SS24: A Quick Prayer

In this month's Sister Circle study, we talked about chapter 3 from Celebration of Discipline and it was all about prayer.

I want to offer a couple of quick encouragements to you during what is for many people a challenging season (no matter how much you love Christmas). And when I say "quick encouragements," I mean suggestions you can implement that don't take much time! (Phew! Good news, right?!?)

Photo by David Beale on Unsplash

In the book, Richard Foster talked about "Flash Prayers." A Flash Prayer is a prayer on someone's behalf, inspired in the moment, as you see someone in need or think of someone and how they might need God's help. These prayers of intercession can cover anything from "Lord, help Susie with her test today!" to "Lord, help the people in that car accident and the officers and medical personnel helping them." They are a way to invite God's power to move in a person or situation, and it doesn't have to take a lot of time. You can even ask God how to pray for strangers. When you're driving or in line at the store, ask God how to pray for the people around you. You may be surprised at how specific the Holy Spirit is in response!

If "Flash Prayers" are quick prayers for others, "Flare Prayers" are quick prayers for ourselves! "Lord, help me________!" or "Lord, what next?" "Lord, I need your peace (or wisdom, or strength, or comfort) right now." When we pray quick prayers asking for help, we are acknowledging that God is with us and listening to us. He is always ready to help us and is FULL OF GRACE AND COMPASSION TOWARD US.

God has so much more grace and compassion for us than we have for ourselves. When we are upset at ourselves for failing, God sees us with love and longs to comfort us. He is slow to anger and rich in love and we can always cry out to Him when we need help. (And, um, we always need help!) He isn't standing with his arms folded saying, "Finally! It's about time!" He sees us as little children and He adores us the way so many grandparents adore their grandkids.

I guess this is my final encouragement. Maybe you have trouble with prayer because you are impatient with yourself and you think God is impatient with you, too. Or maybe your parents were impatient and angry (and tired, let's be honest!), so it's hard for you to imagine God any other way. If that's the case, is there a grandparent, or a neighbor, or an aunt or uncle or special teacher who loved you in a way that let you know you were accepted and forgiven even when you really did screw up? Or is there a child that you love that way? When we love and were/are loved that way, it is a reflection of God's love for us!

Maybe this year God wants to do a makeover of how you see Him in your heart. So here's my prayer for each of us as we continue through the Christmas season and into a new year.

Holy God, thank You for revealing Yourself to us in so many different ways. Throughout the Bible You are the God who sees, our shepherd, our protector and refuge, the suffering Savior, the King of kings, the prodigal's father, the one seated on the throne of grace, even as a mother gathering her children in her arms. We tear down every idea that would stand in the way of our knowledge of You and pray You would renew our minds with truth, that we would know You more and know how deep and long and wide and high is Your unfailing love for us, so that nothing would keep us from running to your throne of grace, because we know we are welcome there. We belong there. May our prayers - long and short - flow from our hearts easily and frequently as we grow more and more aware of your constant, faithful presence and your never changing love. In Jesus' name, Amen.

SISTER CIRCLES NOTE:

Next month we'll be discussing Chapter 4 (about Fasting). I encourage you, though, to stick with our current topic of PRAYER for the rest of the month and don't start moving ahead to the next chapter until January. Let's keep practicing what we're learning first.

Our next Sister Circles gatherings will be:
Sunday, January 12 @ 9:00am;
Wednesday, January 15 @ 10:00am; and
Friday, January 17 @ 7:00pm

Leave a comment or send a message to me if you need more info!