River's Edge Community Church

NOTE: Obviously, as we get started, we will need to review a bit more than we will have to do in a few weeks; and so if we go over our seven minute time-limit, you will have to bear with me. And, of course, this is our first go-round, so feedback is welcomed.


Tuesday is a day of reading for prayer, a day where we take God’s Words to us and pray them back to God and allow his thoughts, priorities and values to shape our prayers.

My prayer goal for this week is __________________________________________.


Let’s pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us, not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.


Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.
      To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.


To pray through this passage, we follow these four steps:
1. We read slowly and intently as we interact with the text.
2. We search our own hearts to ascertain what our mind-set is as we approach the text by answering the four questions the Spirit asks of us.

• What is our attitude as we come to the text (for example, think of the different approaches to Psalm 23 that there could be, from Job in his suffering, to the Prodigal Son in his joy, to Jeremiah with his questions and struggles, and Daniel with his great hope. Ask yourself, is my approach to what God is saying here resistant, fearful, angry or doubtful, or is it open, interested, and receptive?)
• What question do we want to ask God about this text (be honest: ask God the things you really feel about what he is saying here)?
• What would trusting in God look like?
• What words does this passage provide for you to use as you pray?

3. We step out in faith and move towards God in prayer and in committing ourselves to trust in him.
4. We pray using the words of our text.


Pray around the text. . .
Think about your heart’s response as you read today’s passage. Where did you wrestle with what Paul was saying? Where did you doubt? Where did you shake your head and feel that God was asking you to do the near impossible? After you have thought about that for a moment or so, spend a few minutes praying around, through, and with our text, allowing the text to shape, mold and structure your requests. Allow the Spirit to guide your thoughts as you wrestle with the implications of the passage on your life. Allow Paul’s words to set the boundaries of your prayer and pray following his lead. Be sure to use some of the words Paul uses here and pray that back to God.


To Consider As We Pray
“Before we can pray, ‘Lord, your kingdom come,’ we must be willing to pray, ‘My kingdom go.’” (Alan Redpath)


A Question to Think About
How does knowing that God is a God of infinite grace, encourage and empower your prayer life and help you even as you struggle in prayer?


Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, grant us your grace so that we may know you and love you more and more each day and love the people you put in our path. Teach us how to pray. Teach us to listen to you so that your priorities, your purposes and your character guide our prayers. Fill us with your Spirit so that we may become a people who are devoted to prayer. And may the things that break your heart, break ours. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.