Teach Us to Pray: The Practice of Prayer for Presbyterian Elders
Our spiritual journey is a gift—an art—given by grace, requiring our study and practice. Prayer is a piece of our spiritual journey that is foundational in our growth into the likeness of Christ. Sometimes it does not come easy.
The disciples of Jesus approached him one day saying, "Lord, teach us to pray." By this time, according to Luke, they had witnessed much of Jesus' ministry: his healings, miracles, exorcisms, and transfiguration. They had even gone out on mission journeys and cast out demons themselves. Regardless of all of that, or perhaps because of it, they recognized their own poverty of spirit, and burned with a desire to have a closer relationship with God. They wanted to become pray-ers.
As elders in the church it is beneficial, even essential, that we are able to pray. We need prayer so we may be nourished and replenished as we give to others. We need prayer in order to care for and support our congregational members. We need prayer so we may hear and discern the will of God to lead our congregations—and the whole of the church—with vision. We need prayer because we need to be with God.
This course is designed to take you more deeply into the world of prayer. We will focus on: