Experiential Reason to Fast #4

Having come up with three experiential reasons almost a year ago on the old proGnosis site, I’ve come up with one more this last week. Fasting, being linked to prayer, actually physically prompts prayer. On a normal day, I remember to pray quite infrequently, as I’m sure is the case with most of us. When you are fasting, you regularly get pangs of hunger. This prompts you to think, why am I hungry, which immediately makes you remember that you’re fasting. Consequently you remember that because you are fasting you should also pray. And so prayer happens more frequently.

Newport Prayer

Last night I barely slept. Going off to sleep I felt burned to pray for Newport as a whole, as that’s where I’m considering the possibility of planting. Now, I’ve been praying occasionally for Newport recently using the map below which lists all the electoral wards. So from memory I prayed through as many of them as I could remember. The particular wards I’m considering for planting are #4 The Gaer, #20 Victoria and #3 Caerleon. Other wards that are particularly deprived and needy are #8 Pillgwenlly, #13 Alway, #18 Ringland and #2 Bettws. I’ve decided to pray for a month every day for all the wards in Newport. I wonder if you’ll join me in prayer even if only the one time that you read this post. If you wish you can click on the image below to get a larger HQ map that you can print off.

Praying with a Stranger and the Importance of Authenticity

I was going to write a post about apostles and apostolic succession today, but then I prayed with a stranger, we’ll call him ‘H’, not because I don’t know his name, nor because I’m trying to conceal his identity but because I can’t spell hi name, it’s very Welsh!

10:02am or 9:38am

I read something in Organic Church by Neil Cole the other day. He sites it to John White and Kenny Moore, whoever they are (I googled them and it turns out, John is a shoemaker and Kenny is an American athlete and author – probably not the two that Neil was referring to!) What they started was praying every morning at 10:02.¹ Now Neil sets his electronic organiser to beep him to pray at that time every morning, though they could all equally well pray at 9:38am.