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.
For today’s ASK prayers we’ll need some paper and pens or pencils.
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 Ruby
Jeremiah 33:3
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
Jeremiah 33:3 (NIVUK)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we’re REFLECTING on some verses from the apostle Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth.
Read by Ruby
1 Corinthians 14:1-3
You should seek after love, and you should truly want to have the spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. I will explain why. Those who have the gift of speaking in different languages are not speaking to people; they are speaking to God. No one understands them; they are speaking secret things through the Spirit. But those who prophesy are speaking to people to give them strength, encouragement, and comfort.
1 Corinthians 14:1-3 (NCV)
A prophecy is a message that the Holy Spirit gives us from God for other people. Sometimes it might be about something that God wants to do or is going to do. The apostle Paul tells us that the main reason we receive messages from God like this is to show God’s love to others. And we can tell if it is a loving message because it gives people strength, encouragement or comfort.
Let’s press pause and think about someone we know who might need a bit of strength, encouragement or comfort: What could we say or do that would help them?
Let’s close our eyes and open our hands in front of us, as if we were going to receive a gift.
Holy Spirit, we ASK you to give us a gift of prophecy – we want to strengthen, encourage and comfort others. Help us to share Your love in this way.
For this next bit, we’ll need our paper and pens. Let’s start by thinking of that person we know who might need a bit of strength, encouragement or comfort at the moment. Now let’s write a word or draw a picture for them.
Holy Spirit, we ASK you to use our words and pictures to show them a little bit of your love for them. Show us when we could share our words and pictures with them this week.
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.
1 Corinthians 14:1-3
You should seek after love, and you should truly want to have the spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. I will explain why. Those who have the gift of speaking in different languages are not speaking to people; they are speaking to God. No one understands them; they are speaking secret things through the Spirit. But those who prophesy are speaking to people to give them strength, encouragement, and comfort.
1 Corinthians 14:1-3 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Loving God, thank You that You want to speak to us. We say YES to receiving gifts of prophecy and YES to using it to strengthen, encourage and comfort others.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Jeremiah 33:3
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
Jeremiah 33:3 (NIVUK)
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/
Phil lives close to a beach in the north of England with his wife, his daughters and his dogs. Phil works for 24-7 Prayer, mostly doing Lectio stuff, and helping to run Prayer Spaces in Schools. He runs a lot, usually for long distances. He likes curry, mountains, reading books and he still plays Pokemon Go.
Ruby is 12 and she lives in Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland with her family. Ruby is a gymnast who never sits still! She loves dogs (but her mum won’t get her one), she loves her friends and she’s always up for a laugh. Ruby would love to work with animals when she’s older.
