I was reading in the notoriously fast paced book of Mark today and in 1.35, Mark includes in his story about Jesus the fact that that prayer is so vital even Jesus slowed down His itinerary to spend time with the Father. I’m guessing His list of to-do’s far outweighed even the most intense schedule we might have… you know the whole healing the sick, teaching the multitudes, dealing with whiny knucklehead apprentices and on top of that there is the dying the death we deserved to die, and all with no blackberry to keep it straight.
Here’s the deal, most of us say we are too busy to pray- that saying needs to be flipped as Martin Luther did to say “I am too busy not to pray.” For me prayer is not natural, but if we try to carry out the mission of making disciples of Jesus without being utterly dependent on God we will fail- it’s that simple. We need to learn to pray (check out Luke 11.1-13 for some insight on this.)
Chris gave the challenge last night to double our prayer time this week as we seek wisdom on forming communities within which to live out the gospel- I’d second that and would ask you all to accept that challenge, not as a mark of religious spirituality, but as a declaration that we are dependent on the Father, Son, and Spirit to live on mission. We need to carve out some of our precious time (it’s all God’s anyway…stewardship again) and develop our intimacy with God through conversations (listening and talking) with Him.
Feel free to post requests, stories, prayers, or even requests to hold you accountable to spending increased time in frontline, kingdom focused prayer.
August 11, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Alright, I will lead this one out.
Normally, I don’t post my requests, but hey, here it goes.
I am sitting at the Phoenix airport waiting to get on my plane to go to Oregon. I will be spending the next two weeks with my family up there. As most of you know, my parents are not believers and my deepest desire is that they would come to know Jesus.
I would love prayer that I would steward my time there wisely, using it sit and pray and be silent and still, but also to connect with my parents, prayer that I would really hear from God and be confident in what it is that He is calling me to, and I think mostly, prayer that I would love and serve my parents (and not just get frustrated by trite comments) but would love because I realize the love that I have in Christ. That was probably the longest run-on sentence ever.
Thanks for the prayer – see you in two weeks!
August 11, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I battled Bulimia for 6 years and have been “recovered” for the past year or two (I’m not really sure what constitutes recovery from an eating disorder–but it hasn’t ruled my life and I have been off meds and out of counseling). Over the past two weeks I have really been overwhelmed with eating disorder type thoughts and have acted on them quite a bit. It finally hit me Sunday morning when I didn’t want to get out of bed and felt physically and mentally depressed. Pray that God rocks me, that the cycle is broken, and that he gets the glory.
August 12, 2008 at 10:08 am
I am still struggling with the illness that put me in the hospital. I thought I was getting better, but had a bit of a relapse this weekend. Please pray that the doctors would have wisdom in what to do. Please pray that I would not let frustration and anxiety get the best of me. I pray that God would be my strength during this time of weakness. I appreciate all of the prayer and concern that you all have shown me over the past few weeks.
August 13, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Holy God, I praise you that ALL things can be brought into captivity and used for your glory. I thank you even for conflict which can stretch, hurt, and break us like little else, yet makes us leak your glory when we give it to you. I thank you for our community and that the interaction between ourselves and the world will bring to light the issues within and without that we need to be working on. I pray that we would continually be mindful of letting your glory be seen as we submit to our circumstances and truly trust you – no I mean ACTUALLY REALLY trust you – and not just say that we do. Lord, I believe – please help me in my unbelief.
August 14, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Ryan and I are still waiting for God to supply him a job. I think we’ve taken turns freaking out lately about the lack of anything happening. In our heads we know that God is in control and that he knows our needs- but we don’t totally live out of that conviction. It’s obvious that this isn’t just about Ryan getting a job- it’s about our hearts and learning to find God more trustworthy than we ever knew. Please pray for our hearts as we wait on the Lord in this time-to walk by faith and not by sight. Pray that we would be guarded from unbelief and able to offer each other strength and truth. And pray for the Lord to provide a job soon!