Chaplains Chat

Spending time in prayer

Thursday this past week was Ascension Day. It is a day set aside for remembering that forty days after Jesus rose from the dead he ascended to heaven to take his place with God the Father. Ten days later we celebrate the coming down of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

In between these two dates it has become a tradition to devote extra time to pray. Our Primary students are embracing this challenge through an Adventure Prayer Map. Praying each morning in their classroom when they arrive. They are learning to pray and having a bit of fun along the way.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray through the Lord’s prayer. Which is recited often in church and Chapel here at school. We do this because…

‘When we forget to say things, we forget they are real’

Bishop Matt Brain

Repeating the Lord’s prayer reminds us of what is important to God and challenges us to making praying more than just about asking God for things. It is about a relationship with the God who hears.

The line ‘forgive us our sins’ from that prayer has been ringing through my mind as we have celebrated Reconciliation Week here at school. We have explored in our secondary Chapels that the church is sadly complicit in past wrongs toward our First Australians. Our prayer is acknowledgement and recognition for Indigenous Australians so that the wrongs can begin to heal.

Confession and forgiveness are real and reminding ourselves of this is good for the soul and our commitment to follow the way of Christ moving forward.

If you would like a fun way to engage your family in prayer between Ascension and Pentecost, check out this podcast to help you pray together and have fun along way.

https://soundcloud.com/thykingdomcomeglobal

Mr. Bowles

Chaplain