It is so important to keep connecting with God in the midst of all that is going on. He is the source of our hope, our joy, our peace, our purpose - all that we need. Here are some resources that we are recommending to help you to connect with God in a number of ways including prayer and the Bible.

Prayer

Here are some resources that may help you to connect with God in prayer, a two way conversation with God:

• Lectio 365: A daily devotional app written by leaders from the 24-7 Prayer movement, helping you engage with the Bible every day and inspiring your prayer life.
  
• Inner Room: Another app from 24-7 Prayer, helping you to keep praying with a lot of customisable reminders, prayer lists and tips. In fact, check out the 24-7 prayer website for lots of helpful prayer resources.
  
• Spiritual Formation Cards: The Vineyard movement have created some beautiful prayer cards designed to help you connect with Jesus in prayer and reflection. You can download them for free.
  

Reading the Bible

These resources may help you to connect with God through the Bible, the primary way we find out who God is:

• YouVersion: Finding a rhythm of seeking intimacy with God has the power to transform lives. YouVersion provides an incredibly accessible way of reading the Bible.
• Bible Project: This is an incredible set of free resources to help guide your understanding of the Bible through engaging videos, a very in-depth podcast and a helpful blog. We know some families are using this each week to do a family bible study (https://bibleproject.com/church-at-home)
• Bible in One Year: This app will help you to read through the whole bible in year. You can even listen to the Bible read by actor David Suchet and there is a short reflection from Nicky Gumbel, leader of Holy Trinity Brompton, a church in London.

Top tip: If you're new to reading the Bible, it might be better to start with reading plans that help you read the whole New Testament (the second part of the Bible) from the Bible Project or YouVersion, rather than the Bible in One Year, as this app can be a touch confusing when you're first starting out. The Bible in One Year is great for people who've been reading the Bible for a bit longer and understand how the whole story of the Bible fits together.

Resources for this moment

These resources  either respond to the current situation directly or provide ways to connect with God in the midst of anxiety and fear:

• Pause App: An app which helps you to pause for a minute a day to re-centre on God.
  
• Bridgetown Daily Podcast: Daily podcasts reflecting on what it looks like to follow Jesus during this pandemic.
  
• The Examen: A simple prayer tool to help us reflect on the events of the day, helping us to re-centre our hearts and minds on God’s presence. For a quick guide, check out these videos by Dan Wilt, a leader in the Vineyard Movement.
  

This is not an exhaustive list of resources. There are loads of other great stuff out there. We hope and pray that you connect with God in new depth and power this season.

Don’t forget that community is a great resource. In fact, even if you engage with these resources alone, we believe you will get more out of them if you are also meeting with others and engaging in community. If you want to connect with one of our online small group communities you can find out more information by clicking here.

If you have some other suggestions, we’d love to hear them. Do get in touch by emailing hello@vineyard53.org.