What if we could pray with Jesus? Not just to him, about our concerns. What would happen if we stood next to Jesus, offering up the same prayers he made to his Father? What if we joined Jesus in the events of his life, then pressed close to him by sharing in his emotions? What if we spent our prayer time being engaged about what mattered in  Christ’s life?  

 

I can tell you what happened to me. I grew to love Jesus more. And I felt his heart getting formed more inside my heart. I got energized by the urgency of his mission. I came to admire Jesus more than ever. Adoring him creates a profound effect in me. Peace. Passion. Hope. Wonder. 

 

Could that happen to you? I mean, what if the best way to change us is actually focusing on Jesus? As it turns out, getting inside Jesus’ prayer life lights up our prayers. Tucking up close to his heartbeat in the events of his life transforms our hearts. The closer we draw to him, the more Jesus gives life to us.

 

But how? Is there not an impossible gap between Jesus and me? Aren’t the events of his life lost in the past? We don’t know what he prayed so how can we join him? I know. It sounds presumptuous and not a little crazy.

 

But there is a bridge. A reliable, compelling, available bridge. It’s built of two interconnected parts, the Psalms and the Gospels. Jesus knew and prayed the psalms. We can pray those same psalms as we participate spiritually in the events of his life recorded in the Gospels. It could be like nothing you’ve ever done!

 

That’s the adventure we’ll be on together this Lent. I pray you will be transformed by learning to pray alongside Jesus. 

 

Five Ways to Participate

 

1) Lyrics for His Life: Praying the Psalms with Jesus. On February 18, we’ll distribute copies of this beautiful, full color, 238 page book. You’ll find reading and prayers for the 42 days leading to Easter. Yes, you can grab copies for friends, and yes some advance copies will be available February 11.

 

2) Daily Podcasts. Prefer to listen while you go about your day? Sign up for the daily podcast link. Lauren Honea and Scott Graham join me in bringing you each day’s readings. Subscribe to podcasts.

 

3) Daily Emails: Prefer to read on your device? Find each day’s reading in your inbox!  It takes 22 seconds to sign up via our website! 

 

4) Community Groups: Reading, discussing and praying with others always takes us deeper. Join the more than 300 who participated last year meeting in homes, praying together and sharing life going deeper in Christ. Email Kelly Wood for more on joining or leading a Community Group.

 

5) Weekly Worship: Each week through April, we’ll focus on a particular psalm Jesus prayed and consider what it might have meant to him. We’ll learn to pray alongside our Lord as we press in to the events of his life, death and resurrection. 

 

6) Wednesday Noon Services. Beginning with Ash Wednesday on February 14, we’ll meet each week for worship and communion, focusing on a psalm Jesus prayed. There will even be opportunities for more experiential prayer times. Further details on Wednesday worship.