Going Deeper Going further in prayer 7Deeper...Practising his presence . Brother Lawrence, a 17th century monk who lived in France, wanted to 'pray without ceasing' and yet he had his daily duties to perform. His answer was to make all of his life a prayer and to be continually aware of God's presence; everything he did was to the glory of God. He felt the presence of God whether he was working in his kitchen or worshipping in his church. Jesus told us the Kingdom of God is 'at hand' and 'within us'. The Kingdom of God is primarily where God is King, where he rules and his will is done. We are challenged therefore to allow God to be king in different areas of our lives. Jesus said that he is the light of the world (John 9:5), but he also said that we are (Matthew 5:14). We can therefore bring light to the world we live in. We do this by 'practising the presence of God'. How? Each day we will see a lot of people. As we go through the day we can let our light shine - switching on a kind of spiritual 'torch'. We can pray that God's light will light up the lives of those we see. We can ask that God's Kingdom will come to their lives. We can pray that hope and love will affect the faces that are dark with despair. We can pray that darkness will be hurled back. As we pray through each day like this , committing people and situations to God , we will be opening the door for the King to come in! Wider... Unblocking the wells Our towns and regions have witnessed many things over the course of their history : progress, battles, decadence, courage, cowardice, poverty or saintliness. This collective history has helped to form the distinctive character of our area, with all its traditions and prejudices. Some places have had a history of peace and tranquility, of harmony and spiritual blessing. Others have been more marked by violence, hardness of heart, poverty, the occult or recurrent evil. Sometimes the roots of bitterness lie deep in a community's collective mind-set. Though they stem from long ago, these issues may never have been adequately addressed and laid to rest. In other places you can find memorials to acts of outstanding human kindness, prayerfulness or godliness. In the past, these places served as unique springs that refreshed the surrounding area, although today they may have been long forgotten, buried under the sands of time. Their original calling needs to be re-discovered and fulfilled in our generation. The ancient wells can be unblocked. Salvation cannot be passed down from generation to generation. The gospel needs to be preached afresh. But there are some spiritual benefits that can be received from those who have gone before, a legacy from our parents in the faith. Those who in former years met with God can affect what, for them, lay in the future. Prayers may have been prayed or promises obtained that were never fulfilled through their own ministry in their life time. God began a work in them which is to be carried on by this generation. As we are called to pray for the area in which we live, it is often helpful to go back into the past. Although many of these things are unknown to us, they are seen by God, for whom a thousand years is like a day. We can ask the Lord to forgive the sins of our fathers, and to heal any painful spiritual legacies of the past (Daniel 9:8, Nehemiah 1:6; 2 Samuel 21:1-14). We can also ask him to renew in our day the great things that he did in our area long ago (Habakkuk 3:2). Remember, God's gifts and call are irrevocable (Romans 11:29).
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