e have been studying the Lord's Prayer and how to talk to our Heavenly Father in a more deep and intimate way on Sunday mornings. The Disciples were confused by prayer and asked Jesus to teach them. Our takeaway should be that prayer does not come naturally and we need to be intentional about how we pray.
I have learned some things while studying the model prayer Jesus used. I am incorporating worship music into my prayer time. Sometimes our mind will wander when praying but the music helps me to stay more focused. I have learned to be more silent and not feel like I have to be talking all the time, allowing God’s spirit to talk to my spirit. A few misconceptions that I have mentioned on Sunday mornings is that prayer is easy or it’s like talking to your friend, God. Knowing that Jesus gave an example of how to pray alludes that it might not be as easy as we thought and it is not just talking to God. Let’s look at children for a minute. My grandson is learning to talk but he is not talking like a teenager and a teenager will not talk as an adult talks. There is a progression that comes with speaking, and our Heavenly Father knows that applies to us learning to pray as well. When we are learning to speak, we copy other people’s speech and use simpler words. God understands this but He does not want us to be stagnant. He expects us to grow, mature and progress in our talks with Him.
I’m hoping that people will not only come on Sundays to learn about prayer, but then go and put what they have learned into practice. One way that they can do this is to come spend time praying in our Prayer Room, the room to the left of the stage in the Worship Center. People can sign up to pray for an hour all throughout the year. In the room, there are guidelines to help you fill the hour though different types of prayers, a wall of prayer requests and praises, and other tool all to help you pray. I love hearing people's experiences from the Prayer Room. It is a Holy place, it is set apart from the rest of the church building and has a different feeling. Some have told me that they come anxious about praying for an hour but afterward, it went much faster than they were expecting.
Mike Rybka
Lead Pastor
