[21] Preparing for August

We began with a prayer activity in pairs, thinking about the purpose of our lives. Nice simple question! Having said what we think is the purpose of our lives, we prayed for each other.

We heard about the spiritual rhythms of two more of the group. This continues to be a privilege, to hear about people's secret places with God. We are all so different. 

Also tonight, Richard gave a short summary of meeting with Love Southampton Council of Reference, where he gave an update on the House of Prayer. They were very supportive and asked that we go back soon to give further updates. 

August - set aside for prayer

Our plan for August is to set aside the majority of the time for prayer, to soak everything in prayer before moving on to discerning more of the specifics of the House of Prayer from September onwards. 

Each week we will have a worship time led by one of the group and then a prayer focus activity, again led by members of the group. We began signing up to do those different slots. 

But first we focussed on the vision for the house of prayer. This is because we are not just praying in a holy huddle. We are pilgrims on a journey, preparing for the HoP.

The core vision for the House of Prayer is summed up in 5 words: Presence, Prayer, Mission, Justice, Joy. 

Jesus quotes Isaiah 56 when he clears the temple, as recorded in Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 2. "My house will be a house of prayer for all nations". Richard encouraged us to dwell on these passages throughout August.

Isaiah 56 is about the way that non-Jews (foreigners and outsiders) could choose to be servants of the Lord. In fact, God says "I will bring them to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer." Yet again this is the work of the Lord - bringing  and gathering people. "I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered." This is very exciting, and we should expect people to be drawn to the house of prayer, perhaps just turning up at the door unannounced.

The theme of justice is expanded from Jesus quoting Jeremiah 7:11 - 'den of thieves'. We must be careful not to be deceiving ourselves, saying ‘house of prayer, house of prayer, house of prayer’, but not doing it, acting it out, meaning it. We must be acting justly. Trusting only in God. What we do in secret has an effect on our standing in the house of prayer.

In summary, we are going to be praying about a range of topics over August, but we remain on a journey to establishing the house of prayer. We are not becoming a prayer group...