember to cry out “God, is this a trap or a treat?
Some people call it faith. For me, its desperation.
God, whats on your heart?
In my mind, i know that ”God loves me everyday but it is far too rare to feel it in my heart
In my relationship with God, i feel like Dori (from finding Nemo). I constantly forget His love.
The bible is a series of love letters
Because ‘i love you” is not just a piece of information or one time revelation, but an invitation to transformation.
When Jesus said “it is finished”, never has so much been accomplished with so few words.
The story of the woman giving 2 shackles (all she could afford) . I used to read this story as a lesson in generosty and giving but now i recognize this as a love story. The woman gave everything not with any sense of expectation or entitlement from God, but with deep faith, breathless adoration and extravagant love.
2. Sing it again:
Does God ever get distracted listening to me? Does God ever get bored of my prayers?
The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face shine on you
And be gracious to you
The Lord life up His countenance on you
And give you peace
Story of kid being restless and father hugging and singing to him. The words sung by the father were not tiresome, rather they reminded the boy of his fathers love.
Words from scripture repeatedly
Thus says the Lord...He who formed you...Do not rear....i have redeemed you...i have called you by name...you are mine...i will be with you...I am the Lord your God..Your saviour...You are precious in my sight...You are honored...i love you...Do not fear
Definition of prayer” Keeping company with God”
Part of the beauty of prayer is not only hte request but the constant repetition.
Why pray: Because something inherent in us changes inside us when we persist in prayer.
3: How Long?
Third important part of prayer is waiting.
Some prayers you don't need to write down to remember, and others you dont write down lest you remember.
Thumbing through scripture, i cant help seeing waiting woven into the fabric of history.
The first to ask “How Long” was God himself in Exodus “How log will you refuse to humble yourself before me?
Two kinds of wait
-Great wait
-Personal wait
At times, the reality of “in between” is downright scary- that place of blind trust where the precepts of faith meet the narrow path of fortitude and movement is demanded though there is no definitive place to go but forward.
In between places create humility in our heart
John the Baptist knew Jesus, but still he questioned. When he was in jail, he sent a friend with the humble question to Jesus.
Jesus’s response answers to all the 6 davidic proclamations, but also adds a 7th one. He is the ultimate Messiah.
Jesus’s answer leaves me conflicted. I am comforted to know that he can read between the lines. When we place our deepest doubts and longings before him, he does not shrink back from our concerns- he answers us right back where we are, in language we will understand. But like John, i must also face the reality that which i wait for may not always come in this lifetime.
4. Read it again:
Cant get distracted by the other runners. Everyone has their own journey. No short cuts.
while some days rereading unleashes a cache of discovery, all too often weeks and months go by before i fidn something new. Yet the reward is worth the search and wait.
God does not take a one size fits all approach. Instead he is intensely personal
The question exposed something insdie me. My underlying fear that maybe God isnt really good. I began to recognize that mistrust in God was affecting my life.
Am i praying it safe?
I’m learning the importance of pressing God for more. I want all he has to give. I want his full work completed in me. I know that i see things dimly. i need the illumination.
5: You follow me
God was speaking and anchoring me in the truth that above all else the greatest calling in my life was not my Martial status or ministry, but simply to follow him.
Stop being distracted with the people around us.
Jeremiah 29:11 : God doesnt just have a plan for me, but a future too.
When my faith is tattered and i find myself doubting and questioning everything , i am reminded of the simple truth: You follow me.
6. If you dont wear your crown:
Some people pray as if their life depends on it, others live as if their prayers depend on it.
We may definitely need to take risks- for God.
What is this thing you’re calling me to? I dont understand. Even if i did understand, its still hard because i haven't done it before. The mountain feels steep, treacherous and scary. God, cant we go back down yet?
Revelations 3:11 “Hold on to what you have, so no one will take your crown”
If I dont follow God, God’s purpose wont stop. Someone else will do the task instead.
God doesnt want me to work for him with a sense of obligation, but iwth a sense of gratitude.
7: Surrender:
I can sense God wants to go deeper, peeling back the layers of my soul like a steamed artichoke knowing that at hte center its all about the heart. I begin to reflect on how many false positive prayers i pray to God, things i say but dont really mean.
What does it look like to fully surrender?
Prayer is the place where we hand things over to God on the deepest of levels, where he alone can see the exchange.Only after we surrender things to God on the inside can we truly hand them over externally.
All too often , surrender makes me wonder what God wants to take away.
Surrender means willingly giving something over...
No matter what we give up, we are given so much more.
Given that surrender requires wholeheartedly giving myself to God, what if bad things come or worse, what if nothing comes?
The greatest test of faith might be to desire God’s will in my prayer, instead of trying to manipulate Him and constantly wanting “my wish”
The nature of surrender is not external, it is internal. Surrender is not an exploit, something we do. as much as a renovation, something that is done to us.
8: Take care of my people:
Will you live with less so that others can live with more?
Trusting in God’s care when the future is unknown
Asking “God, what is truly important to you?”
Take care of my people!
Jesus asks his disciples to “tend to his sheep” as in his people.
True love translates pragmatically into caring for the saints.
It is often easy to measure material poverty by what someone does or does not have, it can be much more difficult to identify or measure relational poverty and the pain and lss that comes from being alone or without life giving relationships.
Perhaps God is persistant (in talking about care for the poor) because he wants his heart for the poor beating inside of us.
“Give me eyes to see people as you see them, ears to hear what you are speaking, a heart to love as you do, and hands to serve as you want to be served.
God calls different people to do different things. No cookie cutter formula.
The joy of listening to God’s voice and taking care of his people can not be contained.
9: Bring them to me
God asks us to bring our deepest worries and issues and tensions to Him.
I am reminded that some things are beyond understanding but God does not leave me there. He invites me to run back to him.
I’ve noticed that i’m getting bolder in the questions, doubts and pain i take to God in prayer.
If you could ask God anything, what would you ask?
Though ive seen God heal, i’m still afraid of hte dissapointment of he doesnt.
Sometimes God heals, sometimes he does not. While we can point to factors that contribute to one or another, healing remains largely a mystery. Healing also reminds a promise, i cant help but think of the vision John received while imprisoned on the island of Patmos: “Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of hte streets. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month and the leaves of hte tree were the healing of hte nations.”
the healing promised is not just physical but carries a more holistic meaning of making whole. Deep down, thats the pang of my heart, mabe the ache of all our hearts. God- make us whole. And maybe, just maybe when i respond to the invitation “bring them to me”, i become a little bit more whole myself.
10: You are not alone:
Some people never pray for themselves. I don't know the loss, the pain or the hurt she eperienced in the silence from God. As she shared, i couldn't shake the feeling that something inside her had died.
How do we respond when all we hear is silence?
We are prone to make agreements which are not founded in truth.
Tendency” I wont ask God for anything he wont give
I wont ask God for anything too specific, too personal, too meaningful.
Why me? Why now? Why this?
Elijah’s story. “I have had enough Lord”. Afraid. Honest. Exhausted. God got him a buddy.
Good prayer to request God to talk to you.
Self sufficeincy leads to disaster. Sarai and Abram story. Led to Ismael. Lots of trouble.
Even when we draw lines with God, he does not draw them with us.
Am i ready to erase those lines?
“I call them sacred echoes because I noticed that throughout my relationships, daily life, and study, the same scripturally sound idea or phrase or word will keep reappearing until I can no longer avoid its presence." -
“And like an echo, God often uses the repetitive events and themes in daily life to get my attention and draw me closer to himself."
“Slowly, God is opening my eyes to needs all around me. In Scripture, God revisits this issue of caring for the poor- an echo that repeats itself from Genesis to Revelation. The Bible acknowledges that the poor will always be part of society, but God takes on their cause. The Mosaic law of the Old Testament is filled with regulations to prevent and eliminate poverty. The poor were given the right to glean- to take produce from the unharvested edges of the fields, a portion of the tithes, and a daily wage. The law prevented permanent slavery by releasing Jewish bondsmen and women on the sabbatical and Jubilee year and forbade charging interest on loans. In one of his most tender acts, God made sure that the poor- the aliens, widows, and orphans- were all invited to the feasts.”
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