fbpx

The gift of prayer

by | Jun 29, 2019 | Annual Conference Sessions Committee

GC2019 day of prayer

Greetings Laity! Have you been exploring prayer since Annual Conference? For those that were not able to join us at Annual Conference, the Laity Session focused on prayer, led by Rev. Beth Rambikur.

We discussed the many different ways we can engage in prayer. We created a word cloud with the collection of words that came to mind when we thought of prayer. The word cloud contained words like peace, God, calm, hope, conversation, faith, connection, grace, help, communication, silence. Over 200 Laity provided one word each to add to this cloud. Looking at that word cloud reminded us what a gift prayer is for us!

We discussed praying alone…where we pray alone…how we pray alone. We shared how comfortable (or not) we were with our alone prayers. An overwhelming 70% of us said we were very comfortable with our alone prayer time. 20% percent were comfortable, and 10% were somewhat or not comfortable. Then we asked about praying out loud – the percentages flipped! Very few of us said we were comfortable praying out loud.

We created a second word-cloud. This word-cloud filled with words that described what we find to be the hardest part of prayer. The cloud had words like focus, getting started, making time, listening, finding the right words. We shared those stumbling blocks to prayer and ways to overcome them.

In the Laity session, we practiced prayer with our bodies, our hands, our voices, and our collective breath. Through a stronger prayer life, we develop a deeper relationship with God, with each other, and with life itself.

Think of one new way that you can add to your prayer life and start practicing it.

We are on a prayer journey…walk with me.

Editor’s Note:

As is the case with all Desert Southwest Conference content on this website, churches may repurpose and republish this article and share the video link through their own communication channels. Laurie Lineberry is the Desert Southwest Conference Lay Leader and can be reached via email at llineberry@dscumc.org.

Get information like this in your inbox

Author: Laurie Lineberry

The Desert Southwest Conference is a diverse and loving organization with open doors to a variety of people and partners in ministry. Celebrating our connection and diversity, we offer various resources. Content on this site includes information from other organizations that may not reflect the official policies or Social Principles of The United Methodist Church or the Desert Southwest Conference.

Share This