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Takeaways:

1. Heaven Earth Church aims to support individuals who feel disconnected from traditional church settings.
2. Our community seeks to honor and celebrate the unique stories of all individuals we encounter.
3. In this podcast episode, we delve into the profound significance of prayer as a transformative practice.
4. We emphasize the importance of solitude, stillness, and silence in deepening one's prayer life.
5. Prayer is presented as a relational experience rather than a mere religious obligation or task.
6. We explore the notion of prayer as a space where one can truly inhabit God's presence.

Welcome to Heaven Earth Church.

My name is Ross Stackhouse.

I'm the founding pastor of Heaven Earth Church.

From the beginning, our heart was to be a church for people who don't fit neatly into church.

Our heart is to meet people where they are, to learn their stories, to honor their stories.

Because in every human story is God's story.

In this podcast, you'll hear more about the people who now call Heaven Earth Church home.

Their stories, in many cases of misfits who are discovering or rediscovering faith.

If you want to know more about us, you can go to heavenorthchurch.org Otherwise, we invite you now into the story.

Hello, good people.

Brad Miller here, the producer of the Heaven Earth Church podcast.

One of the main benefits of being a part of the Heaven Earth Church community is our Sunday morning conversations taught by founding pastor Ross Stackhouse.

You can watch and participate in the Sunday morning conversation this Sunday morning, 9:30am Eastern time at YouTube.com heavenearthchurch.

The audio version of the Sunday morning conversation is available here on the podcast, which you can find at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and on the website, which is heavenerthchurch.org Here is heaven Earth Church Pastor Ross Stackhouse with the Lenten message.

Starting over with prayer.

Lord, help us to hear your voice even in that which is unspoken.

Help us to hear you, to know your heart, to be new creations who help you build this new creation.

In Jesus name, Amen.

So I want to say something as sort of a prologue before I talk.

Okay.

Our hearts, like Adam said, are heavy because I think we all saw that, you know, we were part.

The United States was part of bombing Iran yesterday.

I'm sure we all saw this.

Correct.

And while that is a mournful reality in itself, part of the news is that there were a lot of children who died in this.

And so I couldn't be authentic sitting here today without acknowledging that any time in war is awful.

Amen.

One of the worst parts of this human reality.

But when children die as they have been, this is nothing new, by the way.

Nothing new.

It's been happening.

So you could rightly criticize me like Ross.

Why are you bringing up today?

It's been happening for a long time.

Well, I wanted to take a moment and just acknowledge that and say that we're mourning that collectively.

And I am processing and I invite you, as a part of your season of Lent, to be praying about that so that our hearts would be right in how we conduct ourselves.

My prologue is finished.

There was no other way to make it part of the sermon other than to make it a separate part.

So now I'm going to show you a picture and see if you know where this picture is.

Okay.

Today is March 1st.

That's the picture we want.

Is that one.

Where is that?

Not Pennsylvania.

I heard it.

I heard him murmuring, that is Boston.

Who's on that horse right there?

You would think it's Paul Revere.

It is not.

There are many bronze statues in Boston.

This one looks like, hey, that's got to be Paul Revere.

Anyone?

No, this is the original.

This is G Dub, George Washington.

Now, since you already got it, I thought I'd.

In case you didn't, I thought I'd show that, too.

This is an old school one.

So there are some places that we go that just leave an impression on you forever, right?

And this is one of them for me.

My sister Stacy went to Boston University.

And so when I was like 9 to 11 or something like that, I went a few times.

And there's something about this city that just left a mark for me.

1.

It was just so different culturally, and I thought that was fascinating.

As a kid.

For example, I remember, maybe I'm making this up.

Am I making this up?

Dad, I swear I went to McDonald's and ordered biscuits and gravy.

And they were like, what are you talking about, kid?

Like, they did not serve that.

And they were like, what are.

What is that?

So I thought that was fascinating.

But they also had some things right.

They had a donut shop on every corner.

And I was like, this is.

They get.

They get it here.

They're doing it right?

Yeah.

I mean, every corner.

I was like, this is cool, man.

I like this.

But even as a kid, I appreciated the history.

And now I'm like, I love history.

And then this was the coolest thing.

When I was nine years old, this was the first major league ballpark I ever went to.

And that guy batting was at the game I went to.

I didn't go to this game.

The Red Sox played the Kansas City Royals.

Mo Vaughan hit a bomb over the Green Monster.

Chili Davis got ejected in that game.

I'm a Red Sox fan to this day because of my first experience there.

Sometimes places just leave a mark on us, right?

So what.

What are some of the.

Let's hear some of those places for you.

Place you've been that just.

It just stuck with you.

I've gone back to the city.

I. I drove there.

That sounded like a prayer gong or something, didn't it?

And we're on.

Talking on prayer today.

What's the place for you?

You went there and it just.

It just stayed with you.

I'm not even a city guy, but I.

Man, I love this city.

What's the place for you that's left a mark?

Clearwater Beach.

Awesome.

What else?

Bar Harbor.

The Redwoods.

Yeah.

Haiti.

Dave.

Grand Canyon.

But Yellowstone.

There you go.

See, by the way, it doesn't.

It could be like my grandma's house.

That could be the place that left a mark on you.

Jamin the Tetons.

Yes, sir.

Dina Sturgis.

Yeah.

Did you ride a motorcycle there, Dina?

You did?

Okay.

All right.

On.

Right on, right on.

Anne Frank's house.

Wow.

Who else?

We got another one jamin.

Go ahead.

The Henry Ford Museum.

Adam Cairo.

Right.

Well, I know you, so I figured that's where you're going.

Charles Arlington Cemetery.

Yeah.

Yeah.

What was that?

Canary Island?

Yep.

Great Wall of China.

Who said that?

Heather.

You win.

Okay, Tucker.

Give you a minute, okay?

We'll come back to you.

Okay.

He.

Library of Congress.

Anybody else?

Masada.

The site of the World Trade Centers.

The memorial.

Yeah.

I want to talk to you about a place today that I think is like an undiscovered land to us, even those of us who are experts.

We're in a series called the Prayerful Life, a series for beginners, experts and skeptics.

I want to talk to you about this place.

I want to think with you along the lines of prayer as a place.

You know, last week we talked about prayer as a garden rather than something we do.

It's more of a place of being.

If you were on social media, you saw how ugly my garden looks.

And I said last week, ugly gardens can still produce fruit.

So some of you feel like my garden, of my prayer life is neglected.

I haven't even started it.

Well, guess what?

Neglected gardens can still bear fruit.

So yesterday I took the first step, Jennifer.

I tore out all the tomato plants and I started tilling the soil to get ready for this year.

It's still not there yet.

I haven't planted, but we're one step there.

Prayer is like a garden we talked about.

We cultivate the extraordinary love of God there.

Love of self and love of neighbor.

It's a place of being with God where we get our hands into the soil.

We cultivate the fruit of the spirit.

It's ultimately where we remain in God's love.

Jesus says, remain in my love in John 15.

It's where we forge trust that God is near.

And if you're saying Like Ross, I don't believe that God is near.

I'm not experiencing it.

That's why I'm saying prayer is what it is.

Prayer is like a wrestling ground.

But I also want to bring up something.

I want to help you think of it as a place today.

This right here is from Psalm 46.

It's a famous one.

Don't be shy, be still and know that I am God.

That whole psalm is really good for the record.

The Psalms are a book of prayers.

A lot of them are prayers that honestly, if I'm God, I'm like, nope, that one's out.

You can't say things like that.

But isn't it amazing that it's in there?

Because God is saying like, no, I want your honesty.

Bring me your complaints, bring me your sorrow.

That alone tells us that prayer is a space of relationship.

It's not a religious task.

It's not superstition.

It's not a proving ground.

God is in the midst of the city.

It shall not be moved.

God will help it when the morning dawns.

What I want to say to you is that prayer is almost like a time when we take up residence in the city of God.

So every time we go to prayer, whether it's good praying or bad praying, it's like we're going to the city of God to take up residence for a while and we're getting life from this river that flows in God's city.

I want to talk to you about that today, but I'm going to talk about this three headed monster, this three headed dragon that I hear most people don't like.

We're going to start.

We talked about the why of prayer last week.

We're going to keep doing that this week.

But we're also going to talk about the different dimensions of prayer.

Because sometimes we think of talking in prayer like you.

That's what you do in prayer, right?

You talk.

But that's only one dimension of prayer.

We always tell this story here.

When Mother Teresa was asked in an interview, like, when you pray, what are you saying to God?

And she's like, nothing, I'm just listening.

And then the interviewer said, well, what is God saying to you?

Nothing, just listening.

We're listening to each other.

Listen to each other.

How many of you are excited about that?

Like, I can't wait to do that.

That's why we're going to talk today a little bit about this three headed dragon that most people in our neck of the woods do not like.

You ready for it?

Solitude, stillness and silence.

When I say those things, what do you feel like practicing?

Solitude, stillness, silence.

How's that honestly strike you?

It's hard.

What did you say?

It's amazing.

Anybody else?

How do you do a solitude?

Stillness, silence.

It sounds like what happens right before the nap starts.

Yeah, yeah.

What else?

How do you feel about stillness, silence?

Some of you are like, Ross, I already stink at prayer.

Prayer is not a thing I do.

If you want me to be still and silent and like practice something like solitude, forget it.

I'm out.

I can't sit still for 10 seconds.

Anybody like that?

How many of you struggle with sitting still?

Let's just see a show of hands.

That's like half the room, Right?

You might be sitting still, but your mind is not still.

Which we're going to talk about that by the way.

Stillness does not necessarily mean that you are physically still.

So we're going to talk about that later.

There's a quote from if I can find it, and I don't like this quote at first glance, so stay with me here.

There's a guy named Henry Nouwen, well known for his phrase the wounded healer and his source, his whole teaching on that.

He says without solitude, it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life.

Ouch.

That's not fair.

Like I heard in an interview that Emily shared with me, John Mark Comer said as a pastor that I don't.

It's hard for me because like, what about the mom, the single mom who's working three jobs or somebody who's just working around the clock?

But what I have to admit, everyone, is that Jesus was all the time practicing solitude all the time.

Luke 5:16.

Meanwhile he Jesus would slip away to deserted places to pray.

The word there is like the word we get for desert or wilderness in the Bible.

It just meant like Jesus had these times when he went to be by himself, to be hidden in the wings of the Father.

I think about like a mother hen gathering her chicks.

Jesus regularly had this practice of going off by himself to be hidden in the wings of the Father.

And he teaches us, like, if you don't have these times when you experience being alone with just you and God, we're going to miss out.

Some of us feel so we're drowning, but we're thirsty.

Like we're drowning with so much activity, we're drowning.

Even with religious Activity.

But we're thirsty.

Prayer is a place where we get water even as we stumble through it.

So I want to talk with you about that today.

And I want to do it.

Like, Jesus had this habit of calling, like, God Father, right?

Some of us struggle with that.

I know there are people in the room who.

Their father was not a respectable person, but Jesus had this intimate relationship with God.

He would call him Father or Abba.

It was like an affectionate relationship connection that he cultivated.

When Jesus went to the garden of his prayer, he cultivated this loving relationship with the Father.

And I want to show you an example of, like, what is the basis for why we go to prayer?

I want to.

I want to walk you through Psalm 46, that when I think about it, it's like the.

The foundation of why we go to prayer in the first place.

It's.

It's like the trust we're trying to discover.

Prayer is a place of discovery.

And so I want to walk you through Psalm 46, and I want to show you where that famous phrase, be still and know that I am God shows up.

It's really cool.

So I want to walk you through it here.

God is our refuge and strength.

A very present, well proved help in trouble.

Can you say well proved in the Hebrew?

There's a potential translation where it could be very present or well proved.

I like well proved.

Like God's got credibility.

God's got a good resume for showing up.

This psalm starts out with a faithful declaration that relates to the nearness of the Lord that we talked about last week.

God is well proved.

Read the very next word, just the one word after trouble.

Read it again.

One more time.

Like why we get this is the reason we go to pray.

Like, therefore, I want to believe that first sentence.

God is our refuge and strength.

The very present, well proved help in trouble.

I want to believe that God help my unbelief.

I want to believe that.

And I want to go to prayer trusting that no matter what I'm feeling, no matter what the circumstances are, I've got this therefore on my side.

No matter what's going on, We will not fear.

Though the earth should change, the mountains shake in the heart of the sea Though its waters roar and foam Though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

That word is perhaps like a musical word, the one in italics, because these would be turned into music.

We're not there yet.

Anybody feel that way today?

Like the earth, like the mountains are shaking in the heart the sea, the waters roar and foam, the mountains tremble with Its tumult.

But this is what I want to talk about.

That like a place that leaves an impression on you.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of the city.

It shall not be moved.

God will help it.

When the morning dawns.

The nations are in an uproar.

Amen.

The nations are in an uproar.

The kingdoms totter.

He utters his voice, the earth melts.

I'm going to read this straight from my paper.

The psalmist takes us to the image of God's transcendent dwelling place.

He takes us to the city of God.

Prayer is like taking up residence in God's city for a while.

I want to teach you, by the way, a practical tool, visualization in prayer.

We're going to talk about that.

Visualizing going to a place when you pray for those of us who are visual people and you can't sit still.

Visualizing that you're going to a place with God might help.

This guy takes us to the City of God.

Prayer is taking up residence in God's city for a while.

It's not something we do so much as a place we inhabit for a time.

In this city, there's no uncertainty about whether the city and its inhabitants will emerge victorious because God is in the midst of the city and it shall not be moved.

Furthermore, when we take up residence in God's city for a while through prayer, we realize that in this city it's our true home.

The more we spend time in this city, we realize God's city is actually our true home and that we actually never have to leave it.

So again, think of a place that you've been that you continue to carry in your heart.

God's city is like that.

So for me now, I'm not going to talk about Boston.

I'm going to talk about a little mobile home that I went to as a child.

Sometimes I'd have to get off the bus when my dad was on a work trip.

I was raised by a single father, and so I'd get up on this bus stop and my grandmother lived in this trailer sort of mobile home on London Road.

It had the greatest Christmas lights.

Not in Shelby county, but in all of Indiana.

And when I'd get off the bus.

When I'd get off the bus, my grandma would have the same snack I loved every time.

Mike sells rigid chips with ketchup.

Sounds delicious, doesn't it?

And at nighttime, she would read this book like, I think it was jam with Francis.

Anyone know the book?

I carry that place in my heart.

I carry that person in my heart.

Prayer is like that.

It's not something we do.

It's a person we spend time with.

It's a city where we take up residence.

Think about this every time you utter a prayer, prayer that you stumble through and feel like a fool, you've taken up residence in God's city, and you realize that is your home, and you take it with you wherever you go.

Your citizenship in heaven goes with you everywhere.

Because our purpose.

Did you know?

Did you know there's this weird church named Heaven Earth Church?

Have you heard of it?

Have you?

God's whole plan.

The whole plan is to bring the city of heaven to Earth.

And you, you're part of the revolution.

He wants to place the city of heaven in your heart, such that everywhere you go, you bring the values of that city to this city.

So every time we pray, my friends, it's like we're going to my grandma's house and we're getting fed and we're learning and we're taking her heart with us.

Love you, Grandma Betty.

The nations are in uproar.

I want to say this to you, the psalmist.

One thing we can learn from the psalmist friends about prayer is this.

He does not pull any punches with God every time that he prays.

Does he leave his chaos outside the front door and then go inside with God?

Huh?

No, though he's like, the world's in chaos.

One day he'd finish a battle, and the next day he'd wake up.

Another.

Another enemy would be on his doorstep.

But, like, he remembers that there's this one who hovered over the primordial chaos.

Like when there was the very first story of Genesis 1.

The spirit of God hovers over the chaos, the face of the deep, such that life could happen.

That's why we, too, when we pray, we bring all of our chaos with us into prayer.

I said it last week.

Are you a complainer?

Anybody in the room?

You tend to be a complainer.

Nobody wants to admit that.

All right?

Have you been.

Have you been whining recently?

You've been complaining?

Guess what?

God receives your complaints.

God isn't asking you to fake it till you make it.

You ready for a hokey expression?

We're gonna have shirts.

Faith it till you make it.

I don't think that's gonna stick.

That was bad.

Yeah, that was bad.

Let's not make those shirts.

Better yet, bring all of your chaos with you when you pray.

Bring it with you.

All right, now let's get to some practical stuff, and then I gotta have Emily come up here with me for a minute.

You ready for this?

All of this sets up this phrase.

The Lord of hosts.

Jake, the Lord of hosts is with us.

Say with us.

That's the one thing we're trying to discover in the garden of prayer.

The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Jacob, by the way, I'm going to tell you a secret.

I've been reading Genesis again.

Jacob was a jerk and God stuck with him.

Come, behold the works of the Lord.

See what desolation he's brought on the earth.

He makes war seize to the end of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear.

He burns the shields with fire.

There it is.

The first time God speaks.

Go ahead and read that quote.

Be still.

The quote.

The quote.

You're now past the quote, my friends.

Go ahead.

Read the last line, too.

Go ahead.

Salah is perhaps like a musical term.

You can say it.

It's a pretty name.

Yeah, Emily, I need you up at the front.

Pretty please.

Emily was sharing a story with me that I like, and I want her to share it with you now.

So, Emily, you can have a seat.

Take the seat.

Say hello to Emily.

She was sharing a story I asked about.

We were bringing up that image of the river right back here.

We talked about visualization and stillness.

And Emily was telling me about this story of her prayer life in the river.

So take it away, Emily.

I'm gonna pass these out, okay?

Yeah.

So I am kind of a visual learner.

I'm a hands on learner, I'm a tactile learner.

And for a long time when I.

When I pray, when I spend time with God, there's.

I have images that come to mind.

And the last seven years or so often it's a place and that place has changed.

But the last couple of years, one of those places is.

Is by a river.

And I'm either like sitting on the banks of the river, I'm in the river, I've crossed that to the other side of the river.

And there's.

It's a particular scene that I see.

But sometimes this is kind of referred to as like safe place prayer.

So, like, you visualize a place that is safe and it can be a place that you create or a place that you know, a place that's familiar.

But I was praying this week and I was there by the river, and like, I had just.

I had this sense from the Holy Spirit like, the stones get smoothed by being in the river.

And so there's a lot of jagged edges in a rock, but they sit in the river and that's how they get smoothed.

And so it's kind of this idea that it's similar to, like, time I spend with God, is that when I'm with Him, like, I don't have to do a whole lot.

I just have to be with Him.

And I'm a pretty active person.

So learning to sit in stillness and silence is.

I also get bored really easily, so I tend to.

I'm a walker.

I do a lot of walking and thinking and praying while I move.

But there's something about being with him that just.

It smooths things over.

So that's.

Is there more that you wanted me to share?

Is that it?

Okay, that's the gist of it.

So actually, we brought rocks for you all today.

Are you going to say more about that?

Okay.

Okay.

Yeah.

So there's lots of different types of learning, but for.

If any of you are tactile, like me, there can be something to.

Like having something physical to kind of ground you and help focus your mind or your thoughts or whatever.

So if you would like, we brought these for you.

And they're just something you can keep in your pocket.

You can keep wherever.

But just as you pray, I think about fidget toys.

If you've ever worked, there's something about a fidget that just.

It helps focus your mind and your attention.

And so it's kind of the idea, but it's also just.

There's.

There's a lot of work that the Holy Spirit is doing in us, and it wants to invite us to and smooth out in us.

And so I don't know that's kind of the meaning, but that's all I have to say.

So

thank you, Emily.

So a practical thing, visualization.

So, like, maybe you're not a person who can.

Like man, the thought of solitude is intimidating.

Thought of stillness is intimidating.

One thing that can help is visualization.

Visualize yourself like, I'm going to the garden to pray with God.

Literally, go to a place.

Visualize yourself going to God's city where there's a tranquil river falling through it.

Or grab that prayer rock and hold it as you pray.

To visualize like I am in God's river right now in the midst of his city, and he is smoothing out the rough edges.

One final word about stillness, and then I'm going to help you visualize one more thing.

I said this earlier.

Still doesn't necessarily mean physically still.

I think of it more as state of being without noise.

So my example.

On Friday, I decided to go on a walk without my phone.

I felt like my brain was revolting.

You're not okay without this thing, Ross.

What will you do?

And I said to.

Before I started my prayer, my walk, I said, lord, my goal is to be with you in this walk, just me and you.

I seek your power and your strength to bring peace to my life.

And so I just walked for 15 minutes.

It's astonishing how much I noticed that I see all the time around that pond, that I walk around all the time, run around all the time, but there's noise with me.

I noticed, for example, that there's this mallard duck in the pond.

Looks so quiet and calm moving across the pond.

But you know, and I know underneath there's some furious movement going on.

God was like, I want you to pay attention to that, Ross.

I don't know why.

I'm still figuring it out.

God speaks through many things without words.

So if you're a person who can't sit still, prayer walk, prayer drive with your eyes open.

Be still with God.

Be without noise intentionally.

Be present with God in this city.

Pray as you can, not as you can't.

Okay, Go ahead, Christy.

All right, come on up.

Take the mic, because I gotta.

I'm gonna get communion ready.

Go ahead.

Here's your microphone, teacher.

Christy, go ahead.

Okay.

It says you don't have to get

burned to slow down and listen.

You can stop and listen to God every day.

Quiet your spirit before him.

Ask him to communicate.

Communicate with you.

God has plenty to say to you,

but he requires your undivided attention.

Be still and know his will for you today.

Check.

Got it?

Yes.

Another thing we're going to visualize.

I want to give you one more thing to visualize in your prayer.

Prayer.

You can visualize yourself sitting at a supper table with Jesus.

When you pray, he always has an open seat for you.

He is never annoyed by you.

He is never disappointed in you.

He may have some accountability for you.

But he says he once had a supper with his friends right before he would die.

The Last Supper.

And he said, like, keep doing this, and when you do it, remember me.

They were eating what was called the Passover meal, but he gave it new meaning.

He took the bread and he said, gonna be some crumbs here.

I'll vacuum it up.

Rachel, this is Matzah So there's, there's no, there's no leavening in it like Jesus would have eaten.

He said, this is my body that's broken for you.

When you eat this, remember me.

And he took the cup and he said, this is like my blood poured out for you.

I won't drink it again until it's fulfilled in the kingdom of heaven.

In other words, until that city has come down to earth and everything is made new.

We're going to have a big feast.

But until then, you eat this one to remember.

So what I want to do is if, if you're new to this, you've never done this, you're going to come up front, someone's going to give you a little piece of this bread.

There's going to be a lot of crumbs, but it's okay.

They're going to give you a piece of bread and juice.

I want to give you a space to just dwell in God's city for a while.

So for today we're not going to eat it all together.

We will but use this space to pray and be with God.

To pray as you can, not as you can't visualize yourself sitting at a supper table with Jesus and realize that he, he only has eyes of love for you.

And with him there's nothing to fear.

Will you pray with me, Lord?

Will you pour out your holy spirit on this bread and this juice that it would be for us your presence with us, your very body, your blood with us at this table.

Please speak to us in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Thank you for participating participating in the conversation happening at Heaven Earth Church.

Your next opportunity to do so live is this Sunday morning, 9:30am Eastern Time, either at the main campus at 309 East Main in Whiteland, Indiana or online at YouTube Live.

That's@YouTube.com heavenearth church.

The audio podcast is always available at Apple Podcast and on Spotify.

You can help others find out about the Heaven Earth Church podcast by going to Apple Podcasts and or Spotify and leaving a five star rating in your review.

Instructions on how to do just that and links are in the show notes.

You can always find out more by going to the church website heavenearthchurch.org we

want to thank you for spending time with us today.

My name is Ross Stackhouse, the pastor to Heaven Earth Church.

And you may think out there that your story is over, but in fact your faith story may just be beginning.

If you want more information about our church or you're interested in the next step.

You can go to heavenorthchurch.org otherwise we we look forward to being with you next time at the Heaven Earth Church Podcast.