Prayer
Finding the Heart’s True Home
by Richard Foster

Part 1— Moving Inward
Chapter 6— Formation Prayer

“Prayer—secret, fervent, believing prayer—lies at the root of all personal godliness.” William Cary

OPENING PRAYER
Prayer Project Review

1.  Prayer changes us:  “The primary purpose of prayer is to bring us into such a life of communion with the Father that, by the power of the Spirit, we are increasingly conformed to the image of the Son.”

2.  Be prepared to change.  The Holy Spirit is the agent of change.
         Conversatio morum—death to all things that have been, constant         change/conversion/openness to the movement of the Spirit
“Actively pursuing what the Spirit is already doing.”

3.  The Golden Triangle of Prayer
         Spiritual Disciplines: Solitude, fasting, worship, celebration
         Constant interaction with the Spirit: resistance, disobedience, repentance,                                   submission, faith, obedience
         Patient endurance developed in us through frustrations, trials, temptations

4.  Progress, not Perfection—
         Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me…..
         Growth and change
         Romans 8:29

5.  Active/Passive
         Pursuing God--Phil 2:12; 1 Tim. 4:7; Phil. 3:12-14
         God pursuing us—Attentive and responsive—Jeremiah 18

6.  Ignatius of Loyola—The Exercises
Could be a 4 week devotional journey, a 4 day silent retreat, a weekly rhythm…
         1.  Focus on our sin
         2.  Focus on the life of Christ
         3.  Focus on the Passion of Christ
         4.  Focus on the Resurrection of Christ

7.  St. Benedict—12 Steps to Humility
         What humility is not:
                  Groveling
                  Self-deprecation
         What humility is:
                  Being as close to the truth as possible
                  Humus—“grounded”
                  Transforming corruption into the power of life and creativeness
         Reverence for God before our eyes
         Reject our own will and desires, instead choosing God’s will
         Confess our evil thoughts and actions to God.

8. The Little Way
         Choosing what is available to us to remember how small we are
         Choose the menial job, the small portion, the poorest accommodation
         Welcome unjust criticism, befriend those who annoy us    
         Focus on works for which we will never receive recognition
         These are conquests over selfishness

9.  Solitude
         Henry Nouwen: “Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life.”
         Less of the human voice, more of the Divine Voice
         Unmasks our busy, false selves
         Not to escape the rat race, but to become indifferent to it.

10.  What about our death?
         The world will continue.  Aesop’s chariot wheel.
         Galatians 2:19—what is it to be crucified in Christ?

11.  Prayer of Docility
         Completely supple, transparent and abandoned into the hand of God.
         A sail in the wind, a pencil guided by God’s hand.
         2 Corinthians 12:9; Hebrews 11:34

12.  The Blessedness of Winter
         Deep feeding while the exterior is laid bare
         What “virtues” do we have on the exterior that hide what needs transformation on the interior? (remember the Hidden Heart)
Better Than a Hallelujah
(recorded by Amy Grant)

1. God loves a lullaby
In a mother's tears in the dead of night
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes
God loves the drunkard's cry
The soldier's plea not to let him die
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes

Chorus—
We pour out our miseries; God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are;
The honest cries of breaking hearts Are better than a Hallelujah

2. The woman holding on for life
The dying man giving up the fight
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes
The tears of shame for what's been done
The silence when the words won't come
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes

Chorus—
We pour out our miseries; God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are;
The honest cries of breaking hearts Are better than a Hallelujah

Bridge—
Better than a church bell ringing
Better than a choir singing out, singing out

Chorus—
We pour out our miseries; God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are;
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

(Repeat)

 Closing Prayer
         Dear Lord Jesus, in my better moments I want nothing more than to be like you.     But there are other moments…Help me to see how good conformity to your way really is.  In my seeking for you, may I be found by you.  I love you, Lord.  Amen.
                 
        

The Christian doctrine of suffering explains, I believe, a very curious fact about the world we live in. The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment, He has scattered broadcast. We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy. It is not hard to see why. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and pose an obstacle to our return to God: a few moments of happy love, a landscape, a symphony, a merry meeting with our friends, a bathe or a football match, have no such tendency. Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.
From The Problem of Pain
Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis

You can share our lessons with others who can’t be here in person by referring them to
http://christian-transformationblog.blogspot.com


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