Week: How to Hear God
Each day we will simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) together.
P: PAUSING to be still.
R: REJOICING with a Memory Verse and REFLECTING on some verses from the Bible.
A: ASKING God to help us and others.
Y: saying YES to God’s ways.
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Father God, we’re listening. We look forward to what You want to say to us today, through the Bible, through other people, through what we see and hear around us, even through our hearts. Help us to hear You.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Vera Lynn
John 10:27
[Jesus said] ‘My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me.’
John 10:27 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
We’re REFLECTING on the ways in which Creator God – the Maker of the whole Universe – speaks to us through all that He has made.
Read by Vera Lynn
Psalm 19:1-4
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the skies announce what his hands have made.
Day after day they tell the story;
night after night they tell it again.
They have no speech or words;
they have no voice to be heard.
But their message goes out through all the world;
their words go everywhere on earth.
Psalm 19:1-4 (NCV)
In the third century AD (which is more than 1,700 years ago!) a Christian called Anthony of the Desert moved out into the wilderness in Egypt to pray. A visitor asked him how he survived without books to read, and Anthony replied, ‘My book is the nature of created things, and as often as I have the mind to read the works of God, it is at hand.’ Anthony felt that he could learn all he needed to know about God just by looking at the glorious skies, the awesome mountains, the ever-flowing rivers and the unique plants. It was the world around him that spoke to him about God, without using a single word.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What have we seen in nature recently that felt awesome or beautiful or wonderful?
Can we see any nature from where we are right now? For example, plants and trees, hills, the sky, even animals. If there’s a window nearby, maybe we could take a look outside.
Let’s just pause for a few moments and listen for what God might want to say to us through the natural things that we can see – the things that God has made.
The world that God made is awesome and beautiful and wonderful, but it is also suffering. For example, there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by the year 2050 unless we human beings change the way we’re living.
Creator God, we ASK you to help us care for the world around us. And please speak to the leaders in our nations, so that we can all make the changes that we need to.
As we read the Bible again, let’s listen for a word or a phrase that the Holy Spirit might want to say to us from today’s verses.
Psalm 19:1-4
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the skies announce what his hands have made.
Day after day they tell the story;
night after night they tell it again.
They have no speech or words;
they have no voice to be heard.
But their message goes out through all the world;
their words go everywhere on earth.
Psalm 19:1-4 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Creator God, we say a big YES to the wonderful world that you have made. Sunsets and singing birds and flowers in bloom and towering mountains and tiny raindrops. As the writer of today’s Psalm said, help us to see your glory in everything around us.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
John 10:27
[Jesus said] ‘My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me.’
John 10:27 (NCV)
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
* To find out more about Pete Greig’s book go to https://www.24-7prayer.com/how-to-hear-god/
Chris lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two boys. He works for 24-7 Prayer Australia and Red Church and is also a professional musician. When he’s not working or drumming Chris enjoys going on long hikes in the mountains with his boys and playing table tennis.
Vera Lynn is 10 years old and lives in Phoenix, Arizona, USA with her parents, sister, and dog Max. Her favourite hobbies include reading, knitting, sewing, and embroidery. She is very creative. Her favourite book is The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in the Chronicles of Narnia series by CS Lewis.
