We've been diving into the Prayer Practice by looking at this practice in four movements: Talking to God: We called this “pre-made prayers.” When Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, he gave them what we know was The Lord’s Prayer. Luke 11:1-4.
Movement Four: Being with God. We've been talking a lot about prayer lately—not just the “ask God for stuff” kind of prayer—but the kind where you actually just be with God. We might call this “contemplative prayer.”
Movement Three: Listening to God. In the third movement of the Prayer Practice—Listening to God—we learn how to recognize and respond to the voice of God. In John 10:2–5, Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd whose sheep know His voice.
Prayer, as modeled by Jesus, invites us into a dynamic and multifaceted relationship with God. At Formation Church, we describe the Prayer Practice through four movements.
This week we welcomed the start of the Prayer Practice. Like Sabbath and Solitude, Prayer is an ancient practice of Jesus that allows the Holy Spirit to transform us. Prayer, as modeled by Jesus, invites us into a dynamic and multifaceted relationship with God. At Formation Church, we describe the Prayer Practice through four movements.
Over the past four weeks we reviewed four types of prayer, in progression: talking to God, talking with God, listening to God, and being with God. In talking to God (Week 1) we see how the Lord’s Prayer (from Luke 11: 2-4) is the way Jesus taught us to pray.
Contemplative Prayer is wordless prayer. When you imagine what Paul is talking about in 2 Corinthians 3:18, you can begin to appreciate how to behold the LORD’s glory. Beholding the LORD’s glory involves contemplating God’s beauty, goodness, and love pouring out toward you.
Followers of Jesus know his voice. As followers we know that the voice we hear from Jesus always aligns with scripture and grows our relationship with Jesus. When we pray to Jesus we deeply surrender to listen and obey rather than to just ask to give us whatever we desire.
Immediately following the Lord’s Prayer in Luke 11: 2-4 which is Jesus’ response to his disciples’ request to teach them to pray, Jesus draws attention through a rabbinic form of teaching called “how much more.”
Over these next four weeks of the Prayer Practice we will be unpacking “Prayer: the medium through which we communicate and commune with God” through four movements – talking to God, talking with God, listening to God, and being with God.