Learning to Pray

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Learning to Pray

• Reflections from 2 Months in Europe
• Sunday, July 23, 2006

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SSU Europe 2006

• A great time
• A blessed time
• A challenging time
• A time of growth

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Ephesians 115-19b

• 15 For this reason I too, having heard of the
  faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you
  and your love for all the saints,
• 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while
  making mention of you in my prayers
• 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
  Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of
  wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

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Ephesians 115-19b

• 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be
  enlightened, so that you will know what is the
  hope of His calling, what are the riches of the
  glory of His inheritance in the saints,
• 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His
  power toward us who believe.

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A Day with St. Benedict
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Monte Cassino
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Bramante Cloister
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Inside the Chapel
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I Want to Teach You to Pray

• The rain
• The service
• The Presence
• The Mass
• The words

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Strategy

• Surrender your will to My will
• Try to sense My heart in the situation
• Ask if there are any practical insights that will
  help
• Assert your will in the direction you believe
  best represents My will

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Surrender your Will to My Will

• We want to save everyone all discomfort
• Sometimes growth involves struggle
• There is always more going on than we know
• But God is good
• Jesus shows us the Father
• As best we can, we fight in prayer for healing
  and growth for people

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Try to Sense My Heart in the Situation

• Quiet your heart
• Ask God whats really happening
• See if at a deep inner level you can sense (with
  a fair degree of confidence) what it is that you
  think God would like to accomplish

13
Ask if There are Any Practical Insights that Will
Help

• Heres where the listening gifts of the Spirit
  come in (if it seems hard, work in groups)
• God often speaks through our imaginative
  processes (If theres a prophet among you, I
  will speak to him in dreams, I will speak to him
  in visions . . .)
• Listen especially for spontaneous internal words
  or images that you are not consciously working
  your way to

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Practical Insights

• Make sure to use common sense to evaluate your
  ideas
• Do not attack people with hurtful suggestions
• Operate in humility and kindness with an intent
  to help the whole person

15
Assert Your Will in the Direction You Believe
Best Represents My Will

• Two ideas about this
• Give commands (as in Scripture)
• Rest in Gods power to accomplish what He desires
  as you invite Him to do it
• Underlying premise Landlord and Tenant

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What Happened Next
17
What Happened After That