The Prayer Course: Review

Pete Greig says in the opening session of The Prayer Course that after the six weeks we will be "better at hearing Gods voice, experiencing more of his prescence, have processed our dissapointments and struggles with prayer and will possibly even be witnessing more miracles having unlocked the power of prayer!"

Johnny Hughes responds with "I'm in!" and that was how I felt too!  Which Christian amongst us wouldn't want that?  Although I was uncertain it would 'work' for me so to speak.

Along with so many other Christians I have found prayer so difficult, sometimes boring and

even pointless; I have gone through phases of praying for everything to refusing to pray for anything, but I knew I had to get this prayer part of my life in some sort of order so I suggested to our home group that we followed The Prayer Course.

Taking the process of prayer step by step following the Lord's prayer as a guideline, it was an interesting, thought provoking and sometimes heart wrenching journey through adoration, petition, intercession, perseverence, listening and warfare.

I can honestly say that having completed the course about a month ago now and taken the time to let what I learned settle, I have had answeres to prayers that have been ongoing for many years, been able to sense Gods leading and presence in guiding me through some big life decisions I have been working with over the last year, and I have seen a miracle in our financial circumstances in that the life change I am undertaking means giving up my job and being funded by the government, the grant offer is the same amount as my wages!

I feel a lot more in touch with my prayer life now, there is more meaning and understanding behind it, I'm not just randomly waffling away to the thin air (well I kind of am, but I fully believe there's more than just thin air there!)

If you are part of a small group I would recommend it as a course to follow but I'm certain even as an individual you would get something out of watching the short video clips! 

Try it and let me know how you get on!

Throwback Thursday - A Post From The Past

This post was first published on 26/3/13. Quite apt to choose it now as I will be blogging shortly on The Prayer Course that our homegroup have just completed.

It's often said God gives three answers to prayer - "yes", "no" or "wait".......we seem to be getting the bulk of the "no" answers at the moment and it really does make me think 'why am I even praying?' I thought I'd be really clever and prove my point by specifically not praying and then if what I would've prayed for went the right way - case proved - circumstantial!

Don't misunderstand me and think I am losing my faith, I completely know God is there and loves me and cares about what I need, but I am starting to think what happens to us in this life is very much down to our own control and circumstances, the thing is..........I can't not pray!

I have developed such a relationship that even if the answer is going to be "no" I still find peace in having had the conversation and I know I will look back at this period of time in the future and make sense of the "no's"!

So I still pray, but avoid the specific subject of our want/need at the moment! I know many of my friends are praying for the same thing for us so I leave it in their hands! Pressure!

I have found recently the easiest way for me to pray is to elaborate on the Lord's Prayer something like this:

"Father, you are the one true God,

the only God who deserves all my praise & worship.

I pray that your world will be filled with people who follow you,

& every day your work will be done.

Thank you for all you've provided & continue to provide for me & my family.

Please forgive me for the things I've said & done that've hurt you & others,

help me to think before I act & help me to forgive others who hurt me.

Help me to not be tempted by things that are not good for me

& keep me safe from things that can harm me.

In your son's precious name. Amen"

Why pray? Because Jesus taught us to, and whether we believe it or not and even when it seems like God's not there, He is, and He's listening and it'll all be alright in the end, and if it's not alright, it's not the end!

Why Pray?

It's often said God gives three answers to prayer - "yes", "no" or "wait".......we seem to be getting the bulk of the "no" answers at the moment and it really does make me think 'why am I even praying?' I thought I'd be really clever and prove my point by specifically not praying and then if what I would've prayed for went the right way - case proved - circumstantial!

Don't misunderstand me and think I am losing my faith, I completely know God is there and loves me and cares about what I need, but I am starting to think what happens to us in this life is very much down to our own control and circumstances, the thing is..........I can't not pray!

I have developed such a relationship that even if the answer is going to be "no" I still find peace in having had the conversation and I know I will look back at this period of time in the future and make sense of the "no's"!

So I still pray, but avoid the specific subject of our want/need at the moment! I know many of my friends are praying for the same thing for us so I leave it in their hands! Pressure!

I have found recently the easiest way for me to pray is to elaborate on the Lord's Prayer something like this:

"Father, you are the one true God,

the only God who deserves all my praise & worship.

I pray that your world will be filled with people who follow you,

& every day your work will be done.

Thank you for all you've provided & continue to provide for me & my family.

Please forgive me for the things I've said & done that've hurt you & others,

help me to think before I act & help me to forgive others who hurt me.

Help me to not be tempted by things that are not good for me

& keep me safe from things that can harm me.

In your son's precious name. Amen"

Why pray? Because Jesus taught us to, and whether we believe it or not and even when it seems like God's not there, He is, and He's listening and it'll all be alright in the end, and if it's not alright, it's not the end!

Should The Lord's Prayer Be Taught In School?

So the Archbishop of Canterbury would like to see The Lord's Prayer introduced into more schools. I learnt it in the C of E school I was brought up in and a quick survey of my kids who have gone to the same school know it and they say it nearly every day at school.

At first my thoughts on this was it would only be appropriate for it to be on the agenda at a Church school, but actually I think we should be trying to promote our heritage as a Christian land in all schools, that is not to say we only focus on Christianity, but certainly give it good airtime.  The basis of the Christian religion is love & forgiveness, I can't believe any parent would be against that being taught to their children.

Dr Rowan Williams says  "I'd like to see schools introducing children to the Lord's Prayer, so that they know that it's there, they know what it means and know why it matters. Then they may make up their minds about whether they use it."

That doesn't sound too harmful does it? He's not wanting to insist they believe it or face eternal damnation, just here's something that means a lot to a lot of people.
Having said all that, I was taught it and I must admit when I'm in Church and someone says now let's all recite The Lord's Prayer my first thought is "please put up the words!" There's just something about it that makes me always want to say the 'lead us not into temptaion' bit before the 'forgive us our sins' bit.  Which probably doesn't matter so long as you say it all and mean it, but you look like a bit of a plum when you are saying something different to everyone else!

And shamefully, I couldn't off the top of my head tell you where to find it in the Bible; I want to say Psalm 23 but I know it's not that, I think that's The Lord's My Shepherd one?

So there you have it, I was taught it, can't confidently recite it, and without looking it up don't know where to find it!  You know what, God'll forgive me for it and still loves me anyway!

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours.
Now and for ever.

Amen.

Were you taught it and do you think it should be taught now?

This Doesn't Happen In Our Town........Until Now

I hope I'm doing the right thing with this post and it's not seen as sensationalising a tragedy.  But I feel blogging, for me, is about posting  what's current to me, whether it's my thoughts on a Bible passage or podcast or things of a religious nature that are making the news.

If you live in the UK, you cannot have missed that Rev John Suddards was tragically murdered in his home, The Vicarage, in the town where I live.

The week has unfolded and hopefully now they have the right man in custody.  There have been Police and journalists all over the town, and every time you hear the whir of the Police helicopter blades you are reminded of what you were trying to forget about.

My children go to the Church school, so they were just getting to know him, it was lovely to hear the things some of my friends children had remembered about him and I thought it would be nice to include those quotes in this post:

"My sons have all said he was kind and friendly and are stunned.  They know that he loved God and that he is now in heaven with him which is enough for them. My youngest son said it will be nicer for him there as he won't have to live on his own anymore which brought a tear to my eye".

"I remember him telling us stories about God and enjoyed working with him on the assembly team".

"When Father John did school assemblies they were more fun".

"My son is devastated, sobbed for over an hour.....He encouraged him so much with his organ playing".

"In the short time John had been with us, he very quickly became a much loved and respected member of our school community"

John 16:33 ESV
"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

No-one can answer the many questions surrounding this week - least of all me!  But we can know whatever evil prevails in this world, the victory has already been won, by Jesus.

It was wrong, it should not have happened, but it did.  That is the nature of a sinful world.

We are fortunate we live in a very safe area and I'm sure it will return to that way again, but I realise that all over the UK there are places where stabbings and murders and crimes barely get a mention on the news because they are so frequent, this is also wrong and should not happen, but it does.

Jesus has overcome, we mustn't live in fear, and when He returns the world will be as it was intended by God; sinless and perfect.

Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV)

⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
¹³ And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.