February 2013 Prayer

I hope that God will continue to guide us as we seek to: pray as Jesus taught (Matthew 6:5-15), converse with God following the example of Abraham (Sunday 10th Genesis 18:16-33), pray when we don’t know what to pray (Sunday 17th Nehemiah 1:1-2:8), and be persistent and honest in prayer (Sunday 24th Luke 18:1-14).

The three house groups which take place in February will focus on personal prayer. The bible passages are deliberately short to allow us to share what we find difficult about prayer and what we find helpful. Generally our focus in each group will arise from the issues that those present raise.

However, we will touch on the presence of God in Psalm 61 (7th Feb), the practicalities of praying, following the example of Jesus in Luke 5:16 (14th Feb), and prayer in a crisis in Acts 4:23-31 (28th Feb). Those who do not normally attend weekly house groups, but would to come to just these three sessions are particularly welcome at these meetings In our theme picture,

  • The background is Cloudy with the sun behind the clouds: prayer takes place at all times – both the bad times and the good times.
  • Nearer in the background is the Bible: effective prayer is in line with the teaching of the bible.
  • In the foreground is a dove: our prayer arises from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us.
  • Our hands are together: this does not have a single meaning, but it may be helpful to remember that centuries ago slaves living in subjection to their masters would have their wrists bound together, so that their hands would be palm to palm. This posture can signify our willing submission to God as we pray “Your Kingdom come”.
  • The power (lightening) of God comes out of this symbol of weakness.