An Hour of Prayer # 10 Meditation

 Dear Church Family

   Today we look at the resources for meditation, mindfulness for our spiritual lives, as we continue our series on how we can pray for an hour, looking at five-minute intervals. Today we are up to 10 out of the 12 and it’s meditation. How we specifically slow down and reflect on what God is doing in us and around us, so that we can handle all that this current lifetime is giving us.

 

   I’m going to provide a list of resources for you to consider, so that you can find a place to grow in your meditation and grow in your sensing the help that God can give you for each challenge you are facing.

 

Upper Room.  www.upperroom.org/devotionals   It can be emailed or an app for this

 

Our Daily Bread.  https://odb.org/  it can be email or an app for this

 

Lection 365.  /www.24-7prayer.com/dailydevotional.  There is an App available for this

 

You Version.  www.youversion.com  there are several resources here

 

Biblegateway.  /www.biblegateway.com.  there is a whole bunch of resources here, app and others

 

Back to the Bible.  www.backtothebible.org   app devotions, videos on various topics etc.

 

Heartlight.  www.heartlight.org    devotions, articles, artwork

 

KINDLE resources like

 

30 Day Spiritual Walks.  A summary of famous spiritual giants set up in a 30 devotion, a great introduction to them.

 

Anxiety Elephants.  A 31 day devotional to Help Stomp Out Anxiety. Scripture and exercises and journaling

 

On This Day.  What happened on this day in the Christian world, famous people or events

 

Near to the Heart of God.  A one year devotional the story of famous hymns and their writers or composers

 

Jesus Always.  A One Year devotion on the words and stories of Jesus and how it can encourage you each day.

 

A Year with God - Richard Foster.  A yearlong study of the great characters, themes, passages to grow spiritually

 

Right Here Right Now – Amy Oden.  To develop a mindfulness on Scripture and God’s love for us, eyes to see it.

 

Face to Face – Ken Boa.  Vol. 1 & 2  3 months of daily devotions based on the relationship to God

 

A Year with C S Lewis.  A year full of daily readings from his Classic works, across his set of books

 

   I hope you find something here that might help you strengthen your walk following Jesus and find that your time in prayer is more beneficial to you, providing the strength to endure, and a knowledge that God is with you every step of the way.

 

   Remember both the AWE and the Sunday Morning Worship Zoom connections are the same for each week, unless we are hijacked by an intruder. So keep your AWE and your Flash email in a folder so you can join us. Send it to a friend too.

 

Blessings

Pastor Jeff

An Hour of Prayer # 7

 Dear Church Family

 

   I’m writing letter # 7 on how to spend an hour in prayer, and this week it is on intercession. Praying for others. Last week as you may recall, we were dealing with petitions, which gives us permission to pray for the things we need, now we are praying for the lives and needs of others.

 

   “Intercession is to pray for others, to concentrate on the needs and distress of other people, to stand in the gap for someone else. When you intercede you stand at God’s side and you work with God for the salvation or benefit of someone else, and you remain standing until you have the assurance that God has heard you and releases your burden to pray for the issue.” From the book, The Hour That Changes the World. By Dick Eastman.

 

   In St. Paul’s letter to the Timothy he says, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior,” 1 Timothy 2:1-3.

 

   I am so glad that we, the church family of North Bethesda UMC take prayer time and intercessions so gracefully, and that so many are being prayed for by each of us, together in worship and on our own during the week. We hope that you take advantage of our prayer list and those flash emails, requesting prayer for friends, neighbors, family and acquaintances we know, and for the world around us and those who we don’t know. I’m blessed when I hear of the answers to prayer coming back in reports of gratitude.

 

   May we continue to pray for our leaders (local, state, national & global) and all those in authority, that we may live peacefully with each other. May we continue to pray for healing of those who have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and all those responsible for caring for them. May we continue to pray for healing for those who have been wounded because of negative attitudes toward one another, and the powerful effect of policies and procedures that have kept people from the opportunity to fulfill their God given tasks and to provide properly for their families, because they happen to have a different skin color or language or background.

 

   I invite you to join with your church friends and family as we explore the Lord’s Prayer over the next five Sundays in worship. There are 5 basic petitions that Jesus gave his followers for their prayer lives and we will look carefully at each. We ask that God’s glory be extended, we ask that God’s plans would come true, we ask for what we need each day, we ask for forgiveness and to be able to forgive, and we ask for help against temptations of this world and other choices we make. We will look at each one separately in the next few Sundays.

 

   We must pray for our church family to be well during this time. There was a church worship service in Ohio in July where one person attended service and 91 people came down with the virus as a result. Many were in the church service he attended, and others were infected, because they took their contact with him home to their families, friends and co-workers. That is a lot of suffering in that community, and we are trying desperately to avoid the same fate.

 

   Thank you all for your prayers, you truly bless one another when you say a word to God on others behalf.

 

May God’s peace be with you, while we are absent, one from the other.

 

Pastor Jeff