Message: “The Prayerful Life, vol. 1: The Problem and Power of Prayer” from Ross Stackhouse

Message at 23:10. Prayer really bothers us. Some folks are just plain over it. Some feel like they’re not good at it. Some used to do it all the time but are now skeptical and disillusioned at the thought. Some (maybe all) are sick of “thoughts and prayers.” But what if there’s something we’re missing–even the folks who are veteran prayers. What if prayer is something we haven’t seen yet–almost like an undiscovered land. Jesus’s life was infused with prayer–different kinds and different moments–and his life was the byproduct of a dynamic, continuous relationship with the One he called “Father” (something else we may struggle with). He shows us that prayer is not some ritual we do because we must, but it’s something we do with God because we can. Prayer is a space of trust, relationship, and heart transformation. We want to help you rediscover the beauty, power and mystery of prayer in the season of Lent.

Scripture References: Philippians 4:5-7

Related Topics: discipleship | More Messages from Ross Stackhouse

From Series: "The Prayerful Life: a Series for Beginners, Experts & Skeptics"

Everyone has experiences with and opinions about prayer. Though many folks have tons of good experiences and positive views of prayer, there are still many others (perhaps more) who struggle with prayer. What if prayer--for those with the good experiences and those with the not-so-good experiences--is like a land we haven't fully discovered yet? We want to help folks grow in prayer as the ultimate space of growing intimacy with God and being shaped by God’s heart for an eternal kind of life in the here and now and beyond. Prayer is the space where we are still with God, listen to God, thank God, get angry at God, grieve with God, confess to God, petition God. It’s a lifelong garden of relationship where we cultivate trust with the One who made us, saves us, and sustains us. It’s the incubator where the Spirit shapes us so we join Jesus in his restoring work so Earth is as it is in heaven.