With 2013 being a year where we seek to lead North Church and others to prayer and communion with God, I want to post times some thoughts from my times of prayer and how I am praying.
Typically I will read a Psalm (I am going in order each day) just after I wake up and then allow that Psalm to set the mood for my prayer that morning and throughout the day. Yesterday I read Psalm 40. Two verses stuck in my head and provided the focus for my prayer and desire to commune with God.
40:1
I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
40:4 Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust.
These verses led me pray something like this, "God teach me to trust you, teach me to wait patiently for you. I want to have an immediate response to trouble of patience and trust in your will and work." God would you burn that into me? Make me a man of patience and trust. God you promise to draw hear and incline your ear to the patient. You promise to make your self known to the one who trusts you. God I want you for the sake of you and not for my circumstances to change. God teach me and show me patience and trust."
Throughout the day, I said and thought to myself, "wait patiently...blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust." I got a chance to connect with a close friend about a life situation he was wrestling with. These meditation and prayers were just exactly what God was pushing him toward.
Later, I had two meetings. One with a baseball team for Cooper and another for church. I was feeling overwhelmed and easily agitated and frustrated. I knew it was happening. The trust and patience meditation were no longer winning. The present overwhelming was winning. So, as I went to bed, those meditations came back into my mind and I prayed as I fell asleep and asked God to allow patience and trust to rule.
Thanks for reading!
A Vision for Prayer in 2013
Yesterday, I cast North Church's vision for making 2013 a year that is focused around prayer. I am blogging some of my notes for those who were not in attendance yesterday and for those who read this who do not attend North Church.
Some of the items in the notes were not touched on yesterday.
A Vision for Prayer in 2013
There may be no greater tool for God to use to change us
than consistent, fervent prayer.
“The man- God’s man- is made in the closet. His life and his
most profound convictions are born in his communion with God.”
EM Bounds
The vision for prayer in 2013-
1.
Consistent- (Luke 22:39-41) Pray on the same
days at the same times each week. This will develop habits and habits begin to
make patterns. This will change you.
2.
Alone- (Luke 22:41)
a.
Pray by yourself, this develops intimacy and you
can have freedom to sing, argue, make mistakes, read, be repetitive like to
Psalm, meditate.
b.
Find your prayer closet.
i. In
your car on your way to work. This is a quiet and consistent routine based
opportunity.
ii. Shower.
This is what I do. God uses the idea of cleansing to teach me daily and remind
me. It is also a quiet and restful place.
iii. Actual
closet.
iv. Next
to your bed. Many married couples require different amounts of sleep or have
different schedules. Many times Jen will be finishing up a project and I am
just looking for something to do. Kneel next to the bed and pray.
3.
Sacrificially-
a.
Fasting. There will be more to come in the next
few weeks sermons about fasting. But, at the heart of fasting is to connect
with the heart of God and at the heart of fasting is sacrifice with the express
understanding that God can provide.
b.
Wake up early. God will bless this. I love sleep
and I hate to wake up before I have to. God will bless this. Sacrifice.
c.
Skip a lunch. Not necessarily fasting, but
giving up of time that is “yours” in the middle of the day to seek God.
4.
Model- Your leaders have been doing this for a
couple of months now. We do not want to call you to something that we have not
been pursing for a while.
a.
Elders have been praying since for this and in
this since November.
b.
Deacons have been praying since December.
c.
We are calling the church body to it today.
5.
What to pray/How to Pray-
a.
Allow God to direct this. Foremost, spend
sometime with God and allow him to direct this, allow these words to serve as a
guide.
b.
Some direction:
i. Books
to help/guide/shepherd your praying mindset:
1.
Everyday Prayers by Scotty Smith.
2.
A Praying Life by Paul Miller.
3.
Humility by Andrew Murray.
4.
Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray.
ii. Read
the Psalms. Read them by day. On the first of the month read Psalm 1 etc. on
the first of the second month read Psalm 32 etc. Do not feel obligated to read
the entire Psalm. If a phrase in a Psalm connects with your heart, stop,
meditate on it, think on it, pray it, memorize it, repeat it to yourself
throughout the day, remember this is the WORD OF GOD he is using it to
penetrate your spirit and remind you of a part of himself.
Psalm 32 in Practice::
When you see the word Selah, that is an instruction to stop
and think deeply on what you just read.
Memorize, meditate, repeat phrases, think on concepts, pray
them verbally.
For
me with this Psalm, this simple verse launched me for a full week to guide my
prayers. It directs the rest of the Psalm and leads me to actively ask
forgiveness for specific sin.
Closing::
God will shape you and will continue to shape you as you
develop this communion, the devotion and as you sacrifice, learn, and hunger
for his presence in prayer and in meditation. Come and spend 2013 in prayer and
communion with God.
