{"id":2411,"date":"2025-09-22T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/?p=2411"},"modified":"2025-08-21T15:19:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T19:19:04","slug":"epray-ep-25-lectio-divina-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/2025\/09\/22\/epray-ep-25-lectio-divina-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"ePray | Ep. 25 Lectio Divina: Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/a>\n\n\n\r\n
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ePray | Lectio Divina: Ep. 25 Hope<\/h2>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Listen to the episode here, or read the transcript below – and don’t forget to tune in weekly!<\/p>\n

ePray | Episode 25| September 22, 2025
\nLectio Divina: Hope<\/strong>
\nWith Karen Bott – YFC Canada<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Lectio Divina: Hope
\nDate: September 22, 2025
\nScripture: Psalm 42:11<\/strong><\/p>\n

Karen Bott<\/b><\/p>\n

Part 1: Inward Focus<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Take a deep breath.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let your shoulders drop.<\/span><\/p>\n

Become aware of God\u2019s presence with you – right here, right now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our theme today is hope and our scripture text is Psalm 42:11.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy my soul are you downcast?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why so disturbed within me?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Put your hope in God,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

for I will yet praise him,<\/span><\/p>\n

My Saviour and my God.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>Psalm 42:11 gives us a beautiful glimpse into the human heart: the tension between sorrow and hope, between discouragement and trust. It\u2019s a reminder that hope is not wishful thinking, but a deliberate choice to turn our gaze toward God\u2014even when things feel heavy.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The psalmist asks, \u201cWhy, my soul, are you downcast?\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>It\u2019s an honest question. And then he gives himself an answer: \u201cPut your hope in God, for I will yet praise him.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>This is the rhythm of real faith. Not pretending everything is fine\u2014but choosing to place our hope in a God who is faithful, even when our emotions waver.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Let\u2019s take a few moments to reflect.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where in your life do you feel a little downcast right now\u2014disturbed, unsettled, or discouraged?<\/span>Can you name it honestly before God?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Pause<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>What would it look like for you to choose hope today\u2014not because everything is fixed, but because God is still faithful?<\/span>
\n<\/span> What would it mean to say, \u201cI will yet praise Him\u201d?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Pause<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Part 2: Outward Focus<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

Think of a young person you know.<\/span><\/p>\n

What are you hoping for in this young person\u2019s life right now?<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n

Where do you long to see God show up?<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
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Pause<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>How can you encourage them to place their hope in God\u2014even if things feel messy or uncertain?<\/span>
\n<\/span> Is there a word, a gesture, or a prayer you could offer?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Pause<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s return to the words of Psalm 42:11\u2014this time, as a quiet declaration of trust:<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cPut your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Even here, even now, there is hope.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Part 3: Wesleyan Covenant Prayer<\/b><\/p>\n

We end this time together with the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer:<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>I am no longer my own, but yours.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Put me to what you will, place me with whom you will.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Put me to doing, put me to suffering.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Let me be put to work for you or set aside for you, praised for you or criticized for you.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Let me be full, let me be empty.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Let me have all things, let me have nothing.<\/span>
\n<\/span>I freely and fully surrender all things to your glory and service.<\/span>
\n<\/span>And now, O wonderful and holy God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, You are mine, and I am yours.<\/span>
\n<\/span>So be it.<\/span>
\n<\/span>And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it also be made in heaven.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Amen.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Return to ePray<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Listen to this episode<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome. Our theme is Hope. Allow God to speak to you through this guided prayer…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":2406,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[106,105],"class_list":["post-2411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-epray","tag-hope","tag-september"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}