"Our heart is restless until it rests in you." -Augustine
This last small group was the best one that I can remember. We managed to stay on topic the entire night, and our discussion was profitable for all parties involved. We determined that meditation, while not interchangeable with prayer, is still necessary for prayer. The heart and mind must first be focused on Him before true prayer can be offered. Meditation on Him should naturally lead you to pray to and praise Him. Also, "pray without ceasing" refers to a continual attitude of prayer; it is physically impossible to pray without ceasing. As achieving total Christlikeness is unattainable in this life, so is prayer without ceasing. BUT!!!!! Just because we cannot reach these things does not mean that we are not to strive earnestly for them.
We know that trials often accompany the Christian faith. However, we do not always commit to seeing God's plan for us in them. James 1:2-4 tells us that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness or endurance. We need to look beyond the pain that our flesh sees and see the reward and strength that comes from testing.
Never take your small groups for granted. These are the people that you can always come to for help and for guidance. Don't make the mistake I did of hiding in the background not sharing. You only get out what you put into it.
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2 comments:
I'm glad you're enjoying your small group; it's true, you'll get out of it what you put into it!
I'd like to add a little tweak to the last paragraph, where you say small groups are "the people" you can always go to for help and guidance; I'm sure you didn't mean to dismiss the importance of family, but I would hope that Christian parents and siblings might be considered an even more primary source of help and guidance! :O)
I rejoice for your great passion and insight in your writing! Keep up the good work!
My church did a study on praying without ceasing too, and we came to the same conclusion; that we should still pray, but keep Him in our hearts and minds always.
Thanks for the thoughts! You may not post often, but when you do, it gives readers something to think about.
Later!
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