PRAYER

John 16:23-24

Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever

you ask the Father in My name He will
give you. Until now you have asked
nothing in My name. Ask, and you will
receive, that your joy may be full.

Sayings from the Church

Fathers:
"The day when God is absent, when He is silent - that is
the beginning of prayer. Not when we have a lot to say,
but when we say to God I cant live without You. Metropolitan Anthony Bloom; from: Beginning to Pray

Do not be inept in the requests you make to God,

otherwise you will insult God through your ignorance . Isaac the Syrian; from:The Wisdom of St Isaac the Syrian

Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves

temperance, suppresses anger, restrains pride and envy,
draws down the Holy Spirit into the soul, and raises man
to heaven. - Ephraim the Syrian; from: Orthodox Prayer Life

Interview with
Archbishop Anthony
Bloom in:
BEGINNING TO PRAY

Intro Chapter: Summary

An interview with Archbishop Anthony Bloom

Hard start to life

Up to his middle teens, he was an unbeliever and very

aggressively anti-church.

Recollection of his first deep spiritual experience a

priest he met during a boys summer camp (@ 11yrs):
[This priest] had love to spare for everyone and his
love wasnt conditioned by whether we were good and
it never changed when we were bad. It was an
unconditional ability to love. -- Only later could he
understand that this was a love that was beyond him
(the priest), a divine love.

Intro Summary
(continued)
If happiness is aimless, its unbearable because it had
no further meaning.

He gave himself a year to find meaning or he would commit

suicide.

He heard a lecture by a priest and his ears pricked up with

profound repulsiveness to the image of Christ and Christianity
that he heard. He rushed home to check the truth of the
priests every word in a Gospel.

TURNING POINT: As he was reading the beginning of St. Marks

Gospel, on the other side of his desk there was a presence;
with all certainty, he knew it was Christ Christ was alive to
him & he was in His presence the Resurrection became more
certain to him than any event of history.

Questions for Discussion

1) Archbishop Anthony's father is quoted on page 5:

"Always remember that whether you are alive or dead

matters nothing. What matters is what you live for and
what you are prepared to die for? -- How can I teach
this to my children / others?
2) On page 8 Archbishop Anthony shares how

unconditional love touched his life. Name one of the

first examples of unconditional love in your life, other
than your parents.
3) Archbishop Anthony speaks of, "doubting in order to

discover the reality of life." [p.11] Share an experience

of doubting which became a lesson of life.

Questions for Discussion

(continued . . .)

4) Do I see myself as a beggar, hoping someone

else will pay or am I prepared to pay the

cost? [p.13]
5) Do you agree with the statement, "the realm

of God is dangerous"? [p.15] Give an

example.
6) How do I feel about the statement "there is a

way of being defeated, even in our faith and

a this is a way of sharing the anguish of our
Lord [p.18]?

Lets be united in making

this a FIREY CHURCH
A GUARANTEE:
If we ALL make the commitment TODAY to:
1. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work through us before

everything that we do, and

2. PRAY TOGETHER at each monthly Servants
Prayer meeting (only 1.5hrs - once a month!), just
as the disciples did in the upper room on Pentecost
Day
from now on we will see the Holy Spirit work

WONDERS IN OUR LIVES, CHURCH & SERVICE!

Lets REFUSE to serve in vain!