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Worship and serve God at New Hope Church in Cheektowaga while learning and growing spiritually. http://newhopesb.com/Articles/feed/atom.html 2024-05-09T12:17:50Z 2011-04-19T14:30:50Z 2011-04-19T14:30:50Z http://newhopesb.com/how-to-pray-with-your-spouse.html

David Murrow<br /><br />Five years ago my wife, Gina, and I began praying together regularly. For the first 15 years of our marriage, we seldom prayed together. We sure tried! We followed the typical morning devotions approach, but it always ended in failure for two reasons:<br />Our schedules vary every day. We're both self-employed and we have three kids, so it's hard to set a concrete time for anything. Plus, I'm a night owl and Gina is an early riser.<br />Prayer times felt mechanical.<br />First we'd read our devotional, then she prayed, then I prayed. It felt more like a religious exercise than genuine communication with the Father.<br />The breakthrough came one day while we were discussing a challenge we faced. I started praying right then amid our conversation, and Gina followed my lead.<br />No heads bowed. No eyes closed. No long petitions to God. The whole thing took less than 30 seconds. It was radical and refreshing.<br />Soon, prayer spread like a virus through our days. Our prayers were quick and familiar. God became a third party in many a conversation.<br />Gina and I still kneel at our bedside and bring our petitions to God. In times of distress we open the Scriptures and pray at length, eyes closed and heads bowed. But way more often we pray to God with simple, brief sentences while going through our days.<br />The bottom line? We pray a lot more. Our relationship with God and each other has never been stronger.<br />Here are a few things we've learned that we hope will benefit your prayer life with your spouse.<br />Keep prayers real, not religions. Declare war on "prayerspeak." This is the special religious talk that longtime church goers use when they pray. It's lengthy and eloquent—like speeches to God.<br />Don't pray churchy monologues. Your prayers should sound more like a conversation between three friends: "God, this makes me so mad!" "Father, I love my new job. Thanks." "Jesus, there's this guy at work who's driving me nuts."<br />Let communication flow freely. Prayer between spouses is dialogue between husband, wife and God. Also, try praying while you're doing something else, such as walking or driving. <br />Are you ready to pray with your spouse? Show her/him this article, then together invite Jesus into your conversations. You'll soon learn, like 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, to pray without ceasing. <br /><br />David Murrow is the director of Church for Men, an organization helping churches get hack their missing men.

David Murrow<br /><br />Five years ago my wife, Gina, and I began praying together regularly. For the first 15 years of our marriage, we seldom prayed together. We sure tried! We followed the typical morning devotions approach, but it always ended in failure for two reasons:<br />Our schedules vary every day. We're both self-employed and we have three kids, so it's hard to set a concrete time for anything. Plus, I'm a night owl and Gina is an early riser.<br />Prayer times felt mechanical.<br />First we'd read our devotional, then she prayed, then I prayed. It felt more like a religious exercise than genuine communication with the Father.<br />The breakthrough came one day while we were discussing a challenge we faced. I started praying right then amid our conversation, and Gina followed my lead.<br />No heads bowed. No eyes closed. No long petitions to God. The whole thing took less than 30 seconds. It was radical and refreshing.<br />Soon, prayer spread like a virus through our days. Our prayers were quick and familiar. God became a third party in many a conversation.<br />Gina and I still kneel at our bedside and bring our petitions to God. In times of distress we open the Scriptures and pray at length, eyes closed and heads bowed. But way more often we pray to God with simple, brief sentences while going through our days.<br />The bottom line? We pray a lot more. Our relationship with God and each other has never been stronger.<br />Here are a few things we've learned that we hope will benefit your prayer life with your spouse.<br />Keep prayers real, not religions. Declare war on "prayerspeak." This is the special religious talk that longtime church goers use when they pray. It's lengthy and eloquent—like speeches to God.<br />Don't pray churchy monologues. Your prayers should sound more like a conversation between three friends: "God, this makes me so mad!" "Father, I love my new job. Thanks." "Jesus, there's this guy at work who's driving me nuts."<br />Let communication flow freely. Prayer between spouses is dialogue between husband, wife and God. Also, try praying while you're doing something else, such as walking or driving. <br />Are you ready to pray with your spouse? Show her/him this article, then together invite Jesus into your conversations. You'll soon learn, like 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, to pray without ceasing. <br /><br />David Murrow is the director of Church for Men, an organization helping churches get hack their missing men. 2011-03-29T16:34:19Z 2011-03-29T16:34:19Z http://newhopesb.com/the-easter-opportunity.html

by Bill Fay<br /><br />With Easter not too far away, wouldn't it be wonderful to see the Lord enter the hearts of family and friends and people that we love?<br /><br />There is not a conversation that you cannot turn into a spiritual test-point to see if God is at work. Let me give you a simple example.<br /><br />You could be talking with someone about sports and simply say, "What is your favorite sport?" They may reply, "football." Just say, "I am just curious: Did you ever notice that so many pro athletes destroy their lives no matter how much money they're making? I'm just curious, do you think there's a heaven and hell?" You can go from football to heaven in one simple question.<br /><br />I was in a restaurant the other day and a server came to my table. I simply said, "I love the cross you're wearing. Have you figured out when you die, where you're going?" She broke down crying. She had lost her 21 year old son to cancer and her mother had died. She was in church with me the next day.

by Bill Fay<br /><br />With Easter not too far away, wouldn't it be wonderful to see the Lord enter the hearts of family and friends and people that we love?<br /><br />There is not a conversation that you cannot turn into a spiritual test-point to see if God is at work. Let me give you a simple example.<br /><br />You could be talking with someone about sports and simply say, "What is your favorite sport?" They may reply, "football." Just say, "I am just curious: Did you ever notice that so many pro athletes destroy their lives no matter how much money they're making? I'm just curious, do you think there's a heaven and hell?" You can go from football to heaven in one simple question.<br /><br />I was in a restaurant the other day and a server came to my table. I simply said, "I love the cross you're wearing. Have you figured out when you die, where you're going?" She broke down crying. She had lost her 21 year old son to cancer and her mother had died. She was in church with me the next day. 2011-03-29T16:32:50Z 2011-03-29T16:32:50Z http://newhopesb.com/southern-baptists-in-japan.html

<h3>In Japan: Baptists struggle to reach disaster zone</h3> By Susie Rain<br /><br />TOKYO (BP)--Across the upper half of Japan, life is either in tatters or at a standstill. With some roads impassable and fuel almost nonexistent in the north, relief and rescue workers have struggled to reach the areas where they are needed most.<br /><br />This disaster is like nothing Makoto Kato has ever seen. Kato, the Japan Baptist Convention's executive secretary, said the area affected by the disaster is large, but the biggest problem is simply getting there.<br /><br />"People are hurting because of a lack of food, water and electricity," Kato said. "The devastating part is that we can't get there yet."

<h3>In Japan: Baptists struggle to reach disaster zone</h3> By Susie Rain<br /><br />TOKYO (BP)--Across the upper half of Japan, life is either in tatters or at a standstill. With some roads impassable and fuel almost nonexistent in the north, relief and rescue workers have struggled to reach the areas where they are needed most.<br /><br />This disaster is like nothing Makoto Kato has ever seen. Kato, the Japan Baptist Convention's executive secretary, said the area affected by the disaster is large, but the biggest problem is simply getting there.<br /><br />"People are hurting because of a lack of food, water and electricity," Kato said. "The devastating part is that we can't get there yet."