A piece of the puzzle - Jesus the Pray-er

This week, we are focusing on the side of Jesus that I have called "The Pray-er".  Its not the best statement grammatically, but it does represent the fact that prayer was a core part of Jesus life and ministry.  Nearly thirty times in the four Gospels, Jesus is spoken of as praying or going to pray, etc.  In comparison, there are only about 20 times where the Gospel writers speak of Jesus eating.  And they never talk of Jesus sleeping (only his disciples when they were in the garden with Jesus while he was...praying).

In worship this week, we will be focusing on how Jesus prayed and also the way that Jesus taught us to pray.

As we move beyond Sunday, we will be having some times at PCW for people to gather for prayer.  One of the things that speaks to me the most from those who have devoted their lives to prayer, the monastics, is what is referred to as The Daily Office.  The office is essentially a consistent practice of prayer that has been followed for hundreds of years.  This coming week, we will be holding a daily office of sorts here.  On Monday-Thursday, I will be leading a time of prayer based upon the Daily Office at 8a, 12p, and 4p in the Founders room at PCW.  Each time will be about 10-15 minutes.  If you are able to participate in this time of prayer, we would love to have you be there.

I do recognize that driving back to Wyoming from downtown or other places in the area might be difficult during the day, so I would like to offer you an alternate form of prayer to enter into throughout the week (and potentially beyond).  An Irish monastery has created an online daily prayer practice that leads people through an experience similar to the daily office.  You can find it at sacredspace.ie .  Just click on the English link and it will lead you through a guided time of prayer.

We will also have a special prayer experience the weekend of Palm Sunday, but more about that next week...

Jesus set the example for us of a life centered upon prayer and communion with God.  May we seek to continue that as Jesus' follwers today.