Prayer

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.

Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-21

How

Should

I Pray?

Prayer is central to the life of the believer. Jesus teaches us to pray, models what a life of prayer looks like, and invites us today to engage in prayer as a way of existing. Paul challenges the church in Thessalonica to pray without ceasing. What?! How is this possible?

In a world of notifications, overbooked calendars, never-ending to do lists, etc., making time to pray seems more and more difficult by the day. Jesus is routinely waking up before sunrise to spend time in the presence of the Father. We believe starting from that place, the first-fruits of our time, is a great way to get our minds and hearts in a position to pray throughout the day.

We would challenge you this next week to try this a few times. Wake up early, grab some coffee and pray. This can take shape in a variety of ways. Here are some best practices we recommend:

Prayer Journal: write out the things you want to say to God and listen for His response. Test what you feel He is saying against Scripture and write it down so you can refer back to it throughout the day. Another helpful tool is to follow these four movements in prayer journalling: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. This is the prayer model used at Friday Morning Prayer. Download the PDF guide here.

Scripture: read a passage of scripture and pray it to God. Meditate on its truth throughout the day. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-21 is a good starting point, “Spirit, I desire to rejoice always. I am in a season of sadness and frustration. Would you replace it with your joy today?”

Worship Music: turn on music that is worshipping God and join in. Reflect on the truth of the words and pray them to God, over your life or others that God places on your heart. King of My Heart by John Mark McMillan is a great song for this practice.

Prayer Gatherings

Friday Morning Prayer (All Parish)

The Impact Guild | 708 W. Summit Ave | Fridays @ 7am

We invite you to pray together on Friday mornings. During this season we are gathering together to follow along with the Daily Office prayer rhythm together. We will read this scriptures and pray together. We desire to make space to allow God to speak to form us during this focused time together.

Men’s Friday Night Prayer

3rd Friday of Every Month

Parish specific meetups. Sign up here to receive a text with addresses and details for each Parish.