Who does history belong to? The successful? The powerful? The wealthy? The media elite? The superstars?
Well, according to NT scholar, Walter Wink, history belongs to the intercessors.
For those of you staying up late tonight, not able to sleep, just waiting for the next installment of my series in the book of Revelation... well... this is your sneak peak! For those of you who were at the Saturday night service, this is review. For those of you who don't care... why are you reading this again? :)
I talk about this in my message. Wink writes:
"History belongs to the intercessors, to those who believe and pray the future into being. History does not belong to the powerful or the wealthy or the rulers or the armies or the corporations or the global media empires. It doesn’t belong to Rome. It doesn’t to Bill Gates. History belongs to the intercessors, to those who believe and pray the future into being.”
Do you believe that?
The undeniable teaching of scripture is that prayer changes things. Sure, there is debate over sovereignty, and what happens in prayer... yada yada yada yawn. But scripture suggests that our prayers do make a difference.
And I often wonder if I really believe that.
Because if I really believed that, I think I would pray more.
I often wonder how much we blame God for not working when really we are not praying. Certainly, there are times when God's answer is "no" (or "later"). But seriously... I have run into people who have come to me asking why God didn't do this or that or direct this or that, etc... and they ask, "Why didn't God answer my prayer?"
But after talking to them for a while, I find that they really didn't pray.
They may have worried.
They may have stewed.
They may have stressed.
They may have thought about the issue a lot.
But they didn't pray. Just pray. Continuously. Hard. Persistently
I wonder how many of my unanswered prayers are because... well... I didn't pray them.
So... I want to pray more. Yep, I'm a pastor and posting this on a public blog. But prayer is hard. Really hard. And I want to do it more. And if you want to join me....maybe we can talk about this.
Any struggles with prayer you want to share?
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19 comments:
Since we've moved my faith has gotten stronger, but I think my faith has grown because my prayer has ceased... You have to put more faith into something that you believe in if you don't have communication with it.
It's easy not to pray... to just fall back on the fact that God is in control, and to know that He is looking out for your and everyones best interests.
Why is pray hard? I want to do it... God wants me to do it. But it just doesn't happen. It's a weird thing.
"My faith has grown becuase my prayer has ceased... "
Ah...so are you suggesting we all stop praying? "Don't pray, just trust God."
Doesn't seem to be the MO of Jesus. What do you mean?
Prayer is hard. I'm awful at it. I don't think I ever learned how to pray, but can I learn to pray?
I never feel like I word my prayer correctly. I just talk to God, rarely do I ask for things though, it makes me feel too needy. Of course there are things I want or feel I need, but does God want those. To get down to the heart of it, I guess Im just afraid he will say no.
I know the sovereignty/free will issue is heavy and hard to wade through, but I suspect it's at the heart of why more Christians don't feel an urgency to pray (despite repeated encouragement to do so throughout the New Testament).
If God is going to do whatever He wants anyway, what difference will my prayer make? If it's God's "will" that every event, both good and bad, takes place, why should I pray for safety or protection?
We may SAY we believe in the power of prayer, but with ideas such as these at the root of our interpretation of Scripture, I'd argue it's hard to find much motivation to pray.
I don't pray nearly as much as I should or as I say I will. Much of the time this is because of forgetfulness or even apathy, but sometimes I think it is out of fear that in asking bluntly, my desire for the thing I want will grow greater than my desire to communicate with God. In other words, saying "but thy will be done" after asking for something isn't always a cop-out: it's a reminder to myself of what's really important. I'm afraid of focusing on the thing I want so much that I can't see God anymore.
But perhaps I take that to the other extreme and don't let myself want things enough....
You've given me much to think (and pray) about, Paul. :o)
I find that pray often comes in the mist of trouble. My prayer life has been the strongest when I have had no controll over the situation, and know I HAVE TO fall into Gods arms. It's a painfull way to learn a lesson, but effective. In the past few years, I have learned my way of prayer is just holding a conversation with God like I'm talking with my earthly father. I have never hesitated to ask him for anything, so why should my comunication with God be any different? (Like I said it was a hard lesson to learn.) Just my take on prayer. Thank you Paul for being so open and honest in your sermions. Bob and I really appreciate it.
i go through phases. sometimes i find prayer comes easily, sometimes it doesn't. i don't have any good explanation. laziness or forgetfulness, i suppose, are the best i can do.
i find i struggle most with unanswered prayer. there are things that i spent months or years asking for and despite the pleading, tears, and anger (ugh - angry with god. that's a really, really rough place to be.), god doesn't answer my prayer.
well..okay. so maybe that's not true. maybe the answer is "no" or maybe he didn't do what i hoped, but changed me instead of the situation. either way, it's difficult.
jennifer - i find myself squelching desire, too. but not because i focus too much on the thing i want; because "no" or "not yet" or "not what you want, but something else in its place" is something i fear.
"life is short... pray hard"
Ah the words of another popular slogan turned "christian"
however, the message really isn't bad. if the future really does belong to the intercessors, and life is "short" then we should be praying hard, right?
Prayer is difficult for all of us, even me, but i suppose that is why i got the largest white stone. =)
I liked the line in the sermon that went something like; prayer is not all "you are holy", etc, it's "where are you God", "come lord jesus", "save me from this". In our lower times it is much easier to acknowledge god and pray, remembering god and praying in the good times takes real discipline and devotion. it's hard to pray when some of your most desperate prayers go unanswered to the best of your knowledge. its hard when you see what you pray for continue to get worse, or go unresolved. however there are times when things go well with prayer, don't get me wrong, i truly believe prayer is great and something we must do often.
Paul you are right, as good as my intentions are, i just plain forget to pray, i forget to reflect and ponder and ask and wonder and look for answers.
god's sovereignty and will is part of the mystery we as humans cannot understand. who is to say god's will is not fluid in some ways? can our prayers, our "intercessions" influence the very will of god? if heaven stood still (rev 8:1) then i would say we really do have a powerful influence over the reality in which we live.
so maybe "life is short, pray hard", as cliche as it is, may be a good quote of wisdom.
I have been having some interesting conversations sort of along these lines. I notice, among some Christians, there seems to be this feeling that they are waiting for something to happen - direction from God maybe? And I worry that the Christian community is perpetuating this idea that life is about sitting around and waiting for God to DO something - what exactly, Im not sure - instead of deciding what to go after - school, a career, move to a different country, maybe the . I don't know if they are "praying instead of doing" but that is sometimes what it seems like to me.
I think there is something that we miss - that the reality is that pretty much, to make stuff happen - make your dreams come true, and even decide what those dreams are, you really do have to decide and then get up of your behind and do them. Some things, many things are totally outside of our control, but lots is well within it. I think that God equips us with what we have and presents clear opportunities (sometimes) and prompts us through many things. He speaks in many ways. But ultimately, we have to make decisions and go for it.
Obviously, it is dangerous and prideful to cut God out of that process, but I think that phrase about praying the future into being - maybe on some global scale there is value to that (it is not my intention to devalue prayer or discourage people from praying - but personally, in our own lives, I think that probably we are a lot more responsible for our "destiny" through good old fashioned action than we think we are. And I think that in the past I have hidden behind this idea that I just need to kind of meander around until God hits me with this beam of light or something and shows me exactly what I am supposed to be doing. Maybe that totally happens. But I'm a lot less bitter now that I have decided that I would just well, decide, and...go for it. I think there is a fear of making a big mistake, fear of doing the "wrong" thing - but the fact is, at least in my opinion, if you don't decide, the world will sort of decide for you.
I am so proud of the people in my life that seem like they have really tuned into this, and they are moving and planning and prayerfully pursuing with effort and passion what they have decided makes sense in that (at least when it comes to careers and such) grand equation of what you're good at, what you love and what needs to be done in the world. (That's my personal equation but I think it can be useful for all.)
This is one of those classic pendulum issues where both extremes are bad (sitting around doing nothing and waiting for God to drop something in your lap versus cutting God out of the process and charging thoughtlessly and prayerlessly ahead.) I see more of the former in the Christian community among 20 and early 30 somethings that I meet. I am continually inspired by those who are holding that pendulum in the middle and taking advantage of all God has given them and moving ahead, not allowing fear to hold them back.
I'm not suggesting we all stop praying. I didn't pick my words wisely. What I was trying to say was since my prayer life has diminished greatly my faith has had to grow because I'm not having any communication with God.
Without communication with God it's pretty difficult to follow and believe in what He stands for. Since I'm not getting the affirmation that I would be getting if I were regularly in prayer I have had to put more faith in what I say I believe.
Is this making any sense?
Having a greater faith is a wonderful thing... it's not the only thing, and there are healthy and unhealthy routes that lead to having greater faith. I think I'm currently on an unhealthy one. I guess that's all I was really trying to say.
o hai and greetings, colorado!
so, i'm really not sure i follow you. there are "unhealthy routes that lead to having greater faith"? i'm just curious what the scriptural basis is for that. i firmly believe that scripture is a lens through which we should examen our experiences. as i think about narratives from the bible, i cannot remember a time when a man or woman of god increased their faith by distancing themselves from him. prayer, obedience and faith seem to go hand in hand - even if prayer is filled with negative emotions. if you don't pray at all, that's what you're doing, right? i mean, if i don't speak with someone for weeks on end, the relationship suffers.
don't get me wrong. i certainly go through times when i feel i can't pray or i simply forget to pray. but i refuse to allow those periods to last a long time, even if my prayer is nothing more than silence before god.
i also wonder if you have other examples of how someone can achieve something truly 'greater' through unhealthy decisions? not trying to be rude...just wanting to tap into your thoughts a little more.
Maybe what Colorado is saying is that God's love and care for us comes through more powerfully sometimes when he is faithful even when we don't do our part. I don't think it's a good "method" per se, (and I think Colorado knows that too) but moreso one of those ways God shows Himself even when we don't hold up our end. That's kind of how I took was Colorado wrote.
so, i am going to weigh in cautiously on this discussion. with the full knowledge that paul does not agree with what i am going to say in a bit.
colorado, you originally said, "I think my faith has grown because my prayer has ceased." if you had said, "I think my faith has grown in spite of the fact that my prayer has ceased," i would be more inclined to agree with you. i don't doubt that your lack of prayer and your increased faith are correlated. but i am wary of saying that your increased faith has been caused by your lack of prayer. perhaps you would disagree. that is okay.
the following story will make sense in just a bit.
several years ago i chose to leave a church in which i had invested my life for several years. it's a long LONG story. all i will say is that it was heartbreaking and difficult and the absolute darkest time of my life. every day and every night was a WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, GOD? prayer. i didn't, wouldn't, COULDN'T go to church. i did not darken the doors of a church for over six months.
this is where things start to [hopefully] get relevant to this discussion.
there was, frankly, no way in hell i was interested in going to a church during this time. and i am a BIG believer in the importance of being part of a community of faith. but just trust me: it was NOT going to happen during this time.
i mean, i had people. i wasn't cutting myself off from christianity completely. but church... no. i hoped i would, someday. but not then.
during this time, in spite of the fact that i was missing an integral portion of the christian life, my faith in God was strengthened, in both immediate and incremental ways. in many aspects, it was just me and God. this was something i'd never really been forced to do. and you know? both at the time and in hindsight, i KNOW that this was helpful to me.
now. many of you may be reading this thinking YOU ARE DUMB THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE YOU ARE JUST A COWARD AND TRYING TO JUSTIFY YOUR LACK OF GOING TO CHURCH. that's okay. i disagree. but that's okay.
what i AM NOT SAYING is that this is something i would ever suggest or promote or otherwise advocate. EVER. what i AM SAYING is that it is these types of things for which i will defend and understand and have great compassion. i will not deny nor condemn nor invalidate these experiences for anyone. i WILL encourage getting back on track in healthy, complete ways [and point out that your current situation is, in fact, unhealthy]; i WILL NOT forget the growth and grace experienced in my own life as i do so.
KNOWING that something in your life is spiritually unhealthy is one thing; the important question is, are you putting yourself on a path towards healthiness?
all of this may or may not be directly relevant to this sub-conversation going on. if not, my apologies.
oh and btw. i suck at prayer. i sure do worry, stew and stress a lot though. where do my prayers end and the spirit's groanings begin?
um...
and where will I disagree with you mdog?
mdog and paul have chatted and decided he was drunk when the first conversation took place that gave mdog the impression he disagreed with her.
which is funny, as I don't drink.
er... i had thought you disagreed with the not going to church part bit in a prior discussion. apparently not. no worries then.
i now return you to your irregularly scheduled posting.
My relationship with God has taken the shape of a sine line. It rolls up and it rolls down, but so far it always rolls back up again. I've noticed lately that when I start to phase prayer out of my daily life, the sine line starts to dip. There is an obvious correlation between how "tight" God and I are and how often we communicate, which is why I don't understand my continual pattern of "pull away from God, get close to God, pull away from God, get close to God, etc ... "
I guess the only difference between my sine line and a mathematical one is that each crest on mine is higher than the last. Each time I dip, I grow. Each time I crest, there is another challenge waiting for me, and I dip again.
I have been trying recently to make the way I conduct my life a living prayer ... that all my actions and words would be pleasing in the eye of the Lord.
It's a lot harder than I anticipated.
I think a few of you said it better than I. "in spite of" is probably the key phrase that I was leaving out.
and to answer sjw... I feel like many people from the Bible has was grown when they distanced themselves or was disobedient to God. Jonah... Peter denying Christ... David and his affair... etc. I feel like all of these were unhealthy/sinful events, but I believe all of them learned and grew from them.
And Paul you stupid April fools joke really mad me sad and I don't even go to Central anymore.
Maria: thanks for sharing your story.
I think I might have one of my own relevant to the subject and worth sharing:
I went through a period a few years back where I can best be described as living in disobedience. This is very different from trying your best, but messing up a lot. It was probably the worst period of my life, and I could not pray to God, because I wasn't ready to do what it would take to walk away from the situation I'd gotten myself in, and that's what I knew I needed to do. Eventually, through God's mercy, I got out of that situation and I'm in a much, much better place.
But what I learned from that time period was both how weak my faith was (it did not produce action, when action was so necessary), and also how strong it was in a way--tenacious, really. I was living in disobedience, not attending church, not praying, and doing my best to forget the inconsistencies.
But I couldn't forget.
In the parable of the sower, my faith turned out to not be like the seed the shoots up then dies, but maybe like the house plant that will not die, no matter how much you don't water it. It looked awful, and was a shadow of its potential self, but it wasn't dead. Not completely dead, anyway.
That realization was weirdly reassuring. I wouldn't say that that period of my life made my faith stronger, but it perhaps helped me to see the strengths and weaknesses of my faith more clearly.
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