John Wesley on Prayer

Last week we discussed some of John Wesley's thoughts on prayer. Here's a link to that article on the United Methodist Church website: John Wesley on Prayer. 

Wesley gets at some of our questions about whether prayer is a "doing" or a "being:"

All that a Christian does, even in eating and sleeping, is prayer, when it is done in simplicity, according to the order of God, without either adding to or diminishing from it by his own choice.

This, perhaps, helps us to think about how it is possible to "pray continually" or to live our lives in prayer.

John Parsons on Prayer

Tesha passed this article along in email, but I wanted to be sure that it was posted here, too. In our study last week, Philip Yancey mentioned the words, "Be Still," from Psalm 46. He gave us the Latin translation, "Vacate." John Parsons, of Hebrew For Christians, gives us the Hebrew translation, "Rapha," and offers some thoughts in the following article: Surrender...God's Irrepressible Care for the World.

Parsons offers additional thoughts on the same passage here: Surrender to Peace...Knowing the Divine Presence.

Both articles are excellent if you're looking for more thoughts on surrender and being still.

Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference?

What's brewing at Morning Blend? 

Starting September 13th, 2017 we will begin the first session of a study on Philip Yancey's book Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference. From Philip Yancey's website: 

Prayer can be frustrating, confusing, and fraught with mystery.  I probe such questions as: Is God listening? Why should God care about me? If God knows everything, what’s the point of prayer? How can I make prayer more satisfying?  Why do so many prayers go unanswered? Do prayers for healing really matter?  Does prayer change God?

I began with a list of such questions, then   I studied all 650 prayers in the Bible and interviewed scores of people about their own experiences with prayer.  The process of writing caused a revolution in my own conception and practice of prayer.

The study has six DVD sessions and a participant guide. The first session can be viewed here: 

The first session of the participant guide is also available online here: Prayer Study Guide. 

For more information about Philip Yancey or to follow his blog, you can visit: https://philipyancey.com/