Renew Your Prayer Life: Scripture and the ArtsMfano

## Renew Your Prayer Life Are you feeling stretched thin or worn out? Do your prayer times feel a little too much like a chore—if you are even praying much at all these days? Maybe you resonate with this description from the prophet Jeremiah: > They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, > with no hope for the future. > They will live in the barren wilderness, > in an uninhabited salty land. (Jeremiah 17:6 NLT) It can be a spiritual battle to choose prayer in our high-pressure, over-scheduled, nonstop world. Before we know it, we find ourselves high and dry—feeling stuck in a spiritual rut, haunted by anxiety, isolated, and far removed from the source of Living Water. God offers us so much more! Jeremiah paints a lush picture of the verdant inner life that God wants for us: > They are like trees planted along a riverbank, > with roots that reach deep into the water. > Such trees are not bothered by the heat > or worried by long months of drought. > Their leaves stay green, > and they never stop producing fruit. (Jeremiah 17:8 NLT) Consider this short film, “Of Small Account,” by husband-wife team Jonathan and Willow Rothermel. Can you relate to Willow, spinning and searching through the dust? Notice how her frenetic movements become calmer, and the picture becomes clearer once she roots herself to the ground in prayer. > “As our earthly selves encounter conflict and strife, we need to be reminded that our daily lives should be oriented towards the spiritual battle and being prepared for it; because of how small and insignificant we are, and how great and eternal God is.” Jonathan Rothermel This track covers several types of Christian prayer and invites you to enrich and renew your prayer life. There are many different aspects of prayer, and each one serves a different purpose, but they are all about connecting to God. Learning about the different types of prayer can help you have the right "tool" for connecting with God at any moment. How would you describe the prayer life you have now? How would you describe the kind of prayer life you want to have?