Cornerstone Number 182, October-November 2016 | Page 17

Cornerstone No. 182, page 17 The next two sessions dealt with the who, when and where of prayer. Through group study of Bible readings from Genesis 18, I Kings 3, Psalm 51 and Luke 18 we saw how patriarchs, kings and even ordinary people have used prayer to express adoration and repentance, seek wisdom and blessing and ask for justice to be done. We pray for others as well as for ourselves and in all situations. And we should never give up. By Sunday it was time to start putting some of what we had learned into practice. We had the opportunity to pray and meditate alone at different prayer stations set up around the conference centre’s beautiful grounds. We were invited to reflect on various Bible passages in the peaceful cloisters, to make a footprint in the sand and consider who God has made us to be, and to look at a map and consider where we have been and where we might be going in life. Finally, we turned to how we should pray. We heard from Martin that we need to be disciplined in our prayer lives, setting aside regular and daily time for God. Colossians 4:2 tells us we should “devote” ourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Martin’s tips included praying as we take a walk outdoors, praying as we read the daily newspaper, and keeping a prayer journal. Within the Scots Kirk, Martin suggested using social media and prayer apps to keep informed of each other’s needs and prayer requests. He also encouraged us to find prayer partners or to team up with two others to form prayer ‘triplets’. To my knowledge, at least one such prayer partnership has already formed. Small beginnings, but who knows where they could lead! Morven McLean Bennie Notice to parents and guardians We occasionally publish photographs in Cornerstone, on the Kirk’s website and—to a lesser extent—on the Kirk’s facebook page of children and young people belonging to the Scots Kirk. If for any reason you would prefer that a photograph of your child should not be used in this manner, please let the editor know on [email protected]. Thank you.