This week, I'm preparing to take part in Tearfund's rice and beans challenge. It's fairly simple: for 5 days, I'm going to live on a diet of rice and beans, with a bit of porridge for breakfast. Not the usual Friday night curry portions - oh no. And.. no tea or coffee, just water to drink. Half of the world is living in desperate poverty, in fact, living on less than $2 a day, and I want to be part of generation that does something about this injustice. I have a few friends joining in as well, and we're kicking it all off with a lunch on Sunday, consisting of various bean stew options. But I also want to be part of a movement that prays for the least, the last and the lost. I believe prayer, as John Wesley once said, is where the action is. So, we don't just pray, we pray together, and we act.
It's T-6 days, and so I'm warning as many people that this is happening. I think the word warning is appropriate - I'm not sure how nice a person I am without caffeine...)
As I've been preparing for this challenge, one of the things I've been reflecting on is why we pray together.
The celestial prayer room is not a market place, where we have to shout louder just for God to hear us or negotiate a deal. Even when we can't articulate those things, he still knows what we need. Romans 8:26. I've been reading through Romans and one verse really stood out for me. It follows the chapter where Paul writes to remind us that different people have different ways of doing things.
Paul writes about the need to get on with each other. Don't let difference of opinions cause division. But work for peace with each other. And encourage one another, live in harmony. Join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6.
And so, I think that for me sums up why it's good to pray together. Whether we meet in a room, or whether we join together around the world, we are coming together with One Voice. So let's pray.
www.tearfund.org/onevoice
It's T-6 days, and so I'm warning as many people that this is happening. I think the word warning is appropriate - I'm not sure how nice a person I am without caffeine...)
As I've been preparing for this challenge, one of the things I've been reflecting on is why we pray together.
The celestial prayer room is not a market place, where we have to shout louder just for God to hear us or negotiate a deal. Even when we can't articulate those things, he still knows what we need. Romans 8:26. I've been reading through Romans and one verse really stood out for me. It follows the chapter where Paul writes to remind us that different people have different ways of doing things.
Paul writes about the need to get on with each other. Don't let difference of opinions cause division. But work for peace with each other. And encourage one another, live in harmony. Join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6.
And so, I think that for me sums up why it's good to pray together. Whether we meet in a room, or whether we join together around the world, we are coming together with One Voice. So let's pray.
www.tearfund.org/onevoice
DAY 1:
ReplyDeleteJust had my porridge - and I'm already looking forward to the huge takeaway I've been promised at the end of the week if I manage to stick with it....!
Well done K&P! I've been inspired by how you've prepared your means in advance. Well done for being so committed.
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