Each week, we offer daily Scripture readings and thoughts in our Grow • Pray • Study (GPS) Guide. 

Come back on Mondays for the weekly GPS, and spend time in study and prayer daily! 

You matter to God. 

 

St. Paul’s UMC

GPS: Grow, Pray Study Guide for the week of February 3 - 9, 2019

The Lord's Prayer

Destination:  To gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a deeply committed follower of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  To be able to recognize your experiences of God and to discover God in new and different ways.

 

Memory verse:  I encourage you to read this Scripture every day and by the end of the week have it memorized or to the point of where you can paraphrase the verse(s).  Try writing it down on post-it notes and place them in areas where you will see it daily, for example the bathroom mirror or the dashboard of your car.

 

Lord you have examined me. You know me.1 Kings 8:28 CEB

 

Daily Prayer: O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You know when I am full of hope and enthusiasm, you know when I am struggling to see a way forward. You know when my faith is alive and buoyant, you know when I am full of doubt and dread. O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You discern my thoughts from far away. You know my thoughts often clash with one another, that I am sometimes full of certainty, sometimes full of disbelief. At times full of trust, at times full of questions. Sometimes caring, sometimes selfish. And you know too that my mind wanders, sometimes visiting dark corners. O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know me better than I know myself, you see me in the darkness and the light, and you understand, you care, and you long to lead me towards life. In the name of God, our Creator, Jesus our Redeemer and the Holy Spirit our Counselor Amen.

 

Monday, Feb 10, 2019 read 1 Kings 19:1-19. Elijah flees the wrath of Jezebel. He has been on the move, full speed, all out. When Elijah entered into solitude and silence, one of the first things he came to understand and reckon with was just how tired and depleted he truly was. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being exhausted...how tired are you? On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being superb...how is your prayer life? How is your discipleship growing?

 

Tuesday, Feb 11, 2019 read 1 Kings 19:4-9. What pattern do you see happening in these verses? Notice what God does...God doesn’t begin badgering Elijah to wake up! God doesn’t begin by telling Elijah what to do. God starts with Elijah’s physical weariness and depletion, he lets Elijah sleep. Next, God cares for Elijah’s nutritional needs. Then God repeats the process. Like Elijah, we can be too worn out, depleted and tired to find or listen to God. Times of solitude and silence are not about judgment, they are times for noticing-what is true about us in a given moment. What keeps you from finding solitude and silence with God? Are you in need of more rest? How can you clear your schedule to spend time under the broom tree?

 

Wednesday, Feb 12, 2019 read Psalm 139. The word “know/knowledge” is a keyword in this Psalm. The word appears again in verse 2, 4 and 6. The repetition reinforces the belief of the psalmist of being fully known by God. Verses 1 through 6 aren’t meant to be a formal statement about God’s all-knowingness; rather a poetic affirmation that God “knows” me. How do you feel about God “knowing” you? What comforts about being known? What makes you uncomfortable about being known?

 

Thursday, Feb 13, 2019 read Psalm 139:1-6. Pay particular attention to verse 5. In the Common English Bible the word used is surround. “You surround me-front and back…” When I am surrounded by something loving, being surrounded is comforting. I loved being surrounded in a hug from my dad. I think of being surrounded by God in the same way...it’s comforting. How does being surrounded front and back feel for you?

 

Friday, Feb 14, 2019 read Psalm 139:7-8. For the psalmist to claim that God is with him even “down to the grave,” commonly known to the Hebrews as sheol, is huge. For the Hebrews it was thought that even God didn’t go into the depths of sheol. The psalmist is once again making the point that there is no where he can go where God does not “know” him. Why would David be trying to escape God either in heaven or sheol? What lengths do you go to, to escape being known by God?

 

Saturday, Feb 15, 2019 read Psalm 139:9-12. The psalmist uses a play on light and darkness to emphasize that no matter what we go through, God is with us. If we are in a season of great joy or we are in a season of challenges, God knows it and still God is with us. How does knowing that God is with you no matter the season you are in affect your faith?

 

Resources:  Bible by God, How to Pray, The Best of John Wesley on Prayer, Invitation to Silence and Solitude by Ruth Haley Barton