A Lenten Invitation to Prayer

 
Dear church family,
 
In First Thessalonians, Paul reminds the early church in the city of Thessalonica, “to always seek to do good to one another and to all.  Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances.”  It is in the spirit of growing our hearts, doing good to one another and deepening our relationship with God and others that we invite you to “grow” your prayer life during the season of Lent.

Lent runs from Ash Wednesday (February 17) to Easter Sunday (April 4).
 
Specifically, we invite you to participate in prayer in the following ways:

Group Prayer: To celebrate the morning and the evening in prayer, you are invited to phone-in to pray each day during Lent – either at 7:00 am or 9:00 pm.  Using the free service – www.freeconferencecall.com – we will have a twice daily prayer time.  Anyone can dial-in from anywhere, listen and prayer along together.  Led by a church member, the time together will start by reading a psalm or bible verse, followed by prayer.  We anticipate the call should not last more than ten minutes.  The first prayer will be on Thursday, February 18 at 7:00 am.  If you would like to volunteer to lead a prayer, please contact Kirsten Gullickson. Instructions to lead the call will be provided to you.

Extended Time in Prayer: As we know, the bible offers us examples of pray that occurred in great lengths of time.  Jesus spent whole nights praying.  Nehemiah prayed ‘certain days’ upon hearing of the plight of Jerusalem. Three times Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights alone with God.  To honor the tradition of extended prayer, we invite you to find an extended time in your schedule during Lent to prayer.  It may be one hour, four hours, or an entire day.  A handout will be available on the usher’s table and in the narthex describing ways to spend extended time in prayer.  If you would like me to email you a handout, just let me know.Directions for participating in group prayer

Starting on Thursday, February 18 and each subsequent day in Lent, please join us in group prayer by following these instructions:
·         At 7:00 am or 9:00 pm, dial:  (712) 432-0800
·         Enter Access Code: 770739#
·         The leader will wait a minute or two before reading a psalm or bible verse, followed by prayer.
·         You may be prompted to announce your name.  If you join the call late, please do not announce your name.  Simply join the prayer.
·         As participants join or leave the call, the sound of a bell can be heard until the call leader turns the bell off.
 
 
If you have any questions, please ask Pastor Alisa or Kirsten Gullickson.