Prayer and Spirituality
What do we mean when we talk about prayer and spirituality?
As humans we are made with an awareness that there is ‘something more’ to life than just the things we can see around us: or as the book of Ecclesiastes says, (3. 11) God has ‘set eternity in the human heart’. Beauty, joy and suffering can all give us glimpses of a spiritual life we are designed to develop and enjoy.
The core of our faith as Christians is a relationship with the living God through Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us it doesn’t matter where we worship God – we can do so in church, at home, in the countryside or the city or on the bus, but we should do so ‘in Spirit and in truth’ (John 4.23).
Making space every day to do that, whether it’s through a regular quiet time or just catching the moment, helps us to get our everyday lives in a bigger perspective. It also develops our inner resources to cope with the challenges and problems of life.
The Christian faith believes we need help to do that, so we call on the power of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul says, ‘The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit prays for us with sighs that words cannot express.’ (Romans 8.26)
As Christians we also believe that it is through Jesus that we come to the Father of all – for ‘no one has ever seen God, but the only Son has made him known.’ (John 1.18)
There are lots of resources to help you develop your inner life and get to know better what God wants for you.
If you’d like to find out more, do contact the minister, or come to church on Sunday and talk to one of the stewards, or join one of our groups exploring what the Christian faith means. The Christian journey can start anywhere, but it is done best in company!
You can also try out some of these resources on the web.
http://www.methodist.org.uk/prayer-and-worship/prayer-of-the-day from the national Methodist website, with lots more information and resources about the Methodist Church
https://alpha.org/ for an introduction to Christian belief and stories of how it has changed many people’s lives
http://www.sacredspace.ie/ a resource for daily prayer from the Jesuit community
https://www.biblegateway.com/ a good place to find any passage you are looking for in the Bible
https://www.northumbriacommunity.org/offices/how-to-use-daily-office/ The Northumbria Community is a scattered community of Christians who follow a daily rule of prayer
As humans we are made with an awareness that there is ‘something more’ to life than just the things we can see around us: or as the book of Ecclesiastes says, (3. 11) God has ‘set eternity in the human heart’. Beauty, joy and suffering can all give us glimpses of a spiritual life we are designed to develop and enjoy.
The core of our faith as Christians is a relationship with the living God through Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us it doesn’t matter where we worship God – we can do so in church, at home, in the countryside or the city or on the bus, but we should do so ‘in Spirit and in truth’ (John 4.23).
Making space every day to do that, whether it’s through a regular quiet time or just catching the moment, helps us to get our everyday lives in a bigger perspective. It also develops our inner resources to cope with the challenges and problems of life.
The Christian faith believes we need help to do that, so we call on the power of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul says, ‘The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit prays for us with sighs that words cannot express.’ (Romans 8.26)
As Christians we also believe that it is through Jesus that we come to the Father of all – for ‘no one has ever seen God, but the only Son has made him known.’ (John 1.18)
There are lots of resources to help you develop your inner life and get to know better what God wants for you.
If you’d like to find out more, do contact the minister, or come to church on Sunday and talk to one of the stewards, or join one of our groups exploring what the Christian faith means. The Christian journey can start anywhere, but it is done best in company!
You can also try out some of these resources on the web.
http://www.methodist.org.uk/prayer-and-worship/prayer-of-the-day from the national Methodist website, with lots more information and resources about the Methodist Church
https://alpha.org/ for an introduction to Christian belief and stories of how it has changed many people’s lives
http://www.sacredspace.ie/ a resource for daily prayer from the Jesuit community
https://www.biblegateway.com/ a good place to find any passage you are looking for in the Bible
https://www.northumbriacommunity.org/offices/how-to-use-daily-office/ The Northumbria Community is a scattered community of Christians who follow a daily rule of prayer