BCNZ Prayer Day

On Wednesday all lectures were cancelled and we had a prayer day at BCNZ. The theme of the day was Cultural Diversity.

After a time of community worship that included a Maori karanga, a Hebrew prayer and a couple of songs by the Korean group, several different prayer stations were set up for us to go to freely. I started out by joining a group to thank God for the BCNZ graduates who have been matyred for their faith and to pray for their remaining families, those who persecuted them, and those who are being persecuted around the world today. I then joined a Korean style prayer group which was wonderful and very powerful - we prayed in unison, that is individually but at the same time, for North and South Korea. I also had communion after reflecting at several posts of Scripture, art and music. Other prayer stations included: contemplative prayer, conversational prayer, African prayer, intercessory prayer, Pacific Island prayer. I would've loved to have gone to them all if time allowed!

In the afternoon we went to Cornerstone, a gorgeous private property with a garden overlooking the upper Waitemata Harbour. I shared my picnic lunch with my cell group (pictured above). We chatted for hours about the missions we've been involved in to date and those we'd like to take part in after graduating :) Japan came up a lot!!!

Below is a wonderful invitation to prayer, an excert from Richard Foster's Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home


Coming Home: An Invitation to Prayer

"True, whole prayer is nothing but love." St Augustine

God has graciously allowed me to catch a glimpse into his heart, and I want to share with you what I have seen. Today the heart of God is an open wound of love. He aches over our distance and preoccupation. He mourns that we do not draw near to him. He grieves that we have forgotten him. He weeps over our obsession with muchness and manyness. He longs for our presence.

And he is inviting you - and me - to come home, to come home to where we belong, to come home to that for which we were created. His arms are stretched out wide to receive us. His heart is enlarged to take us in.

For too long we have been in a far country: a country of noise and hurry and crowds, a country of climb and push and shove, a country of frustration and fear and intimidation. And he welcomes us home: home to serenity and peace and joy, home to friendship and fellowship and openness, home to intimacy and acceptance and affirmation.

(…)

The Key and the Door

The key to this home, this heart of God, is prayer. Perhaps you have never prayed before except in anguish or terror. It may be that the only time the Divine Nature has been on your lips has been in angry expletives. Never mind. I am here to tell you that the Father’s heart is open wide - you are welcome to come in.

Perhaps you do not believe in prayer. You may have tried to pray and been profoundly disappointed… and disillusioned. You seem to have little faith, or none. It does not matter. The Father’s heart is open wide - you are welcome to come in.

Perhaps you are bruised and broken by the pressures of life. Others have wronged you and you feel scarred for life. You have old, painful memories that have never been healed. You avoid prayer because you feel too distant, too unworthy, too defiled. Do not despair. The Father’s heart is open wide - you are welcome to come in.

Perhaps you have prayed for many years but the words have grown brittle and cold. Little ever happens any more. God seems remote and inaccessible. Listen to me. The Father’s heart is open wide - you are welcome to come in.

Perhaps prayer is the delight of your life. You have lived in the divine milieu for a long time and can attest to its goodness. But you long for more: more power, more love, more of God in your life. Believe me. The Father’s heart is open wide - you too are welcome to come higher up and deeper in.