Are you a house where prayer lives?

Discipline:

Disciplines are rarely popular, but often bear great fruit. The same is true of the discipline of prayer. It can seem hard to settle down, it can often be hard to find the time but if we do…. many benefits flow entirely naturally.

Lent is traditionally a time for disciplines: no chocolate, no sweets, no alcohol, these and many other restrictions are often practiced. I may practice one of these privations this year but I prefer the more positive approach of taking something on for Lent, such as the Christian aid, count your blessings: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/getinvolved/lent-2012/index.aspx

Developing a life of prayer alongside serving our community and becoming, “Risk Taking Disciples” were identified recently as core elements of our vision as a church. We were asked to review our life by the Methodist Circuit. We found that much of what we were doing was good, but there was a clear feeling that we were still too comfortable and hadn’t a clear enough understanding of the needs of our community, or indeed the clear call of God. We did feel though that we were beginning to develop in our patterns of prayer. We have recently opened our first, “house of prayer.” Sam has joined Jean Lowe not simply as a lodger but in an attempt to put prayer at the heart of life. I am hoping and believing that this may be the first of many small communities of prayer that form around our area. As many of you know I try to practise a rhythm of prayer taken from the ancient Christian traditions which brought Christianity first to this country. If you have ever spent time in a monastery or even seen the many television programs based on these places you may have noticed that in these places, life fits around prayer, rather than as for many of us prayer fitting around life. I believe this change of emphasis is crucial if we are once more to impact our society with the good news of Christ’s love. A society that rushes and is not at peace with itself will soon come to recognise women and men of peace who live alongside them.
Lent has always been a traditional season for reflecting, so I invite you to look at yourself. Are you at peace? If not what steps will you take? Jean and Sam are going to open up their home each week during Lent for Prayer: (see notices or website for more details.) Why not join them, even if you can’t attend. (Details of Celtic Daily Prayer are available from: http://www.northumbriacommunity.org/pray-the-daily-office )
All this time and I haven’t even mentioned the Beacon project! Men and Women who are immersed in prayer, make excellent workers, colleagues, parents, grandparents, students etc etc. In fact Jesus might even have called us such people beacons, as we shine with his light that is within us.
For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Cor 4:6