Habitual Prayer: Develop a deeper prayer life (Acts 1:12-14)

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Here’s a summary of this week’s sermon:

• Habitual is defined as something that is of the nature of a habit and having developed a specific characteristic through force of habit, eg. He is a habitual gossip.

• Habituation is one of two components involved with overcoming addiction. When an individual has learned certain behavior over time, it can be harder to break.

• Habituation can be likened to cutting the corner over a nice lawn; initially it may feel wrong but eventually becomes normalized behavior.

• Just as it is possible to develop unhelpful habitual behaviors, it is also possible to inculcate helpful ones like healthy eating, exercising, and habitual prayer.

• After Jesus’ ascension, the Apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives which was a Sabbath day's walk away (approximately 1km). Upon arriving in Jerusalem they went upstairs to an upper room where they were staying with other people including Mary, the mother of Jesus; His brothers; and women who were probably wives of some disciples.

• This band of around 20 people had been trained by Jesus to face any challenge with believing prayer. Prayer as their natural go-to place in difficult situations.

• Developing habitual prayer is a great way to deepen one's relationship with God. For some, praying while sitting in a chair can be beneficial; for others, going for walks and praying may work better.

• Find the most comfortable place and time of day that works best for you – it could be in the morning, at lunchtime or evening - either sitting or standing up and listening to music if desired.

• Forming this habit of talking to your heavenly Father will help strengthen your faith journey.

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💬 CONVERSATION STREET --

Matt + Claire discuss:

• Have you ever felt bad or guilty about not praying enough?

• What is Prayer/Habitual Prayer?

• Why is it that some of our prayers get answered quickly whereas others take ages?

• What do you do to develop your prayer life?

• What can you do when you don’t know what to pray for or how to pray?

• How can we pray with and for others?

• Do you have any stories of answered prayers?

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• Complete Transcript

  John Sloan: Hi there. Uh, my name is John Sloan and I want to introduce myself to you. Um, I am part of a family of three grown children. Um, my wife Myra, is a retired GP. Uh, we have nine grandchildren and we have a little dog. Uh, I'm a semi retired, uh, NHS Accidents and Emergency consultant. Um, I still do some work here in the UK.

  Um, . And I also do some work in Africa, most notably now in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where we have developed a clinic, uh, trained some staff, equipped them with, um, various things like an ultrasound machine. And I'd hope to go out there soon. But there's been, um, all sorts of problems that have prevented me, but I hope to be there.

  Being a medic, uh, can be unexpectedly funny at times. Uh, not, not always, and actually not very often, but, uh, some of the funniest moments for me have been reading what other doctors have written in patients' notes. And these are genuine quotes. Um, the patient refused an autopsy. Uh, the patient has no previous history of suicides.

  The patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year. On the second day, the knee was better. On the third day, it disappeared completely. The patient has been depressed since she started seeing me in 1993. I can understand that, but this is the best one of all. The patient has two teenage children, but otherwise, no abnormalities.

  Um, but I've been asked, uh, not to talk about myself, but to talk about habitual Prayer referring to our next Acts passage, which is chapter one verses 12, 13 and 14. Uh, it's good to start with, uh, dictionary definitions. Uh, so, uh, I just wanna give you some definitions of habitual, um, habitual, uh, of the nature of a habit, eg.

  She is a habitual tea drinker. Uh, habitual, uh, having developed a specific characteristic through force of habit, eg. He is a habitual gossip. It's something you are, something that you do, but the key thing is you do it naturally, even without much thought. Now, as a medic, I know that overcoming addiction, um, involves at least two components.

  This is true for heroin, cocaine, uh, but the one we actually see most of in very large numbers is alcohol. And, uh, one of those components is chemical dependence. That's what makes an alcoholic crave alcohol. And if it's not forthcoming, begins to shake and withdraw. Uh, the other is habituation. That's when an alcoholic is a few weeks down the road off all alcohol, maybe been at a rehab clinic, uh, released, feeling great only to meet up with an old friend.

  They always went to the pub together in the past, particularly in the evening. It's 6:00 PM and sure enough, off they go again. The behavior had been learned and grooved over a long time, and in this case, habituation proved harder to crack than dependence. Think of habituation this way. As cutting the corner over a nice lawn here.

  Here's a nice lawn. The first times you cut the corner, you might feel a twinge of guilt, but hey, it's a long way round otherwise, isn't it? And I'm in a hurry. The grass stays mostly healthy. Nobody tells you off. Sooner or later, however, the grass shows where you keep going over it. And after a while the grass dies and a hard mud track develops.

  Or in the winter, a soft muddy track develops. But by then you don't even think that you're taking the shortcut. You, you're just so used to it. Habitual behavior. It can be unhelpful like alcohol or damaging someone's lawn, but it can be helpful like becoming a habitual healthy eater, uh, a habitual exercise taker and Prayer can be grooved in the same way into your day, into your week, into your life.

  Slowly at first, but sooner or later it becomes second nature, you don't even think that you're doing it. Today's passage from Acts demonstrates it well, here it is in the new international version, and I'll show it, uh, on the, on the screen here. Then the apostles return to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city.

  When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son Of Alphaeus and Simon, the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in Prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

  Get the context. Jesus had just been beamed up into the heavens. Then two, we presume angels appear before the group of the disciples saying, Jesus is planning to come back, not your average experience, uh, in one day. And Jesus had earlier told them not to leave Jerusalem. Now all this happened on the Mount of Olives.

  Um, let me take you on a quick trip so you can see exactly where that is. It's on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Uh, it's about a kilometer away actually from the walled city of Jerusalem. Uh, it's a walk I've done. Uh, you come down the Mount Olives, a lovely stroll in the, in the Mediterranean warmth. Uh, you go across the Kedron Valley, uh, and then you, uh, do a short, uh, uphill uh, ascent to the, uh, city of Jerusalem.

  And in one of the many gates through the walls. Uh, verse 12 says, it's a Sabbath day's walk away. Uh, now you have to realize that that's not talking about, uh, walking for a whole day, uh, on a Sabbath. That's actually referring to the fact that, uh, in that time they were living under a pretty strict Jewish environment of Jewish law, and the rabbis only allowed you to walk 2000 cubits on a sabbath.

  Uh, 2000 cubits is about a kilometer. Uh, this scripture is not implying that they were doing it on a Sabbath. They were just using that terminology in the same way as we might use a similar terminology to say, um, it's, uh, well, in the States they say it's two blocks away. That's a good example. People in another society wouldn't really understand that.

  But a Sabbath day's walk is about a kilometer, as you can see from the, um, from the map here. Anyway, the 12 of them gathered in an upper room within the city, uh, probably because they were afraid of what might be about to happen. Uh, but probably because they wanted to gather with others and they gathered with the women, says the scripture, probably the various wives, uh, of the disciples cause they did have wives.

  And, uh, with Mary, the mother of Jesus and his brothers. Now you've got to, um, note that in this culture, uh, women were not really mentioned, uh, in the same way as men were mentioned. Um, Jesus had broken that taboo. Many of his close, uh, confidantes were women, um, and women assume greater significance, uh, from this time onwards in the New Testament.

  Incidentally, this is the final mention of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was about 17 when Jesus was born in that stable and so therefore about 50 years of age at this stage. It's thought she died somewhere between the age of 60 to 65, but history doesn't give us, uh, accurate information on that. Anyway, having gathered, they prayed steadfastly with one mind is what the scripture says.

  Now what would you have done at this point? So just think about it. Would you have got around your friends to tell them the amazing things you'd seen and heard? Of course a bit easier with social media these days, but not impossible for them either. Uh, or would you have had long discussions about what it all meant, or would you have started a new movement and looked for people to join you?

  The fact is that this band of what we reckon is probably with the women around 20 people, they'd been trained by Jesus to face any challenge with believing Prayer, no food? Let's pray. Sick person? Let's pray. Dead person? Let's pray. We may think, uh, that Prayer is just a small event, uh, where we recite a few words like a mystical incantation.

  It might be a last minute, uh, it might last only a minute, or it might last a few minutes, but here we see people habituated to Prayer. It was their natural go-to place. So how and where could you develop habitual Prayer? Let me tell you what happens for me. Uh, I used to pray sitting in a chair every morning.

  Uh, it was my quiet time. I still use the term quiet time. I, I shut off, uh, myself from my phone maybe and from other things going on and read scripture and pray, and that's a great habit to get into in the morning. But actually, I found I can pray better, more naturally, longer for all the things that are rattling around in my head, things that are tugging at my heart when I go for a walk with my little dog in the woods.

  Here I was in that cold snap, uh, earlier um, in the year. I start walking and I start praying. The two are now indelibly linked for me that the, the habit is grooved, like that track over the grass. So I'd encourage you to find your most comfortable place at the best time of the day for you. It could be first thing in the day.

  For me, it's whenever I walk, so it could be three times. In the in the morning, at lunchtime, in the evening. Soon as I start walking, I start praying. It could be for you last thing, in the day you might get yourself warm in bed and open your Bible, read a passage and you might pray there. And that might be the most helpful thing.

  You might want to sit or stand, you might want to walk, you might wanna listen to some background music. And there in that comfortable place for you, form the habit of talking to your heavenly Father. It's a great habit to develop habitual Prayer. I pray that it would come to pass for you too.

  Matt Edmundson: Coming up, we have Conversation Street, but before we get into that, here's a clip from our podcast what's the story which you can subscribe to on all your favorite podcast apps.

  Josh Birch: And so I spiraled at that point, I just got to a new city in Cambodia. It was, and um, yeah, emotions just started to spiral. I went through periods of real anger and hate, and then desperation and sadness, pain, and it just perpetuate and got worse and worse. I tried to go to bed, I couldn't. I'd come down and probably for a four hour period, I just had this intense.

  Emotion that was obviously painful and just really didn't know what to do with myself. Luckily in the town, I didn't know where the local bars were. I didn't know anything, so I ended up, it was about two, three in the morning lying in bed and suddenly just dawned on me. Why don't I pray? I've heard stories, I've been in church, I've heard stories about praying.

  I've heard stories about God meeting you in your hour of need. So I just lay there, arms open on the bed and start to pray. And literally as I turned my focus to God and Prayer, I just felt this overwhelming sense of peace come over me. This sense of light, this sense of warmth.

  Matt Edmundson: Welcome back. I'm sorry, I'm just typing up some notes. I need to be quicker. Uh, that was Josh Birch's uh, what's the Story, which is a podcast we do here at Crowd Church, which you can subscribe to on all your favorite podcast apps, as we said. Uh, yeah. And this week, uh, Josh Birch has told his story, talking about his relationships, uh, in his twenties, how it almost broke him, his trip to Cambodia, how everything went wrong.

  Uh, but in that place he met God. Fascinating story, uh, from Mr. Josh Birch there. So do, do, check it out whatsthestorypodcast.com is the best place to find that. Uh, or you can actually find it also on Crowd Church, which I'll put on the screen now. Uh, you can go to that. so www.crowd.church, if you're listening to the audio.

  Uh, Claire, welcome back. Uh, the cameras managed to stay on your iPad, which is awesome. Uh, . Yes, absolutely. Uh, John Sloan talk, what did you think? The habitual prayer. You did say at the start because obviously we, when the talks, we can have a little chat, can't we? We can have a little conversation. We can ad lib and throw things in, and you just went, oh, that's a bit of a strange word, Matt.

  Claire Glare: Well, and I think, um, habitual has become, uh, associated with negative connotations. Not, you know, 90%, you know, and so that was my straight, straight away when I thought habitual Prayer, I was like, that's not usually how what we'd say. Yeah, but I like it because actually, like he went on to say, we can develop any, anything that the, that is a habit is habitual, isn't it?

  Mm-hmm. . And, and I always like, cuz I think that this is how God is as well, turning the negative into the positive. Yeah. And so I like it. I I, I'm a bit of a one for, you know, if there's something a bit, bit dodgy or whatever, let's try and find the good in it, um, and, and, and turn it around. Um, so yeah, I really, I, I loved what he had to say, I thought.

  Um, and I, I was, yeah. There's lots that we could talk about. not quite sure where you wanna go. Um, uh, I think for me, I think to answer your question maybe was I, I think definitely it's, it's, um, it's, for me it has to be a daily thing, doesn't it? Yeah. And that, I think it, it's almost like a, it's just talking.

  I, I think it's demystifying what Prayer is. I, it's not some sort of. You know, oh, our father, you know, even it is not a Prayer that we've taught, we've been taught as children maybe, but it is just talking like we are talking now. Yeah. With our heavenly father who is as real, you know, as you are.

  Yeah. Yeah. But I can't physically see that. So,

  Matt Edmundson: um, yeah, you're right aren't you that Prayer actually, I think sometimes we've overcomplicated it and it's just having a conversation with God from, from your, from wherever you are at, from your heart, you know, and it's a conversation's always two way. So we talk about that in Crowd, that actually not only does God want to hear from you, but he wants to communicate back.

  Um, that's a whole other topic, like how do we hear God? Um, but it's, it is an interesting one, isn't it? This whole thing about forming the habit of Prayer. Um, and this conversation with God on a daily basis seems to make an awful lot of sense, and we do talk about it in Christian circles, but here's one of my questions for you, Claire.

  Uh, when it comes to Prayer, have you ever sat in church, listened to people talking about Prayer, or sat at home and think, I'm just not praying enough and actually felt bad about your Prayer life? Or has your Prayer life always been like top of the mountain do you know what I mean?

  Claire Glare: Think you might, I think you might be able to tell by, my reflective hysterical response.

  No, I, I, I would say that I, I think it, it's up and down, up and down and, and there's definitely been times in my life where I have, you know, like John was talking about, sat in a chair and um, prayed for an hour or, you know, as part of that, maybe I've sung songs to God and I've maybe listen to the songs or I've read my Bible as part of that process.

  Cuz I, I, I don't think you can take the Bible away from Prayer. I think they're very interlinked. And often I will find, when I'm reading, I'm currently at the moment reading a Psalm a day. Okay. And um, I've started off with Psalm one on January the first. And that's helpful for me. It's gonna get a bit tricky after 31 obviously, but I've got a bookmark in my Bible, it's day or obviously when we get up to Psalm, is it 150 that it finishes or, I can't remember how many there are.

  Matt Edmundson: It's when you get to Psalm 119, it would take you a year to read the thing. Yeah, I tried to. Yeah. Yeah,

  Claire Glare: yeah. But anyway, but I, I think, and often I think you can pray from, from the Bible like that. Yeah. And I, you know, I think often, , if I've, I've not known what to pray. I've turned to a Prayer in the Bible.

  Ephesians, the book of Ephesians has got some crackers. Oh. Um, and um, and, and just prayed those. And, um, I think that I found that really helpful. Um, so I think, um, did you ask me a question?

  Have we digressed?

  Matt Edmundson: Yeah, yeah. Mountainside or, you know, is it, I guess, what do you do? Because I think a lot of Christians feel guilty with Prayer. Tends to be one of the, is a funny one, isn't it?

  Claire Glare: It's a bad thing, isn't it? Mm-hmm. Like, I, I have to be honest and say like, I'm not, I don't often feel guilty. Possibly should feel a bit more guilty sometimes , but, uh, and it is not a thing that I genuinely, regularly feel, which I'm really thankful for. But I think the, the way it's always been described to me is, um, , uh, like con, what is it?

  Condemnation. When we feel condemned and guilty, that turns us away from God. But conviction when the Holy Spirit is, is challenging us about an area of our life that turns us towards God. Yeah. And so, um, so I think, and so I think I, I, you know, yeah, definitely there are times when, when I do need to pray more, but I think it's, you know, it's that balance of, of life and, but that, that daily conversation that, that, that, here I am and not, not, I don't have to spend five hours getting myself ready to pray.

  I'm just here, God, you accept me as I am, you know, you know my weaknesses. We've, I've got a lot and you love me and you want to speak with me, and you want to hear what I've got to say. And that is so reassuring. And I think if we approach God knowing that he loves us, uh, which he does. Um, then we'll, we'll know that he wants to, to listen to what we've got to say.

  Even, oh, yesterday I had a funny example. Um, we couldn't find an iPad and a Chromebook in our house, and one child had an, had a Chromebook. No one child had an iPad and the other child didn't have the Chromebook, his, their iPad. Yeah. We're very fortunate, very blessed. We've got two Chromebooks, two iPads, whatever.

  Anyway, couldn't find one. This younger child was distressed that his Chromebook iPad had gone. And anyway, after a day and a half of looking for these two things, I said to John, my husband, I said, we just need to pray about it. Yeah. And uh, so, you know, it came still a bit thick about, you know, bringing things to Prayer, you know, to to God in Prayer.

  And, uh, and so we prayed. And John at first was a bit like, oh Claire, we can't talk to God about this. And I was like, yeah, I'm fed up of looking for this flipping thing. We tried in three kids' bedrooms, you know, it's driving me mad. And, and so we prayed and literally within half an hour we had found, yeah, both of them.

  And John said, I've looked there before, it wasn't there before. And I was like, well, there we go. It was God, because God loves us and he, he loves the silly little things as well as the big things. And that's what I love about God. Anyway, that's my random testimony for yesterday. Sorry.

  Matt Edmundson: That's totally fine. Uh, we should retitle the livestreams Prayer overcomes man looking as we call it in the house.

  the amount of times I've gone to look for things and I've gone, babe, do you know where it is? And she goes, yeah, I'll just ask. I've got to the point now where I don't even look. I'll just go straight to Sharon. Sharon, where's this? And she'll go, oh, it's here. I've looked there twice already. And we just call it man looking.

  Claire Glare: Isn't, wasn't it, isn't it St. Anthony? I'm not really big up on the, on the saints. Isn't he the patron saint of lost things? And I'm like, Come off it, St. Anthony. Surely it was Antonia.

  Matt Edmundson: Yes. You would not have a man, the patron Saint of lost things. It just wouldn't make sense, would it really? Uh, so as long as it's not just my house, Claire, but it seems to be your house as well. Prayer overcomes man looking. Uh. I think that's such a great story. Uh, it's what's, but you are right. I mean, I, I remember, um, before I was a Christian and I was sort of, um, I was umming and awing about, you know, the whole Christian thing and what it meant for me and so on and so forth.

  I was in my late teens and I remember sitting with a guy called Birdie who, uh, far Burn, still connected with him now. Great guy. He's a missionary and he's just lovely man. And I remember, uh, we were, we were in this room where he and I were sat. And, um, we were watching a football, an American football game.

  Cause I was in the States and he. You were big in American football. Weren't you? Yeah. I love American football. And, um, and, and, and birdie, he just, he just prays, Lord, help our team. And I can't remember what the teams were and he was just like, he prayed for the team. I'm like, that's a really bizarre, I said, you can't pray for things like that, surely?

  And he just turned around to me and said, well, the God I worship's interested in the little things. Yeah. And um, and for me, this is just one of those things I just like to talk to God about. Yeah. And I'm like, but does God answer your Prayer? What happens if somebody from the other team, uh, prays God help us?

  And he says, I don't know and I don't care. I'm just praying for my team. And I was like, and I just remember it sort of stuck in my head. Um, this, this ability to talk to God about the seemingly inconsequential, uh, is one of the ways that I've, I've noticed with Christians who enjoy their relationship with God.

  That's one of the things that they can do. Mm-hmm. . It's not like I have to sit down four times a day and I have a big Prayer list and a formula that I have to work through. It's that consistent conversation, uh, going on all the time over the seemingly inconsequential, like a lost iPad or, or whatever, right?

  Claire Glare: Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . Yeah. And it's, it's that conversation, isn't it? And I, I think, um, you know, and cause as, as we go through our days, I, I mean, I, I definitely think that there is, we need to have that habit. And I think, I remember hearing someone, I'm sure you'll have heard it too, like about that the it, the time it takes to build a habit, it's about 40 days, isn't it?

  Or around that, it's about month or whatever. And it, you know, it, it, I think initially it can feel hard. Um, you know, a discipline or whatever. I think I, I don't think we should shy away from that. You know, it can be hard to, to sit down, um, or to, or to go for a walk or, you know, um, to however you are gonna connect with God best.

  It can be hard to do that habitually, but I think the more you do it, the more you practice it. Was that, is it Julian of Norwich? I've never read it, but I've always liked it. I've always fancied reading it. Is it practicing the presence of Jesus, I think, or is it Yeah, practicing the presence. A very old book anyway.

  Yeah. Classic. Um, And and I think it's, it is, it's a practice, isn't it? Yeah, it is. And and and, and it's not ever something that you will perfect because there will be different seasons in your life. You know, um, where it is challenging, uh, you know, because of maybe the, the, the desert time that you're going through the really, you know, difficult, you know, maybe you've got health problem or, um, you know, just work stress or whatever it is that, that, that it can be really hard to sit down and, and engage with God and say, look, God, I'm here.

  Yeah. Um, but actually when we do that, when we say, here I am God, then he is there like that, I think. Yeah. That's been my experience time and again.

  Matt Edmundson: No, it's so true, isn't it? I think, um, as I'm listening to you talk, Claire, I'm, I'm reminded of that very straightforward analogy that actually any relationship is based on communication, isn't it?

  Yeah. Yeah. And a strong marriage is based on good communication, strong friendships based on good communication, the ability to talk to. , um, and have that conversation is, is, mm-hmm. is really quite important. Really. And again, and we would say the same in the church, your relationship with God is often based on your communication with God, which is your Prayer.

  And it's also based on what you believe about God, which often comes from reading the Bible. And so, um, so that ability to communicate and just have that conversation, uh, uh, and that deep level of communication is super, super important. Um, and yeah. And there, you're right. I think there are seasons aren't there in life sometimes your, your Prayer life is just like, everything you pray just gets answered and it's amazing.

  And then there are other times when you feel like you're just praying through. You know, like this brick wall, and it's just, everything's just reverberating back. No one's really out there, no one's really listening to you. Um, and we all go through seasons like that, don't we? I don't. Well, I assume you do, Claire.

  Claire Glare: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we're going through and have been going through a very, um, ridiculous scenario, um, for, gosh, you know, 11, 12 years now. Mm-hmm. And, and it, you know, and all you can come back to is, well, we are just doing what we are doing, you know, and we're, you know, we keep praying, we keep doing what the next thing to do is.

  Mm-hmm. And we will, you know, whether we see the breakthrough that we want, um, isn't really the point actually. The point is that we're talking to God about it and, um, and we're, and, and you, you, you trust God for whatever outcome and that he's with you. Um, is interested in you and he loves you.

  Matt Edmundson: Mm-hmm. No, it's a fair point.

  And you, there are things which you just pray, you'll pray for years. Yeah. Uh, and it feels like you're praying the same Prayer for years. And then there are some things you'll pray for seconds. Uh, and it just, it is what it is, right? Mm-hmm. , it's, um, uh, it's just part of the nature of your walk with God.

  There is a thing called timing, I feel. Yeah. Uh, when it comes to Prayer.

  Claire Glare: Yeah. And, and I think the things that happen like that are the things that keep you going. Aren't they, you know, cause we, you know, we've got stories of, you know, pray for people or, you know, and getting healed there and there, and you're just like, oh God, that's so cool.

  And you're like, don't really understand why my fabulous friend has died of cancer. I don't get that. But we are here. You love us, you love them. Ah

  Matt Edmundson: it's part of the mystery of it all. I feel. It is. It's, but again, this is where I, I love that because what you, I think as Christians. The beautiful thing that we can do is when we dunno the answers, cuz I don't know the answer to every question.

  I don't understand certain things that happen, but I can go to God and go, God, I don't get it. I just don't get it. And if you, if you want to tell me what's going on, I'd appreciate that. But in the meantime, I'm just gonna trust that you are still good. And that actually at some time, some point, I'm gonna figure this out.

  Mm-hmm. , um, and just having the ability to go to God. I don't understand what you are doing. Um, but I, you know, logic is gonna dictate that's on me and not on you. Uh, so I'm not being, you know, um, what's the word I'm looking for? Difficult about it. I'm not being flippant or rude or belligerent, uh, is a very good word.

  Um, but I'm, I'm, I'm just genuinely questioning and searching and I, I fundamentally love that about prayer. God. There have been times when I've talked to God in a very angry state. Uh, yeah. And I'm sure that, uh, God has demonstrated immense patience, not just wallopped me upside the head, which would've been my response if it had been the other way around.

  Claire Glare: Can I tell you a really funny story? Sure. I've been locked in rooms sometimes because I've not been praying enough and that God wanted to get my attention, okay? And I've physically been locked in rooms, . And then I, and there was this one occasion, and I was in, it was when I lived abroad and I was, I, it was a block of flats and I was like shouting at God.

  I was like, God, I am so cross with you that I can't even get out of this room. What is going on? And then, anyway, I calmed down and uh, and, you know, God spoke to me about whatever it was that he wanted to get my attention about. And then, you know, so either somebody came back with a key or I found the lock, found the key that I couldn't find, or the door trid.

  I forget now. We had doors in Kyrgyzstan. And um, but I'm sure I'm utterly convinced that I was physically locked in the room by God. I know. And it was just great. But that thing of, oh gosh, actually people heard me shouting, oh God, you know, but that's okay, isn't it? Cause God can cope with that. He loves, he loves us to be really real with him.

  With him. Mm-hmm. King David. There's a verse isn't there in Psalms that where he says, I was a beast before you. Yeah. You know, um, it's good. It's a good little quote that.

  Matt Edmundson: It's always a t-shirt slogan, isn't it? What? It's, no, no. It should be, uh, Crowd Church Merch Merchandise.

  Claire Glare: Which I've not heard about. Have you, have any of you heard about this merchandise? I think it's a mystery.

  Matt Edmundson: Church merch. It's the way of the future. Uh, so Claire, what do you do then, um, to develop your Prayer life? What are some of the things, I mean, uh, John talked about going for a walk, um, or sitting in his Prayer chair. And what are some of the things that you do?

  Claire Glare: Um, I think, um, I dunno if I'm allowed to say this. Uh, I pray in tongues.

  Matt Edmundson: Yeah. Fine.

  You might wanna explain what that means for if someone's watching it and doesn't get what you just said.

  Claire Glare: Yeah. So that is, um, a, a language given by God, by the Holy Spirit. And it's a language that I don't, I haven't learned. I can speak a few random other languages a little bit, but I, I've never been taught this.

  I don't understand what I'm saying, but I know that God is using me to pray to God through it. Mm-hmm.. So, and that is a really, I found that really helpful in times when I've literally got no words left. So I've prayed all my prayers, I've like using my own, I speak English. Um, and I've, I've got nothing else to say and um, and, and that has been really helpful.

  Um, and then, um, I think what I was saying before about, you know, praying from the Bible, um, you know, just picking up, um, I think again, psalms are really useful for this to help me cuz it, cuz they are conversations with God and you know, often, Um, David will start at the start of a psalm and he'll be saying, you know, why do all the rich people, why do my enemies succeed?

  Why am I failing? Why are my bones falling apart within me? You know? But by the end of that conversation, by the end of that psalm, he's reached a place of, um, peace. Yeah. Of he's received comfort from God. Um, he's sort of wrestled with it and he, and he's, he's got to a place of kind of, you know, calm or, you know, satisfaction or whatever.

  Contentment maybe.

  Matt Edmundson: Yeah. Contentment's a good word. And he does it over and over again, doesn't he? It's not like a He does it. Yeah. It's not like a one-off thing for David. No. There's a lot of psalms where he starts off really annoyed about something. Yeah. Um, and ends up in a place of, but God, I trust you.

  Yeah. Uh, you know, you're my rock, you're my foundation, and all that sort of stuff. So, yeah. One of the things I like to do is, um, like John, I like to go for walks. Mm-hmm. Um, but for me, one of the things I love to do is journal and um, just grab a notebook and a pen. Um, yeah. Cause I, you know, old school, uh, some apps as well.

  Sometimes I'll app my journal, a journal. I've got a journal app. I dunno, I've just, yeah. I've got a journal app that makes more sense. App, my journal, I dunno. Um, and so, uh, but yeah, I, I, I do like to journal and I just like to get things out on paper. Mm-hmm. , um, and, and just pray things out. I think sometimes when it comes to Prayer, um, especially if you're new to the Christian faith, it's really hard to know where to start, which is why, um, prayers like you mentioned in the Bible, like in the book of Ephesians, um, Jesus' Prayer, our father who art in heaven, you know, the very famous Lord's Prayer.

  Yeah. Um, I don't have to pray that word for word, but it gives me a really interesting sort of template which I can use Yeah. To sort of, um, approach Prayer with when I dunno what to pray. Yeah. Um, And so I think, I think journaling is super, super helpful. And just, sorry, just going back to the tongues thing.

  We're gonna be talking about that a lot because it's featured a lot in the Book of Acts. Um, yeah. People praying in tongues. Yeah. Uh, but it's, that scripture isn't there in, is it Romans eight where, uh, I dunno what to pray, Paul says, so the Holy Spirit helps me with groanings and mutterings, which I don't really understand.

  Yeah. And it's that kind of, I know I need to pray about this, but Lord, I don't know what to say until the Holy Spirit helps me pray. Uh, yeah. And that, that's super, super helpful. So we will talk about it more, so just stay tuned on that. We'll, we'll get into that an awful lot more. Yeah. So, yes. Back to, sorry, little side trail journaling.

  Do you journal?

  Claire Glare: Um, I, I have done and I do, um, I do sporadically. I wouldn't say that I journal. Um, we've, we've got a little devotional book in, in our church at the moment, and that is helping me to maintain that discipline. So I will write something down. Mm-hmm. You know, you know, daily, you know, um, uh, with that.

  But, um, but I wouldn't, again, it's been up and down, but I do know that when I have journaled I have been more faithful and more diligent in Prayer, so I agree with you. I think that that is really wise, Matt. Yeah. Um, yeah, I mean, I think praying with other people as well is actually always really an encouragement, you know, that you, there's a sense of accountability.

  There's a sense of, you know, oh, I'm going to pray with X, so if I don't go, I'm letting them down. Mm-hmm. , you know, there's that, but also, you know, you, we can learn so much from praying with other people. Yeah. Not that we are copying them, but that we, we can just, oh gosh. I love the way. They, they got, they've heard what God's saying there or they've been praying that, you know, that I think we can be really inspired and spurred on, isn't it?

  Matt Edmundson: Yeah. It's a, it's a really good point actually praying with other people. And again, if you're new to the Christian faith, that might sound a bit strange. Um, but it's just think of it like you're just having a conversation with God, with other people. Cause God's there in the room. It's just, it is what it is.

  And, and, um, I always like it when you pray, uh, with other believers and they bring another aspect to it, like you say, or maybe they've heard God say a certain thing, which you kinda go, oh, that's really cool. Um, and so, yeah. So I think, I think, I think praying with people is really, really good. Really good.

  Um, but it's,

  Claire Glare: it's different from the habitual Prayer, isn't it?

  Matt Edmundson: It is. Well, it's all part of it, isn't it? It's all part of the lifestyle of Prayer. Um, being in Prayer groups or, um, you know, just praying with some friends over something. One of the things that I love, you know, there are certain Christian friends I can be around.

  And if I say, oh, uh, such and such is happening, there's two types of people in some respects. Mm-hmm. , uh, and I sort of flipped between both. Uh, Claire, uh, the one type of person is, oh man, I'm really sorry to hear that. Have you tried dot, dot, dot and, uh, most Mr. Fix it. Fix it mode. Yeah. Yeah. Here's, here's how you fix that.

  And they give you ideas and there's the other type of friend which goes, man, I'm sorry to hear that. Let's pray. Can I pray for you? Yeah. Uh, I'm trying to be more the latter than the former, cuz my default is to go, well, there's a problem, here's a solution. Uh, see you later. Uh, well actually, um, I've, I've learned over the years certainly from my wife, that sometimes the solution is not always required.

  Uh, , I don't always need to give the answers. I just need to listen and communicate. And so actually just praying with people, uh, I think is super powerful. And I love the people around me who, when they're faced with things, when I tell them things they're not fazed and they go, okay, well let's just pray about that.

  Um, and not in a weird, spooky kind of way, not in a flaky kind of way, but it's genuinely, you know, lovely kind of way really.

  Claire Glare: And, and actually, and then continue to pray for you. Mm-hmm. And, you know, when they're away from you and then check in on you and say, how's that going? I've been praying about that.

  I, you know, I read this verse and I was thinking about you, and, you know, that's, that's a, a deepening of friendship, isn't it? And a deepening of connection. And I think we can, you know, I, I certainly, um, feel challenged, convicted to, um, to, to be more disciplined, to, to kind of be that person really, to, you know, to when I, when I say I'll pray for you, probably quite good at praying with somebody there and then, but then, you know, am I gonna go and check in on them later?

  Yeah. Um, keep praying for them until they've got that answer. And yeah. It's a tricky one. We, we, we know, don't we? That Prayer, you know, changes things. Um,

  Matt Edmundson: yeah, we do. We do. And we're gonna see that a lot actually as we go through the book of acts. Some amazing things happen as a result of prayers. Yeah. Uh, and just to interest and see what prayers are prayed and how they're answered.

  Mm-hmm. , uh, we've got one coming up soon where, , um, Peter's arrested and he goes, uh, and he, he makes his Prayer. He goes, Lord, behold their threats, uh, and give me boldness to proclaim your word and confirm it with signs and wonders. Yeah. Uh, and it's just like, and then what happens afterwards is just mind boggling.

  Yeah. And there's, there's quite brave prayers like that. Uh, it's like, you know, most modern day times now would be like, well, hang on a minute. They're threatening me. Who are they to do that? Lord, sort them out, please. Uh, but Peter was like, no, no, no. Listen to what they're saying, God, and let's go do, let's just go show them who you really are.

  Ah, . Some incredible stuff starts happening. So anyway, I'm, I'm jumping the gun cause this just acts is such an amazing book. We're gonna get into that. Uh, one of the things to point out, Matt has put this in the comments. Thanks for reminding me again, Matt, you absolute legend. If you would like to pray with people, join a community of people who can pray with you.

  Uh, every Wednesday we have a midweek Prayer meeting on Zoom. It is online. You can come join in. It's 8:00 PM UK time. Uh, if you wanna know what time that is for you in the world, there's a time zone converter thing. Uh, but you're more than welcome to come join us as we pray, um, for each other. Uh, and we just catch up.

  We have a conversation and we just pray for each other because why not? It's a wonderful thing to do. So do feel free to come join us for That'd be great to see you in that. Claire, as we finish, I'm curious what stories of answered Prayer have you got other than you found iPad, which is obviously a biggie.

  Claire Glare: Um, well, uh, I think just, um, over the years, um, experiencing God healing me.

  Um, I, uh, I probably, it's, it's a long time now since I've had a bad back and, uh, you know, it was a really, I was in agony and before I, before I moved away actually, and some people prayed for me and I was praying and all the rest of it. But there was a, again, there was a verse in the Bible that talked about, um, he will, um, prevent you from stumbling.

  And I was fearful of falling where I, where I went to live. And I never did ever fall. Um, and you know, and so, so I think there's, you know, and, but there's, I think sometimes you can experience answered Prayer and you keep having to come back to it. So, so I would say that about the back, but it's been, gosh, I can't remember the last time and my sort of back went.

  Um, and that is a really, you know, it's a brilliant thing. Mm-hmm. , I think. Meeting, uh, my husband was a really big one for me. I actually, um, I drew a picture of the man that I wanted to meet. He ended up being about eight feet tall, but he isn't eight feet tall. Um, which was a relief. Um, and, um, anyway, uh, and, and so that was, that has been a wonderful thing for me.

  You know, I got married, um, you know, pretty late in life. Um, we have got two kids that we adopted. Again, which is, you know, huge and an amazing sort of journey again. Mm. Uh, lots of sort of praying about that. Lots of still praying about that, you know, cuz it doesn't stop never a kids for life, not just for Christmas and all the rest of it.

  Um, uh, and so, yeah, so I think, um, yeah, I think just, you know, I've been really blessed by the church that I'm in, the physical church that I go to, you know, that is family. You know, often I talk about, um, the work that I do, people are very socially isolated. Yeah. And, and often I, I'm so thankful because I know that I've got about literally no joke, 50 people that I could call.

  Probably you guys are one of them Matt in case you case you didn't know. But you know, that I could call in the middle of the night and say, Hey, I'm in a dire state. I need some help. And I know that they would drop everything and they would be there and, and you know, so I think that that's the benefit of church, you know, being in that community.

  Community, isn't it? Which is a bit of a digression, but all of that is, you know, it, it is part of Prayer and part of, you know, that's not, that's not you know, earned it, it, but it happens as a result of Prayer and, and being open to connection and being open to relationship with people and. and putting yourself in a place, um, where, where people, you know that that's reciprocal as well, you know?

  Yeah. Uh, not necessarily, but that, you know, I hope that I would be, you know, be able to do the same for, for other people. Um, like that.

  Matt Edmundson: Well, lemme put your mobile number on screen. Uh, if anyone wants to call you at midnight. They, uh, they can do reach out to,

  Claire Glare: my kids can sing it. I taught them a jingle.

  Matt Edmundson: Oh, so they could sing your phone number?

  We, um, yeah, yeah, yeah. We, we, let's not go there. Let's, we had that, um, in fact, slight digression here. We had the, you know, the, the little rubber bands. Uh, we had the phone numbers in printed on those, and the kids wore them all the time whenever they were younger. Yeah. And so, one of the, the reason why I say a slight digression is because one of the things that we did a few years ago was something called the 1530 habit.

  Uh, and this was the challenge where you had to do something for 15 minutes a day for 30 consecutive days. Okay. 1530 habit, habitual. Yeah, yeah, yeah. To create this habit. And so if you are watching this, and I'm going to lay this out there, feel the freedom to use it. If you've got this far, the 1530 habit, help develop your prayer life.

  Try doing Prayer for 15 minutes, for 30 consecutive days, whether it's in a chair, whether it's on a walk, whether it's journaling, whatever it is, the, the key word is consecutive. So what would happen was you'd wear a, a wristy thing, and then you would start on a habit. And the day you didn't do it, you would transfer the band from this wrist to this wrist, okay.

  And the counting would start again. Ah. So if you go to day 20 and you missed day 21, what. Let's go back to zero. So the challenge was for 30 consecutive days. Um, and so

  Claire Glare: the, but how would, sorry, how would you, how would you remember what day you were on? I'd get laughed, but No, go on.

  Matt Edmundson: You brilliant. Uh, if you struggled to count up to 30, like Claire, then I would suggest the use of a journal.

  Claire Glare: I like it. I like that. I like, I like that idea.

  Matt Edmundson: But the 1530 habit was a great thing and it worked really well. And just the, the habit of, um, the reason we did the wrist thing as well was just it something which tied your mind into a physical action to help you remember. Um, worked super well. I don't have any signs behind it, I just know it works super well, so you can steal that.

  So if you are watching this,

  Claire Glare: well, in the Old Testament, they used to tie a thing to their hand, wrist and their forehead, didn't they? The Old Testament Jews. Okay. And, and then the thing of the touching the doorbell with the press rolls and it, and stuff like that. And I think you, I think, you know, a physical thing is, is a, is a good aid to remember, isn't it?

  It is. I was gonna say eight memoir and then I thought that was too, too grandiose.

  Matt Edmundson: Too French, coz we're broadcast in English. Uh, and uh, yes. Um, so try it. 1530 habit. Try Prayer 15 minutes a day for 30 consecutive days. Let us know how you get on. We'll be super curious to hear all of that. So Claire, anything else from you before we wrap up?

  Claire Glare: No, but pray. I think. Just pray. That's all I can say. Try it.

  Matt Edmundson: Just do it. You'll be amazing. Yeah. Here's the funny thing about Prayer. You don't have to be a Christian. You don't need any qualifications. You just. You can do it wherever you like, whenever you like. You don't have to be place

  Claire Glare: You don't even have to pray in English, do you?

  Matt Edmundson: No. Pray in French like Claire did a minute ago. If you like, you don't have to play, pray, uh, king James. I mean, all that sort of stuff. Just put all that aside. Mm-hmm. Every excuse and just go, God, here I am. Uh, and to start a conversation and see how it goes. Let us know how you get on. Wonderful. So next week do come join us.

  We are gonna be carrying on our conversation through the Book of Acts. Um, I'm desperately trying to think of who's, let me check actually what's coming up next week. Uh, let's go to the Google, uh, thing here, which will tell me, uh, is what we're gonna do. So next week we have Dave Connolly. Oh, uh, Dave is speaking.

  Yes, absolutely. All about how to find God's will. That's gonna be a good one, uh, to come to, we have the beautiful Sharon and the beautiful Rach Marshall hosting. Uh, so do come in and join them. The week after that. We've got Chris Holcombe speaking, which I'm super looking forward to. So yeah, a lot of good stuff coming up.

  So make sure you subscribe to Crowd wherever you, uh, you are listening to or watching this from, uh, as more livestream coming up. And if you are listening to this in the catch up, why not come join us in the livestream. Come say hi in the comments. Um, it'll be good to meet you, uh, in there. So I think that's it from me.

  I think that's it from Claire. Uh, I'm just looking for my thing here. So have a great week wherever you are. Uh, God bless you. Thank you for joining us. Thanks for being with us. Uh, we'll see you next time. Uh, that's it from me. That's it from Claire. Bye for now.

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  It has been awesome to connect with you, and you are awesome. It's just a burden you have to bear. And hopefully we'll see you next time. That's it from us. God bless you. Bye for now.