Thank you for taking up your role in God’s story by being a person of prayer. God’s people have been experiencing God’s presence and finding strength for the journey by talking with God himself since… well since the beginning of time. The first stories in the Bible tell of an uninhibited life of communication with God, and with life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that sort of access is welcomed again. In the words of Ephesians, we have both access and proximity to God.
In fact, Paul reminds us all throughout his letters that one of the responses to good news of Jesus and His Kingdom is a prayerful life. I think this means the consistent and constant listening, talking, and responding to the movement of the Spirit all throughout the day is a mark of every maturing follower of Jesus.
If you ever need someone to sit and pray with you (not give you advice, but just pray and listen with you) please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Missio Community leader to ask. If they aren’t available, you can text us and someone will join you in prayer!
Morning
An ancient practice that has helped people across time, culture, ethnicity, age, personality, and even enneagram type is starting the day in prayer. We add the added strong suggestion of taking a moment to turn to Jesus before turning on your phone and simply praying the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer isn’t a spell to make you have a better day, but a pattern of life to live into throughout your day. It does however shift the start of your day from the stress, pressure, and priorities of others for you- to simply sitting with God’s voice in the words Jesus prays for you! It will change your day to start by speaking with Jesus and letting Him speak a better word over you than opening your first waking moments to the myriad of voices on your phone!
Midday
Pausing at the halfway point of your day to intercede for friends is a simple practice. You can do while waiting in line at the cafeteria in school, on a park bench as you get some fresh air, or between meetings. Seriously, you can even do this between taco bites! We recommend using this time to both pray for those who don’t yet know Jesus Spirit, Here’s a sample prayer:
I pray you would open the eyes of the hearts of my friends that they would receive the gospel. (Then pray for them by name.)
Evening
I really don’t know a better way to prayerfully reflect over your day then using the Examen that we’ve developed. It’s a twist on the Ignatian process of looking over your day and paying attention to what God was doing that day. Often moments seem like a blur passing by you- but God is present in each of them. In true Missio fashion we’ve modified the questions to reflect the overarching True Story of the Bible.
Bonus: It also ends with one of my favorite questions “What are you trusting God with as you go to sleep tonight?” It is a way more soul satisfying than a Netflix Binge. I promise you!