Prayer School 2016
7:13:00 AM
Prayer School 2016
Brian Tolle
This past weekend I attended Prayer School with one of my best friends & mentors, Elgin Emmons, at Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. My prayer life has been radically changed ever since. Here is some of what I learned...
The Word of Life Church pastor is Brian Zahnd. And even though 24 years separate our age, I feel like we speak the same language. We even have the same name! But in all honesty, he has played a massive part in my spiritual growth. Brian is an avid reader, theologian, teacher, pastor and loves Rock'n'Roll music. Brian and his wife, Peri, founded the church in 1981. Brian is also the author of several books, including, Water to Wine, A Farewell To Mars, Beauty Will Save the World, and Unconditional?: The Call of Jesus to Radical Forgiveness. I recommend all of them! Click the title for the link to order the book.
One of the things that I have learned the most from Brian is his devotion to the ancient practice of prayer. Practices that most modern Christians have forgotten or do not even know about. Every year his church hosts Prayer School. The Prayer School is designed to help you gain a completely fresh perspective on the purpose of prayer, and provides you with a valuable, sustainable framework for community and personal prayer life. Knowing what I know now, there is no turning back. Here are some reflections on what I took away from my trip...
I am a Christian because I pray as a Christian.
I pray to the God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
I pray the prayer Jesus gave his disciples to pray.
I pray the prayers of the Church.
How we pray is how we are formed.
The Christian is formed by Christian prayers.
The secularist is formed by not praying.
Those who refuse to pray the liturgical prayers of a received tradition are on the verge of becoming a secularist.
If they pray at all, they pray their own prayers, which is to say, they’re not being formed by prayer—
They’re only wishing.
They’re only wishing.
They wish for what they want and call it prayer.
Window shopping imagined as prayer.
This is the prayer of the consumerist, the secularist, the atheist...
But Christian tradition knows better.
The primary purpose of prayer is not to get God to do what you want him to do—
But to be properly formed.
But to be properly formed.
In an age of 'entertainment' culture and even sometimes 'entertainment' church, I believe it is time to return to our Christian brothers and sisters of the past. To learn from those who have walked the path before us. The best place for me to start and to pray these ancient prayers was The Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer offers a refreshing alternative to our postmodern world by
helping us reconnect to the historic prayers of the Christian faith.
The historic common prayer
tradition has enriched the faith of millions of Christians around the
world for hundreds of years and still has the power to offer a vibrant,
healthy, life-giving faith for our generation and generations to come. It's changing my life and my relationship with God.
Send me a message if you want more information on a sample morning liturgy...
BT
(The photo is The Book of Common Prayer)
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