House church
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Communion meditation on prayer … listening to the range of prayers at Sunday school, I was thinking … because of Easter, because of Jesus’ horrible death and glorious Resurrection, we can confidently bring Him any and all concerns. Hebrews 4:16—Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
We can be confident that God hears us, and that He cares about what we care about: Psalm 4:3—… the LORD will hear when I call to him. and Psalm 62:5-6—Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation.
Jesus not only told us to pray, and modeled how we should pray, but He also prayed regularly Himself: Mark 1:35—Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.
Now, our prayer instructions aren’t the baby “Now I lay me down to sleep.” No, we are set a high standard of trust and faith. First Thessalonians tells us how often to pray: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18—Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
… 1 Peter specifies our attitude: 1 Peter 5:7—Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
… and Philippians tells us what topics are okay to pray about: Philippians 4:6-7—Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And when it’s just too confusing, when the pain is too deep, when we don’t know how to think or pray, even then the Lord has told us what to do:Romans 8:26-27—In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
And then, of course, there’s the fall-back prayer of Jesus in the garden, the prayer one author calls “the prayer that never fails”: Matthew 26:29—Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
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Posts
Braden Wild
We thank You, Lord, from A to Z!
Kite poems
Thanksgiving acrostic
Clothing
Forgiveness …
Forgiveness
Where’s my focus?
Really Living Life
Remembering
Support group
ShareFest
I’ve been there!
Reality
Our Relational God
Hungry?
Communion and birthdays
Communion meditation on prayer
Spring holidays
Jesus’ love language?
Remembering
Remember …
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