Righteousness in the Secret Place | Gospel of Matthew | Lindsey Hudman

Righteousness in the Secret Place | Gospel of Matthew | Lindsey Hudman

If we're honest with ourselves, many of us take on different personas throughout our week depending on whom we're trying to impress or curry favor with, often without even realizing it. We can be doing all sorts of good things, but often with selfish motives. Living this way is exhausting, but Jesus invites us to live a much simpler life — a life where we do the right things for the right reason, because we are not performing for the approval of other people, but living for an audience of one.

Prayer 04: Being with God | Rich Kirby

We never mature beyond any of the four stages of prayer we are exploring in this Practice, but the further we progress in prayer, the more we desire to speak to God, to listen to God, and to just be with God. As a general rule, you can gauge the intimacy in a relationship by how comfortable you are being alone together in the silence. When applied to God, this type of wordless prayer has come to be called “contemplation,” based on 2 Corinthians 3:18. Prayer Prayer, at it's most basic, is the medium through which we communicate and commune with God. Over four weeks we'll learn how, in our busy and distracted lives, to set aside dedicated time to intentionally be with God, in order to become like him and partner with him in the world.

Prayer 03: Listening to God | Rich Kirby

There comes a point in our relationship with God where we desire not just to speak to him, but to listen — to hear his voice. As Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” But how do we hear God’s voice? PrayerPrayer, at its most basic, is the medium through which we communicate and commune with God. Over four weeks we'll learn how, in our busy and distracted lives, to set aside dedicated time to intentionally be with God, in order to become like him and partner with him in the world.

Prayer 02: Talking with God | Brian Dean

In week two of our Prayer Practice we begin to learn how to talk with God. Praying pre-made prayers is a beautiful way to pray. It’s where we start our prayer journey, and it’s a place we revisit all through our lives. But at some point in our life of prayer, we desire to pray our own words to God — to share what’s on our mind, our heart. Our pain, our joy, our hopes and fears. We can’t help but desire to interact with God in a more authentic, personalized way. Prayer Prayer, at its most basic, is the medium through which we communicate and commune with God. Over four weeks we'll learn how, in our busy and distracted lives, to set aside dedicated time to intentionally be with God, in order to become like him and partner with him in the world.

Prayer 01: Talking to God | Rich Kirby

We begin our Prayer Practice by exploring the first stage of prayer: talking to God. When the disciples asked Jesus, “Teach us to pray,” in Luke 11, Jesus replied, “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name...’” He gave them a pre-made prayer to pray to God. Pre-made prayers can look like praying the Lord’s Prayer, singing through the Psalms or using a prayer app on your phone. This way of praying can be incredibly helpful in various seasons of our lives: when we’re learning to pray, when we’re exhausted or sick, when we’re traveling and find it hard to focus, or when we’re living with grief and doubt, searching for the right words to talk to God. “The prayers of the saints,” can carry us through. Prayer Prayer, at its most basic, is the medium through which we communicate and commune with God. Over four weeks we'll learn how, in our busy and distracted lives, to set aside dedicated time to intentionally be with God, in order to become like him and partner with him in the world.