The Prayer Circle

PRAYER CIRCLE

February 6, 2022

For the past 4 weeks we’ve been talking about prayer and we’re going to spend one more week on it, move into a message on love, then jump back to focus on one particular word in a passage and then move forward.

Have you ever been so busy you felt like you had no time to pray. To pray would almost feel like an inconvenience, a disruption in your day. I know that sounds heretical. We’d never do that - - - but sometimes I think we do.

As I was reading I came across an interesting story about a woman named Susanna Wesley. She only had 19 children. Two of whom were named Charles and John. These men grew to be the leaders and founders of the Methodist and Wesleyan churches. With 19 children running around, it wasn’t easy to get away to pray, so she would tell the kids, I’m going to pray, don’t bother me (unless there’s blood involved) and would put her apron over her head which took the focus away from the noise of the kids to the presence of God.

That’s a great story. Think about how often, if we pray, the TV is still on, the phone is on, the computer is in front of us. We leave lots of distractions before us, sometimes I think, so that we can be disturbed and then make an excuse to God about why we can’t spend more time with Him.

Martin Luther, the great protestant reformer said - - - “If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. If I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.”

Two hours on normal days, and if it’s a busy day, he adds an hour of prayer!

These past weeks have been about helping us move closer to God. There’s no we can’t read the Word and talk to God in prayer. Yet, we struggle with this, and today I want to give you an entirely different way to come to God in prayer.

It’s called a prayer circle. There’s one in every bulletin. It’s about praying in 12 different ways for 1 hour. I know, 1 hour is so much time. I get it. And if you simply spend 1 minute on each of these 12, then you’ll be praying for 12 minutes, which may be a really long time for you. Even if it’s 30 seconds, that’s 6 minutes.

Now, it’s not just about the time, and yet in some ways it is. The longer you’re with someone the better you get to know them. The longer you’re with God, the better you get to know Him as well. So, while it’s not just quantity, to a degree it is, and quality matters as well.

This comes from a book by Dick Eastman called “The Hour That Changes the World.” I want to move through this prayer circle and give you some thoughts about each one and helpfully that helps you draw closer to Jesus. Because really that’s what this is all about.

Also, know that you can substitute one type of prayer for another. This isn’t the law, it’s just one more way to help us move closer to Jesus.

OK, so let’s get moving . . . we start the prayer with PRAISE.

When we think of praising God, Psalm 115:1 is a great start - -

1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! - Psalm 115:1

Praise is not directed to ourselves, but to God, as we praise Him for His constant love and faithfulness . . . and more.

Praise is the best way to start a prayer. Move away from yourself and your wants and needs and give God the praise and adoration. When we adore something, we are giving it worth and value. So, we esteem and revere God.

Think about so many of the Psalms which speak about praising God and praising life. We can come to God and praise God for who He is, for the hope you have in Him, His righteousness, His Word.

You can praise God for the gift of the Son and the Holy Spirit, for salvation and eternal life. Praise God for always being with you and never abandoning you. Praise God for His mercy and care. For the promise of His grace and forgiveness. We’re not limited in the ways we can praise God. That could go on and on.

OK, that’s the praise part. The next one is more difficult.

Eastman calls it WAITING.

Anyone like waiting in lines? Waiting in a traffic jam? We pray for patience, but we demand God to give it to us NOW, because, we’re just not patient. And if you’re not a patient person, then people who are patient drive you crazy.