Building Prayer Muscles
This term we’re talking about being disciples who make disciples. We want to be more like Jesus and better help others become like Jesus too. If you’re anything like me, part of your discipleship that you may feel needs some improvement is your prayer life. I’ve never met any apprentice of Jesus who feels like they pray enough! We feel guilty that we don’t pray as often as we should, or even as often as we could. And perhaps when we do pray, our prayers feel weak and feeble.
One of the followers of Jesus who has been speaking into me recently is Jacqui Webber-Gant and she said a throwaway comment to me:
“Prayer is a muscle, the more you do it, the stronger you get at it”.
Developing our prayer lives is very similar to developing our muscular strength. We develop the skill and the muscle memory to perform a particular movement with proficiency. The net result is that we get stronger in the process automatically, without the awkwardness, soreness and fatigue that perhaps accompanies our prayer lives initially!As we use our prayer muscles and practice with them, we get better at expressing our heart to God. Our ears become more fine-tuned to hearing what God is saying. Our spirits acclimatise to sense where the Holy Spirit is leading us. Like a body craving the endorphins of exercise that grow with the habit of working out, our body craves the connection we have with God the more we pray.
One of the ways we can make small steps in growing in prayer is to make an appointment to pray and we have some dates in the calendar where we can gather as a church community to do just that. We’re planning on gathering fortnightly on Sunday evenings at 7.30pm for 45 minutes and have created a rhythm of prayer that includes both site-specific and one church prayer meetings (when all the sites of Kerith join together).
Why don’t you schedule these appointments in the calendar and see how your prayer muscles may grow.
Sun 13-Feb Farnborough Online Prayer*
Sun 27-Feb Farnborough In Person Prayer
Sun 13-Mar One Church Vision Night Online*
Sun 27-Mar Farnborough Online Prayer*
Sun 10-Apr Farnborough In Person Prayer
Sun 24-Apr Farnborough Online Prayer*
Sun 08-May One church prayer meeting online followed by week of prayer and fasting*
Sun 22-May Farnborough In Person Prayer
Sun 05-Jun Farnborough Online Prayer*
Sun 19-Jun Farnborough In Person Prayer
Sun 03-Jul One church prayer meeting online*
Sun 17-Jul Farnborough Online Prayer*
*Our online prayer meetings are on zoom. If you’re on churchsuite, you will get an email with the zoom link. If you’re not sure if you’re on churchsuite, or if you don’t receive a zoom link, please contact our site co-ordinator James Hopkin.