Dear Friends in Christ,
“All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers” (Acts 1:14)
In 2018, our synod’s focus is on the spiritual practice of Daily Prayer. The crucified and risen Jesus is our cornerstone, but prayer and Scripture are the foundation stones for a life of discipleship. My prayer is that all of our parishes (and all of God’s people) will grow strong in the practice of prayer. People who follow Jesus are people of prayer.
Parishes that teach and practice prayer are devoted to God, to one another, and to the world much differently than places where prayer is simply an after-thought, or a necessary “to-do” before a meal or prior to a meeting. It does not take me very long to see the role that prayer plays (or does not play) in the life of a leader and in the life of a parish. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, prayerful leaders and prayerful parishes make a real difference in the community and world.
Parishes that teach and practice prayer are devoted to God, to one another, and to the world much differently than places where prayer is simply an after-thought, or a necessary “to-do” before a meal or prior to a meeting. It does not take me very long to see the role that prayer plays (or does not play) in the life of a leader and in the life of a parish. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, prayerful leaders and prayerful parishes make a real difference in the community and world.
This six-week study has 3 simple goals:
- To deepen your personal prayer life and develop or strengthen your daily discipline of prayer and reading the Bible.
- To be a tool for launching new prayer groups and strengthening existing groups.
- To encourage the prayers of congregations.
Grounded in Prayer is designed to lead a parish through six weekly small group sessions and forty-two individual daily prayer exercises. It is a perfect spiritual discipline for the season of Lent. See the link below for ordering Grounded in Prayer resources.
The first time I used Grounded in Prayer, I sought out six prayerful, spiritually mature followers of Jesus to accompany me on this 40-day journey. We committed to the forty-two individual daily prayer exercises and to our six weekly 7:00 a.m. prayer meetings. It was a sacred journey that drew us near to God and close to one another.
The next step involved these same six prayer participants, who were now equipped to lead their own six small groups. We quickly went from six participants who were Grounded in Prayer to over fifty folks who experienced the transforming power of prayer in their lives and in the life of our parish. After our second 40-day Grounded in Prayer journey (soon followed by our third and fourth), we started to become the parish that God always knew we could be.
Twelve years later, there remains a core of equipped and inspired folks who continue to grow in their personal prayer and continue to challenge the parish to grow in corporate prayer. I would encourage you to begin your own sacred journey to deepen your personal prayer life and the corporate prayer life of the parish where you worship and serve. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, prayerful leaders and prayerful parishes make a real difference in the community and world.
https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/search?ss=grounded+in+prayer&c=0