There are times when God peels back the layers of God’s work, allowing us to see the intricate working of God’s will. These beautiful intersections of God’s will with our participation remind us that God is active in ways far beyond our perception or understanding.
prayer
A Blog about Prayer….part deux
If prayer occurs amidst an ordinary and distraction-laden life, then the apt question is, “How might we include these distractions into our prayers? Rather than treating each interruption as something that rips us away from Jesus, how might we embrace these distractions, even transform them, as tools for our devotion?
A Blog about Prayer
If we think this that prayer can only occur when all is quiet, we inevitably find ourselves viewing every hiccup or distraction as a negation or prayer. And once prayer is negated by interruption, it’s easily abandoned. We end up reserving prayer for those special times when no one is around, and all is silent.
Pray Simple
During university, I participated in a prayer walk for the city of Victoria. The intent was that each of us would to take our turn offering vocal prayer. I’m sure that everyone’s prayers were wonderful, faithful, and well-spoken, but I didn’t hear a single word of them. Instead, as everyone else was praying, I spent the time stressing about what I would say when it became my turn. As prayer passed from one person to the next, my mind raced through different phrases I could use, and scriptures I could refer to, to make my prayers both deep and eloquent. After all, no one wants to offer a messy prayer, right?
Go on…take a seat
Tucked in the pages of the Old Testament is a beautiful picture of King David sitting before God. Immediately following his rebuke by the Prophet Nathaniel scripture records that “King David went in and sat before the Lord” (2nd Samuel 7:18). The verse is simple and uncomplicated. It’s easy to miss. Yet the common-place nature of the verse suggests it to be an action that David preformed countless times before. David knew exactly where to go to connect with the Lord. When David felt an inward desire to be in God’s presence, he journeyed to a sacred spot and sat down.
Loving Prayer in Discouragement
Praying in love is not about masking feelings or denying discouragement. In Christ, God entered the fullness of humanity. This means that it is the fullness of our humanity that is offered in our prayer.
Claiming Grace
There is no shame in grace. Claiming God’s grace is not a sign of weakness or lack of faith. It is a bold and radical act of trust. We reach out to the one who sits with us, who incarnates himself in the very depths of our hurts and struggles.
Praying when we cannot find the words
What if we chose to see frustration in prayer as an invitation to journey deeper with Christ? Discouragement in prayer, after all, is rooted in a desire to pray, and a call to pray. In fact, discouragement in prayer testifies to the fact that we understand prayer rightly.
Reverend Kyle Norman 