Examen – Week 2: Prayer and Worship

I encounter God’s presence in prayer and worship

You are created in God’s image to know relationship with God. All people are. In Genesis we see how God would walk with humans in the cool of the day. You are amazing, and you are lacking, you need God’s presence. Prayer and worship are ways in which we may draw near to God. Very simply they are the ways we have conversation with God and live to give Him glory.

In one sense the whole of life is prayer and worship – we can talk to God at all times and everything we do we are invited to do as worship for God. In another sense we do particular things at particular times to help us connect, find ourselves at home with God, be especially close.

God is present with us. We may not always feel this, we may not always have (or want) an ecstatic experience but God is present. Jesus says ‘I am with you always’ and we are invited to be ‘rooted and established’ in his love.

‘For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.’ Ephesians 3:14-19

Lord God, as I journey through lent, help me draw near to you.

Ponder

What does prayer and worship look like for you at this time?

Do you have set times in your day and week where you pray and worship alone? With others?

What words or phrases stand out to you from the Ephesians passage? What might God be saying to you today?

How are you rooted and established? Where might rootedness need to grow in your life?

Try This

Download and use the Lectio 365 and/or Inner Room apps from 24-7 Prayer and use them to build your own rhythm of prayer.
www.24-7prayer.com/join_in_posts/pray-using-apps/

Try taking 10 minutes in silence, or out in nature, or just talking to God. How does it feel?

Read a Psalm and use it to inspire you, start to write or sing your praise.

Come to a Kairos Community worship event or gathering you wouldn’t normally attend. See how you experience God in that space.

Sign up for the Harrogate House of Prayer emails and make some time to pray through the email.
www.netmakers.org.uk/pray

Choose a friend to pray for each day over the next few weeks.

Find two or three people to pray with each week for the next few weeks.

Try praying out loud, either on your own or with others. Get used to hearing yourself talk to God.