BOOKS

When was the last time you took communion?

Do you partake:

• because it’s a church tradition that you happily accept?
• from a religious but uninformed mind-set?
• with the deeper spiritual understanding and reverential respect this holy rite deserves?

Or have you fallen into the trap of failing to partake because of ignorance and fear, not wanting to dishonour the Lord’s Table?

This book shares scriptural insights, with dynamic prayers and declarations. It aims to engage the reader with its clear challenge to participate in communion regularly, as part of a devotional practice.

Petitions From My Heart provides a practical solution to a spiritual discipline that is woefully neglected in the Body of Christ. I’m referring to the subject of prayer.

Now, I was fortunate that when I seriously committed my life to following Christ, my mother (a seasoned prayer warrior), took charge of my spiritual wellbeing and nurtured me into a lifestyle of fervent prayer.

Without that spiritual backing in my life, I don’t know how, or whether I would have survived the challenges I faced as a marginalised and targeted employee within hostile working environments, and as a super-sensitive soul who battled almost daily with rejection. Over many years, I unwittingly cultivated a crippling mind-set, seeing myself as a victim at the mercy of other people’s negative opinions, false accusations, subtle (and not so subtle), bullying.

Prayer and my relationship with God was my saving grace. I loved to spend time in His presence and because this was the main place and activity where I felt safe, useful, wanted and worthy, I sought to do so, as much as possible. Furthermore, I loved God with a passion and wanted to serve him and serve others. Prayer and intercession enabled me to do both.

From my many years of walking with the Lord, I knew my personal delight in, and satisfaction from, a vibrant prayer life was not the experience of everyone in the Body of Christ. I also became aware that those who did not engage regularly in this spiritual discipline, often felt guilty, or professed ignorance regarding how (and more importantly), what to pray.

Petitions From My Heart offers a prayer chart with dynamic, ready-made prayers, which can help novice pray-ers to build a consistent lifestyle of prayer.