Welcome to Lectio for Families. We’re continuing our series focusing on what the writers of the letters in the New Testament said about the six practices that are at the heart of Lectio for Families and 24-7 Prayer. These six practices are: prayer and creativity, justice and hospitality, learning and mission. This week we are focusing on the practice of learning.

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.

Pause

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

Prayer of Welcome

Holy Spirit, You are the best teacher. As we explore the Bible and listen to You, please help us to understand more about You, and draw closer to You.

Rejoice

Memory Verse

We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:

God, help us to remember Your Word.

Reflect

Bible Reading

Today we are REFLECTING on a letter written by Paul to his friends in the city of Philippi. Paul knew the incredible, amazing, difference that following Jesus had made to his life – and he longs for his friends to experience it too!

Read by Bella
Philippians 1:9a,11
This is my prayer for you… that you will be filled with the good things produced in your life by Christ to bring glory and praise to God.
Philippians 1:9a,11 (NCV)

What ‘good things’ do we think Paul is talking about here? What do we think Paul wants his Philippian friends’ lives to be filled with? It’s probably things like this;

Joy – he wants them to be filled with joy, whether things are going well or not.
And peace – he wants them to be filled with peace instead of worry.
Patience – he wants them to be still and know that God is with them.
And loving – he wants them to be filled to overflowing with love.
Kindness, gentleness, goodness – he wants them to be filled with these things too, so there is no room left in their lives for anything unkind or harsh or bad.

In other words, Paul wants them to be filled with things that are like Jesus – he prays for them to become more like Jesus. And in a way, Paul’s prayer is also for us – that we would be filled with all these good things and become more like Jesus too.

Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: Who would we like to be more like? (Not including Jesus!) Maybe it’s someone we know, or a real life hero, or a favourite character from a story. What do we like about them?

• PAUSE the audio player now

Ask

ASK Prayers

The list of ‘good things’ we just read are from Paul’s letter to his friends in Galatia (Galatians 5:22-23). As we listen to the list one more time, let’s ASK the Holy Spirit which one we need to be a bit more filled with;

Love.
Joy.
Peace.
Patience.
Kindness.
Goodness.
Truthfulness.
Gentleness.
Self control.

Holy Spirit, we ASK You to fill us with all of these good things. Please help us with the ones we feel a bit empty of at the moment.

• OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and pray

Paul wrote his letters because he wanted people to know Jesus better.

Lord Jesus, we pray for our friends – those who are already Christians and those who aren’t yet. We want them all to know You better. Please fill us with Your Holy Spirit and give us boldness to talk with them about You.

• OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and pray

Yes

Bible Reading

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.

Read by Bella
Philippians 1:9a,11
This is my prayer for you… that you will be filled with the good things produced in your life by Christ to bring glory and praise to God.
Philippians 1:9a,11 (NCV)

What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?

• OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and tell each other

YES Prayer

And now, let’s say YES to God together.

Loving God, we say YES to being filled with all the good things You have for us. Help us to keep loving, to keep learning and to do the right things because we know that You are with us.

Memory Verse

After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:

Closing Prayer

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.