Redefining Prayer: The Heart and The Head in Harmony
Prayer is more than a mere ritual - it is about uniting the thoughts of our hearts with the understanding of our minds. By approaching prayer with both knowledge and motivation, we can redefine our prayer life and make it a continuous conversation with God. Learning from Jesus and the Psalms, practicing repetition, and persevering with hope all contribute to forming a deeper connection with prayer - where the head and heart align seamlessly.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
From the heart From the heart 7. Redefining Prayer 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18 (p.1094)
Prayer Prayer A complex word brings many thoughts to mind Positive and negative Often compartmentalized Let s redefine prayer today
Pray Continually Pray continually How? 24/7? Good news It is not as hard as you think!
Pray Continually Why we pray? Our Father already knows what we need Mt 6:8 Do we even need to pray? YES!!!! Prayer is our way to God!
1. Approach to Prayer We approach prayer from two places The head = our knowledge or mind for prayer The heart = our motivation and practice of prayer It is the heart that keeps us from prayer Lack of motivation It is harder than we want it to be!
1. Approach to Prayer The head and the heart must come together How the thoughts of our hearts become one continuous prayer This is the beginning of redefining prayer
2. How Do We Do This? Learning something new It s difficult at first Have a teacher or expert teach us Use resources Christians have: The master teacher The best resources
3a. Teacher and Resource Teacher: Jesus Resource: The Psalms The prayer book of the Jewish people and the early church This was Jesus prayer book The great school of prayer Dietrich Bonhoeffer Teaches us: To pray according to the word of God What we should pray To pray the purposes of God
3b. Repetition Practice = repetition Perseverance Continuing on with the teacher Using the resources Hopeful s prayer in Pilgrim s Progress Repetition brings the head and heart together and ultimately forms us.
3b. Repetition John Cassian 4th century Christian theologian and monk Short prayers Praying without ceasing is the goal! the goal is that the soul rises each day to the things of the spirit until all its living and all its wishing become one unending prayer.
3b. Repetition Cassian exercise of short prayer Repetition and the Psalms Psalm 70:1 Come to my help O God, Lord hurry to my rescue. It is short! Suitable for any situation! Not a compartmentalized prayer! All encompassing!
4. The Results When we do this We speak living words The Word of God is freed in us He is revealed in our head and heart Using the same words as Jesus did we are invited into the intimate space of the Father As we connect with God he forms us The head and the heart become one!
4. The Results More than repetition The Spirit and the Word is at work in me It brings my head and heart together I settle into God s presence and become aware of it during the day I am on the road to unending prayer Is it worthwhile to pursue this? YES!
Living It Redefine Prayer - The head and heart for the transformation of the soul Try on Cassian s short prayer Come to my heart O God, Lord hurry to my rescue.
Come to my help O God, Lord hurry to my rescue.
