Through the years as a pastor I have had people ask me more questions about prayer than about anything else. My observation is that most of us feel that we pray badly – that we don’t spend enough time or say things the right way or know best how to approach the Father. Our troubles are intensified when we have in mind what we believe God ought to do, and then He doesn’t follow our prayerful advice. It is so maddening, who does He think He is – God?
Even with all the questions, most people would just like to know how to pray better. It is with that in mind that I recommend the advice Philip Yancey gives in his book Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? He suggests that the most significant thing we can do in prayer is to just show up. “The writer Nancy Mairs says she attends church in the same spirit in which a writer goes to her desk every morning, so that if an idea comes along she’ll be there to receive it. I approach prayer the same way. Many days I would be hard-pressed to describe a direct benefit. I keep on, though, whether it feels like I am profiting or not. I show up in hopes of getting to know God better, and perhaps hearing from God in ways accessible only through quiet and solitude.”
Showing up – may not sound super spiritual, but it is something I seek to do each day. Whether I am reading Scripture or the words of one of my mentors in writing (like Philip Yancey), I show up most days ready for whatever God may have. Yancey refers to it as the discipline of regularity – those regular, consistent times we enter into God’s presence with our hearts open. I must say, there are times I receive something quite significant – I read a few verses, or a phrase, or a quote, or even a word, and I am plunged into a conversation with God over whatever it is that confronts, challenges, comforts or calls me. Most of the time it is more subtle than that – I spend time quietly in the presence of the Lord, sensing nothing that significant but speaking my heart nonetheless, and then I go on. Showing up.
Of course, that's not the end of it. God is not confined to a single conversation or a structured time of the day. Even when He is the quiet partner in prayer, I discover His amazing ability to bring to my mind some Scripture passage, image, quote, or whatever else is needed for an unforeseen event of the day. He honors my showing up by responding to prayer in His own time and way.
Makes sense. He can do that, you know – He is God!
My advice for the week – why don’t you try showing up for prayer?
Monday, January 25, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Children
We had the joy of having both our children and their spouses home for Christmas a few weeks ago. It was a first for us – our daughter Alyssa and her husband Paul will celebrate their fifth anniversary this year, and our son Chad and his wife Becki their first. This was the first Christmas where we were all family together. I loved it – and the time slipped by so fast. It was as if they got there one day, and were gone the next. The house seemed empty and too quiet.
It is a strange thing – you pray for your children, that God will bless them and keep them close to Him, that they will grow and enjoy God’s good gifts and find a spouse that is as a gift from God. And then as those things take place, you realize that their lives take a different path than yours. You pray they always remember the things you taught them. You ask God to keep them close to Him. As son-in-laws and daughter-in-laws enter the scene, you find yourself praying for them just as you do your own children. You realize, in my case, that where only two people on the face of the earth had the right to call me “father,” now there are four.
You rejoice in their successes, agonize over their hurts, ask the Heavenly Father to direct them, and pray that the choices they make, the paths they travel, will be God-honoring. And you trust them to that Father who is so much greater than any parent can be.
As young newlyweds, Holly and I took off to Tennessee, some twelve hours from my parents. Because of college and work demands, I didn’t get to see my parents but once a year. I tried to call when I could, which wasn’t enough (my kids do much better). One day we were leaving my folks after a visit of about a week. I took one last glance at my parents as we drove off – they were standing outside watching, my Dad holding my Mom in his arms, and I suddenly realized my Mom was crying. I don’t know why it didn’t dawn on me before – my leaving caused her pain. She was grateful for all God was doing in our lives, thankful that I had “turned out alright,” but still – things would never be the same.
We have tools my parents never had. We can Skype with our kids, see their faces, hear their voices, enjoy time with them even though they may be hundreds of miles away. But it can never be the same as seeing their faces in the flesh, feeling their hug, enjoying just being with them.
My children are far more attentive to my wife and I than I was to my parents. It saddens me that I didn’t get it – that I didn’t realize that, though the years bring change, they do not minimize the love or lessen the prayers. Twenty years ago I came to First Baptist Church of Rolla, and I remember the conversation I had with my Mom before I decided God was in that move. She wanted to make sure I would be happy, that I would be cared for, that it was the right thing to do. And then she said, “I’ll be praying for you.”
To my knowledge my Mom prayed for me every day from the day I was born – I do my best to follow her example, praying for my children.
See the picture – aren’t they a fine bunch!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Putting Yourself Aside
One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Philippians 2:1-11. As far as I am concerned, it is one of the most majestic passages in the New Testament. Theologically it is a great hymn of praise for the work of Christ, a profound glimpse into the mystery of the incarnation, of God taking on flesh in the person of His Son, of the way God became Immanuel, God with us. A wordy sentence, yes, but how do you describe what all of this means in just a few words!
Of course, the passage has a practical purpose – it is part of Paul’s plea to the Philippians to maintain unity, to strive for a greater love for each other, and to have the shared purpose of exalting Christ. It is a call to follow the pattern of Jesus by putting others before ourselves, being a servant, setting aside self-interest. This is where this tremendous passage nails me.
I read this passage as the text for a deacon ordination service in the church I pastor this past Sunday. It is a great passage for service, calling us to have the same attitude which was also in Christ Jesus – to take upon ourselves, as one version puts it, the mind of Christ.
But I have a problem with that.
It’s not that I think the idea is wrong; on the contrary, it is so right. If we are truly Christ-followers, then of course we will seek to pattern our lives after Jesus.
But I find that easier said than done.
C. S. Lewis highlights the struggle I have – is it yours as well? He writes:
That is how Lewis puts it with his lofty prose – Don Miller in his book Blue Like Jazz puts it more crassly, and more to the point – “Six billion people live in the world, and I can only muster thoughts for one. Me.”
I don’t like that fact about myself, and I tend to believe I am not alone. We can talk a good game, speak of things like love and service and putting others first – but frankly, that doesn’t happen easily. That is why I keep coming back to Philippians 2. Eugene Peterson puts it in the same frank way Miller does in The Message – “If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made a difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care – then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.”
I keep coming back to these words because I must. Vain conceit and selfish ambition are just natural for me – isn’t it for you as well? And so day by day we keep coming back to the admonition to put on the mind of Christ, and we keep coming back to the example of Jesus and the attitude displayed by His great act of self-emptying. We come back with the prayer, “Lord, make me more like you.”
It’s a cinch I can’t pull it off on my own.
Of course, the passage has a practical purpose – it is part of Paul’s plea to the Philippians to maintain unity, to strive for a greater love for each other, and to have the shared purpose of exalting Christ. It is a call to follow the pattern of Jesus by putting others before ourselves, being a servant, setting aside self-interest. This is where this tremendous passage nails me.
I read this passage as the text for a deacon ordination service in the church I pastor this past Sunday. It is a great passage for service, calling us to have the same attitude which was also in Christ Jesus – to take upon ourselves, as one version puts it, the mind of Christ.
But I have a problem with that.
It’s not that I think the idea is wrong; on the contrary, it is so right. If we are truly Christ-followers, then of course we will seek to pattern our lives after Jesus.
But I find that easier said than done.
C. S. Lewis highlights the struggle I have – is it yours as well? He writes:
All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you.
I never had a selfless thought since I was born.
I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through;
I want God, you, all my friends, merely to serve my turn.
Peace, reassurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek,
I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin;
I talk of love – a scholar’s parrot may talk Greek –
But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin.
I never had a selfless thought since I was born.
I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through;
I want God, you, all my friends, merely to serve my turn.
Peace, reassurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek,
I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin;
I talk of love – a scholar’s parrot may talk Greek –
But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin.
That is how Lewis puts it with his lofty prose – Don Miller in his book Blue Like Jazz puts it more crassly, and more to the point – “Six billion people live in the world, and I can only muster thoughts for one. Me.”
I don’t like that fact about myself, and I tend to believe I am not alone. We can talk a good game, speak of things like love and service and putting others first – but frankly, that doesn’t happen easily. That is why I keep coming back to Philippians 2. Eugene Peterson puts it in the same frank way Miller does in The Message – “If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made a difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care – then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.”
I keep coming back to these words because I must. Vain conceit and selfish ambition are just natural for me – isn’t it for you as well? And so day by day we keep coming back to the admonition to put on the mind of Christ, and we keep coming back to the example of Jesus and the attitude displayed by His great act of self-emptying. We come back with the prayer, “Lord, make me more like you.”
It’s a cinch I can’t pull it off on my own.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Worship Good And Bad
Well, I decided to take up my own challenge and spend a year with Jesus. A chapter a day out of a Gospel will take me through all four Gospels four times in 356 days. I’ve printed the text out with a wide margin for notes and thoughts and a chronicle of my journey. I don’t intent to blog it here, but there will probably be times when something strikes me.
Like today.
Matthew chapter two is a chapter on worship good and bad. It is a familiar passage, one we hear during the Christmas season, our embellished story of three Wise Men from the Far East bringing their costly and symbolic gifts to the baby Jesus. You’ve heard the sermons – I won’t preach one here.
No, what caught my attention was the frequent reference to worship. The Magi come before Herod in their search and indicate they have come to worship this one who has been born King of the Jews. Herod is disturbed, but he uses worship language as well – “As soon as you find him, report to me, so I too may go and worship him.” Sure Herod – we know worship is the farthest thing from your mind!
When the Magi finally reach their destination, they worship. They do things like bowing down, opening their treasures, and presenting their gifts. And when they don’t return to tell Herod where the newborn King is, Herod responds with his own brand of self-worship, seeking to eliminate the opposition with the murder of the innocents.
Is the worship over at this point? No, I don’t think so. Joseph has taken his family out of the country to keep them safe, and in the dead of the night he has a dream. Joseph always dreams – I wonder if he ever felt cheated that he didn’t get any angelic visitations in broad daylight but only dreams in the dark of the night. Or maybe he was relieved. Anyway, he has a dream, and he responds by taking his family back to Israel. He has another dream, and he responds again, finally taking Jesus to Nazareth.
I wonder a lot about worship – are even these thoughts prayerfully offered to whoever will read them an act of worship? What does worship mean to you or me on a personal level, and what about a collective level when we gather with brothers and sisters in Christ? Matthew tells us that the Magi bowed down and worshiped Jesus – does that mean they sang songs? Prayed prayers? Read Scripture? Actions are recorded – they opened their treasures – they presented gifts. So what is it that I treasure, good or bad, that I need to “open” for the Lord? What gifts do I need to give? And is there any Herod in you or me – he was lying about his desire to worship, he had a secret agenda. Do we ever have a secret agenda? Are we after something in our worship? Is that why we complain sometimes that we have not worshiped, because we have not gotten what we are after? A lot of questions, I know.
We uses phrases like “worship service” – in this chapter the two come together, both worship and service. Worship involves things we need like singing and praying and giving and telling God what is on our mind and in our hearts – but worship also puts us at the service of God, like the Magi and Joseph traveling and bowing and protecting and acting in response to God.
Maybe that is the test of worship for us – not what it does for us, but what we do in response.
Like today.
Matthew chapter two is a chapter on worship good and bad. It is a familiar passage, one we hear during the Christmas season, our embellished story of three Wise Men from the Far East bringing their costly and symbolic gifts to the baby Jesus. You’ve heard the sermons – I won’t preach one here.
No, what caught my attention was the frequent reference to worship. The Magi come before Herod in their search and indicate they have come to worship this one who has been born King of the Jews. Herod is disturbed, but he uses worship language as well – “As soon as you find him, report to me, so I too may go and worship him.” Sure Herod – we know worship is the farthest thing from your mind!
When the Magi finally reach their destination, they worship. They do things like bowing down, opening their treasures, and presenting their gifts. And when they don’t return to tell Herod where the newborn King is, Herod responds with his own brand of self-worship, seeking to eliminate the opposition with the murder of the innocents.
Is the worship over at this point? No, I don’t think so. Joseph has taken his family out of the country to keep them safe, and in the dead of the night he has a dream. Joseph always dreams – I wonder if he ever felt cheated that he didn’t get any angelic visitations in broad daylight but only dreams in the dark of the night. Or maybe he was relieved. Anyway, he has a dream, and he responds by taking his family back to Israel. He has another dream, and he responds again, finally taking Jesus to Nazareth.
I wonder a lot about worship – are even these thoughts prayerfully offered to whoever will read them an act of worship? What does worship mean to you or me on a personal level, and what about a collective level when we gather with brothers and sisters in Christ? Matthew tells us that the Magi bowed down and worshiped Jesus – does that mean they sang songs? Prayed prayers? Read Scripture? Actions are recorded – they opened their treasures – they presented gifts. So what is it that I treasure, good or bad, that I need to “open” for the Lord? What gifts do I need to give? And is there any Herod in you or me – he was lying about his desire to worship, he had a secret agenda. Do we ever have a secret agenda? Are we after something in our worship? Is that why we complain sometimes that we have not worshiped, because we have not gotten what we are after? A lot of questions, I know.
We uses phrases like “worship service” – in this chapter the two come together, both worship and service. Worship involves things we need like singing and praying and giving and telling God what is on our mind and in our hearts – but worship also puts us at the service of God, like the Magi and Joseph traveling and bowing and protecting and acting in response to God.
Maybe that is the test of worship for us – not what it does for us, but what we do in response.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Julie, Julia, Jesus and 356 Days
The first day of 2010 – I often think of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 at the start of a new year, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot...” – and you can read the rest and reflect on what time it is now for you, and how you will spend the time God has given you in this new year. Just remember that a lot of choices go into how we spend our time, in positive and negative ways, for our growth or our detriment.
One of the books I will be spending time with in 2010 is Philip Yancey’s Grace Notes. It contains daily heart-to-heart conversations about God, yourself, the world, and about everything else. I like this comment from the January 1 reading: “Because of Jesus we need never question God’s desire for intimacy. Does God really want close contact with us? Jesus gave up Heaven for it.” Did you catch that? Jesus gave up heaven so we could have close contact and intimacy with the Father. That is so beyond my comprehension that all I want to do is get to know better this One who loves us so.
Which brings me to the title of this blog and my invitation for the new year.
A couple of weeks ago Holly and I watched the movie, Julie & Julia. It was a truth-inspired tale of Julie Powell, a disenchanted young woman who decides to enliven her uneventful life and find purpose by cooking her way through Julia Child’s classic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Julie decides to spend 365 days working through the 524 recipes, and she delights the ever-growing readers of her blog with her steps and missteps. In the end she has done more than master the art of French cooking – she has found purpose and joy in life.
I am not suggesting that you follow Julie’s example and work yourself through a cookbook in a year. As my wife Holly and I watched the movie, I was struck at how much Julie was inspired by what she read and the person (Julia Child) she was getting to know. Writing a blog about each day helped cement things in her thoughts and soul – but I am not suggesting that either.
Inasmuch as Jesus gave up heaven by coming into our midst so we could know Him intimately, I would suggest that you give the next 365 days to a pursuit of Jesus.
Did you realize that if you simply read one chapter out of a Gospel a day, you can cover the four Gospels four times in a year – actually, in 356 days? What’s more, if you seek to apply what you read, reflect on Jesus’ character, make Jesus’ choices, live a life that mirrors His, you will find more purpose and joy than you could ever find in a cookbook, to say nothing of the greater intimacy you will discover. Blog about it if you want, journal it and you will hang on to your insights, but whatever you do, pray about what you read each day and you will find your life changed. You will not only know the Gospels in a way you never have before – with prayer, you will know Jesus as you never have before.
What a great way to spend the time God has given you in this new year!
One of the books I will be spending time with in 2010 is Philip Yancey’s Grace Notes. It contains daily heart-to-heart conversations about God, yourself, the world, and about everything else. I like this comment from the January 1 reading: “Because of Jesus we need never question God’s desire for intimacy. Does God really want close contact with us? Jesus gave up Heaven for it.” Did you catch that? Jesus gave up heaven so we could have close contact and intimacy with the Father. That is so beyond my comprehension that all I want to do is get to know better this One who loves us so.
Which brings me to the title of this blog and my invitation for the new year.
A couple of weeks ago Holly and I watched the movie, Julie & Julia. It was a truth-inspired tale of Julie Powell, a disenchanted young woman who decides to enliven her uneventful life and find purpose by cooking her way through Julia Child’s classic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Julie decides to spend 365 days working through the 524 recipes, and she delights the ever-growing readers of her blog with her steps and missteps. In the end she has done more than master the art of French cooking – she has found purpose and joy in life.
I am not suggesting that you follow Julie’s example and work yourself through a cookbook in a year. As my wife Holly and I watched the movie, I was struck at how much Julie was inspired by what she read and the person (Julia Child) she was getting to know. Writing a blog about each day helped cement things in her thoughts and soul – but I am not suggesting that either.
Inasmuch as Jesus gave up heaven by coming into our midst so we could know Him intimately, I would suggest that you give the next 365 days to a pursuit of Jesus.
Did you realize that if you simply read one chapter out of a Gospel a day, you can cover the four Gospels four times in a year – actually, in 356 days? What’s more, if you seek to apply what you read, reflect on Jesus’ character, make Jesus’ choices, live a life that mirrors His, you will find more purpose and joy than you could ever find in a cookbook, to say nothing of the greater intimacy you will discover. Blog about it if you want, journal it and you will hang on to your insights, but whatever you do, pray about what you read each day and you will find your life changed. You will not only know the Gospels in a way you never have before – with prayer, you will know Jesus as you never have before.
What a great way to spend the time God has given you in this new year!
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