We would like to share with you an important “Rule” or rhythm of prayer we at Lifesprings practice before all of our meetings, and gatherings. These 6 prayers include: humility, wisdom, indifference to all but God’s will, trustworthy/faithful stewardship, peace bringing, and quiet trust. Our writers will focus on one prayer per week and will share how each one has influenced their prayer life and/or the life of teams they have served with over the years.
Listen:
“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favouritism and is always sincere.” (James 3:17)
Reflect:
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure.
Pure.
Hmmm.
The image that often comes to mind is of something unadulterated, not mixed with anything else, on its own. But the second definition from the Oxford dictionary struck me:
Pure. A sound, perfectly in tune, with a clear tone.
*But the wisdom from above is first of all [a sound perfectly in tune, with a clear tone].* To be perfectly in tune, we need to start by listening. God listens? Does He? He does. Not only does God listen, He bends down to listen (Psalm 116:2).
If we follow His wisdom, surely we will need to learn to listen too. To His Holy Spirit, to others, to ourselves. Listening calls for us to pause. Pause from talking, moving, doing. Pause from putting my words into the mouths of others, from judging before learning more, before I hear from someone’s heart. Listening is thus intrinsically peace-loving and gentle, yielding to others. And to be heard, is really very very close, to being loved.
Surely, such wisdom, such listening then, will lead to loving mercy, and bear fruit to good deeds. True listening shows no favouritism, it is always sincere. In this world filled more and more with cacophony, where we are distracted from listening to each other, may God’s wisdom from above guide us towards purity, towards a perfect tone, guiding us towards one another, that we may hear together, sounding in our hearts, clear as a bell, the sound of joy, the sound of hope, the sound of love.
Prayer of Response:
As God bends down to listen, as Jesus stops to listen, and as the Spirit guides us to listen, help us to listen to one another, and to seek wisdom from above, Amen.
Questions to Ponder:
- Do you need some time away from the noise of the world, that you may hear clearly wisdom from above? Step into silence today, even if it’s just five minutes, to pause, and listen.
- What do you need to hear from wisdom today? Is there a noisy situation that you need to lift up to Jesus? Give Him your worries, and listen as He whispers into your heart.
Breath Prayers:
Breath prayers are a new weekly rhythm. Join us in praying breath prayers each day. We invite you to write your own as well.)
I have learned so much through the loving Lifesprings community, and through the years as we pray the 6 prayers together when we gather, we pray for wisdom from above, to help us hear each other clearly, and hear from the Holy Spirit clearly. This has overflowed into my work and family life, so I offer this breath prayer:
Inhale (Breathe in): Lord, give me silence.
Exhale (Breathe out): That I may listen.
Inhale (Breathe in): Lord, send me wisdom
Exhale (Breathe out): That I may share love.
—Submitted by: Kae Ting Trouilloud
Kae has lived in 3 continents, and is growing a bicultural family with her husband in France. She is still learning to listen to her multilingual children 😂! She is grateful for lessons in wisdom through Lifesprings sisters and thankful that God is patient and keen to continue to teach her how to listen, so that wisdom may grow in and around her and spread gentle mercy.