“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!” Luke 24:5,6

He is risen! Happy Easter!

I pray this Easter morning finds you rejoicing in the knowledge that our Savior is alive.  We do not serve a powerless God. No! We serve a Savior who conquered death and all the powers of hell to rise triumphant. Because of that we have the certainty of eternal life when we accept Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins on the cross. It is a free gift with no strings attached. And He offers this gift to every person. Have you accepted it?

Jesus isn’t a go-with-the–flow kind of person. No, He came to the earth to shake things up. And He did. He healed the sick. He cast out demons. He talked to a Samaritan woman and companioned with tax collectors. He took a whip and cleared out the moneychangers from the temple.  And He opened the truth to the Gentiles, Jews, Greek, slave, and free—in short anyone who would believe in Him.

And Jesus still does all those things today. He wants to be our everyday lives. He changes us, encourages us, heals us, admonishes us and loves us. He brings hope to even the darkest of situations and times.

Wherever this Easter day finds you, I hope it finds you rejoicing in our Savior. Happy Easter!

Pray on!

I have to admit, at first I felt a bit apprehensive about trying listening prayer. But, I decided to not let my fears stop me from pursing this time with Him and pressed ahead. I don’t know about you, but sometimes it helps me to hear what others are doing when I’m trying out a new spiritual discipline. So with that in mind, this is what I do to practice listening prayer.

4 Steps to Listening Prayer

First of all, I get into a comfortable position. You can sit on the floor, in a comfy chair, kneel, whatever seems to fit the moment. I quiet my mind by following up on a suggestion from Pastor Ron Stohler at my church. He uses a breathing or centering prayer to quiet himself. Very simply, you choose a short verse like Psalm 46:10. You breathe in and as you do this you would say, “Be still and know,” then you exhale and as you do this you say “that I am God.” Do this a few times until you feel quieted and at peace.

Next, I just ask God to tell me what He wants me to hear this day, what’s important for me to know. Then I wait. Sometimes a verse of scripture will pop into my head. Other times a word, like forgiveness or courage. God may reveal a sin that I need to confess. Often a person will come to mind. I pray for insight as to what I need to do.

Journal It

Next I will write down what God has shown me, because I’ve found that I quickly forget if I don’t record it! I purchased a small spiral notebook that I use just for this time.

Finally, I thank God for that time with Him, and that’s it. Listening prayer can be as long or as short as you want it to be. Each day may be different. Sometimes I like to have instrumental music quietly playing in the background or I may light a candle. Do what helps you to connect with God.

Safety Net in Listening Prayer

One thing to keep in mind is to know that God will never reveal anything to you in this quiet time with Him that violates scripture. Use scripture as your safety net as you are practicing these times of silence and solitude. Reject any thoughts that are contrary to scripture and move on.

I pray these suggestions help you. You may have other things that work for you. Please leave a comment and share your insights with us.

Pray on!

“My soul waits silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.” Psalm 62:5.

As we prepare for Easter, we thought we’d start another contest. The rules are simple:

In a few words, tell us what God is doing in your life right now. It’s always encouraging to hear what God is doing in each others’ lives. It may be small, it may be big. How is He at work? Anyone who answers this by commenting below will be entered into a drawing to receive a prize. We’ll post the winner on the home page at the end of the month. So, check back because if you’re the winner, we’ll need to get your address to send you your prize.

Happy Easter and pray on!

“Be still and know that I am God ….” Psalm 46:10

It’s been said that the spiritual discipline of silence and solitude is the most important because all the others hinge on our communion with God. If we have this time with Him, then we are grounded and ready to move into and learn about the other disciplines. That’s why I’ve chosen to start with this discipline.

That being said, the spiritual discipline of silence and solitude is also one of the most intimidating for many of us. We can be … afraid of the silence, afraid of being by ourselves. Or, maybe, if you live in the midst of a crowded, busy household, silence and solitude may seem like the impossible dream.

Think about what a premium our culture places on instant access and communication. Cell phones allow us to be reached at times when just a few years ago, we would have be inaccessible, like on a walk or driving in our cars. They intrude in conversations with friends, at luncheons, even in church!

While on vacation this week. I’ve had a good chance to observe our obsession with cell phones–and realized my own obsession. On a number of occasions, I’ve observed teens who were hanging out with their friends on the beach, and the whole time they were with their friends they were ignoring them, texting other people. One girl even had her phone in the pool. She texted while she was in the pool by standing in the shallow end and texting instead of swimming or talking to her friends. I have been guilty of frequently checking my e-mail on my phone and dashing to answer every ring.

The discipline of silence and solitude helps us to disconnect from distractions and connect with the true lover of our souls, God. If Jesus needed times of silence and solitude with God–and He did regularly–then how much more do we? When we don’t have those times, our souls can become sick. We become discouraged, depressed, hopeless, without realizing why we feel that way.

You’ll need to plan to add times of silence and solitude into your life. Rarely will these times just open themselves up for you. Perhaps you can work in a few minutes each day, a longer time on the weekend, schedule a monthly few-hours-long time to get away, or maybe even go on a longer retreat.

Over the next few blogs, we’ll look at how to make this work in your life and what silence with God can look like.

Pray on!

Washing dishes, mopping the floor, grocery shopping, taking sick kids to the doctor, cooking meals…do you ever wonder if any notices all the work you do! Does anyone care? Someone does notice your effort and sacrifice. To do the study A Servant’s Heart, just click on the link!

Perhaps one of your New Year’s goals is to pray more. Well, January is a good time to take stock and ask God what major issues or topics He wants you zero in on for the year. Join Mary and I as we discuss what topics God has laid on our hearts this year. You’ll be encouraged to pray your way through 2011 with us!

[display_podcast]