{"id":948,"date":"2017-09-10T09:00:21","date_gmt":"2017-09-09T21:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.parklands.org.nz\/?p=948"},"modified":"2017-09-10T08:11:10","modified_gmt":"2017-09-09T20:11:10","slug":"simple-september-still-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.parklands.org.nz\/2017\/09\/10\/simple-september-still-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple September : Still (notes)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When I worked with Drug addicts, many of their first encounters with Jesus were when they were in pain and cryed out asking for relief. For Many of us our faith began with petitionary prayer. Asking for stuff. This is a legitimate form of prayer. Many psalms do this. Discuss : Can you remember your first prayers ? What were they about ?<\/p>\n

God is not only defined by what we want and ask for. Just as a baby begins with crying as a request for something, we grow to have relationships that are not solely about asking and getting.
\nDiscuss: Have you ever had a relationship that seemed to solely be about you giving to someone else ? What was that like ?<\/p>\n

One of our challenges is that we can caught in our own story (my hurts, my agendas). While these matter, as followers of Jesus we are supposed to be being caught up into God\u2019s story and agendas.<\/p>\n

Psalm 23 starts with the opposite idea. \u201cThe Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (or I lack nothing)\u201d. Psalm 37:7 (NIV) Be still before the Lord
\nand wait patiently for him;
\nPsalm 46:10 (NIV) He says, \u201cBe still, and know that I am God;.<\/p>\n

Today we\u2019re considering how we might be able to \u2018be still\u2019 with God. Discuss : How easy or hard do you find it to \u201cbe still\u201d with God ?<\/p>\n

S.J. Martin writes \u201cWhen I was a novice, silence in my prayer drove me crazy. One day I told David Donovan, \u201cThis is ridiculous! Nothing\u2019s happening in my prayer. It\u2019s a waste of time.\u201d David said, \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d \u201cWell,\u201d I said. \u201cI sit down to pray, and not a thing happens. I just sit with God for an hour. It\u2019s a waste of time.\u201d David laughed. \u201cBeing with God is a waste of time?\u201d Despite myself, I had to laugh. It\u2019s never a waste of time to be in the presence of God\u2014even if it doesn\u2019t feel like much is happening.\u201d Discuss : Is it ever a waste of time ?<\/p>\n

Dan Rather, CBS anchor, once asked Mother Teresa what she said during her prayers. She answered, “I listen.” So Rather turned the question and asked, “Well then, what does God say?” To that Mother Teresa smiled with confidence and answered, “He listens.\u201d Discuss : What do you make of that ? What would that look like in your life ?<\/p>\n

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Richard Rohr write \u201cNo wonder the Spirit is described\"\"
\nas \u201cflowing water\u201d and \u201cas a spring inside you\u201d (John 4: 10\u201314) or at the end of the Bible as a \u201criver of
\nlife\u201d (Rev. 22: 1\u20132)…Strangely, your life is not about \u201cyou.\u201d It is a part of a much larger stream called God.
\nI believe that faith might be precisely that ability to trust the river, to trust the flow and the lover. It is a
\nprocess that we don\u2019t have to change, coerce, or improve. We need to allow it to flow. That takes immense
\nconfidence in God.. Faith does not need to push the river precisely because it is able to trust that there is a river. The river is flowing; we are in it. The river is God\u2019s providential love – so do not be afraid.<\/p>\n

Take a minute(or more) out : Imagine yourself standing thigh deep in a river, it is the river of God\u2019s love. picture it. what temperature is the water ? Is it moving fast or slow ? What is it like to be there ?
\nDiscuss : What was that like ? How do you slow down ? When do you experience the presence of God ?<\/p>\n

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 – Discuss: What have you found helpful in seeking first God\u2019s kingdom ?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

(Greatful thanks to Flaticons.com for the use of the river image).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I worked with Drug addicts, many of their first encounters with Jesus were when they were in pain and cryed out asking for relief. For Many of us our faith began with petitionary prayer. Asking for stuff. This is a legitimate form of prayer. Many psalms do this. Discuss : Can you remember your first prayers ? What were they about ? God is not only defined by what we want and ask for. Just as a baby begins with crying as a request for something, we grow to have relationships that are not solely about asking and getting. Discuss: Have you ever had a relationship that seemed to solely be about you giving to someone else ? What…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.parklands.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.parklands.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.parklands.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.parklands.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.parklands.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.parklands.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":950,"href":"http:\/\/www.parklands.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions\/950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.parklands.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.parklands.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.parklands.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}