Prayer Tip: A Byte from an Apple and the Seven Deadly Sins
Daily Scripture
Genesis 3:1-6 (CEB); Matthew 6:13 (NIV); James 1:13-14 (CEB)
Genesis 3:1-6 (CEB)
The snake was the most intelligent of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say that you shouldn’t eat from any tree in the garden?” The woman said to the snake, “We may eat the fruit of the garden’s trees but not the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. God said, ‘Don’t eat from it, and don’t touch it, or you will die.’” The snake said to the woman, “You won’t die! God knows that on the day you eat from it, you will see clearly and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The woman saw that the tree was beautiful with delicious food and that the tree would provide wisdom, so she took some of its fruit and ate it, and also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Matthew 6:13 (NIV)
Lead us, not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
James 1:13-14 (CEB)
No one who is tested should say, “God is tempting me!” This is because God is not tempted by any form of evil, nor does he tempt anyone. Everyone is tempted by their own cravings; they are lured away and enticed by them. Once those cravings conceive, they give birth to sin; and when sin grows up, it gives birth to death.
Prayer Tip
by Jess Lovell, Pastoral Intern at Resurrection Overland Park. She is also pursuing an M.Div. at Saint Paul School of Theology. She is a Certified Candidate for Ministry in the Great Plains Conference and often provides pulpit supply to churches in the conference. Jessica lives in Lenexa and has 3 children: Sydney, Sierra and Aiden.
This year I wanted to change up my spiritual practices. Instead of a traditional devotion, I am practicing Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina is a practice that includes reading Holy Scripture and meditating upon the reading. There are four parts.
Lectio: First, a person reads a passage of Scripture. This reading is meant to be intentional and slow. Most people will read the focus passage several times through.
Meditatio: Next, the person doing Lectio Divina meditates on the Scripture. This means they ponder over the passage, seeking to hear from the Holy Spirit. They do not analyze the passage but do attempt to view it from various perspectives.
Oratio: This step consists of prayer. After having read and meditated on the passage, the practitioner of Lectio Divina brings it to God in prayer.
Contemplatio: The Lectio Divina process concludes with contemplation. This is a type of listening or restful prayer. The practitioner seeks to simply sit in God’s presence with His Word still fresh on the mind.*
I want to invite you to try something new and see how the power of the Holy Spirit comes alive through Holy Scripture. Let us pray:
Holy and gracious God,
We thank you for the amazing words of Holy Scripture. By reading the Bible, we are invited into a deeper relationship with you. We thank you for the life-giving stories that remind us that you are a redemptive and loving God. Remind us to meditate on these words and motivate us to live out the Gospel each day. In your holy name, Amen!
* For a deeper look, see Lectio Divina – What is it? (compellingtruth.org)
