Peoria Prayer Center

Mar 6:45-52 ESV (45)   Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. (46)   And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. (47)   And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. (48)   And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, (49)   but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, (50)   for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." (51)   And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, (52)   for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. Jesus made his disciples le...

When was the last time you were satisfied. Satisfied with your job, your church, your family, yourself. People once said that "only Jesus satisfies". Now we tend to be a people who are not even satisfied with Him. If we were in the scene described in the passage below we might grumble that there was only 12 baskets of food left over. Take a day and ask for nothing. You can do it. Simply be glad for what you have, what comes to you and be satisfied. Mar 6:42 And they all ate and were satisfied.

Luk 10:38-42 ESV (38)   Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. (39)   And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. (40)   But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." (41)   But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, (42)   but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." For a decade or two I have mainly heard this passage explained through the perception of what Mary and Martha were dong on the outside.  I do believe that we can understand many things through this view.  When we look into the text we see that Jesus addressed the internal condition more than the outward.  Martha was internal...

Don’t waste your trials If you are an American you live in the land of planning, purpose and production.   From the basketball court to the classroom, from the boardroom to the living room our lives are managed to have some intentional results.   We make goals and pursue them.   We make a plan and strive to follow that plan for our diets, business, religious life and discipleship.   We often say, “no pain, no gain” but tend to mean, “no pain, no pain”.   We are a people that struggle with hardships, difficulties and ongoing hard work.   Our modern faith has made us seek the God of the good life. To deal with this never ending pressure to accomplish and our desire to avoid pain, we specialize.   We may be awful at relationships or showing mercy, but we can pride ourselves on running a triathlon or working an eighty hour work week.   We may utterly fail at forgiveness but promote ourselves for our speaking the truth (harshly).   We...

Peoria Prayer Center Moving Forward What has been happening? Over the last year and a half many of us have gone through numerous transitions and changes.  If you are like me your daily life has gone through numerous alterations.  I have gone through health issues, car accidents, new employment, changes in my family dynamics, loss of friends and the gaining of others, new church life dynamics and battles with technology and production.  I could describe my life as a new theme park ride, one that combines a rollercoaster, a merry go round and some kind of superman in the dark ride. Until recently I would have told you that I didn’t know what I was doing, I was trying to be faithful and obey the Lord.  Then in a season of mercy from God, I felt Him enlighten me on His ways and reveal to me that I have been on His plan for discipleship.  I have often said, “God uses our daily life to disciple us.”  I now know that on a much deeper level....

Christ Jesus is an overcomer; He defeated His enemy and wins the battle and the legal case (Two aspects of overcoming in the Bible).  We are call to be people of God who overcome also.  We are to be those who defeat the works of Satan and who labor so that the Kingdom of God comes to earth.  Most followers of Jesus Christ believe that we should overcome.  We also differ vastly in how we are to overcome.  We may have a Biblical view, or one given by revelation, or one broadcast by Christian culture or from the cultural christianity that we are in. Most likely we have a mixture of Bible, revelation, opinion and culture.  So how can we move toward maturity?  How can we see advancement in our renewed mind?  How can we walk more and more in transformation? I believe the answer is prayer.  Contemplative prayer is a tool used by the people of God for centuries for maturing in the faith and living the lives God asked of them.  Contemplative...