The Summer Pray-cation : )

Yesterday morning before the crack of dawn, with a handful of friends, and Mark Patterson's book, "Draw The Circle: The 40-Day Prayer Challenge"...we started the traditional vacation month of July committing to prayer.Committing to being in God's presence to "be still and know" and be still and listen. Committing to pray for each other's destinies and desires as God ordained them- in the book, Mark calls it "God's will, God's way".

We're not sharing a traditional, churchy type "prayer list". That doesn't mean we're not praying for specific things- we are and we will... just not by circulating a "list". We're leaning into God's all-knowing character and all-encompassing spirit to lead us and guide us.

Many things from Mark's book are great mini devotion on prayer, so here we go:

And when you pray to God regularly, irregular things happen on a regular basis.

-Mark Batterson

He prayed to God regularly. Acts 10:2

The My, My, My For Our Why, Why, Why Cries

  We start asking "Why?" as toddlers... and as the years unfold, we have larger, more pressing things for which we ask why. One of the things I appreciate about the Psalms are the many emotions expressed, and the many times why appears. One of the visual imaging techniques that works for me reading the Bible is configuring the words so that I can see their emphasis and then hear them differently...

It starts with opening my Bible and taking a pencil in hand and circling or otherwise marking the words or phrases that jump out or speak to my heart. Next, they are written in a form, like a poem or a list of their own.

Here's an example for Psalm 71... appropriate for this week of sorrows upon sorrow.

...from Psalm71:3-8

Be my rock of refuge...

my rock...

my fortress...

my God...

my hope...

my confidence...

my strong refuge...

Notice that it starts and ends in the same place with the word "strong" added- what's in between- the progression from my rock of refuge to my strong refuge reflects God at work in us.

Then, pray what is written and reflect on where in this moment God is speaking...

This week we are sharing the Express Worship which our Inner Circle subscribers get each week. It's still in a beta form, yet we would love for you to join us for a about the price of a cup of coffee each month. Just click on the Go Deeper image.

  As we continue to walk through these days of sorrow upon sorrow, here's Fernando Ortega to start this day (just the music)...

God of all comfort, Be near us as we comfort others. Draw us into prayer as each minute passes. Whisper to us what to say to others. Give us courage to do things uncomfortable. Fill us with Your Spirit. Move us one step closer to being more than just OneOrlando... make us OneChurch.

Words of Paul from Ephesians 4:2-6

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;

one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

one God and Father of all,

who is over all and through all and in all.                  

Voice... Request... Expectation...

Think about the last time just the voice of a friend brought an immediate sense of calm or companionship...

What a gift the sound of that voice can be. More importantly, friends take requests for help, for prayer, or just let us grouse. And, we expect the requests to be met, the prayers to be prayed, and the grousing to be taken in stride and held safe.

In Psalm 5, verse 3, David writes:

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice;

in the morning I lay my requests before you

and wait in expectation.

• Wonder for a minute at what the sound of our voices bring to God's ear...

• How He responds when we lay our requests before Him...

• How He hopes we can wait expectantly and not fretfully...

Take a few sentences and share with God how His character, as described above, impacts our lives. What about our lives as Leaders?

As Leaders, we sometimes have to stop and focus in order to hear those we lead. In working with teams through the years- in any group, when we ask "What is the single most important quality a Leader can have?"- the word "listen" is always on the list multiple times.

Let's ask God to help us to hear our people more and receive the sound of their voices positively. Let's listen more closely to their requests. And let's follow up responsibly to meet their expectations.