2021 Bible Reading Plan

As the new year begins, I have made a decision to commit to praying the Daily Office using A Book of Prayer and Order (2020) [“BPO”]. This is a newly edited prayer book based on The Book of Common Prayer (1928).

After discovering this amazing resource and spending almost two years studying and researching, I put together the BPO edition for our church.

Having a plan for reading the Bible is vital. It can provide focus and direction. With this in mind, I have recreated the Lessons for Morning and Evening Prayer in an easy to use calendar file. If you use Google Calendar or are an iOS aficionado, you can use the files provided below.

There are two files. One with the Morning Lessons, and one with the Evening Lessons. This way you can decide if you want to read in the morning or evening or both. The lessons are different in each file, but are designed to work together. They are set for 8:30 am and 4:30 pm.

If you want a physical copy of the prayer book, I still have some from our first printing. They are $40 plus S&H.

If you have any questions or want a copy, send me a message through our contact us page.

2021 Daily Office MP-EP Download

An Office of Lament in a Time of Social Strife

UPDATED: The video has been included for those who would like to be guided through the resource below.

It is designed to help us pray intentionally in times of social strife and unrest. As we confess sin and plead with our Heavenly Father to provide us wisdom and to hear our prayers, we are forced to face our weaknesses. Forced to acknowledge the deep needs of our own hearts as we look for ways of living in a world marked by peace and justice.

Just Pray: There is too much at stake not to!

I believe every person living will say a prayer to something or somebody at some point in time in their lives. When we pray we give our submission to something that is bigger than ourselves.

For myself, I can’t always say that I have had the best prayer life. I know that when things get hard I find it easier to pray but when times are easy I rarely will speak to God. I can catch myself at times living life as if I control what goes on in it. And when I do find myself praying I even catch myself doubting God in the midst of my prayers. I think a lot of times we pray and God may very well answer our prayers, but in our own doubts, we miss the answers given to us. Continue reading “Just Pray: There is too much at stake not to!”

Rodney Bradford | “You Need to Plan to Pray”

There are few things that make a sermon more powerful than knowing that the one preaching is preaching from the experiences of their own journey. This is the case here.

This is not the official title of the message. But it is a critical truth shared in it.

This is one of the most convicting and sincere sermons I have ever heard on the subject of prayer. There are two reasons I commend this sermon to you. First, I know Rodney. He is a good friend and he is one of the godliest men I know. And, I have some knowledge of the issues he references, and because of this, I know that Rodney means what he is saying because he is living it out. There are few things that make a sermon more powerful than knowing that the one preaching is preaching from the experiences of their own journey. This is the case here. Continue reading “Rodney Bradford | “You Need to Plan to Pray””

“I’ll Pray For You” And Other Lies We Tell

Not until that moment this past week have I ever understood the power of interceding for another, nor my own failure to follow through when I offered to pray for someone.

This past week I had an opportunity to pray with a friend. The two of us gathered with another brother in Christ and we spent time before the Lord. In the course of that time, we lifted him up before our heavenly Father and just tried to encourage him and remind him of who is in Jesus. There is nothing better than speaking the truth to another because, in the end, we are speaking the truth to ourselves. However, something happened as we wrapped up our time together that I could not have anticipated. My friend, let’s call him Rafael, said something that just blew me away. Rafael looked at us and said, “Thank you for being my words.”

OK, I have to be honest, I did not know what to make of that statement. I was shocked by it. It had never occurred to me that when I pray for someone I would actually be praying for them. That the person that I am praying for would use my words for their prayer to God. That as I spoke, they were speaking. Not until that moment this past week have I ever understood the power of interceding for another, nor my own failure to follow through when I offered to pray for someone.

I have said, “I’ll pray for you,” and “I’m praying for you,” and just offered one prayer right then because I was thinking about it, but forget about them and their situation until I see them again. Or, “You should pray about that,” and I do not even offer to pray for them right there. Prayer is not our way of feeling better about ourselves or what’s going on around us. Prayer has become therapy rather than trembling; an outlet rather than an opportunity to engage God and allow Him to speak. I wonder sometimes if we see prayer as an option rather than as an act of surrender. Rafael needed someone else to speak for him. His heart had feelings and thoughts that were held captive by pain and confusion; issues that I and the other brother did not have. Look around you. What friend, neighbor, or family member needs your help in expressing what they are feeling, but are unable to articulate? I found the following quote by Richard Foster as I was looking for pictures related to prayer.

Does this reflect your view of intercessory prayer? I cannot say this was me before this event. However, I have found myself praying more this week. Not just because I need to, because I do. I find myself praying for those I have promised or offered to pray for, but have not done so as I should. I have come to realize that when I intercede I am standing in the place of another. The word “inter-cede” literally means to surrender for another. I have not been doing that as I should.

If you read my random ruminations would you pray for me? I desire to be more consistent and faithful to walking and talking with my Lord and Savior Jesus, my heavenly Father, and the great helper, the Holy Spirit. I need to surrender more and more in this area and I need your help.

Prayers Purpose: What Prayer Actually Changes

As much as I would like to think that I pray as I should, I know it is not the case.

Over the course of my life I have heard people say, “Prayer changes things.” I have to agree. I believe that. The question that has often lingered in my mind though is this: What exactly is being changed? It is very easy to say that prayer changes things, but when you do not know what is being changed how can we benefit.

Because of my pastor’s emphasis on prayer in his current sermon series, I have found myself thinking on this subject regularly. As much as I would like to think that I pray as I should, I know it is not the case. As Pastor David was preaching this past week I wrote down this simple phrase.

Prayer is about Preparation

As I have thought about this over the last several days I have found that prayer does change things. What I have failed to realize is the changes serve a greater purpose than I have ever understood. There are at least three individuals or groups that are changed as we pray. I would like to look at each one of these in order.

1. The Person Praying Needs to be Prepared

Prayer prepares me for what God will do. Whenever I fail to pray through an issue with God I am missing out on what I will need to receive and use what God sends to me when he answers. If there is any one person that needs to change as a result of prayer it is me. One of the most confounding realities that James writes about is the fact that prayers go unanswered, not because God does not what to answer them, but because we are asking for things that do no conform to the plans and purposes of God. When we pray amiss, what we are doing is asking God to accept our petitions as his own. We want God to approve of what we have been doing, instead of asking God to allow us into what he is doing. Continue reading “Prayers Purpose: What Prayer Actually Changes”

UPDATED: How Long Is Long Enough?

This post was updated on June 13

Pray Hard

This past week my pastor continued teaching on prayer in the The Circle Maker Series. The subject of this weeks message was “Praying Hard.” The story that he used was that of the persistent widow in Luke 18. The story tells how a widow seeking justice pestered a judge until he caved into the requests of the woman, just to get her off his back. It is an interesting story because she did not wait until her appointed court day. She continued to seek after the judge. The twist in the story is that this is not seen as inappropriate. Jesus seems to imply that God desires this kind of tenacity and stubbornness. Continue reading “UPDATED: How Long Is Long Enough?”

Are My Prayer’s Big Enough?

My pastor, Pastor David, started a series on the book The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. Batterson is the pastor of National Community Church is Washington, D.C.

The heart of the message on Sunday looked at the legend of The Circle Maker a man named Honi ha-M’agel. The story of Honi (“hoe-knee”) revolves around an event where he drew a circle with his staff and prayed that God would send rain to help put an end to the drought that was ravaging the land.

On one occasion when God did not send rain well into the winter (in the geographic regions of Israel, it rains mainly in the winter), he drew a circle in the dust, stood inside it, and informed God that he would not move until it rained. When it began to drizzle, Honi told God that he was not satisfied and expected more rain; it then began to pour. He explained that he wanted a calm rain, at which point the rain calmed to a normal rain.

He was almost put into cherem (excommunication) for the above incident in which he showed “dishonor” to God. However, Shimon ben Shetach, the brother of Queen Shlomtzion, excused him, saying that he was Honi and had a special relationship with God. [Source]

The impression that I was left with after the story was that this was a very brash and ostentatious way of praying. I do not think that I have ever, in my life, talked to God that way. And that is exactly what we learn from Honi. Honi was not demanding for God answer to him, but that God was more than capable to do what no one else could. That is a very different way of thinking about prayer and why we pray. We have to believe that God can do what he promises because if we do not, then what are we doing praying at all?

Pastor David challenged us to realize that we were not praying bold enough if we are praying for things that we can accomplish on our own, in our own strength. I have heard this often in the church. I get it. It is a challenge to trust God more and more. But, do you know what really struck me as I was listening to Pastor David? What about me? Am I praying that God would conform me into the image of Jesus? Am I praying that God would change my heart, mind, attitudes, emotions and values?

You see, one of the dangers of praying for “BIG” things is that the biggest thing gets overlooked because “I have it under control.” This is a terrible mistake. I can not change who I am, save myself, or even guarantee the next moment of my life, and we want to pray boldly about “big” things. What could be bigger than being the person that Jesus died for us to be?

Pastor David was right, my prayers are not big and bold enough. But, I left with the impression that the subject of those prayers, at least for me, is not those “big” things “out there,” but the big things inside my own heart. I know that this is my tendency, to look inside rather than out. What I have realized is that I want to be the person that prays bigger and bolder prayers because I do believe that God WILL, not just another a person who prays big prayers because I think God CAN.