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Students from Inspiration Mountain School whom we lovingly refer to as "Shine Ambassadors" lead a Prayer Circle at 7:45am every other Wednesday. This circle meets on the Inspiration Mountain School campus in the amphitheater, 15 minutes before school begins. We hope you'll join them!
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August 12th + 26th
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September 9th + 23rd
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October 7th + 21st
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November 4th + 18th
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December 2nd + 16th
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January 6th + 20th
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February 3rd + 17th
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March 3rd, 17th + 31st
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April 14th + 28th
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May 12th
All students are welcome to attend the Prayer Circle. Please join us at 7:45am on any of the meeting dates listed above in the amphitheater located inside Inspiration Mountain School.
If you are a student that is interested in learning how to become a Shine Ambassador, please ask one of the Shine Ambassadors at the Prayer Circle about how you can be involved. We are always looking for more students to help SHINE God's light!
Verse of the Month + Devotion
We are changing things up a little bit over the next couple of months. We are going to talk about something REALLY important: How do we actually PRAY?
We're going to spend the next several Prayer Circles learning how to pray using four simple letters: P. R. A. Y.
And we're going to take our time with this because we don't just want to talk about prayer. We want to practice praying.
So today, we're starting with “P”. “P” is for PRAISE. And there's a verse that makes this really simple. Psalm 150:6 says: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!" So look around for a second. If you're breathing...you're invited to praise God. You don't have to be a certain age. You don't have to know a bunch of Bible verses. You don't have to know how to pray perfectly. If you have breath, you can praise God.
What does praise actually mean? Praise is simply telling God who He is and thanking Him for what He's done. You could say:
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"God, thank You for my family."
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"Thank You for my friends."
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"Thank You for this school."
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"Thank You for helping me through something hard."
Or you could simply say:
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"God, You are good. Thank You for loving me."
And here's why we love starting prayer with praise: It gets our eyes off of everything happening around us and puts our focus back on God.
Here's the cool part: We're not just going to learn what “P” stands for today. We're going to practice it. So take a second and think of one thing you're thankful to God for.
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Maybe it's a person.
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Maybe it's something God has given you.
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Maybe it's something He's helped you through.
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Maybe it's simply that you're here today.
Now, we’re going to have 30 seconds of silence, so that, in your head, you can tell God “thank You” for that. That's prayer.
[[30 seconds of silent prayer]]
Amen! God loves when His kids talk to Him. This is just the beginning. Over the next few Prayer Circles, we're going to learn the rest: P is Praise. Then we'll learn “R.” Then “A.” Then “Y.” By the end, you'll have a simple way to remember how to talk to God, and we'll actually practice each one together. So if you've ever thought, "I don't really know how to pray," stick with us. We're going to learn together!
And remember, you don't have to wait until Prayer Circle to pray.
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You can praise God in your classroom.
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You can praise Him before a game.
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You can praise Him when you're having a great day.
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You can praise Him when you're having a hard day.
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You can praise Him anywhere, anytime.
Because Psalm 150:6 says: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!" And so if you're breathing, that's you.
PRAYER
God, thank You for giving us a way to talk to You. Thank You for loving us, hearing us, and being with us. Thank You for our families, our friends, our school, and everything You've given us. You are good, and we praise You. Help us learn how to pray and grow closer to You. In Jesus' name, amen.
ENCOURAGEMENT AND APPLICATION
For the next two weeks, we want to encourage you to practice “P” - Praise. Every day, find at least one thing to thank God for. Remember: If you have breath, you have a reason to praise. We'll see you back here in two weeks, on September 9th, where we will learn what “R” stands for. Go shine, friends!