Peoria Prayer Center

20 Words To Make A Difference Words are important. They form our expressions. They are tools we use to express our heart to people. Words sometimes slip out of our heart, revealing what we had hoped to keep hidden. Words are used to think. They are how we grasp a hold of images, hopes, and dreams. Words are also tools we use during times of worry, fear and anxiety. Who hasn’t filled their minds with negative words prior to a stressful conversation?  Negative fear filled words are what we ponder in times of anxiety. These words are in our mind because fear and worry are in our heart. This correlation between our words and our heart is necessary for us to be authentic. We all have times of pretending to be one thing outwardly, but our inward reality is different.  Intuitively we know that a life like this is unhealthy. Yet,the battle to live a life of both peace and integrity is hard. Most everyone wants peace both inside and out. Flustrated. That is a word from my ...

Asking Jesus about a Dying Son As I prayed for my son not to die, hope and fear beat upon my body. It was sort of like the time I was in our International Scout, and we rolled it.  Actually, my twin brother Rick rolled it; he was driving. We were not wearing seat belts. So, we slammed against the side door, then flopped onto the ceiling, which is now the floor, and back to the other side, and back again to the seat. It all happened so fast that we just got through it. We didn’t know what was happening until it was over. We found the snot from our sinuses on our shirts and the blood from our noses on the windows and seat. Every crumb that we had ever eaten and left hidden in some seat crack now covered our hair, face, and clothes. Every side of our bodies ached from the impact. We took beatings on our head and butt, our right and left. How many times did we flip? It all happened so fast. But, that is not the way it is when you are being tossed and turned by the ...

Suffering and Hope If you are a praying person you deal with suffering and hope. Often that hope is in the ending of suffering. We see ending suffering as Jesus being glorified. And He is when His will and ways are manifest on the earth, and in our lives. But in the passage from Romans that follows Paul is exulting in our tribulations. In the midst of what we are in. Circumstances play a huge role in our joy and happiness. In the life and teaching of Paul, circumstances matter greatly, but not so much when it comes to joy, rejoicing, gladness, and thanksgiving. Paul seems to live in a different kind of world. Once in which all things work for the good. Not the good of the individual, but for the good and glory of God. And while many will argue that the good of the individual is considered, that seems not to be the emphasis of Paul. Paul seems to say over and over that our lives are good when they glorify God, even through loss, suffering, persecution, pain, or weak...

Simple Prayer Prayer is communing and communicating with God. Both communion and conversation are accomplished with our body as well as our words. Which one of us hasn’t experienced the sarcastic “whatever.” Or the “no problem” when asked to do the difficult and problematic. So, what does God see beside our words? When God looks at us praying does He see our heart, our emotions, our desires?  Yes, Father God see all that is in us. Even if our words are weak, unimpressive, God responds to the cry of our heart. Simple prayer is about reducing the words and promoting the cry of the heart. It is about giving you the opportunity to take the focus off what you say and place it on beholding the Lord. As you go through the Lord’s Prayer below, allow your emotions, desires, and thoughts to carry you to the Lord. Find a breathing rhythm that allows you to breathe in deep the Father and then exhale the prayer word. As you breathe in, take all of God that you can. Using your...

If you’re not satisfied with your prayer life, chances are that God is trying to move you on. God is leading you to new things. Not new as in “you are to leave the place you are.” But new as in learning new skills to bridge the gap. A Bridge is an image I am using to help us visualize. I want us to see that prayer takes us places. Prayer is a key to transformation in our advancement in Christ.  But that movement depends on structures and supports. We don’t move on good intentions or assumptions. God build us and He builds in us certain supports that we can depend on. The first support in our bridge is loving God. If we love God, we enjoy our time together. If we don’t love God, if we are not emotionally connected to God, we don’t enjoy Him or prayer. We may pretend we do. We may pray out of duty. But we don’t enjoy it. We are not love slaves to God, only slaves. Obeying God is the result of loving God. Love and obedience are not the same. Love provides the walkway ...

4 Holiday Prayers from Luke  Life is busy, and the demands are many this time of year. While the darkness fills more of our days than light, we make preparation for the light to come. We long for both the appearing of Jesus and the return of the long days of the sun. We know that both, Jesus, and light make a difference in our life. It is a metaphor and it is a reality. Jesus brings to us the beginning of the end of the reign of darkness. The life and light of God have been birthed in our world. We now love and care for Jesus among us. We watch over Him as He grows in our midst. Four short prayers can be extracted from the storyline in Luke chapter 1. Prayers that we who seek the appearing of the Lord in our lives can join in praying. Prayers that occur in the fast pace of life, in the circumstances of giving birth, of travel, and in celebration. I have reduced these prayers down to simple sentences that we can offer to God as we go through our day. They are simple in ex...

As we approach the shortest day of the year, it is good to use this time to remember the coming light. Look for the Light. He is coming. This is a prayer adventure you can use personally or in a group. Use the prayer by Tess Ward on page one to help you generate your own thoughts. If the "short," "long," doesn't connect with you try "dark and light."   Dark and light from Rodney Drury