April 20-27 Popcorn; and Thoughts on Prayer

Big news for Torontonian Christians. I just found out today that PrayGTA (PrayGTA.com) and others are praying that God will give them the SkyDome (now Rogers Center) for the Global Day of Prayer (June 4th; aka Pentecost Sunday). They need $150,000, most of the money has been given or pledged, and they are praying that the rest will come in on time. Pray about this remarkable initiative. And if it happens, think about participating.

A way to reach rich people? A friend of mine recently read about a non-Christian non-profit organization that collects still-fresh flowers from funeral homes and other places that are done with them to give to terminally-ill people, shut-ins, and others. He wondered, What if a group of Christians did this to reach people with the gospel--particularly those who are harder to reach? For example, a verse card could be attached to a single carnation and handed to a professional at the end of a workday in Union station. What do you think of this idea? Would you volunteer to give out flowers?

Know anyone looking for an electrical engineer or marketing manager? One of my friends who is not yet a believer, but who is open to discussing Christ, is looking for a job in electrical engineering. Another long-time Christian friend has been looking for a marketing management position for some time. Both people are very competent and hard-working. If you have any ideas, or know of anyone looking for an electrical engineer or marketing manager, please contact me.

Powered by Google. Travelers, you will love this. Go to FareCompare.com, type in your departure city, and *visually* see--on a map--the fare prices to countless local and far-away destinations. This is a first, and it is brought to you by Google. Had it been available a couple of years ago, it would probably have saved me a few hours of frustrating fare searching by now.

Got prayer? According to a 2005 George Verwer sermon ("message 08" of his sermons on SermonIndex.net; 16:30 on) I was listening to this week, a recent study found that the average American *pastor* prays for only five minutes per day. In fact, one mega-church pastor confessed to not praying at all, except for grace before meals. He decided it was time to start praying, but found it so hard that he began by writing out his prayers. End result: he has become a man of prayer.

Maintaining a consistent prayer life is not easy. I have found this to be true in my own life. One week I'm doing a certain amount of focused and breath prayer, the next my focused prayer has dwindled to half or a quarter, and my breath prayer is almost non-existent. So I need to recommit and, asking God for help (a prayer in itself), I restart. It takes discipline, and it's tough - partly, I think, because it's a relationship with someone I never physically see. But it's also the most important relationship I can have. It's a relationship I was created to have. And I find that when I pray, I love more, I care more, I really live more, I'm led more, I do what God wants me to do more... it takes me from living an empty life to one that matters - one I won't regret.

Question: Does a relationship with God necessitate prayer?