Hearts Knit Together
Welcome to Hearts Together Women
We are so happy that you have decided to participate in a Hearts Together Women’s Break-time Gathering. Maybe there are only two of you joining together today, or maybe there are several more. The size of your gathering does not matter. What does matter is that you have decided to take a break from the busyness of life to unite in faith. Hearts Together Women is about Christian women uniting around God’s Word in honest discussion and partnering with one another in prayer. We believe that as we pursue Jesus together, the atmosphere changes. We are confident that as the Christian women in your circle gather and pursue Jesus together in His Word and support one another in prayer, He will meet with you, encourage you and ultimately knit your hearts together in love.
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God’s Heart
Open your heart to the verses we read together from God’s Word. Opening your heart to God’s Word is a beautiful, life-altering experience. His Word reveals the very heart and character of God to us. God’s Word is His heart. As we read it and reflect upon it, the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts and guides us according to His perfect will for our lives.
Let’s begin with the Hearts Together Women’s theme Scripture:
Colossians 2:2-3
…that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Our theme Scripture speaks of hearts being encouraged and knit together in order to reach all that Christ has to offer us. In Jesus, we find assurance, the full assurance of our own redemption in Him. Such an assurance is greater than any earthly riches or treasures we could acquire.
We notice in this Scripture that the hearts of the believers will be encouraged, as they are knit together in love. Certainly the hearts of Christ-followers cannot be knit together in love unless we, as believers, gather together in some way. Throughout Scripture we see that the Lord desires to gather His people. He desires to gather and provide a place for them - a place where His presence fills the atmosphere. In that act of gathering, we are built up and encouraged in Him. In Ephesians 2, Paul speaks of Jews and Gentiles being joined together, so much so that they are being built together into a dwelling place for God.
Ephesians 2: 19-22:
You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
As women of faith, possibly from various Christian backgrounds, we can do just that - join together to become a dwelling place for God, and we can become that dwelling place right where we are -where life happens.
As we draw near to one another in our pursuit of Him, Jesus will lead and guide us to encourage one another and to build one another up in faith. We trust that He will show up. He will dwell among and within us, and it is then that He will begin to heal, to restore and to make things new in our lives.
One thing we know for sure - gathering is far better than scattering, and our God has always been about gathering His people. The prophet Micah puts forth the image of Yahweh as our protective shepherd, our shepherd-king, who gathers and assembles us.
Micah 2:12:
I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture…
The Lord desires to protect and restore His people, and part of that protection - that care - comes in gathering and assembling us. To assemble is to bring together for a common purpose. The Lord promises to assemble us and to set us together like sheep in a fold. A fold is an enclosure into which sheep could be driven for protection and to keep them from wandering. We have a tendency to wander out of the presence and will of God. We seek and search away from God, and especially in difficult times, we scatter and we isolate.
Isaiah 53:6:
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way…
Without Him we have no resting place, no sense of settledness and no peace. He wants the opposite for us. If we turn to Him, He promises the opposite for us, and part of that settledness and peace and restoration comes in our assembling together. He will change the atmosphere around us as we gather around His Word in prayer together. Our hearts will be encouraged as they are knit together in love in the pursuit of Jesus, and together, we will become a dwelling place for Him.
Share Your Heart
Consider the following discussion starters as you share your hearts with one another:
What is, if any, your experience with studying God’s Word and praying with others?
Do you feel that engaging in the study of God’s Word and in prayer partnership with other women will encourage you and/or change the atmosphere around you?
Do you think participating in this gathering could provide protection for you by guarding your heart from seeking and searching away from God?
Do you have any fears about this?
The Cries of Your Heart
At Hearts Together Women, we believe that the Lord hears the cries of our hearts.
We also believe in prayer partnership because God’s Word teaches us that partnering with one another in prayer is powerful.
James 5:16 says, “Therefore…pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
And Jesus encourages us, “When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there” (Matthew 18:19-20, The Message).
What amazing promises!
Here is how prayer partnership works at a Hearts Together Gathering:
After we share in the Word and discussion, your facilitator will ask each woman for her prayer requests. All you need to do is share your own requests - the cries of your heart - because we all have them.
We encourage you to request prayer for 1) your own needs; 2) the needs of your family and loved ones; and 3) the needs you see around you - in the workplace, the school, the neighborhood or even the nation.
After the requests are shared, your gathering facilitator will lead in a prayer for the needs that were put forth.
In the following days, we encourage you to pray for the requests of the other women in your gathering. They will do the same for you. That’s what prayer partnership is all about!
As we unite in prayer, we trust the Lord will meet with us, dwell among us and answer us in accordance with His perfect will.
Your Heart to His
Maybe you felt the Holy Spirit stirring something in your heart during this gathering. It doesn’t have to end here. Take it home. In the followings days, continue to pursue Him. Spend some time alone and quiet, away from the noise of life - just you and Jesus.
Tell Him the cries of your heart. He is listening; He cares, and He does answer. Praying is kind of like having a conversation with your best friend. He created you, so He already knows everything about you. He just wants to be with you.
After you pray, reread the Scriptures and thoughts under God’s Heart. Reflect upon the verses and how they speak to you and your life.
Here are some things you might contemplate and pray about:
Reflect upon the assurance you have in Christ and the riches and treasures that He has to offer you, many of which His Word reveals. Ask the Lord to open your heart to all He has and to knit your heart together in love with the other women from your gathering. Pray for them and for the new bond He will create between you as you pursue Him together.
This is just between you and Jesus - your heart to His. Make space in your busy days to spend some time with Him.
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If you don’t have a Bible, we encourage you to get one or to download a Bible app. Start looking at His Word and reflecting upon it. John’s gospel is a great place to start. Your facilitator can help you with any questions you have.
