How's Your Prayer Life?

Lent is a season of fasting for many people. Traditionally, it is a time to fast (refrain from consuming) either one or more meals in a week, or certain foods during this period of time. However, fasting doesn’t have to be confined to food. Other options include fasting from Social Media, television, sleep (getting up an hour earlier to spend more time with the Lord), or something else. We encourage you to consider what “gets in the way” of your relationship with the Lord, and fast from that during this season, and then seek to strengthen your love for Him.

• Sunday, March 8th -- Third Sunday in Lent: Heavenly Father, You know all things. You know when we rise up, and when we sit down. Where can we go from Your Spirit? Is there any place, any situation, any circumstance in which You do not see us or know exactly what we are going through? Lord, no matter what is happening, no matter where we are, Your hand is guiding us, and Your right hand is holding us tightly. No matter how dark it gets, help us remember that the darkness is not dark to You; it is just as the light! We bless You and thank You for keeping us close to You day by day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
• Monday, March 9th: Prayerfully read or listen to Exodus 3:1. Either skim Exodus chapter 2, or from your own knowledge, how did Moses become a shepherd in the west side of the wilderness? Most scholars believe Moses was about 80 years old at this time, so he had already lived a fair amount of time. Do you think Moses was content? Considering your own story, how did you get to be where you are right now? Would you say you are content at this point? Pray about this with the Lord.
• Tuesday, March 10th: Prayerfully read or listen to Exodus 3:2-10. This is one of the most famous stories in the entire Bible. While you might not have had a story exactly like this, have you had moments in your life when the Lord came so near to you, it seemed as though you were on “holy ground?” Have you had an experience (or experiences) when “you knew that you knew that you knew” that the Lord spoke to you about something specific in your life? When did these experiences happen? What do you think the Lord wanted you to know? How do they have relevance today?
• Wednesday, March 11th: Prayerfully read or listen to Exodus 3:11 with 4:1,10, 13. It is verses and passages like these that provide us with insight into the humanity of Biblical heroes! Keep in mind that Moses had been living in the wilderness for probably 35-40 years by this time. Why do you suppose Moses was so unwilling to say “yes” to God? Do you believe his speech problem was the “real” problem, or do you think he was reaching for an excuse? If you were in Moses’ sandals, and considering all that he had been through, would you have said “yes” to God, or would you have hesitated? If the Lord came to you right now, and asked you to take on a ministry, a new position, a new step of faith, or even to reach out to someone, what would you say, and why?
• Thursday, March 12th: Prayerfully read or listen to Exodus 3:10 and consider Moses’ situation. His old way of life is in tatters, and now the Lord has told him he is to go back to the place where his reputation is ruined and he is to face his nemesis. Why do you suppose the Lord called him? There were easily 2 million or more Hebrew people. Why did the Lord choose Moses? Consider your own life – what call (ministry, position, work, etc) has the Lord given you in your life, even though He could have called someone else? How has that made a difference?
• Friday, March 13th: Prayerfully read or listen to Exodus 3:9-12a. Perhaps after reading through all of this, you are feeling that the Lord hasn’t called you into a specific place, position, ministry, or work. Perhaps you feel as though you are simply wandering around in the wilderness, seeing a few sheep milling about. The Lord sees you! He knows where you are, and what is happening in your life! Take time to pray through Psalm 139. Write it out, and personalize it as much as you need to. See how the Lord responds.
• Saturday, March 14th: Review each of these Scriptures, questions, and prayers that you have worked through this week. Which one, or which theme, resonated with you? Pray through these things again as the Spirit leads you!
• Sunday, March 15th -- Fourth Sunday in Lent: Gracious God, Your eyes move all over the earth looking for those whose hearts are completely Yours. You want to encourage, support, and strengthen Your people day by day. You lift us up and draw us to Your side and remind us through Your Word that we belong completely to You through the blood of Jesus. As Your eyes are upon us, may our eyes be upon You, day by day, and hour by hour, through Christ our Lord, Amen.
• Monday, March 16th: Prayerfully read or listen to Genesis 15:1-5 and 16:1-6. This is a very human story, because Abraham and Sarah try to “help” God answer their prayers. Have you ever done this? Has the Lord seemed slow to answer your prayers, and a seemingly obvious or plausible way to answer your prayer is in front of you, so you followed it? Was that indeed the Lord’s way (perhaps it was), or did it lead to a mess? If so, what did you learn about yourself and the Lord in that situation?
• Tuesday, March 17th: Prayerfully read or listen to Genesis 16:6-12. The Lord came to Hagar in the wilderness after Sarah threw her out. What do you make of the Lord’s words to Hagar (*the phrase “angel of the LORD” is an Old Testament way of referring to Jesus before He came to earth in human form)? If you were Hagar, are these words you would want to hear from Him? What are the “positive” things He told her, and what would you say are the “less than positive” things He said? Does the fact that He spoke a mixture of encouraging and difficult things to Hagar increase your trust in the Word of God, decrease your trust, or make no difference to you? Why?
• Wednesday, March 18th: Prayerfully read or listen to Genesis 21:9-18. What do you learn about the Lord in this passage? What question does He ask Hagar in v. 17, and how is that similar to the questions He asks in 2 Kings 19:9, as well as in Mark 10:51? Did the Lord not know the answer to these questions? Why did He ask them? If the Lord was to ask you two questions about your life right now, what do you think they would be?
• Thursday, March 19th: Prayerfully read or listen to Genesis 21:17-21. How far away was the answer to Hagar’s immediate need? Do you think the Lord “caused it to appear” (a magic trick, so to speak), or do you think it was there all along, and she just didn’t notice it? Is that something that happens more often than we care to admit – that the answers to our prayers might be right in front of us, but we need the Lord to open our eyes to them? How has that happened in your life?
• Friday, March 20th: Prayerfully read or listen to Genesis 16:13 with Psalm 31:7, 33:18-19, 34:15; 2 Chronicles 16:9; Luke 12:6-7; Hebrews 4:13. What do these passages tell us about the Lord and His watchful care over His people, both collectively and individually? How have you experienced this aspect of the Lord’s character?
• Saturday, March 21st: Review each of these Scriptures, questions, and prayers that you have worked through this week. Which one, or which theme, resonated with you? Pray through these things again as the Spirit leads you!