Shaped For Prayer Enjoyment

Can prayer become a favourite enjoyment? Absolutely. God is the guarantor of prayer joy and he invites us to a journey beyond duty and sameness. It means being stretched and changed, but we get to live the prayer enjoyment adventure he designed for us. Prayer is the core and the cutting edge of life in Christ and is much too important to lose through non-enjoyment. The Lord has given us a frame for enjoyable prayer: his constant presence. In that frame we become pray-ers marked by raised heart living and hunger for him. Part I of the book captures the “Wow!” of life in God’s company and explains how awareness of his presence can make a difference to prayer life. Part II gives the how-to of breaking new ground in enjoyable prayer. The Lord is the first speaker in the prayer relationship and learning to shape our praying as a response that agrees with him is a mix of desire and discipline. The reader gets to explore that mix by following four pathways for using Scripture to shape prayer. But even shaped praying can become dull and tired, unless we stretch our prayer language to give the heart a bigger expression. The section on visual language explains how. Praying together can be powerful and enjoyable when done in agreement. The agreement-building keys given will enhance corporate prayer, and can be used in large and small group settings. Growing in prayer enjoyment is not about self-indulgence; it’s a journey for God’s pleasure. The book climaxes with a call to live missional prayer lives, to be ‘pray-ers on the move’ who are passionate about voicing responses to the Lord in any place and at any cost, for the joy it brings him.

Every Which Way to Pray, the first children’s book written by New York Times bestselling author Joyce Meyer, is based on her book The Power of Simple Prayer and introduces a whimsical cast of Everyday Zoo characters, a group of quirky animals who interact and explore life lessons.

Traditional mainline churches have been in decline for fifty years as their church energy continues to seep away. What are the options to regain vitality? Pastor Luecke thought for years that better administration was the answer. But the problem is deeper. Our Reformation heritage left us with a very weak practical theology of the Holy Spirit, confining him mostly to the Creeds. We don’t have a hands-on understanding of how he makes a difference in church life today. We can find that by appreciating how central the Spirit was to Paul’s leadership. This collection of Reflections comes in two parts. The first highlights how the Spirit works today, based on Paul’s insights. It outlines how personal growth in the Spirit can happen. Church leaders cannot take others to where they personally have not been before. The second part is organized around Martin Luther’s explanation of the four functions of the Holy Spirit. He calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies God’s people. The Spirit is the leader of ministry teams. We need to learn how to follow.

Inspiration from the Apostle Paul on how to pray bold, exciting prayers. Inspiration from the Apostle Paul on how to pray bold, exciting prayers. So many of us struggle with prayer. Many books have been written on the subject and there’s a reason for that. Prayer comes hard to most of us, in most seasons. And when we do pray, we often don't know what to say. What is it that my Father loves to hear about? What are the best things I could pray for my family, my church, and myself? This short book by renowned Bible teacher Alistair Begg combines warmth, clarity, humour, and practicality as he examines Paul’s prayers for his friends in the church in Ephesus. Paul clearly enjoyed prayer, and was excited about it. He expected his Father in heaven to hear what he said, and to act in other people’s lives accordingly. The truths that underpin and shape his prayers will motivate us to pray and set us an example. So be inspired by the Apostle Paul to pray bigger and better prayers as we look to our heavenly Father to do more than all we ask or imagine!

Nathan Foster has lived with the spiritual disciplines all his life, but has had to find his own unique path. As he sought - sometimes rebelliously - to develop habits that would enable him to live more like Jesus, he encountered problems both personal and universal. Gradually he discovered creative new ways to practice disciplines such as fasting, meditation and simplicity, to live as Jesus lived. With a foreword from Nathan's father Richard, who provides a fresh introduction to each of the disciplines, The Making of an Ordinary Saint invites us to be formed into the likeness of Christ's character.

From the pitas of ancient Mesopotamia to the white breads of the modern bakery, kids can explore the globe with more than 30 exciting recipes and activities about the history of bread.

Teach kids how to pray with this beautifully illustrated Bible storybook.