{"id":2482,"date":"2026-04-27T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/?p=2482"},"modified":"2026-04-16T14:00:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T18:00:21","slug":"epray-ep-51-lectio-divina-rooted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/2026\/04\/27\/epray-ep-51-lectio-divina-rooted\/","title":{"rendered":"ePray | Ep. 51 Lectio Divina: Rooted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/a>\n\n\n\r\n
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ePray | Lectio Divina: Ep. 51 Rooted<\/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 51| April 27, 2026
\nLectio Divina: Rooted<\/strong>
\nWith Ivy Friesen – Youth for Christ Canada<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tReturn to ePray<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRead Transcript<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t
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Lectio Divina: Rooted
\nDate: April 27, 2026
\nScripture: Psalms 1:1-3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ivy Friesen<\/b><\/p>\n

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

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Welcome, and thank you for joining us in this time of prayer together. This month, our theme is \u201cRooted\u201d.<\/span> As we begin our time in prayer, I invite you to take a few deep breaths to calm yourself and prepare your mind to focus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our scripture reading today is Psalm 1:1-3:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

or stand in the pathway with sinners,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

or sit in the assembly of scoffers.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the <\/span>Lord<\/span>\u2019s commands;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

he meditates on his commands day and night.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

He is like a tree planted by flowing streams;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

it yields its fruit at the proper time,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

and its leaves never fall off.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

He succeeds in everything he attempts.\u201d (NET)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

These verses talk about where, as Christ followers, our focus should be and about what kind of influences we allow in our life. If we obey the Lord\u2019s commands and will for our life, we will be like a tree that has been planted by a healthy stream of water, causing that tree to be firmly rooted and not easily knocked around or down. Because of this firmness and stability, the tree is then able to produce healthy fruit and function successfully as the tree it is meant to be. On the flip side, if we allow ourselves to be influenced by people or things that go against the Lord\u2019s commands, we will be the opposite of a healthy tree\u2013we will be unable to produce healthy fruit and unable to operate successfully as the person we were created to be.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who\/what in your life influences you enough to impact your decisions and opinions? Do they encourage you toward obedience to God?<\/span><\/p>\n

(pause)<\/b><\/p>\n

Do you spend regular and intentional times with God and in His word? How do these times influence your decisions and opinions?<\/span><\/p>\n

(pause)<\/b><\/p>\n

Because the tree in this passage is planted by a water source it has a continual source of life which generates stability in the tree. There\u2019s no disconnect from the life source so the leaves of the tree never dry out and fall off. The tree is successfully operating as a tree\u2013producing healthy fruit, shelter and beauty for others.<\/span><\/p>\n

What does it look like in your life to have leaves that never fall, to have stability from a continual source of life?<\/span><\/p>\n

(pause)<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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

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As we listen to these verses again, let\u2019s shift our focus to those we minister to:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

or stand in the pathway with sinners,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

or sit in the assembly of scoffers.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the <\/span>Lord<\/span>\u2019s commands;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

he meditates on his commands day and night.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

He is like a tree planted by flowing streams;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

it yields its fruit at the proper time,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

and its leaves never fall off.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

He succeeds in everything he attempts.\u201d (NET)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

What does it look like to minister and serve from a place of stability; a place connected to a continual source of life?<\/span><\/p>\n

(pause)<\/b><\/p>\n

What would someone, such as a person you journey with, see in you because of that stability? What kind of fruit are you producing?<\/span><\/p>\n

(pause)<\/b><\/p>\n

God\u2019s commands are like guardrails in our life to help us follow Him well and to keep us connected to His never-ending life source. Who and what we allow to influence us directly impacts not only our relationship with our Triune God, it affects our ability to produce healthy fruit to share with others. May you be, as the psalmist says, like the tree firmly planted by a flowing stream.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Part 3: Closing Prayer<\/b><\/p>\n

We will close with an ancient prayer for God\u2019s peace and protection as we entrust ourselves into His care:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

O God,<\/span>
\n<\/span> from whom all holy desires, all good counsels,<\/span>
\n<\/span> and all just works do proceed:<\/span>
\n<\/span> give to your servants that peace<\/span>
\n<\/span> which the world cannot give;<\/span>
\n<\/span> that our hearts may be set to obey your will;<\/span>
\n<\/span> and that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies,<\/span>
\n<\/span> may pass our time in rest and quietness;<\/span>
\n<\/span> through Jesus Christ our Lord.<\/span>
\n<\/span> Amen.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\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\n\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 for April is Rooted. Allow yourself to be rooted in Christ through this guided prayer…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":2477,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[119,120],"class_list":["post-2482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-epray","tag-april","tag-rooted"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482","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=2482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yfc.ca\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}