Prayer Day (2)

Well here's how the day has shaped up so far.

As I planned, I spent the first part of the morning in prayer and reflection, reading the ongoing story of David and Saul. One of David's character flaws was his impetuous nature by the look of things. It would get him into trouble on more than one occasion, but this time Abigail comes to his aid. God put people around David who covered his weak spots when he listened to them! I picked up both Blackaby's devotional and one by Bill Hybels (Courageous faith) and reflected on their thoughts for yesterday (I thought it was the 29th for some reason).

After a short break I got out my notebook and began to write down a few things from my journal and a few thoughts about church and prayed about those items. As I walked around the house a little as I prayed I noticed a jigsaw that Anne is working on at the moment.

It's incomplete, and I began to wonder about vision and big picture stuff and how you don't do a jigsaw by picking a piece and then searching for the one that goes with it and then another. Most people I know seem to sort the jigsaw into similar pieces and then build smaller parts of the big picture until they begin to join up. They don't worry about completing one section before they work on another, they just work until they get a bit stuck and then move on. By doing this we build both the smaller pictures by associating bits that fit and rejecting bits that go elsewhere, slowing reducing the number of single pieces until the final picture emerges. No piece is left without a place to go. It's fascinating and I prayed about what it had to do with vision and church.

After another break I went through my pastoral notes and prayed for all the people we've talked about in our pastoral meetings. I have to confess that this took a lot of concentration. It's easy for me to get distracted when I do this and find myself wandering off on a real tangent.

Then I had lunch (it's a prayer day without fasting!) and me new study chair arrived, so I've assembled that and it's rather comfortable.

This afternoon I might go for a walk and sit somewhere in town and watch people pass by and pray about mission and engagement. I wonder if that will be easier with people and things to see rather than just the insides of the house.