Sequel

Okay, that vision of Pete Grieg’s (see yesterday’s post) is a bit over the top. But I love it. I also appreciate the more down-to-earth thoughts he wrote a couple of years later in a book about that vision:

A God Who Groans

So what are your thoughts about God these days — these 28 days into our 45 day prayer journey?
Yesterday I read this quote from Frederick Buechner:

“I Bind Unto Myself This Day”

I admit to being attracted to Celtic music. I especially appreciate Celtic prayers, like this one:
I bind unto myself this day
the strong name of the Trinity.

Just 45 Days

I feel so proud of you: you are really taking this up, this call to come continuously into God’s presence for 45 days. Only one shift during today and tomorrow remains to be filled. While it may seem strange to put it this way, I especially feel proud of your humility.

Goal or Destination?

At 9:00 this evening, about an hour after our Ash Wednesday Service ends, Jennifer Smith will quietly slip into the prayer tent to begin our 24/45 prayer journey. There won’t be any Launch this time. We know how this works. We know what we have to do.

What to Expect

One more day to 24/45.
Don’t expect 24/45 to simply be an upgrade of 24/7. That first week of 24 hour relay prayer was exciting, in part, because we’d never experienced anything like this before. The last few months Sharon has been making me cookies for a mid-morning snack. (When you eat breakfast at 4:30, noon is a [...]

Walking Forward into the Past

During yesterday’s sermon I reflected on what a conversation God had with Abraham might have to teach us about our upcoming 24/45 prayer event. I suggested that during these 45 days God was going to teach us how to trust his promises, how to live with God (specifically how to walk before God, with God as [...]

Fully Alive

Rob tells me that yesterday, the first day it was possible to sign up for the 24/45 prayer event, 172 hours of the 45 days got covered. That’s a little over a week of the 6 1/2 weeks. That’s awesome. Several men also told me they were willing to cover the night sleeping shifts, possibly enough to cover [...]

Hard to Satisfy?

If you were at BRC this past Sunday, I’m pretty sure you remember this quote: “God is easy to please, but hard to satisfy.” In living with it, I’m starting to see that not only is it startlingly true, it is also startlingly good news. 
God created each human being with unimaginable care and delighted love; [...]

Do It Anyway

Yesterday we talked about what it takes to make disciples. I’m convinced that it takes the sort of nose-to-the-grindstone, go-for-broke inner posture described in this poem by Kent Keith.  I felt blessed and challenged by it. 
People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered – love them anyway!
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives – [...]