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Prayer for the Week 7.15.18

 

 

This week’s prayer is one I’ve prayed a lot, but in a different style of words. Here is how the Book of Common Prayer puts it:

 

O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you,

and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Amen

 

My words usually sound something like this:

 

O Lord, are you listening? Please hear me. I need You.

Help me know what I’m supposed to do. I just want to do Your will but I don’t understand what it is. Help me to see it, and know what to do next. I feel so lost sometimes.

Give me the grace and power I need for today. Let me depend on Your Spirit to accomplish what You’re asking of me. Sometimes it feels hard, and my steps falter. I know You’re the only One who can give me strength to do Your will.

Thank You for Jesus. Thank You for what He has done for me, and for His reign with you, Father. Thank you for the Holy Spirit, who fills me and empowers me, and who directs me to You.

Amen

 

Often, it helps to rephrase the words of an old prayer to make it come alive. Then I see clearly, “Oh! This is just what I’ve been praying for all along!”

What is on your heart?

Are you asking God to show You His will?

I will join with you this week, as we pray this simple prayer together.

I know that He will be faithful to show you the next step He wants you to take, and will give you the grace and power to accomplish it.

Blessings,

Rachel

I'd love to speak at your next event!

 

"Rachel Anne Ridge is a wonderful storyteller, and inspiring speaker. She brought a fresh perspective to our retreat weekend on living out our "purpose", while connecting with our women by getting to know them and their stories. Rachel's love for Jesus, and her example of being obedient to living out his calling on her life is evident and motivating."

        Lisa P. The Orchard, New Hampshire

 

“Rachel was a delight!! Our Women’s retreat was blessed to have her as our keynote speaker.  Her warm, sweet spirit came through her presentations and her message touched our hearts. She captured our attention and helped us to discover God’s presence in all of our circumstances.  A definite “must have” if you’re planning an event."         

        Sue S -Women’s Retreat Co Chair, Village Bible Church, Arkansas

 

"We have had some excellent speakers through the years at our Day for Women event. Rachel Anne Ridge ranks among the best. Rachel’s message and presentation were well received by our audience – as evidenced by the line of people who wanted to meet her and have her sign a copy of her book, “Flash.” Rachel was prepared and engaging. She did an excellent job.”

        Don Cooper, General Manager Temple Daily Telegram

 

One of my greatest delights in recent years has been the opportunity to speak to groups all around the country. From keynotes at luncheons, weekend retreats, civic events and professional workshops, I love being able to encourage and motivate people in ways that make an impact for positive change.

I recently realized that I've not done a good job reaching out to my own readers when it comes to this part of what I do!

Not sure what I was thinking, there.

Of all the people I love connecting with, YOU, my blog-readers are the best and most interested in what I have to say! I can't believe I've missed this.

 

Well, y'all know this about me:

I'm a story-teller at heart.

I believe that stories have the power to stick with you and give you a vision for what "could be." My favorite stories are the ones that make us laugh, and trust me I've provided myself with enough fodder for some doozies. Laughter opens our minds and hearts for deeper truths, and in the end that's what it's all about, isn't it?

 

 

 

I'm perfectly at home in a church setting, sharing my faith and love for Jesus. At the same time, as a creative professional who has boot-strapped and juggled entrepreneurship, I am a confident presenter in a business or community setting. I work with the event organizers to create content that is full of relatable moments and practical takeaways, and did I mention I like to have fun? Presentations should be enjoyable...  and you can quote me on that!

 

I'd love to talk with you about your group's next event!

 

You can find a Request Form here: Request Form

I answer my own emails so it's super easy to contact me directly if you have any other questions. Just drop me a note and/or submit a Request Form and let's get the ball rolling! I still have dates open this fall and next spring (2019) so it's not too late to see what's available.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Rachel

P.S. Here's a media kit for some more info.  Download RachelRidgeMediaKit

Prayer for the Week 7.8.18

 

 

 

This week’s prayer reveals the heart of what it looks like to be wholly devoted:

 

O God,

you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor:

Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen

 

One day Jesus was fielding questions right and left, and this one came from a religious leader who hoped to trap him into saying something that could be used against him:

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

I can hear just a bit of snark in his tone, can't you?

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment."

"Okay, all right." The man might have nodded his head and given a small shrug. "You got that one,Jesus."

But just as the man turns to go, Jesus holds up his hand, "Hang on a second, there's more:"

"A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Matt. 22:36-40

 

Wow. Let's just sit with that for a moment.

This week, let’s allow the words of Jesus to sink deep into our hearts. If you've ever wondered what God's will is for your life, this is it! Love God and love your neighbor--and who is your neighbor? Oh, the one who doesn't look like you, agree with you, believe like you, or even vote like you. In short, your neighbor is the "other."

Ouch. This might be difficult.

Just remember, it’s through the grace of the Holy Spirit--as we surrender to Him--that we do this. Through Him, we can love God completely and love our neighbors without reservation. This is truly living in the very center of His will.

What will this look like in your life this week? Are you daring enough to pray this bold prayer?

Let's do it together!

Blessings,

Rachel

Prayer for the Week 7.1.18

 

 

This week’s prayer gives us plenty of food for meditation:

 

Almighty God,

you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,

Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone:

Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

 

A glance around at the Church today tells us pretty quickly that unity of spirit is not a hallmark of our character. It’s quite easy to see that we don’t agree on much. 

That’s why this prayer is so very important. It’s a topic that’s tempting to overlook (or look the other way) because disunity is so pervasive and so unsettling.

I love that it gets right to the heart of the matter: we are built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets (you could say the Old and New Testaments) with Jesus Christ being the head over everything.

You know, I spent most of my life thinking that Jesus’ *only* purpose on this earth was to die for our sins. And while His self-sacrificing love does indeed redeem us, there is so much more to Him than this incredible gift.

Jesus upended the “law and prophets” by revealing God’s true character to us. He gave us a clear picture of what God is like! He is the image of the invisible God.

As a friend of mine says, “if you want to know what God is like, just look at Jesus!” It’s a shift that will upend everything you’ve thought about what it means to follow Him.

I wonder....if the church spent more time looking at Jesus, listening to Jesus, imitating Jesus, maybe we would find ourselves experiencing that unity we are praying for.

“Make them one,” Jesus prayed to His Father, “as You and I are one.” Could it be that if we became more like Him in thought, word, and action, that we would see the fulfilment of this prayer? 

I kinda think it would.

Let’s seek to know Jesus, our chief cornerstone on whom everything is built—and let’s be part of the unity we so desperately need.

 

Have a great week,

Rachel