Greetings!
Beginning today, Pentecost Sunday, I invite you to join me in six weeks of prayer for our church. Though we are always about the work of prayer, I feel the Spirit at work in our midst in a special way just now. For this prayer project, I'll share a special way of praying with you for each week; we'll start the prayers on Sunday morning in worship.
I ask that you take time each day through the week to continue these prayers in your own devotions.
The prayers we'll share are shaped around our mission and vision statement that we adopted several years ago; now is the time for us to pray that statement, and seek God's wisdom as we live the words in our life together.
Personal prayer is so important to our faith, and I know that many of you pray in a multitude of ways. I hope you might try these specific ways of praying, and see how they help deepen your connection to God and one another. (No experience is necessary for any of these prayers, so if don't have regular prayer habits or are unsure about how to pray, this can be helpful, too.)
In worship today, we shared this week's prayer practice: breath prayers.
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Our vision statement begins: We are believers in Christ, seeking God's guidance as we grow in our relationships with God, others and ourselves. Breath prayer: Find a comfortable place to sit in prayer for at least 10 minutes, in a posture that allows you to breathe deeply. Set a timer to mark the end of your prayer time. Invite your body to relax. Pay attention to your breathing-let it slow down. With each breath, as you breathe in, say to yourself: "Holy God;" with each breath, as you breathe out, say to yourself: "Guide and grow me." You may find it helpful to close your eyes. If you get distracted, don't worry-just push those thoughts away and return to your breaths and your prayer. Continue this pattern throughout the prayer time. With children: Try whispering the prayer words aloud as you breathe, for the first minute or so. Pray for 3 minutes the first day, and increase the time on later days, as you're able. ...
You can also find these instructions on our website; use them, share them with others, join us as we turn to God in prayer.
With gratitude,
Pastor Molly
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