All posts tagged Discipline

Lent Bookclub Part 23: Alienation and homecoming

Chapter 11: Warfare; Part 1: Opposition Strategies

Why on earth is prayer so hard? I don’t mean when you sit down to do it (though that bit can be tricky), I mean the business of building it into your life … of finding a rhythm and connection that fits and brings joy. One of the reasons is that it is opposed. The Bible seems to suggest that since time immemorial the enemy has been seeking to sow alienation between God and humankind. Don’t get me wrong … we’re quite capable of messing up our own lives … but he does seem to have a vested interest in stopping us from truly finding the joy of prayer. Perhaps that’s because humans who find the ultimate freedom and wonder of prayer are a force to be reckoned with.

So I’m sharing a couple of thoughts on the Garden of Eden story, and musing on how we can fight back against the effort to alienate us from God and steal the joy of prayer.

Please share your thoughts and insights in the comments if you’d like to.

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by Lyndall Bywater on 14/04/2019  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible study, Events & Initiatives, Lent Bookclub, Prayer in the Making, Prayer resources, Uncategorized
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Posted by Lyndall Bywater on 14/04/2019

https://lyndallbywater.net/2019/04/14/lent-bookclub-part-23-alienation-and-homecoming/

Lent Bookclub Part 21: Reading the Bible with all 5 senses

Chapter 10: Scripture; Part 1: Power and Promise

One of the biggest struggles I’ve had with prayer over the years is how to keep praying in and through and with the Bible. Don’t get me wrong: I read the Bible regularly and love it a lot, but I’ve found it so easy just to glide over it, or to be too familiar with it, or to hear what I’ve always heard. It’s been a quest of mine to find ways to keep myself fresh and open to the Scriptures, and although the vast majority of credit here goes to the Holy Spirit of course, I’ve found this little pattern of the 5 senses really helpful.

Have a listen and let me know your thoughts. Also, tell me what works for you. How do you engage with the Bible when you pray?

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by Lyndall Bywater on 11/04/2019  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible study, Events & Initiatives, Lent Bookclub, Prayer in the Making, Prayer resources, Uncategorized
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Posted by Lyndall Bywater on 11/04/2019

https://lyndallbywater.net/2019/04/11/lent-bookclub-part-21-reading-the-bible-with-all-5-senses/

Lent Bookclub Part 19: A menu of fasting options

Chapter 9: Voice and Body; Part 1: Praying with your Body

This chapter touches on various ways in which we use our bodies to pray, but it dips into the subject of fasting, and since its lent, I thought it might be useful to investigate that a little more. So this is my intro to three different types of fasting and how you might integrate them into your prayer rhythm.

And I don’t find any of them easy, so if you have any tips to share with me about them, I’d be ever so glad to hear them! Just post in the comments and share your experiences.

https://anchor.fm/lyndall-bywater/episodes/A-menu-of-fasting-options-Chapter-9-Part-1-e3m011

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by Lyndall Bywater on 07/04/2019  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible study, Events & Initiatives, Lent Bookclub, Prayer in the Making, Prayer resources, Uncategorized
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Posted by Lyndall Bywater on 07/04/2019

https://lyndallbywater.net/2019/04/07/lent-bookclub-part-19-a-menu-of-fasting-options/