Others...

Last night my House Church met again for the first time since Easter. We dove right in with some deep questions based on the new Crazy Love series and we had some great things to celebrate. We had 3 visitors to our group, big win! A couple from our House Church answered the call to leadership and launched a new House Church last night, HUGE win! I could talk about that forever, but something moved me about 3 weeks ago and I need to share it.

During the last series "More Than a Job", JR shared a story about a CEO who summed up the entire mission of his organization with one word, "Others." That word has been echoing in my head ever since. Others, others, others. We get a lot of questions about why we do what we do or why we do things the way we do them at Storehouse. The answer is almost always: others.

When you think like that, it is hard not to be motivated, excited, and energized. It's changing the way I pray, thinking of myself less and thinking of others more. It's changing my perspective, I can always find something to complain about in my life, there is almost always something that could be better, but if I'm thinking of others first, it's amazing how my troubles seem to disappear.

Perhaps the toughest question I have ever been asked was from a friend who was wretling with some truths about God and the cross. He asked me, "I just don't understand why Jesus had to die on the cross, if he was God's son, why did he have to die?" The answer: for others.

Our Prayer Posture

At The Gathering last Thursday night, we took some time to talk about our prayer lives, and I shared the following story by way of confession:

Every night before we put Luke to bed, Tiffany or I will read to him from his "Good Night Bible." It breaks down stories from the Word of God into toddler sized chunks, and includes devotional responses that conclude with prayer. The other night as we finished reading, Luke interrupted our normal routine which was to close the book, lay down, and pray. He said to me, "No Daddy, we have to kneel." As proof, he pointed to the little cartoon character who is depicted in prayer section, and sure enough he was kneeling. I couldn't help but smile, because in that moment I knew God was speaking directly to me through my son, reminding me that posture is important in prayer.

While the Bible doesn't command any particular posture when praying, it does portray many different options. There's standing, kneeling, bowing, lying prostrate, hands raised, head raised, head bowed, etc. One thing all of those postures have in common is that they aren't just randomly done or a matter of preference (or laziness!), but rather they are a reflection of the heart of the one praying. For example, in Luke 22 we see Jesus praying on his knees, signifying submission to his Father in the moments before his arrest and crucifixion. His posture, as well as his prayers communicated, "not my will but yours be done" (Luke 22:44).

Examine yourself. What is your most common prayer posture? What does it communicate about your heart? If you're like me and the answers to those questions sting a little bit because of the sins they reveal, maybe right now is the right time to humble yourself, get as low as you can get, and ask God to help you make a change. 

National Day of Prayer Observance

National Day of Prayer Observance

Additional Information: The Chapel is located in Valley Forge National Historic Park. All are invited to come and pray for our country.

Location: Washington Memorial Chapel
PA Route 23
Valley Forge, PA 19481
Start Date & Time: 05/07/2009 10:00 AM
End Date & Time: 05/07/2009 05:00 PM

Coordinator: Ben Emlen
610-783-0120
wmcproperty@verizon.net
Website: http://www.washingtonmemorialchapel.org
More Info: MapQuest directions