Prayer: Preface & Chapter One–Simple Prayer

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Watch:

Jessica and Angie are joined by RoseAnne Coleman for the next two weeks and y’all are going to love her. Watch the video below and join them in Jessica’s living room as they discuss the intro + chapter 1.  (And if you missed Jessica’s intro of RoseAnne on Friday, click here.)

{Subscribers click here to watch the video.}

 

Read:

We’ll begin our study by combining the Preface and Chapter One, and if you usually skip the Preface, don’t feel bad–the video reveals which one of our Bloom founders does, too!  (Don’t have your book yet?  Order a copy of Prayer for only $14.99 at DaySpring or check your local library for free.)  If you peek at the bottom of this post, you’ll notice a bulleted list of Helpful Links and Reminders; I’ll include that as a footnote to each post for your convenience.

Raise your hand if the Table of Contents intimidated you a little.  If you’re anything like me, you wondered how in THE world Foster could write 21 different chapters about prayer.  His explanation quickly diffused my fear by explaining “By naming our experiences, I hope to increase our understanding of what God is doing among us….” (p. xi)

Also helpful is to understand the structure of the book, how the sections are divided–

The three movements into prayer are trinitarian in character:

Inward (Part 1) ~ prayer to God the Son, Jesus Christ, which corresponds to his role as Savior and Teacher among us.

Upward (Part 2) ~ prayer to God the Father, which corresponds to his role as sovereign King and eternal Lover among us.

Outward (Part 3) ~ prayer to God the Holy Spirit, which corresponds to his role as Empowerer and Evangelist among us.

~ From Prayer ~ Finding the Heart’s True Home by Richard J. Foster

 Foster then begins to outline what he means by Simple prayer:

  • Is “the most basic, the most primary form of prayer.” (p.9)
  • It is when “we bring ourselves before God just as we are, warts and all.” (p.9)
  • “…we are the focus…. Our needs, our wants, our concerns…” (p.9)
  • “Simple Prayer is the most common form of prayer in the Bible.” (p. 9)
  • No pretenses. (p. 10)

And he offers counsel to encourage us:

  1. Foster offers the reminder “that prayer is nothing more than an ongoing and growing love relationship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” (p. 13)
  2. “We must never be discouraged by our lack of prayer.” (p. 13)
  3. “…let go of trying too hard to pray.” (p. 13)
  4. “…we should learn to pray even while we are dwelling on evil.” (p. 14)
  5. “…in the beginning it is wise to strive for uneventful prayer experiences.” (p. 14)

Discuss:

Foster says “when we pray, genuinely pray, the real condition of our heart is revealed.” (p. 11)  As you begin this study, what evidences are you seeing of this in your own life?   What is it about Simple prayer that you’re drawn to?  How has this section encouraged you?

 

Favorite quote from today’s session.

Each time we come together I thought it’d be fun to share a favorite quote from our included chapters; this is going to be a CHALLENGE because there are so many!  If there’s a particular sentence that resonated with you, please share it in comments as well!

“We must never believe the lie that says that the details of our lives are not the proper content of prayer.”

 

: : : : : : : : :

Lovies, do your best to keep up with reading, but if you fall behind, don’t worry!  We hope you’ll continue following the posts and videos each time regardless.  To make that easy, we’ll include helpful links and reminders at the bottom of each post.

See you next time! 

xo,

~ Robin (late update Tuesday night):  Just wanted to let y’all know I had out-patient knee surgery and I’ve been gone all day.  It has been JOY to read your comments now and I’m blessed by how YOU all have joined together in conversation and comments.  Thank you.)

 

Helpful links and reminders:

 

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