I was at the first session of the Listening Prayer Seminar I with Brad Jersak tonight. Here are some highlights of the ways that we God speaks to us:

1. Through invitations
2. Through the Bible
3. Through teachers/preachers
4. Through songs (Christian or Secular)
5. Through dreams (which might be (a) a cleansing of our minds, (b) a message about how God feels about something, (c) a message about the enemy's plans, or (d) a clarification of how we feel about something)
6. Through conviction of sin/convincing of righteousness
7. Through a burden to pray
8. Through promptings to action

I also loved the analogy that Brad used regarding how much God is speaking to us - he compared it to radio waves. They are all around us all the time, but unless we actually tune into them, we don't know they are there. God is speaking all the time - we need to tune in.

If you're local (a Vancouverite) you should definitely come to the rest of the session, tomorrow. Brad assured us that it is stand-alone teaching, so you won't be lost by not having attended this evening. It starts at 9:00am at Cariboo Hill Temple Salvation Army Church - 7195 Cariboo Road in Burnaby. From my experiences at this seminar before, it's liable to be a life-changing day.




40 DAYS OF PURPOSE
Chapter Thirteen: Worship That Pleases God

Main idea: God is pleased when we worship accurately, authentically, thoughtfully and practically - He wants all of each of us when we worship Him.
Most impactful verse: "Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that will please Him. (Hebrews 12:28 TEV)"
Most impactful concept: Where (or how) you worship is not as important and why you worship and how much of yourself you offer to God when you worship.
Other thoughts: I am finding it hard to have little thoughts for this section of my summaries while we are reading about God's worship. It is the ruling passion of my life (I'm hoping that's obvious if you know me) - to see God glorified in the way He truly deserves. All I can really say tonight is go read this chapter. Even if you're not following along or have fallen behind, don't miss this one. Oh, and chapter eight - go read chapter eight. It's foundational to a Biblical understanding of worship.