Means of Grace

Scripture

In the UMC, we view scripture as a means of grace. Scripture is one of the primary places that God continues to reveal God’s self to us. There’s a variety of ways to engage with scripture: reading it, meditating on it, studying it deeply, praying scripture, signing scripture. With each practice there may be a different intended outcome. And yet, no matter how we’re approaching scripture, the primary goal is for it to transform our hearts and minds and point us to Jesus Christ. Below are a few resources related to scripture reading you might find helpful. We’ll continue to update this list.

Prayer

Int he words of Eugene Peterson, "prayer is the language of the soul." Even if the language sounds foreign to us, it is and will always be our mother-tongue. God wants to be in relationship with us and prayer is one of the many spiritual disciplines we can begin to nurture that relationship. It begins with "Talk TO God," sharing our personal lives with God. Then "Talk WITH God," not only us sharing our heart, but God sharing God's heart with us. Eventually, prayer can turn into simply "Listening TO God," this is a form of meditative prayer, absorbing the attributes of God but listening to the heart of God. And finally pray is "Being WITH God," where nothing is said but simply being in God's presence is enough. Curious how you can begin developing a prayer life. Try these ideas out:

  1. Start where you are -- give yourself some grace. If your rhythm of prayer is almost none existent, start with short prayers throughout the day to simply get you in the praying habit. Try this: set a timer on your phone at these times:
  2. 5:16 (am or pm) "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
  3. 6:9 (am or pm) stop and say the Lords Prayer, found in Matthew 6:9-13.
  4. Create space in your day -- this may be 2 mins. or 2 hours. But try to find some silence and solitude to simply practice listening.
  5. Teach Prayer to Others -- encourage others around you (especially children) to pray, at meals, at the start of the day, before bed.
  6. Be with God -- practicing simply being with God. No agendas, no words. Carve out a few minutes and reflect on these words "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps 46:10). This is good news!
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