Here is how the devotional is laid out each week:
Quote: There is a sentence or two to invite you into the Lord’s presence for the day. Many of these are found in Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, by Claiborne, Wilson-Hargrove, & Okoro. Some are also excerpted from The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms, by Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller.
Scripture: A selected passage from the Word to help you pause to listen and then to hear the Lord’s voice
as you enter into prayer.
Journal: Space to write your prayer, your conversation that day, with the Lord. We encourage you to make this your own! It may be just words, a poem, a letter, however the you decide to write! Feel free to explore, but please try out writing down your prayers this month. Looking back at what you have written will bless you because you will see how the Lord moved in your heart, mind and life over the month.
White space: This part of the booklet is designed so you may doodle or illuminate a verse (that means to write it in a fancy way as a form of meditation). The white space may also be a place to create a concept map that helps you visualize connections between what you are reading and hearing from the Lord and other biblical principles. Use this space to serve your needs! Or, white space can even simple serve as a visual cue to take time to stop and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Priorities: Here is where you can list the top 1-3 things the Lord revealed to you during your time of prayer that day. What did He share with you and how may He be asking you to step out in faith and obedience?
The weekends are designed for you to practice a more than 500-year tradition of prayer called the Prayer of Examen. This was developed by Ignatius of Loyola to help us learn to discern God’s presence and guidance in daily life. The idea is to prayerfully replay your week, seeking the Lord’s Spirit to help you learn how you may draw nearer to Him from the events of the week. Then the practice helps you discern the Spirit’s leading in developing your focus for the following week. One final thought: prayer is be practiced. An important aspect of the practice is done with other believers in community. Therefore, we invite you to participate in the Norton Campus 40 Days of Prayer.
Week 1
Day 1
Prayer is… Conversation
Jesus replied, ” I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.: (John 6:35)
Read: Psalm 1
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 2
Prayer is… Conversation
Rise up, O Lord, and rule the earth: every inch of it is yours.
Read: Psalm 2-4
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 3
Prayer is… Conversation
Take refuge in Me–in my forgiveness, in My will and in My assured and glorious future for you.
Read: Psalm 2:5-12
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 4
Prayer is… Conversation
Waymaker, miracle-worker, promise-keeper, that is what you are!
Read: Psalm 5:7-12
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 5
Prayer is… Conversation
Shepherd us, Lord, with your faithful hand: guide us gently into your land.
Read: Psalm 49:13-20
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 6 and 7
As part of the rhythm of sabbath, spend some time in reflective prayer examining the past week to reset for the next one. Allow these prompts to help you draw near to the Holy One. Rest in Him as you respond to His leading!
Quiet your mind as best as you can. Two or three slow 5-count breaths may help with this.
Arrive in God’s presence. Meditate on Jesus (the incarnate Word) and scripture (God’s written word). This is God’s design to speak to us and grow our relationship with Him.
Ask for the grace to mature in how you relate to and engage with God in your relationship with Him.
Review your week. Invite the Spirit to help you hear God and feel his encouragement in your circumstances and events throughout the week.
Examine those instances. What were some ways where conversation with God could have drawn you closer to Him and drawn God more closely into your everyday life? How did (or could) God encourage you in those situations?
Look toward the next week. How may you more intimately experience God as a friend, disciple, partner as you go about your daily affairs and minister to others? Be specific and end your time praising Him.
Here is a prayer of blessing to pray to close/start your week (from Common Prayer):
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us
wherever He may send us.
May He guide us through the wilderness, protect
us through the storm;
May He bring us home rejoicing at the wonders He
has shown us!
Week 2
Day 1
Prayer is… Awe!
Great is the Lord–Yahweh–and greatly to be praised: in the city of our God is his holy hill!
Read: Psalm 8
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 2
Prayer is… Awe!
Teach us, Lord, the unquenchable joy: of sins forgiven, friendship restored
Read: Psalm 47
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 3
Prayer is… Awe!
Praise Him because He works all things together for our good!
Read: Psalm 135
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 4
Prayer is… Awe!
Lord, in your presence, is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore: help me to never substitute career, hobbies, and social standing for the full joy of knowing you!
Read: Psalm 136
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 5
Prayer is… Awe!
I will praise you forever as I bow down to worship you, Alpha and Omega!
Read: Psalm 150
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 6 and 7
As part of the rhythm of sabbath, spend some time in reflective prayer examining the past week to reset for the next one. Allow these prompts to help you draw near to the Holy One. Rest in Him as you respond to His leading!
Quiet your mind as best as you can. Arrive in God’s presence. Thank Him for His deep love for you. Contemplate the infinite scope of his greatness. Offer praise and worship to God to express your thoughts and feelings.
Ask for the grace to come to terms with how you may have lacked gratitude this previous week and to humbly bring your human shortcomings to Him.
Review your week. Invite the Spirit to help you understand what appropriate reverence and awe for a heavenly Father should look like in your life.
Examine those instances. How frequently did you think of God and recognize His awesome presence during the past week? Were you drawn closer to God or away from Him?
Look toward the next week. How could a prayer mindset throughout each day affect your attitude of gratitude and draw you closer to God and others?
Here is a prayer of blessing to pray to close/start
your week (from Common Prayer):
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us
wherever He may send us.
May He guide us through the wilderness, protect
us through the storm;
May He bring us home rejoicing at the wonders He
has shown us!
Week 3
Day 1
Prayer is…Intimacy!
Here am I, the servant of the Lord: let it be to me according to your will.
Read: Psalm 30
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 2
Prayer is…Intimacy!
We pledge allegiance to the Lamb: and to the kingdom for which he stands.
Read: Psalm 32
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 3
Prayer is…Intimacy!
Set our hearts to sing your praise: and our bodies to do your will.
Read: Psalm 51
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 4
Prayer is…Intimacy!
Come now and join the feast: right here in the belly of the beast!
Read: Psalm 7
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 5
Prayer is…Intimacy!
Good Shepherd, we are yours: you know our every care.
Read: Psalm 23
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 6 and 7
As part of the rhythm of sabbath, spend some time in reflective prayer examining the past week to reset for the next one. Allow these prompts to help you draw near to the Holy One. Rest in Him as you respond to His leading!
Quiet your mind as best as you can. Try to find a physical place to be alone with God without distraction. Arrive in God’s presence. Thank Him for His great love for you and meditate on how his infinite nature enables him to have a directly personal, intimate relationship with you.
Ask for the grace for God to help you grasp the “freeness and costliness” of his gift of forgiveness and reaching out to reconcile your relationship with Him.
Review your week. Invite the Spirit to help you recall important moments and feelings in your relationship with Him and the people in your life.
Examine those instances. What did you do or say and how did you or others feel? Were you drawn closer to God or away from Him? Confess areas where you created barriers to intimacy and ask the Holy Spirit to transform your heart in those areas.
Look toward the next week. How may you more intimately experience God as a friend, disciple, partner in ministry? Be specific and end your time praising Him.
Here is a prayer of blessing to pray to close/start
your week (from Common Prayer):
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us
wherever He may send us.
May He guide us through the wilderness, protect
us through the storm;
May He bring us home rejoicing at the wonders He
has shown us!
Week 4
Day 1
Prayer is…Encounter!
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it; prone to leave the One I love! Take my heart and seal, seal it for they courts above!
Read: Psalm 4
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 2
Prayer is…Encounter!
Lord, I don’t have the power to accomplish what needs to be done, so I spread out my needs before you.
Read: Psalm 5
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 3
Prayer is…Encounter!
To know His presence is like the ascent of a hill or mountain and doing so is always a struggle.
Read: Psalm 24
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 4
Prayer is…Encounter!
Help me as I struggle mightily to trust and rest in your judgment and your timing!
Read: Psalm 69
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 5
Prayer is…Encounter!
How I long for your precepts…they preserve my life!
Read: Psalm 119:33-40
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 6 and 7
As part of the rhythm of sabbath, spend some timein reflective prayer examining the past week to reset for the next one. Allow these prompts to help you draw near to the Holy One. Rest in Him as you respond to His leading!
Quiet your mind as best as you can.
Arrive in God’s presence. Thank Him for His unconditional love for you, that remains constant regardless of current feelings or circumstances.
Ask for the grace to trust and patiently wait on God and continue to petition him while you submit to His will.
Review your week. Invite the Spirit to help you identify what God has done for you in the past week and throughout your life.
Examine those instances. Seek to draw strength and encouragement from those past experiences where you could recognize God’s active presence in your life.
Look toward the next week. How can you use prayer as a way to participate in God’s mission in the world?
Here is a prayer of blessing to pray to close/start
your week (from Common Prayer):
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us
wherever He may send us.
May He guide us through the wilderness, protect
us through the storm;
May He bring us home rejoicing at the wonders
He has shown us!
Week 5
Day 1
Prayer is…Communal!
Lest a rock cry out in my place: I lift my whole life in praise!
Read: Psalm 119:161-168
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 2
Prayer is…Communal!
With you, O Lord, is the well of life: and in your light we see light.
Read: Psalm 19
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 3
Prayer is…Communal!
Please give me moment-by-moment God-centeredness.
Read: Psalm 134
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 4
Prayer is…Communal!
Praise the Lord! Sing praises now and forevermore!
Read: Psalm 117
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 5
Prayer is…Communal!
Eternal, ever-present God: I delight in you!
Read: Psalm 95
Journal:
White Space:
Priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Day 6 and 7
As part of the rhythm of sabbath, spend some time in reflective prayer examining the past week to reset for the next one. Allow these prompts to help you draw near to the Holy One. Rest in Him as you respond to His leading!
Quiet your mind as best as you can.
Arrive in God’s presence. Reflect on the different ways you placed yourself in God’s presence as you prayed throughout this series.
Ask for the grace for the Spirit to transform how you relate to and communicate with God in the future.
Review your week. Reflect and evaluate your practice of prayer. How might your views of God and prayer have grown and evolved during this series?
Examine those instances. What were ways where your practice of prayer was strong and effective? Where was there room for improvement?
Look toward the next week. Next week and in the weeks to come, how might you put into ongoing practice the experiences and principles you’ve learned over the past five weeks?
Here is a prayer of blessing to pray to close/start
your week (from Common Prayer):
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us
wherever He may send us.
May He guide us through the wilderness, protect
us through the storm;
May He bring us home rejoicing at the wonders
He has shown us!
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