{"id":6462,"date":"2014-06-17T04:00:02","date_gmt":"2014-06-17T04:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/?p=6462"},"modified":"2014-06-17T04:23:53","modified_gmt":"2014-06-17T04:23:53","slug":"prayer-from-the-assembly-listening-with-the-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2014\/06\/prayer-from-the-assembly-listening-with-the-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Prayer from the Assembly: Listening with the Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>Tuesday, June 17, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

This week, I\u2019m gathering with Presbyterians from across the country for the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).\u00a0 Whatever your faith-community or denomination, I invite you to join with me and with others in morning prayer each day this week, engaging the Pentecost text from Acts 2:1-21.\u00a0 Over the course of this week, I invite you to read and engage the full text of that Scripture in your life and in your prayer.<\/em><\/p>\n

This morning, let us pray with verses 5-13 of Acts 2:<\/p>\n

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, \u201cAre not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs\u2013 in our own languages we hear them speaking about God\u2019s deeds of power.\u201d All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, \u201cWhat does this mean?\u201d But others sneered and said, \u201cThey are filled with new wine.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The experience of the Spirit in community also can issue forth in bewilderment. Pentecost offers a profusion of speech \u2013 each speaking as the Spirit enabled, each speaking of God\u2019s deeds of power in Jesus Christ, with others hearing them speak in their own native language. It was almost too much speech to take in. They were amazed and astonished and perplexed.<\/p>\n

And so they thought that those speaking must be drunk.<\/p>\n

Here are some questions for your prayer this morning:<\/p>\n