GBC Community Update: Steps towards a mature prayer life

​Good morning. I hope you’re making this a great week.  I’m not sure what it’s been like for you, but the haze and smell of smoke from the wild fires burning in northern Ontario here has been a bit of a strange experience for me. It’s in times like this I’m glad God is in charge and working out his plans.
 
 
Outreach opportunity- tree planting
This is a reminder of the Tree Planting that will happen in the Junction this Saturday, June 10. We'll be starting at 9 am at Goldie Park on 63 Memorial Cres and work during just the morning.  This event is hosted by the Junction Neighbourhood Group and GBC is participating as part of our Outreach Focus Area.   Please bring your water bottle, garden gloves and close-toed shoes.  Shovels will be provided.  Everyone is welcome, come for the morning or just a bit!  Light refreshments will be provided.  If you have questions, please call Andrea Thornton at 905-537-9607.
 
 
GBC family picnic coming up
Our GBC family picnic is coming up on Tuesday June 20 at the Guelph Bible Conference Center.  From 4:45pm to 5:30pm you can play mini golf or just hang out. Then we’ll enjoy a delicious BBQ dinner. Afterwards there will be games for the kids finishing with the always-popular candy scramble. It’s a fun night and I hope you can join us.  Cost is free will offering.
Sign up in the main foyer or email me to be added to the list. It’s going to be a great time!
 
 
Thought for the day: Steps Towards a Mature Prayer Life
Its been a while since we’ve spent any significant time on this crucial element of living as a triumphant disciple of Jesus. So, for the next couple of weeks I’ll be sharing some practical thoughts that I hope will help you in your personal prayer life. Even if you already have a strong prayer life, we can always go deeper in our prayer time with God which ultimately grows our relationship with Him.  Here are the first thoughts:
Pray Daily and give praise
Praying daily will help you grow in your prayer life because you are prioritizing God each and every day. You are giving Him praise and seeking Him when you pray daily.
You can set a reminder on your phone, a sticky note on your mirror, or an alarm to go off at a certain time to help you remember to pray. After a while, it will become a habit and a part of your day. Try not to think of praying daily as a chore or something to check off your to-do list.  I find I pray first thing in the morning to start my day off.
Regardless of when, pray because you are able and free to do so. Pray with thanksgiving in your heart. Pray because God loved you so much He sent His son to die on a cross for you. Pray out of an overflow of gratitude from your heart.
When you don’t feel like praying, pray anyways. Pray and ask God to help your heart. You can make a verbal list (or better yet a written list) of all the blessings you have in your life to help you remind your heart that you are grateful.
By praying daily, it helps you to remember that God is the most important part of your life. You are sitting Him on the throne in your heart.  We read this in Psalm 116- “Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.”  What a great reminder!
So once you get in the habit of praying daily, what should you pray?  How about starting with giving praise!
During your prayer, take time to give praise to God. He has blessed us greatly and the least we can do is thank and praise Him for who He is.
Don’t know where to start? Here are five ideas:
Praise Him for Salvation (John 3:16)
Praise Him for His Mercy (Psalm 86:5)
Praise Him for His Love (2 Chronicles 6:14)
Praise Him for Goodness (1 Timothy 4:4)
Praise Him for His Kindness (Titus 3:4-6)
Another idea would be to read a Scripture associated with a specific attribute of God. God is deserving of all our praise and we should be diligent about praising Him during our prayer time.  Yes, let’s remember to praise the Lord as we pray to him daily, that will lead to a mature prayer life!
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris