As we enter into the month of August, we will be studying in detail the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer is not only the “lord’s” prayer because Jesus taught his disciples to pray it; it is truly “his” prayer because it is the way he himself prayed. For example, he teaches us to pray for God’s will, and in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed “not my will but thine be done.” He teaches us to forgive those who trespass against us, and on the cross he prayed “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” In short, we become like Jesus when we become people of prayer.
During this month we are challenging the Frazer congregation to become more committed to prayer in three ways:
- PRAY THE LORD’S PRAYER EVERY DAY AT 10 A.M. Every day in the month of August, wherever you may be, take a moment to pray through this prayer at this time. There is great power in agreement, and it will become a great source of encouragement when we realize that, even though we as a church are divided up all across the city in our homes, schools, and workplaces, we can still be unified in our prayers to God together.
- INCREASE YOUR PRAYER TIME BEYOND YOUR PERSONAL NEEDS. On one hand, prayer is the most personal and intimate part of our relationship with God. We can and should bring him our every care and concern. On the other hand, the Lord’s Prayer teaches us not to limit our prayers to our own private sphere. Take time to pray that God’s name would be honored in the whole world; that his kingdom would come in every nation; that his will would be done for every person on the planet. The Lord’s Prayer should transform our hearts, but it should also transform the world as we learn to unleash the power of heaven on earth.
- COME TO THE ‘DAY AWAY WITH GOD’ ON AUGUST 20. That Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. will be a guided time of extended prayer featuring short sessions together focused on sections of the Lord’s Prayer, followed by blocks of time to spread out on your own around the church campus and pray. If you have spent more than a few minutes at one time in prayer, the thought of a whole day may be intimidating; however, many of last year’s participants said they were surprised how quickly the day flew by and when it was over, they wished they had had more time. This year we will also offer a children’s version of the Day Away so the whole family can participate. You can sign up in the Atrium or online at frazerumc.org/dawg.
Let’s become a House of Prayer together, and as we do we can expect to see God transform us and the world around us in powerful ways!