Pastor Ray's Blog

Dear Friends,

I decided to follow up on last month’s article and talk a bit more about our Lenten prayer challenge. Many of you know that after hearing Dr. Steve Hayner, a professor of Evangelism at Columbia Seminary, speak a few weeks ago I challenged all of us to pray the three prayers that he prays every morning. Here are the three prayers:

• Lord, open my eyes and help me to see the things that you see
• Lord, let my heart be broken by the things that break your heart
• Lord, help me not to duck

The first two prayers are fairly self-explanatory. The third prayer has to do with not avoiding the opportunities that might come our way because we have prayed the first two prayers.

As you receive this newsletter we will be coming close to Holy Week and the conclusion of Lent. I thought this might be a good time to ask and see how our prayer experiment is going.

I’ve already begun hearing a few stories from folks who have been praying these prayers and sensing that the Lord is working through those prayers. A few families have reported that not only are the adults praying these prayers but the children in the family are praying them as well. If that is the case I hope you are taking the opportunity to talk to your young people about what you and they have experienced.

A few of you have expressed that praying these prayers has been a bit scary. You wonder, “What if God actually answers them? What if we begin seeing what God sees and what if our hearts are touched in ways that touch the heart of God? What might we be called upon to do? How far out of our comfort zone do you think we might have to venture?”

That’s really the point, isn’t it? How can we do the mission of Christ if we don’t really have the heart and mind of Christ?

My challenge was that you would pray these prayers every morning through the season of Lent. My hope is that they will become a permanent part of your prayer life.

Finally, please do share your stories with me. I am anxious to hear how God has been at work in your heart and life as a result of your willingness to pray these prayers.

Together with you in Christ’s service,

PS You won’t believe this, but literally as I was writing this article the phone rang and I was invited to do something that I think has to do with praying these prayers. I’ll let you know how it turns out.