pray it! ephesians 4:17-32

To be gentle in our time is to be gentle with our words.  Whether it's written or verbal, the world is watching and the world is listening. 

What do they see?  What do they hear?

Is it petty?  Or is it helpful? 

It is cutting and biting?  Or is it healing?

Is it true?  Or is it a lie?

As we prepare our hearts and minds for this week's sermon, how can we "pray it" in light of our passage this week?  Paul suggests in verses 20-24 that we are new creations and can indeed "throw off" our old ways:

²⁰ But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. ²¹ Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, ²² throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. ²³ Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. ²⁴ Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.  (Ephesians 4:20-24, NLT)

A simple prayer guide is following P-R-A-Y-S.  I find it very helpful if your attention span is... wait... what were we talking about?  ;) 

P=Praise - Praising God, thanking God, reminding yourself of Who it is you are praying to

R=Repent - Asking the Holy Spirit to lovingly and gently correct you in areas that need it; confess it to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to help you turn from that toward Him

A=Ask - Take it to the Lord in prayer

Y=Yield - A simple prayer of obedience and surrendering/submitting to God in every area of your life

S=Souls - Who is it that you are praying for that you want God to draw close to, and them to draw close to God?

This week's prayer challenge:  Sometimes the most gentle and effective thing we can do with our words is to praise God for how He has come through for us.  Sometimes we skip over praise and thanksgiving and continue with 24/7 asking, without pausing to truly express our gratitude.  Submit your praises via email to celia@poc.church or if you prefer hand-writing, there will be a station set-up for praises at PoC|Coverage (tonight at 6pm!)

Maybe it's not praise that has been neglected.  But maybe there is something that you need to be honest with and re-pray as you commune with God.  Maybe it's an area in which you feel prompted to repent.  Maybe it's something in the asking category.  Maybe you weren't fully honest with God and didn't ask.  "Fine... everything's fine."  (Ha!  God already knows, so maybe it's just time to tell Him.)  Maybe some surrender is needed.  Or maybe it's prayer on behalf of others that needs attended to and/or re-done.

Let's spend some time re-doing prayer as the Holy Spirit directs.

Pastor Celia