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Tag: prayer

Some Questions About Prayer (not quite the final round)

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Yep! Still asking questions about prayer. I once heard about a pastor who spent two years preaching through the book of Romans. There is no denying that there is much to preach from Romans, but for me, two straight years seems like a bit much. I’m not anticipating this series on prayer to go 104 weeks. In fact, I think next week will be the final week. Not because I’ve answered all the questions, but because I don’t want readers to sigh and think, “What? Another question?”

So here’s this week’s question. “How do we learn to pray?” Again, pretty simple. But when you dig down beyond the surface of it, I think we discover it is a much needed question. And it is not just my question. It is a question that Jesus’ disciples asked him. His response? He said, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation'” (Luke 11:2-4).

We do well to listen to what Jesus said about how to pray. When I was growing up, Jesus’ words spoken here and recorded by Luke were more likely to be repeated by a football team ready to storm the field than a church on Sunday morning. Why is that? Is it because that we, or at least some of us, are a bit apprehensive about repeating a prayer that someone has already prayed and put to paper. Where’s the spontaneity? Where’s the heart in it?

But does not praying, in addition to studying, these words of Jesus to his disciples in effect teach us to pray? When we pray them back to God with our mind and heart, do they not capture our imagination? Can’t praying these few words which we call the Lord’s Prayer subtly reframe our praying as they become absorbed into the core of our very being? I feel they can!

I did mention at the start of this series that prayer is not complicated. And I still hold to that. But this doesn’t mean that our prayers shouldn’t grow and develop as we discern more fully the heart of God. Saturation and praying through and with Scripture (ie. The Lord’s Prayer) therefore, matures us in prayer. It pushes us to come before God more honest, free and bold than we might do otherwise.

So will you begin to pray the Lord’s Prayer? Will you pray it for your family? Your church? Your neighborhood? As you do, I think you will begin to discover a new depth in how to pray; a depth not made of pious “out of touch” words, but of a heart longing to know God more fully and of eyes watching and waiting to see him restore all of creation.

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Some Questions About Prayer (another round)

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So we begin another round of questions concerning prayer! I started this a couple of weeks ago because I wanted to dive a bit deeper into this critical vocation of prayer we have been given by God. I use the word vocation here concerning prayer intentionally because I feel it is our “duty” as Christ followers to go before God on behalf of ourselves and on behalf of the world around us. Paul writes to those in Colossae to “keep on praying” (Col. 4:2). It’s not an optional activity.

This idea of praying being vocational, coupled with the past couple of weeks of battling with the understanding that God interacts with us as we pray, I feel we must now ask, why is prayer so hard for us? If God invites us to pour out our hearts to him, both the good and the bad, and our prayers have an affect upon us and the world, then why don’t we pray?

“American culture is probably the hardest place in the world to learn to pray,” writes Paul Miller. “We are so busy that when we slow down to pray, we find it uncomfortable. We prize accomplishments, production. But prayer is nothing but talking to God. It feels useless, as if we are wasting time. Every bone in our bodies screams, ‘Get to work.'”

Miller writes further that “one of the subtlest hindrances to prayer is probably the most pervasive. In the broader culture and in our churches, we prize intellect, competency, and wealth. Because we can do life without God, praying seems nice but unnecessary. Money can do what prayer does, and it quicker and less time-consuming. Our trust in ourselves and in our talents makes us structurally independent of God. As a result, exhortations to pray don’t stick.”

We have been duped into acting out our culture’s lie that when we pray, we really aren’t doing anything. Now I know the truth. Prayer changes things. Yet ever so slowly I’ve seen myself evolve into behaving otherwise. I’m a guy that has to be busy and prayer is…well…is it doing anything?

Productivity abounds in our world. Just consider the number of books and articles written that help expose the secret formula to how to get more done. Now I’m a believer in productivity. And I’ve benefited from many of the resources on the market these days. However, I think there needs to be a bit of pushback when our desire to be productive clouds our understanding of prayer. If Miller is right that we live as though we can do life without God, then prayer becomes a non-essential. Though we do pray at times, it is the first to be abandoned in a busy day.

When our world began to shut down due to COVID, I noticed in myself a feeling of loss in regards to how to continue the ministry I am involved in. The outreach efforts I led were stopped. The weekly Bible study gathering I oversaw had to be reworked and moved online. My schedule though still busy, was not as hectic. What was I to do? Just sit around and pray?

What was laid bare during those first weeks of apocalyptic-like shut down was my attitude of prayer as a “nothing else I can do so might as well pray” mentality. Now on the surface, I don’t think I believe this about prayer. Yet deep down I discovered something different. Something that had been formed in me via the story of the culture I live in. Thankfully, I am now working to be refashioned by another story, the Biblical story. It’s a slow work, but it’s a good work.

So what about you? Is it hard for you to pray? Why or why not? Does our hurry up and get something done culture influence you to view time spent in prayer as neglecting your being productive? What would it take for us to wake up to what God has called us to do in relation to prayer?

Can I encourage you in a couple of ways in your life of prayer? First, start slow. If you are like me and have struggled in this area, then just begin with a simple prayer in the morning and one in the evening. Nothing extravagant or lengthy. Just begin. Second, be honest with yourself and with God about your lack of discipline or motivation in praying. Humble yourself. Then realize the goodness of God as he meets you where you are. Praying is a relational journey. Yes, it takes discipline. But it’s a discipline that must not lead to empty ritual, but to a vibrant relationship with our King.

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The Gift Of Gifts

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O Source Of All Good,

What shall I render to thee for the gift of gifts,
thine own dear Son, begotten, not created,
my Redeemer, proxy, surety, substitute,
his self-emptying incomprehensible,
his infinity of love beyond the heart’s grasp

Herein is wonder of wonders;
he came below to raise me above,
was born like me that I might become like him.

Herein is love;
when I cannot rise to him he draws near on
wings of grace,
to raise me to himself.

Herein is power;
when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart
he united them in indissoluble unity,
the uncreated and the created.

Herein is wisdom;
when I was undone, with no will to return to him,
and no intellect to devise recovery,
he came, God-incarnate, to save me
to the uttermost,
as man to die my death,
to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,
to work out a perfect righteousness for me.

O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds,
and enlarge my mind;
let me hear good tidings of great joy,
and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, adore,
my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,
my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father;
place me with ox, ass, camel, goat,
to look with them upon my Redeemer’s face,
and in him account myself delivered from sin;
let me with Simeon clasp the new-born child
to my heart,
embrace him with undying faith,
exulting that he is mine and I am his.

In him thou hast given me so much
that heaven can give no more.

(taken from The Valley of Vision, p. 28)

I want to wish each of you a Merry Christmas!!!! 

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From Worry To Prayer

Here’s a good and challenging word from Paul Miller in his book A Praying Life

When you pray continuously, moments when you are prone to anxiety can become invitations to drift into prayer. A traffic jam, a slight from a friend, a pressured deadline can serve as a door to God. You’ll find yourself turning off the car radio to be with your Father. You’ll wake up at night and discover yourself praying. It will be like breathing.

When you stop trying to control your life and instead allow your anxieties and problems to bring you to God in prayer, you shift from worry to watching. You watch God weave his patterns in the story of your life. Instead of trying to be out front, designing your life, you realize you are inside God’s drama. As you wait, you begin to see him work, and your life begins to sparkle with wonder. You are learning to trust again.

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A Prayer For True Happiness

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O LORD,
Help me never to expect any happiness from the world,
but only in thee.

Let me not think that I shall be more happy by living to myself,
for I can only be happy if employed for thee,
and if I desire to live in this world
only to do and suffer what thou dost allot me.

Teach me
that if I do not live a life that satisfies thee,
I shall not live a life that will satisfy myself.

Help me to desire the spirit and temper of angels
who willingly come down to this lower world
to perform thy will,
though their desires are heavenly,
and not set in the least upon earthly things;
then I shall be of that temper I ought to have.

Help me not to think of living to thee in my own strength,
but always to look to and rely on thee for assistance.

Teach me that there is no greater truth than this,
that I can do nothing of myself.

Lord, this is the life that no unconverted man can live,
yet it is an end that every godly should presses after;
Let it be then my concern to devote myself and all to thee.

Make me more fruitful and more spiritual,
for barrenness is my daily affliction and load. 

How precious is time, and how painful to see it fly
with little done to good purpose!

I need thy help:
O may my should sensibly depend upon thee
for all sanctification,
and every accomplishment of thy purposes
for me, for the world,
and for they kingdom.

(from The Valley of Vision)

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God, It Is Your Cause I Long For

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Sovereign God,

Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart,
and I appeal to thee with greatest freedom
to set up thy kingdom in every place
where Satan reigns;
Glory thyself and I shall rejoice,
for to bring honor to thy name is my sole desire.

I adore thee that thou art God,
and long that others should know it, feel it,
and rejoice in it.

O that all men might love and praise thee,
that thou mightiest have all glory
from the intelligent world!!

Let sinners be brought to thee for thy dear name!

To the eye of reason everything respecting
the conversion of others is as dark as midnight,
But thou canst accomplish great things;
the cause is thine,
and it is to thy glory that men should be saved.

Lord, use me as thou wilt,
do with me what thou wilt;
but, O, promote thy cause,
let they kingdom come,
let thy blessed interest be advanced
in this world!

O do thou bring in great numbers to Jesus!
let me see that glorious day,
and give me to grasp for multitudes of souls;
let me be willing to die to that end;
and while I live let me labour for thee
to the utmost of my strength,
spending time profitably in this work,
bot in health and in weakness.

It is thy cause and kingdom I long for,
not my own.

O, answer thou my request. 

(from The Valley of Vision)

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Wave Upon Wave Of Grace

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O Lord God,

Teach me to know that grace precedes,
accompanies, and follows my salvation,
that it sustains the redeemed soul,
that not one link of its chain can ever break.

From Calvary’s cross wave upon wave of grace
reaches me,
deals with my sin,
washes me clean,
renews my heart,
strengthens my will,
draws out my affection,
kindles a flame in my soul,
rules throughout my inner man,
consecrates my every thought, word, work,
teaches me thy immeasurable love.

How great are my privileges in Christ Jesus!

Without him I stand far off, a stranger, an outcast;
in him I draw near and touch his kingly sceptre.

Without him I dare not lift up my guilty eyes;
in him I gaze upon my Father-God and Friend.

Without him I hide my lips in trembling shame;
in him I open my mouth in petition and praise.

Without him all is wrath and consuming fire;
in him all is love, and the repose of my soul.

With him is gaping hell below me, and eternal anguish;
in him its gates are barred to me by his precious blood.

Without him darkness spreads its horrors in front;
in him an eternity of glory is my boundless horizon.

Without him darkness spreads its horrors in front;
in him an eternity of glory is my boundless horizon.

Without him all within me is terror and dismay,
in him every accusation is charmed into joy and peace.

Without him all things external call for my condemnation;
in him they minister to my comfort, and are to be enjoyed with thanksgiving.

Praise be to thee for grace,
and for the unspeakable gift of Jesus.

from The Valley of Vision

 

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The Hardest Place To Pray In The World

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American culture is probably the hardest place in the world to learn to pray. We are so busy that when we slow down to pray, we find it uncomfortable. We prize accomplishments, production. But prayer is nothing but talking to God. It feels useless, as if we are wasting time. Every bone in our bodeis screams, “Get to work.”

When we aren’t working, we are used to being entertained. Television, the Internet, video games, and cell phones make free time as busy as work. When we do slow down, we slip into a stupor. Exhausted by the pace of life, we veg out in front of a screen or with earplugs.

Even our church services can have that same restless energy. There is little space to be still before God. We want our money’s worth, so something should always be happening. We are uncomfortable with silence.

One of the subtlest hindrances to prayer is probably the most pervasive. In the broader culture and in our churches, we prize intellect, competency, and wealth. Because we can do life without God, praying seems nice but unnecessary. Money can do what prayer does, and it quicker and less time-consuming. Our trust in ourselves and in our talents makes us structurally independent of God. As a result, exhortations to pray don’t stick. 

-Paul Miller, A Praying Life, p. 15-16.

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