Message from Pastor Mori Dear RFUMC Family What is your first of memory of prayer? For me at Sunday School before the snack time we followed the prayer of the Sunday School teacher saying, "God is good and loves me, thank you for this snack. Amen" I believed that every time we pray God received whatever we said. And as I became a youth, I learned that prayer is conversation. Through prayer, I brought my worries and plans and fears to God in hopes of God's protection and guidance. And, as I have grown to be an adult and went to the seminary, I learned to listen for God,how to attune our heart and mind and ears and seek God through scriptures. I try to listen to the Holy Spirit and hope that the Holy Spirit leads and becomes my navigator.And, as a pastor I want to learn how to pray by being with God, how to live in relationship with God. So I got the book Being with God: The Absurdity, Necessity, and Neurology of Contemplative Prayer by A.J. Sherrill. In the book, the author writes that there are four types of prayer: Talking at God Speaking to God Listening for God Being with God At, to, for, with: these are the four basic way to pray. I agree with the author's point that when we talk about our prayer, we mostly examine only the words we speak to God and the impressions they claim to feel from God.This is a good way to pray to God, but sometimes we forgot that prayer is "being" than "doing" Sherill notes that, "at some point, our relationship with God demands that we move away from words, away from noise, and away from the mental chatter and toward discovering God in the quiet." I think this direction is a beautiful way to meet myself and God. Where is your prayer? If you want to begin to explore this, sit down, take a deep breath, and open yourself to God. With prayer for you, Mori PS) Do you need prayer? Please send your prayer request. I will pray for you. Here is my email and prayer request form |