A Praying Life: Chapters 31-32

(A few friends and I are reading this book together.  Each week we will read two chapters and on Friday I will post my comments from the reading.  Others may add their thoughts in the comments section.  If you are interested in reading this book as well, here is the link for the Kindle version of the book.)

Chapters 31-32
- "I'm actually managing my life through my daily prayer time."  (Pg. 256, Loc. 3258)  Often it is not his introducing an entirely new concept that stands out to me, but just a good choice of words.  I try to organize the tasks I have to do, but this was a reminder that time in prayer is the best way to manage the most important things in my life.

 

- "I'd prayed that my Father would show me what feeds a lack of faith in me."  (Pg. 258, Loc. 3281)  I noted this because I liked the idea of asking God to show me the same in my life.

 

- "As I pray, I'm dealing not with surface stuff, but with the state of my heart and of the people for whom I am praying."  (Pg. 260, Loc. 3300)  Too often so much of life is just about the surface things, but prayer allows me to dig deeper and look at the most truly meaningful aspects.

 

- "I'm not hunting for an experience with God; I'm inviting God into my life experience." (Pg. 260, Loc. 3300)  I find this important because I think a lot of people would say they are looking for an experience.  I want God in my life experience- to be part of all aspects of my life, and I see that I include Him when I pray about those areas of my life.

 

- "People are far too complicated; the world is far too evil; and my own heart is too off center to be able to love adequately without praying.  I need Jesus."  (Pg. 260, Loc. 3310)

 

- "We don't need a praying life because that is our duty.  That would wear thin quickly.  We need time to be with our Father every day because every day our hearts and the hearts of those around us are overgrown with weeds."  (Pg. 261, Loc 3319)  Just as I shower each day to get off that little bit (or a lot!) of grime from the previous day, I need that time with my Savior to clean up my heart and keep it focused on him.  May that daily attention keep the "weeds" from sending their roots deep into my heart.

 

I've had my say, what say you?

Discussion on Chapters 29-30

A Praying Life: Chapters 29-30

(A few friends and I are reading this book together.  Each week we will read two chapters and on Friday I will post my comments from the reading.  Others may add their thoughts in the comments section.  If you are interested in reading this book as well, here is the link for the Kindle version of the book.)

Chapters 29-30
- As with so many things, it is easy to go to one of two extremes: to either totally disassociate from all non-believers or to be so involved with unbelievers that our lives resemble theirs.  I like his perspective and his wording: "I began to pray that God would help me to love and enjoy non-Christians." (Pg. 240, Loc. 3014)  This would be good for me to pray as well.  Not to think, "I like so-and-so, but ..." but to simply enjoy them, praying that the Lord would use that friendship.

- He listed two ways Christians tend to error when referencing God speaking:

1. "Word Only" - Going wrong by not listening
2. "Spirit Only" - Going wrong by elevating human intuition

I think we as Baptists generally recognize the problem with the "Spirit Only" error.  If we are imbalanced, it is usually on the "Word Only" side.  From my perspective, this is due to our strong reliance on God's Word and our unwillingness to give into the errors in Charismatic theology.

- These were good thoughts to help keep us from the two errors: "To correctly discern when God is speaking to us, we need to keep the Word and Spirit together."  (Pg. 245, Loc. 3101)  "We need the sharp-edged, absolute character of the Word and the intuitive, personal leading of the Spirit.  The Word provided the structure, the vocabulary.  The Spirit personalizes it to our life."  (Pg. 245, Loc. 3106)

- "When life makes sense, it becomes a journey, a spiritual adventure.  Writing down the adventure as it happens gives us a feel for our place in the story God is weaving in our lives.  Journaling helps us to become aware of the journey."  (Pg. 250, Loc. 3149)  His explanation makes sense to me- it would be helpful to specifically take inventory of what God is doing in my life.  I think this is a good idea, I'm just not sure if I want to commit to doing this on a regular basis.  May just be unrealistic for the time being.

- "You can't walk with the Shepherd and not begin to change."  (Pg. 252, Loc. 3185)  This is a comfort to me.  When I am walking with Him, I can believe that He is changing me.

I've had my say, what say you?

Discussion on Chapters 27-28

Discussion on Chapters 31-32

A Praying Life: Chapters 27-28

(A few friends and I are reading this book together.  Each week we will read two chapters and on Friday I will post my comments from the reading.  Others may add their thoughts in the comments section.  If you are interested in reading this book as well, here is the link for the Kindle version of the book.)

Chapters 27-28

- I like his method of putting a Scripture verse on the card that matches his desire for that request.  (Pg. 225, Loc. 2849)  I want to incorporate that into my practice as well.

- In talking about a big request for Kim, he said, "I remember when I first wrote that, it felt strange, like I was opening a door that I didn't know existed."  (Pg. 229, Loc. 2890)  Through this I was challenged to ask God for big things- unimaginable things.

- I appreciated the detailed explanation of the prayer card system.  One aspect I like is the ability to easily reorganize the cards.  He said, "Some cards I pray through every day; others I rotate through, using one or two cards a day.  How many cards you use for a particular area depends on the shape of your life."  (Pg. 229, Loc. 2919)  The cards would help establish a regular pattern of prayer for a person/request, whether that be daily or every so many days, and it would take mental every day to stay organized.

- "I had assumed that his attitude toward me was like the blue sky, part of the backdrop of life that doesn't change.  I am constantly discovering areas of my life like this."  (Pg. 233, Loc. 2944)  Ouch.  There has to be areas in my life in which I assume things are unchangeable.  May the Lord point out those areas to me and help me see that he can change anything. 

- "My prayer for Bob had a familiar threefold pattern.  First, I wrote the prayer down.  Then I watched for God to work while I prayed.  Finally, God provided an opportunity where I 'worked' the prayer request.  By worked I mean that God involved me in my own prayers, often in a physical and humbling way."  (Pg. 236, Loc. 2958)  This was intriguing to me.  I want to pay attention and look for this pattern as well.

I've had my say, what say you?

Discussion on Chapters 25-26

Discussion on Chapters 29-30

Hughes News #68

"Tie your shoes and pray for the Hughes"

Dear Friends,

Through the winter months our Sunday service usually consisted of just us and the Grosses.  Our Thursday meeting was not infrequently that same group.  I can’t pinpoint when it began to change, but since the first of May, we have had only one service in which only Americans were present.  Others attending has been a specific encouragement to me.  Although very few unbelievers have come (most have been professing believers), we still see areas of needed growth and encouragement in their spiritual lives.

Over the summer, we are taking a break from our English classes and outreach Bible study.  The first few months went well, and we are evaluating what changes to make once we resume.  Each Friday evening in June we will organize a time especially for families.  In a park near our city’s old fortress we will have games, crafts and snacks for families to enjoy together, as well as handouts with Biblical instruction on the family.  The final evening we plan to give out Bibles to those who are interested.  In July we will run two identical weeks of Bible school.  The first week will be held at David’s house with the children in his neighborhood and the second will be at our rental location in the city.  Would you pray for these summer ministries?

Large Jenga at our first family evening

A couple weeks ago we purchased a car from friends.  The vehicle will open up further ministry possibilities as well as streamline several things in our lives.  Much of what we spent on the purchase came from Christmas love offerings from our supporters.  Things are slowly moving forward with plans for our house.  It hasn’t happened yet, but I am anticipating a moment when the levee will break, and the flood of construction tasks will engulf us.  We would appreciate your prayer regarding progress in the construction and wisdom to give needed attention to our current ministry responsibilities.

In His service,

Jacob and Viola Hughes

For Prayer:

1. Viola and Sarah studying Romanian

2. Ability to preach effectively in Russian

3. The Lord to use our services, family evenings, Vacation Bible Schools

For Praise:

1. Attendees at our services

2. Good start to our family evenings outreach

3. Purchase of a vehicle