Dear Friends in Pastoral Ministry,
Tomorrow, Tuesday, I will go to a quiet place and meet with God. I will pray, anywhere from one to three hours. I have been doing this, on Tuesday afternoons, for 47 years.
I want you to know that I still take extended praying times, every week. I still keep a spiritual journal. I stlll meditate on Scripture. At the 40-year mark I wrote a book on what I have learned from my praying life: Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God.
My seminary teaching on prayer and spiritual transformation began in 1977, when I taught a course on prayer in Northern Seminary's M.Div. program. Since then I estimate teaching Leadership Praying to 5000 pastors and Christian leaders, at several seminaries, conferences, retreats, and churches, around the world. (My praying wife Linda has accompanied me on many of these trips,)
This week I will be 75 years old. I have a gift for you. It's a Bible verse.
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Luke 5:16
Do this.
Often.
This is the foundation of all ministry in Jesus' name.
With love,
John Piippo
