Here are some practical suggestions to maintain a habit of ‘gathering’ around God’s Word during this different season:
1. Try make a regular habit of watching the message week by week. You obviously now have the flexibility to watch at the time of your choice (the message for the next three weeks will be posted by 6am Sunday morning) but it may be beneficial to watch at the same time as your group, or mates, so that you can talk through the reflection time on social media platforms, if needed. If you are a family, then depending on numbers and ages, try and incorporate everyone as best you can. We will send you a worship playlist and would encourage you to read any of these Psalms (or portions thereof) to start your time and lead into worship and prayer (if you would like some prompts, then go to our website for ’20 things to pray for at this time’). The Psalms are 95 through 100. Ask one of the younger members to read a portion. Then sit together to watch the message. If you are in a single household, obviously it is more difficult and you could use some suggestions in our blog post (see “Our latest Posts,” 26th March 2020: ‘Ways to stay connected during Lockdown’).
2. Once you have watched the message online, do some reflection on what you have heard. Read the story about a day in George Mueller’s life below. Reflect or talk about your struggles with prayer and times you have felt more fruitful. What made the difference for you? Then take a Psalm and pray through it (there are ‘Some suggestions for praying through a psalm’ below).
Pray through a Psalm before you look at the next list below, ‘Evaluating the Experience.’ Studies have repeatedly shown that we learn much quicker when we do the exercise as opposed to reading about its benefits without doing the exercise.
3. Pray for some people in the church and maybe even give them a call to hear how their ‘home meeting’ went!
4. Break bread together as often as you deem necessary. The Holy Spirit is present with us in a particular way when we gather around Christ and His Word.
Have a blessed day filled with His grace and peace. Love Craig
P.S. After doing these exercises, if you would like to receive “Psalms of the Day” Chart (which is about praying through a psalm every day over a month), then please fill out the form at the end of this article.
An example from George Mueller’s Life
In today’s message, I refer to George Mueller and his amazing trust in God through prayer. One of my favourite stories from an orphanage of his follows:
"The children are dressed and ready for school. But there is no food for them to eat," the housemother of the orphanage informed George Mueller. George asked her to take the 300 children into the dining room and have them sit at the tables. He thanked God for the food and waited. George knew God would provide food for the children as he always did. Within minutes, a baker knocked on the door. "Mr. Mueller," he said, "last night I could not sleep. Somehow I knew that you would need bread this morning. I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in."
Soon, there was another knock at the door. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the wheel was fixed. He asked George if he could use some free milk. George smiled as the milkman brought in ten large cans of milk. It was just enough for the 300 thirsty children.
Some suggestions for Praying through a Psalm
(excerpts taken from Praying the Bible by Donald S. Whitney-a great book to have by the way)
The Psalms are given to us to this end, that we may learn to pray them in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
By praying the Psalms back to God, we learn to pray in tune with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- Ben Patterson
Psalm 23 provides a good example to start with. You read the first verse-“The Lord is my shepherd”-and you pray something like this:
Lord, I thank you that you are my shepherd. You’re a good shepherd. You have shepherded ma all my life. And, great Shepherd, please shepherd my family today: guard them from the ways of the world; guide them into the ways of God. Lead them not into temptation; deliver them from evil. O great Shepherd, I pray for my children; cause them to be your sheep. And, Lord, please shepherd me in the decision that’s before me about my future. Do I make that move, that change, or not? I also pray for our under-shepherds (these are the pastors/elders: see 1 Peter 5:1-4) at the church. Please shepherd them as they shepherd us.
And you continue praying anything else that comes to mind as you consider the words, “The Lord is my shepherd.” Then when nothing else comes to mind, you go to the next line: “I shall not want.” And perhaps you pray:
Lord, I thank you that I’ve never really been in want. I haven’t missed too many meals. All that I am and all that I have has come from you. But I know it pleases you that I bring my desires to you, so would you provide the finances that we need for those bills, for school, for that car?
Maybe you know someone who is in want, and you pray for God’s provision for him or her. Or you remember some of our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world, and you pray for their concerns…after you’ve finished you go the next verse.
Some more pointers
(i) Our primary activity is prayer, not Bible intake. Talk to God about whatever thoughts are prompted by the inspired words you read.
(ii) If you come to a verse you don’t understand, just skip it and go to the next verse. If you do understand it but nothing comes to mind to pray about, go to the next verse.
(iii) You don’t have to pray through the whole psalm. If you find yourself praying for twenty-five minutes and never get past “The Lord is my shepherd,” I’m sure God isn’t bothered if you don’t pray the rest in the same session!
(iv) If only a few things come to mind in one psalm, fine; just keep turning the page.
Evaluating the Experience of Praying through a Portion of Scripture
(excerpts taken from Praying the Bible by Donald S. Whitney)
For freshness of utterance, for breadth of comprehension, for elevation of thought, for intimacy of heart, there is no prayer like that which forms itself in the words and thoughts of Scripture - J. Graham Miller
This will only be meaningful if you prayed through a Psalm! Whitney says these are the most common responses he gets (just giving you the headline stuff - Craig):
1. “My mind didn’t wander”
And even if it did, the next verse in the text makes it easy for you to refocus.
2. “My prayer was more about God and less about me”
3. “The time was too short!”
4. “It seemd like a real conversation with a Real Person”
When we pray the Bible…our monologue to God becomes a conversation with God…So when you read verse 1 of a psalm, even though the words were originally put on paper by a man, the inspiration of Scripture-that is, God the Holy Spirit inspiring the man to write exactly what he (God) wanted-means that ultimately God is speaking in verse 1. And then you respond by speaking to God about what he’s just said in verse 1. After you’ve finished talking, you do as you do in a real conversation with a real person: you let the other person speak again. In this case, letting the other person speak is called “reading verse 2.” If something God says there prompts a reply, then you speak ton him again…that’s why people who try this often report, “The pressure was off. I didn’t have to think about what to say next, and it just kind of flowed.” God begins the dialogue in verse 1. You simply respond to what he initiates. When you’ve finished, God bears the burden of continuing the conversation from there, for he speaks again in the next verse, and the cycle begins again. And God is willing to continue this conversation with you as long as you want and to have another with you whenever you want.”
5. “The Psalm spoke directly to the life situation I am in right now”
6. “I thought more deeply about what the Bible says”
Because you are praying God’s Word back to him, you are also absorbing it at the same time and will more often recall the next day what you spoke to God about as you pick up on a new Psalm.
7. “I had greater assurance that I was praying God’s will”
This is the confidence that we have towards him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15
8. “I prayed about things I normally don’t pray about”
9. “I prayed about the things I normally do pray about but in new and different ways
10. “I didn’t say the same old things about the same old things”
Two things: (i) don’t just read the 10 points above. It will just be, “That was interesting” and then you will go off and forget about it; (ii) Talk about this experience of praying through a psalm with someone as soon as possible after doing it-it helps solidify the experience and gives you additional insights from the other person-like the list above.