• Welcome everyone to our weekly epray. Thank you for joining us in this time of prayer and reflection. Our theme for this month is hope. As we begin our time, I invite you to take a few deep breaths to focus and turn your eyes toward Jesus.

   

  Let us begin by praying St Francis’ Prayer for Peace. Please pray with me: 

  Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

  Where there is hatred, let me bring love.

  Where there is offence, let me bring pardon.

  Where there is discord, let me bring union.

  Where there is error, let me bring truth.

  Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.

  Where there is despair, let me bring hope.

  Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.

  Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.

  O Lord, grant that I may not so much seek

  to be consoled as to console,

  to be understood as to understand,

  to be loved as to love,

  for it is in giving that one receives,

  it is in self-forgetting that one finds,

  it is in forgiving that one is forgiven,

  it is in dying that one awakens to eternal life.

   

  Today, our scripture is Romans 15:13. As I read the Scripture, turn your thoughts quietly toward the Lord, asking him to open your heart and ears to his voice and word. If you feel comfortable, open your hands in front of you, prepared to receive what God might have for you today. Speak to us, Lord Jesus.

  Romans 15:13 NIV

  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

   

  Paul suggests that that trusting in God will bring us joy and peace–and cause us to overflow with hope. He is the source of our joy, peace and hope. Is that your experience? Where can you see God filling you with joy & peace and overflowing hope in your life?

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  In spanish, to hope and to wait–the verb esparar–are the same verb. Both verbs look toward expectation. When you hope, is it hard to wait? Do your eyes stay fixed on Jesus? 

  Pause

   

As you reread our verse for today, ask God to highlight for you He is bringing hope in your life. 

Romans 15:13 NIV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

It seems like hope is in short supply in today’s world. The dark and heavy seem louder than God’s hope. Without God, hope is hard to find. Where do our young people find hope? Do they confuse momentary happiness with hope?

Can you think of one young person in your life who needs to know about the hope God can bring? Someone who especially needs God’s joy & peace right now–and hope that will overflow througout their lives?

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With that name in mind, ask God to highlight for you how you can be an image of God’s hope in their world. Ask God to give that teen eyes to see and ears to hear His joy, peace & hope.

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