From the 16th January - 13 February we are spending some focussed time praying for ourselves, our church, community and world. Each week there will be items to pray for, Scripture to help us, questions to ponder.
Month of Prayer: Week 1 - Praying for ourselves
Questions to ponder:
Where are we in our walk with God? Do we spend regular time reading the Bible, talking and listening out for God speaking to us?
If we imagine that Jesus’ disciples were spending time with him, watching how he lived, learning from him - being his apprentices essentially, how are we being apprentices ourselves?
What desires and longings do we have for our lives? Have we talked to God about these?
What pain and grief are we carrying? Have we taken these to God?
What hopes and goals are we working towards in 2022?
Prayer practices to try out this week:
Keep a regular practice of pausing for prayer at midday each day. This doesn’t need to be a long activity - it can simply be stopping for a minute, reminding ourselves that God is present, and praying the Lord’s Prayer.
Alternatively, try using this prayer from the Corrymeela community:
Midday prayer
We break from the doings of our day
and make space to notice you.
You are always with us
in surprising guises.
Jesus of the flesh, we meet you in
worker and friend,
stranger and pilgrim,
the needy and the needed,
the questioner and questioned.
So when we meet you,
may we deepen trust,
deepen life, deepen justice
and deepen joy.
And when you meet us,
help us approach our activities
with presence and power,
with love and humility,
with courage and dignity.
Amen
Create a timeline of your life, noting significant moments (big life changes, starting or ending of relationships, births, marriages, bereavements, job changes or house moves). Take time to look at what has happened in your life so far. Where was God in those events? Did you have a sense of God’s presence at difficult moments? Or did God feel far away? Did you know God with you in times of celebration? Talk to God about where you have been so far, where you are now and how you feel at the start of this new year.
Scripture to pray with this week:
Reading Scripture and prayer go hand-in-hand. Scripture helps us to know God and can give us words for talking to God when we don’t know how to express ourselves. Scripture tells us about God, God’s plan and purposes and how we fit in with God’s story.
Sunday - God knows us and loves us - Psalm 139
Monday - God is our helper in difficult times - Psalm 143
Tuesday - We are each given gifts to use. Ask God how you might use your gifts this year. - 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Wednesday - Love yourself and love others - Romans 12:9-17
Thursday - A prayer for growing in Christ-likeness - Colossians 3:12 - 17
Friday - Do not worry, God cares for you - Matthew 5:25 and 26
Saturday - A day of rest
Writing down your thoughts or prayers in a journal or notebook can be helpful for processing what you are thinking about currently, or for reflecting back on what you have learnt. There will be notebooks at church on Sunday morning for anyone who doesn't have one already.
Check out the church Facebook page for updates throughout the Month of Prayer - resources, prayers and ideas posted there!
