Cedar Hills announces prayer training event
The antique piano made with solid wood and real ivory keys was one of my favorite things in our home growing up in the small town of South Carolina. I would sit and attempt to play the instrument for hours. I loved the sound though most of the keys were out of tune. I remember my Mom hiring a piano tuner. He sat to play the instrument and could hear the errors of each key. He hit the tuning fork and a beautiful pitch rang out. Making adjustment after adjustment he tuned our piano. He sat down to play and made that old girl sing like she has never sung before. The tuner, having the ear to hear the correct pitch, allowed the piano to let out the sound she was created to make. And it was glorious.
In the same way, like the piano, God wants us to live out who we were created to be. Many times we have had tuners in our lives to help us hear the perfect pitch of the Father’s loving voice. As we grow to hear the Lord’s voice on our own, we in turn can help others around us. In this way we become a beautiful community; like instruments in an orchestra singing out for His glory.
It’s all about hearing, really. How do we hear the world around us? What do we hear when we talk to someone? What is God saying in the midst of the chaos? What does Jesus’ love, death, resurrection mean to the broken sounds of those around us?
Are we allowing the tuning fork (aka Holy Spirit) to guide our lives and to help us guide the lives of those around us?
Learning to hear His voice takes practice. We call this practice prayer. See, prayer is more than just words to God.
Prayer is a tool for connection. Prayer deepens our knowledge of God, His character and unconditional love for us.
Prayer is listening to His heart more than it is about sharing our hearts. For He says in Matthew 6:8 that He already knows what we need before we ask! Prayer is hearing His heart for the world, our neighbors, our friends, our family, our lives, our city...
Prayer, like the tuning of the piano keys, is an opportunity for change.
Moral Revolution says it well, “Prayer isn’t to change God. It’s to change you. When we pray, we are not bringing anything to God’s attention that He doesn’t already know about. We pray to change our own perspective and bring us into the realization that God is in control even when we feel out of control. We pray to partner with Him to do the things He already wants to do.” {Emphasis added} Hearing, seeing, and partnering with His will, His heart, His desires. This is prayer.
This kind of prayer, I realize, doesn’t come over night. It takes practice; it takes help from others. “Prayer Trainings” have been created to help us grow in our personal prayer lives and how we pray for others. In these trainings we address some of the hardships when it comes to hearing the Perfect Pitch. This time is set aside to stretch and change- so that our sound rings out like His.
Using what we learned from the trainings we pray for others as the After-Gathering Prayer Team at Cedar Hills. It’s our goal not to talk to God about concerns but to listen to what God is saying about the situation; to bring hope, truth, and victory in Jesus. Jesus is the Tuner and He has come to make us each sing out His Father’s pitch to the world!
If this interests you, there is an upcoming prayer training Sept. 17, 12:45-2:15 p.m. at Cedar Hills Church. For reservations, email CHprayerteam@gmail.com or tami@cedarhillschurch.com.
Kiersten Patterson is a prayer team leader at Cedar Hills Church.