Sunday, March 11, 2007

Silence is golden...Part 2

Here's goes part two. Later Friday night and about half of Saturday, I spent on praying for others.

Silent retreat time in three chunks:
1. Waiting on the Lord (Psalm 27:14; Psalm 62:5)
- for His presence (Psalm 139)
- for cleansing (Psalm 52 & 32; I John 1:9)
- to praise Him (Psalm 103 & 104)

2. Prayer for others
- ask specific things for them
- look up prayers in Scripture (Phil. 1:9-11; Col. 1:9-14; Eph 3:14-21)
- ask for other what you are praying for yourself

3. Prayer for yourself (Psalm 119:18)
- pray according to Scripture, read a book of the Bible aloud
- consider the objective of your life (in light of God's will)
- consider the activities of your life in light of your objectives

I made a list in four categories: missionaries, family, co-workers & friends. Under each heading, I listed all of the people I could think of to pray for under each of the three headings. Then I worked my way down the list. I prayed as I walked, as I made & ate breakfast, while on the train to Chicago, as I walked downtown and while I sat in a coffee shop. When I didn't know the specifics of their life to pray for, I prayed Scripture. Praying for others is a great way to get your mind off of yourself. It forces you to think about others, to consider what you know is happening in their life and how God wants you to pray for them. I very much appreciated this time and I will be using the list I created to maintain more regular prayer time for these people.

Stay tuned for "Silence is golden...Part 3"

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