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    Adventures in Prayer: A 40-Day Journey
    Adventures in Prayer: A 40-Day Journey
    Adventures in Prayer: A 40-Day Journey
    Ebook316 pages2 hours

    Adventures in Prayer: A 40-Day Journey

    By Mary Jo Pierce

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    About this ebook

    The book is arranged with 40 inspiring stories from Pastor Mary Jo's life. Each vignette concludes with a section to guide the reader to think about Mary Jo's message, God's message, and the reader's response to God. It is an ideal resource for daily devotionals.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateMar 22, 2016
    ISBN9780997429817
    Adventures in Prayer: A 40-Day Journey

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      Book preview

      Adventures in Prayer - Mary Jo Pierce

      4).

      Introduction

      May he keep us centered and devoted to him,

      following the life path he has cleared,

      watching the signposts,

      walking at the pace and rhythms he laid down for our ancestors.

      —1 KINGS 8:58 MSG

      Signposts

      I FOUND THE most wonderful piece of gold in the book of 1 Kings. It surprised me. Not that there aren’t lots of gold pieces in its chapters and verses. I just didn’t expect to find a Scripture that so pointedly describes my 40 years of living prayer hidden in this treasure trove of Scriptures.

      A Scripture that prioritizes a heart centered and devoted to Him.

      Prayer. Relationship. Devotion. Worship.

      A Scripture that promises a path for my life, marking it with signposts.

      Bible. Prophetic. Intercession. Destiny.

      A Scripture that calls me to follow Him.

      Timing. Sabbath. Rest. Legacy.

      And to add to my already over the top joy with this gem, I dug a little further into the Scripture and found David’s prayer for his son, Solomon.

      And give my son Solomon an uncluttered and focused heart so that he can obey what you command, live by your directions and counsel, and carry through with building The Temple for which I have provided.

      —1 CHRONICLES 29:19 MSG

      This prayer mirrors Solomon’s prayer for Israel, God’s desire for me, and my prayer for you. It is a legacy of prayer from our spiritual ancestors to our Father, then to you and me.

      I love prayer. People ask me why I love prayer so much. My answer is simple—it works! Prayer encompasses the whole of why we were created. We were created to have a personal relationship with God and to partner with Him to bring heaven to earth. Prayer—this one little word represents my life with God. It encompasses the whole of my journey with Him. It speaks to the adventure I have been on since He first called my name.

      My adventure in prayer began 40 years ago.

      In fact, the number 40 plays a significant role in this book. First, on a personal level, this book is set to be released on the 40th anniversary of the day I accepted the call to follow Jesus—my second and best birthday. Second, I have written 40 chapters designed to be experienced in 40 consecutive days. Of course, you may read the entire book in one sitting, but you will benefit from using it over 40 days. Finally, the number 40 plays a significant role in the Bible. God used the span of 40 years or 40 days on several occasions to accomplish great things. Two events, in particular, stand out as groundbreaking moments in the formation of God’s people: Israel’s 40 years in the desert (Exodus–Deuteronomy) and Jesus’ 40 days in the desert (Luke 4).

      The people of God encountered so many things during their wilderness experience. They received God’s Law, learned about His provision, paid the price for disobedience, and saw His ultimate deliverance. However, if you try to retrace their steps on a map, you will be confused at best. They followed no discernable geographic pattern. The walk through Sinai took no straight lines. God taught them along the way, but the way followed God’s design.

      Similarly, Jesus spent 40 days in the desert, where the devil tempted Him. Luke followed this story with the account of Jesus returning to His own hometown of Nazareth, where the people soon wanted to kill Him. He escaped their clutches by His supernatural power. After that encounter, Luke began using a curious phrase: He set His face toward Jerusalem. Once again, those who closely follow maps will find themselves puzzled with Jesus’ journey. A trip from Nazareth to Jerusalem would take a little over three days on foot. However, Jesus doesn’t arrive in Jerusalem for about two more years. If you follow the map, you miss the point.

      Over the last 40 years, God has taken me on a circuitous route. Still, I have never been lost. You will see many signposts I have found on the way—many mizpahs, or places where God has watched out for me. He has taught me, spoken to me, and delivered me. I have had water, meat, and manna, just as the children of God did in the wilderness. I’ve experienced healing, deliverance, and salvation. I found all of these things on the way. This book is an invitation to witness my journey and begin your own. This is a book of leaven, so you may find the bread has risen before you knew it was rising. That is often how God works.

      Tent dwelling

      This book also represents a travel log for a life dedicated to prayer. Everything written here began the day I accepted Jesus’ love for me and chose to follow Him. I then spent the next 40 years as a student of prayer. Now I want to share that adventure with you. I invite you into my prayer room—my tent of meeting with God. I have committed my life to learning how to live prayer and then practicing what I have learned.

      I created a word; it has become one of my favorites—Tentology. This term describes the mission God gave to me. Simply put, Tentology is the study of making a place where God can meet with His people. One day, I was reading in the book of Exodus:

      Moses used to take the Tent and set it up outside the camp, some distance away. He called it the Tent of Meeting. Anyone who sought God would go to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp. It went like this: When Moses would go to the Tent, all the people would stand at attention; each man would take his position at the entrance to his tent with his eyes on Moses until he entered the Tent; whenever Moses entered the Tent, the Pillar of Cloud descended to the entrance to the Tent and God spoke with Moses. All the people would see the Pillar of Cloud at the entrance to the Tent, stand at attention, and then bow down in worship, each man at the entrance to his tent.

      And God spoke with Moses face-to-face, as neighbors speak to one another. When he would return to the camp, his attendant, the young man Joshua, stayed—he didn’t leave the Tent. —EXODUS 33:7–11 MSG

      The powerful message of this Scripture gripped my heart. Moses pitched a tent outside of Israel’s camp, far from the camp, and called it the tent of meeting. In that place, Moses and the people brought their questions to the Lord, and I knew that was what I wanted. I wanted a tent. I wanted to meet God and bring Him the deep questions of my heart. God wants to meet with us. Can you see how intentional He is about pitching a tent in your life? Do you see how important it is for you to make a place to meet God face-to-face? So, I needed a specific place to meet with Him outside the busyness of life. Lord, give me a tent!

      Over the years, I have found this experience repeated throughout God’s Word. He wants us to be intentional about meeting with Him. God wants to train our ears to hear and our hearts to respond. Since He wants to meet with me, I want to be intentional about creating that place and time to meet with Him. Now when someone asks me what kind of work I do, I say, "I’m a tentologist—I study how to meet with God." This is my personal invitation for you to become one as well.

      How to Use This Book

      Each chapter contains a story or an experience from my life. You will discover some things about me, but that is not the reason I have shared personal stories. On the contrary, I want you to have your own stories. My encounters with God are experimental and experiential—this is what I know and what I have learned. Even so, the stories I tell point to a greater truth—God loves us and wants to meet with us. As you read each story, ask God what He wants you to learn and grow in your relationship and partnership with Him.

      MY MESSAGE TO YOU

      Each chapter also includes some of the things I hope you will take away from the stories. I learned these things along the journey. As you reflect on my message for you, I hope you will have a deeper experience with God. As you read them, ask the Holy Spirit, What are You saying to me?

      GOD’S MESSAGE TO YOU

      I have selected special Bible readings for each day. I chose these Scriptures because I sensed they expressed God’s message for each chapter. As you read these verses, listen for God’s voice.

      YOUR MESSAGE TO GOD

      Each day, I suggest some things to pray about. Of course, you will talk to God about many other things, but I provide these guidelines to give you a head start. It would be a shame to read a book about prayer and not really pray! Let God work on you as you take this journey with me.

      YOUR JOURNAL

      If you do not have a prayer journal, I recommend getting one. You don’t have to choose something fancy or expensive. You might use a simple notebook, but you can also purchase journals specifically designed for prayer. You may use your journal for many purposes. For example, write your thoughts about God, jot down your prayers, or memorialize God’s answers. Use your journal as a personal way to communicate with God and, more importantly, to record what God is saying to you.

      We all start somewhere.

      My Story

      My Beginning

      MY GRANDCHILDREN ONLY know me as a praying grandmother. They know me as someone who loves to pray, wants to pray with you, and stops to pray for no obvious reason. They have seen my prayer room stacked with Bibles, journals, and other books. Since their birth, that is all they have ever known.

      However, that’s not where I started.

      It seems that God has always given me a desire to pray. When I was a year old, my mother wrote that I participated in family prayers, repeatedly saying, buzza buzza buzza. Then she said that at age two, I started praying on my own with my older sister, Theresa. Very early on, my mother saw in me a desire to pray. I didn’t know it at the time, of course, but God deposited in me a longing to connect with Him.

      I believe God puts this desire in every human being. He is the True Author of prayer. This longing is His gift to every person. Ecclesiastes 3:11 states God gave every person the ability to think about Him. And St. Augustine recognized there is a God-sized void within each of us: My heart is restless until it finds its rest in Thee.

      So as a girl I watched, listened, and learned about the ways others around me connected with God. My parents prayed at mealtimes, at bedtime, and in weekly church services. I grew up in the Catholic Church. The church taught me that the priest would go to God for me. At Catholic school, the nuns did the same thing. I learned the Bible was a book about God. In addition, I memorized prayers that I should say to God. However, I didn’t understand I could connect to God myself.

      I really loved those school years. I attended the same Catholic school my father had. Each day, I went to Mass before the start of classes. In third grade, Sister Elizabeth Ann inspired me by the way she talked about God. I recall telling her that my baby sister had died years earlier. She prayed for me. I remember feeling God’s love and peace. It made me want to pray even more. Each year my desire to know God became greater.

      In the second grade, I made my first confession to a priest and took my first communion. I knew I was a sinner and that I had done things against God. Every time I went to confession, I would leave feeling as if God had cleaned my slate so I could start fresh with Him. I wanted to please God very much. I was taught God would give me more grace to live a holy life if I went to confession. So, I went to confession—a

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