Some thoughts on prayer, and a prayer challenge to you

Let me start out by saying that I am no authority on prayer. What I am is a person traveling through this world endeavoring at the best times to do good, and at least to do no harm. What I know is that starting my day off with prayer makes me feel better and more centered and allows me to move forward in a way that is obviously lacking when I just get-up-and-go in the morning, without prayer. And I'm not talking about a quick Pater Noster as I brush my teeth, I'm talking about some quiet reflective time where I talk to God, with God, or at God followed by some time listening.

So, how does it work? Well, the Rev. Abbie Huff, who was an intern at Marble Collegiate Church last year, gave me this formula for prayer that I try to use whenever I pray. It seems a pretty standard order of prayer from what I've heard and read online, but it was she who introduced it to me. The initials are A.T.C.I.P. and they stand for adoration, thanksgiving, confession, intercession, and petition. In a nutshell, they mean this:

• Adoration - This is when I talk about how great, wonderful, glorious, and holy God is. For example, "Oh gracious, loving, and merciful God, Creator of us all, You are the source of everything and Your love endures forever." 
• Thanksgiving - This where I thank my maker for whatever's on my mind. E.g., "I am thankful to You for another day on this planet. Thank you for this job that you've allowed me to take, for the gift of music that you've bestowed upon me, and for the love of my friends and family."
• Confession - I am not perfect, and here's what I've done. "God, I have missed the mark in so many ways. I raised my voice at my 4th Graders ... again. I gossiped about my neighbor. And, Lord, you know the sins I have committed in my heart that I am unwilling or unable to say aloud right now."
• Intercession - I intercede on others' behalf and ask God to help them. "Merciful Creator, please bring your healing mercies upon the people of Haiti, that they may recover from the earthquake and rebuild their lives and their society better than they were before."
• Petition - I ask God for what I need. "Lord, you know better than I do what I need. I ask that you help me see clearly the path I am supposed to take in the classroom. Give me strength, Lord, to have compassion and love in all circumstances. And please, God of Grace, help me to want what I have that I may be content where I am and willing to serve You."
  • I ask all of these things in the name of Jesus the Messiah. Amen.
• Following this, I like to sit and meditate for awhile, to just sit in silence with God. It's actually quite difficult. My mind races, my thoughts waver, I start thinking about the day ahead. But I try, to the best of my ability, to sit still for a few minutes with my head cleared for God to come in.

Now ... the question is ... do I do all of these things everyday? NO! On far too many days I hit the snooze button one-too-many times and then by the time I've gotten out of bed I barely have enough time for a shower and a bowl of cereal. Some days, when I kneel down to prayer (oh, yes, on my best days I pray on my knees) the best I can do is say the Lord's Prayer a few times and ask God to bring me safely to the end of the day. Sometimes, I don't feel inspired enough to kneel, so I lie down on the floor and just say "Help me!" The point is that any one of these prayers is a better way to start my day than no prayer at all, but I feel the most tranquil and focused when I make the time for the whole nine yards: get up, wash my face, kneel down, ATCIP, meditate. 

So here is my prayer challenge to you ... will you join me in a month of prayer? Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier everyday and wake up and start your day with prayer. I will make an honest effort to wake up 15 minutes earlier everyday (that means 6:15am EST M-F with more leeway on the weekends) and pray and meditate. Post your comments below and let me know how it's going for you, or email me at matthew@sanctuarycollective.org. I'd love to hear what your prayer practices are and how a month of prayer is going for you. 

I'll let you know how my month went when I post again on March 1.

Yours, 
Matthew Beams
Matthew 5:16

Sanctuary Collective Turns One

A few days ago, my credit card was billed for the Sanctuary Collective domain, marking our official one year mark!  Micah and I spent a good portion of 2009 meeting with friends, advisors, and prospective participants before launching our programming in mid-2009. Now, at the start of 2009, we have a lot to celebrate from the past year.  Here's some:

• Launched, sustained, and grew NYC Community Nights which serve as a hub for Sanctuary Collective volunteer activity in New York and led one participant to apply for the Discipleship Program (more on that later)
• Traveled from Austin, TX to Lynchburg, VA meeting with prospective participants and supporters to asses needs, generate interest, and recruit participants
• Accepted our first class of nine Discipleship Program participants!
• Began to document stories of young adults organizing for justice on our blog, Flickr, and YouTube pages

I am excited that you are part of this movement and look forward to sharing even more adventures with you in the months and years to come.  Here's a preview of things to come

Community Night NYC
We will continue to meet weekly in New York City for fellowship and service.  Anyone and everyone is welcome to attend.  Drop-in between 5:30 - 8:30 PM on Thursday evenings.

Local Community Nights
In the coming months, we will be helping supporters across the country launch community nights in their communities.  If you want to get plugged in to a local community night, email micah@sanctuarycollective.org. If you are interested in starting your own local community night, fill out our volunteer interest form and we'll help you get started.

Night of Celebration
In April, we will have our first ever Night of Celebration.  It will be something larger than a community night and smaller than a national conference. It's a time to gather friends who can make it to New York for a time of celebration and sharing.  We will screen videos from our participants, display photographs from the field, showcase spoken word, and offer opportunities for input and collaboration.  Get excited and keep an eye out for more information!

Discipleship Program Participant Blogs
If you haven't done so already, visit the Discipleship Program page to meet some of our fantastic participants.  Many of them have agreed to blog publicly about their experiences.  Those entries will be posted February 3rd (next Wednesday) so make sure you know how to find our blog (tip: you can subscribe in an RSS or Google Reader to keep up-to-date).


Here's to an exciting and fruitful second year!

Brian G. Murphy
www.sanctuarycollective.org

Greenpoint Gazette Covers Discipleship Program

Greenpoint Gazette (serving Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and Bushwick) wrote up an article about our Discipleship Program and the recent training we had at Greenpoint Reform Church. Thanks Juliette for the interview and Ann Kansfield for the connection!

Read the full article

Photos from Discipleship Program training

The Night before the Discipleship Program Begins