May 29, 2023
Vibrant Prayer Guide - Day 1
Leading up
to the Weekend of Discernment:
Friday June 2,
7-9:30pm & Saturday June 3, 8:30-Noon
Intro
# 1
The
Basics: Pray|Reflect|Connect
This prayer guide from Vibrant Congregations follows a threefold pattern:
Pray: On day one, there is a short meditation with prayer ideas. Along with this are thoughts to carry with you through the day keeping you aware of ways God may be speaking to you.
Reflect: Each following day there is an opportunity to write down insights from the prior day followed with the meditation and ways to stay aware of God’s presence during the day.
Connect: The last discernment is done by the entire group at our gathering. The desire is to hear as a community what the Spirit is saying to our congregation.
Intro
# 2
A
Very Important First Step
We often have in mind what we think is best for the congregation. Our perspective on our congregation can keep us from seeing:
•
other perspectives
•
other possibilities
•
a bigger vision
•
different ways of doing things
The goal in this season of prayer is to be as open as possible to Word and Spirit so we practice something called "holy indifference." We seek to be indifferent to anything but God's heart and will as we hear it in Word and prayer. One way to do this is to write down those things about which you are already sure. Things like:
•
what's important for our congregation
•
the direction we need to go
•
the best way to our future
•
what needs to happen in a particular program
•
who needs to do the work
Come back to these words you've written each day you pray. Promise God each time anew that you will listen to his voice and put aside your own perspective during this time of prayerful discernment.
Day 1 Text & Meditation: Being a Picture
"His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Ephesians 3:10–11)
Paul's words in Ephesians continue to catch us off guard. He says something so unexpected and stunning that we cannot imagine it to be true. Paul tells the church that when God wants to show the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms what he is doing in the world, they should look at the church. The church is the picture of his work, vision, and direction for the world.
In Ephesians, God's picture shows all things united in Christ (Ephesians 1.9-10). Paul illustrates this picture by the life of God's new people, where two people come together to form a new community. (See Ephesians 2).
God's call to his church is always to display his work to the world in the way they do life together. This work is displayed in unity of purpose, living the "one another" passages of the New Testament, working through differences, creating just systems and structures (see Acts 6), and more.
Imagine being God's sacred family that brings him glory by being a picture to the world of how a community lives the ways of God's shalom.
What is shalom? Shalom is a rich biblical word woven into the scriptures. In our Bibles, it is often translated as "peace." However, it is so much more than how western people think of peace. Shalom is the Father's restoration of all things through Christ to the glory of God and for the good of the world. Shalom is the way things are supposed to be. And God’s Shalom therefore is the picture of what the church is called more and more to live.
Prayer
Ideas. Dear God…
-
open our ears to hear the Spirit…
-
let us hear your pleasure in what we
do…
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let us hear your imagination for our being a picture before the
world…
-
give us a holy imagination…
Holy
Indifference
What
is your normal response to the idea of shalom? How can you suspend that response
to build a holy imagination?
Daily
Reflections (to
take with you as you keep your eyes, heart, and spirit open during
the day)
1.
How did you reflect on being a picture of God’s sacred family
during the day?
2.
Where did you experience being supported by the congregation in
your day?
3.
Were there moments when God gave you insight into how your
congregation could pursue being a picture of living God’s way
before the world?