Welcome to Lectio for Families. This week we are continuing our series called Holy Spirit Adventures. We are reading and praying our way through the book of Acts, which is packed with stories about what the Holy Spirit did in and through Jesus’ followers.

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, like the disciples in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, we’re patiently waiting for You to fill us with Your power and with Your presence. We’re ready for You to send us on new adventures.

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’re REFLECTING on what happened to Paul and the disciples after they sailed around the Greek Islands to a place called Tyre.

Read by Hubo
Acts 21:4-5
We found some followers in Tyre and stayed with them for seven days. Through the Holy Spirit they warned Paul not to go to Jerusalem. When we finished our visit, we left and continued our trip. All the followers, even the women and children, came outside the city with us. After we all knelt on the beach and prayed.
Acts 21:4-5 (NCV)

When the people in Tyre heard that Paul had arrived, they were excited to hear what he had to teach them about Jesus. But then, when they were praying for him, the Holy Spirit told them to warn Paul not to travel to Jerusalem.

Something similar happened not long afterwards. In another place the Holy Spirit told a prophet called Agabus to warn Paul about going to Jerusalem. However, Paul felt that these warnings weren’t actually the Holy Spirit saying, ‘don’t go!’, but they were warnings to prepare him for the difficulties he would face when he got there.

Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What do we do to prepare ourselves for something important (or even difficult)? Maybe like a sporting or dance event, an exam or a big trip?

• PAUSE the audio player now

Ask

ASK Prayers

And now, we ASK God to help us and others.

Loving God, we are so grateful for the wise advice and the prayers that we receive from other people. We ASK you to help us listen carefully to the things people say, so that we can make good decisions.

• OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and pray

And Father God, we pray for all those who are struggling with a big decision at the moment. We ASK you to speak to them… give them a verse from the Bible, or speak to them through a friend, or give someone a prophetic word. It doesn’t really matter how you do it, but please make it clear to them that it’s you speaking.

If there’s someone that we know who is struggling to make a big decision, let’s pray our own prayers quietly for them now. And then let’s listen for a moment, in case the Holy Spirit wants to give us a word or a picture for them.

• 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.

Acts 21:4-5
We found some followers in Tyre and stayed with them for seven days. Through the Holy Spirit they warned Paul not to go to Jerusalem. When we finished our visit, we left and continued our trip. All the followers, even the women and children, came outside the city with us. After we all knelt on the beach and prayed.
Acts 21:4-5 (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.

Holy Spirit, we say YES to going on adventures with You. We say YES to listening to you in all sorts of ways, through the Bible, through people that love us, through nature around us, through prophecies and other ways too. Speak Lord, we’re listening.

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.