Prayer as Conversation-Pray Like You Mean It!

Psalm 145 is David’s description of who God is.  He uses words like magnificent, mercy, grace, boundless, slow to anger, good, generous.  Towards the end of the Psalm The Message paraphrase says this:

“God’s there listening for all who pray, all who pray and mean it.”

That phrase makes me wonder.  Do we sometimes pray and not really mean it?  Do we “have not because we ask not?”  Are we dealing with a case of insincere prayer, sometimes?

How does one pray and not mean what they pray?  It’s an interesting question.  It resonates with something I learned in one of the workshops that I attended at Leadership Institute.  The workshop was led by Rev. Dr. Constance Cherry and it focused on corporate prayer during worship services.  She asked a question that really put the importance of prayer in perspective.  If the people  in this congregation only had me to teach them to pray, what would their concept of God be like?  We may not realize it, but prayer is an important part of a worship service and we need to give it the same consideration that we give other elements as well.

Are we demonstrating that prayer is a conversation?  Are we showing them that God is vast, wondrous and close?  Do we acknowledge God’s presence?  Bottom line, are we teaching our members how to pray?

You may think that is an odd question but think about it, do we teach our members how to pray just for the sake of praying or do we teach them how to have a conversation with God.  A conversation involves not only talking but also listening.  People know how to talk, the fine art of listening-sometimes that isn’t as strongly or equally emphasized.  Dr. Cherry did an informal study and discovered that in all services, prayer time has become less and less during corporate worship.  Corporate worship, our Sunday morning services, are prime opportunities to model prayer conversation.  We shy away from quiet or silence because it’s uncomfortable.  It’s uncomfortable in worship and it’s uncomfortable in private prayer time.  We, as a society,  have become accustomed to noise!

And perhaps that is where the insincere praying comes in to play.  We pray a lot but do we ever stop and listen?  Imagine how frustrating that must be to God.  “Here I am!  I hear you!  Could you stop talking long enough so I can speak to you?”  What would God have to say to you if he could get a word in edgewise?  Interesting thought to consider, if you ask me!  It may be frightening to some but if you look at the list of attributes that David writes about, God wants to speak lovingly, not in a harsh negative manner.  Sure, the possibility exists that there may be some correction but God is slow to anger!  So chances are, there will be a lot of good things, if we are willing to stop long enough to listen!

Can we learn to become comfortable with silence again in our worship services and in our private prayer time?  Can we pray our prayer and wait patiently and quietly for a response?  Can we begin to converse with God again and have a sincere conversation?  Will we learn the fine art of pausing and waiting for the presence of the Lord?

I know that this is a goal for me over the next year.  Talk less, listen more!  Lord give me strength because quietly waiting is not one of my stronger qualities!  But I’m willing to learn!

Give Substance to the Words by Living Them!

Reading Deuteronomy can be a bit of a struggle at times for me because it’s very similar to Leviticus and Numbers.  There are a lot of “do this” and “don’t do that” statements and a lot of counting of things!  After awhile my eyes tend to gloss over and I end up doing some serious speed reading, particularly through the census numbers!  But, all of them are worth reading through because there are some gems that can be found, if you’re willing to do the work to dig.

Take Deuteronomy chapters 27 and 28, dealing with the  blessings and the curse.  There were a couple of sentences that really jumped out at me.  At the very end of chapter 27 in The Message paraphrase, it says this:

“God’s curse on whoever does not give substance to the words of this Revelation by living them.”

In chapter 28 in The Message paraphrase Moses goes on to explain why the curse comes about:

“Because you didn’t serve God, your God, out of the joy and goodness of your heart in the great abundance, you’ll have to serve your enemies whom God will send against you.  Life will be famine and drought, rags and wretchedness; then he’ll put an iron yoke on your neck until he’s destroyed you.”

It goes on further to talk about how everyone would turn against each other when they are under siege and how the most gentle of people will end up doing the most despicable things because  they have lost everything, even their humanity.

Give substance to the words by living them.  Serve God out of the joy and goodness of your heart in great abundance.  Sounds a lot like the words spoken by Jesus in the New Testament “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.”  I am also reminded of Victor Frankl, a survivor of the Holocaust, who wrote “Man’s Search for Meaning”.  I know many consider the book not worthy of discussions in biblical circles but I found that reading the book gave me a greater appreciation for my faith!

Frankl, in his book, talks about a point when he looked in to the face of another prisoner and knew that they had given up.  They would die in a very short time.  They no longer had a name, or, an individual identity, they had a number.  And it was a tremendous struggle to remember your individual value and worth in the face of such utter, cruel, brutality.  Those who gave up, in essence, lost their humanity.  They lost sight of the fact that they were precious despite their circumstances.  Let me just say that I do not believe that the Holocaust was a result of God carrying out a curse against the Jewish community.  No, the perpetrators of the crime lost their “humanity” first in order to carry out such dire insanity!  They thought they were superior and anything inferior must be eliminated.  And I remember watching interviews with citizens who said that they were not aware of what was going on.  They would say things like “he was such a kind person, always treating others well, not the kind of person who would do such a thing!”  Yet, some did do such horrible things.  The atrocities happened and we should never forget that they happened because, quite frankly, similar atrocities have happened in recent years and if we are not careful, will happen again!

Advent and Christmas, the season of peace on earth and good will to men.  We give substance to these words during the holiday season, but do we carry that message with us beyond the holidays?  Do we serve God with joy out of our abundance once we get past the holiday season?  Do we still volunteer and help out at the food shelf or the battered women’s shelter once January first rolls around?  Do we have a kind word for a stranger in the store?  Do we live the message beyond the holiday season?  I know that there are individuals that do, God bless them!  Perhaps the rest of us, should think about making a pledge to do the same.  Not that we will always succeed or get it right, but if our heart is in the right place, how can we not help but be blessed?

Serve God with joy, out of your abundance.

The Love of a True Father!

I've always thought Joseph gets short shift when we talk about the story of Jesus and his birth.  He's the guy engaged to Mary.  He's the one who takes her to Bethlehem.  He's the one who finds shelter in the stable.  He's the one who takes them to Egypt for awhile and then back to Nazareth and that's pretty much what we hear about Joseph.  He's just sorta there, like the sheep or the cattle.  But stop and think-how differently would things have turned out if Joseph had just said no? 

He finds out the woman that he is engaged to is pregnant and he knows that he is not the father.  We know he's honorable because he had a plan in place to marry her and then quietly divorce her in order to avoid Mary facing scandal.  And when the angel comes to speak to him in a dream, he listens and does what is asked of him!  More importantly, he raises Jesus as his own flesh and blood.  That my friends is not a minor footnote contribution!  God is the father of Jesus, but Joseph was his earthly father!  True fatherhood, the love of a man for a child who is not his own can be far more precious than any of us realize!

I was reminded of this in my own life yesterday.  It's also the reason I didn't blog yesterday because something big came up and it had to be dealt with immediately.  My daughter called my husband early in the morning.  She is being transferred to a different base and she was scheduled to leave today.  She had been having problems with her Jeep, which she has to drive to the new base because she has to move herself and be reimbursed later.  She's had it in the shop three times in the last week-they thought they had gotten it fixed.  But when she drove her Jeep yesterday morning it started doing exactly the same thing.  So, she called my husband, her step-father because, well, this was a big huge problem!  She had a (and I use this term loosely) "friend" who offered to haul her Jeep, her stuff and her up to the new base but there were "strings" attached to this offer.  Not cool!  Let's just say daddy had his mind made up on a course of action before they even finished the conversation.  I saw the look in Kenny's eyes.  I knew what was coming!  Come hell or high water he was going to drive cross country in order to safely deliver our daughter to the new base and fix that Jeep while he was at it!  I started packing his bag.

This is not just a hop skip and a jump away.  We are in the middle of the country.  The drive to my parents house in Vermont is 1200 plus miles one way.  My husband is driving to the southeastern coast, loading the Jeep onto a tow-dolly, hauling it up the east coast to the northern part of the United States and then turning around and driving all of the way back here!  Did I mention that he is going to try to be back here by Sunday night?!  By the time he's done, he will have driven about 3,000 plus miles in a matter of days.  The man has a father's heart!  If he didn't love my daughter like one of his own, he wouldn't be making that kind of drive!

When I married Kenny I came as a package deal.  I was a full time mother.  I had my two young children full time.  There was not alternating weekends.  There was some holiday breaks but they usually didn't happen because something always seemed to crop up that made it "impossible" for the ex to take the kids.  My husband loved them and raised them just like they were his own.  He always said "there are no steps in this family!"  They have always been "his children". 

It's an amazing and extraordinary gift, this true father's love!  As we celebrate Advent let's not forget the important part that Joseph played.  He loved Jesus as his own.  He gave him the love of a true earthly father, without reservation!  Biological connection is not always the mark of parenthood.  The true standard is how much are you willing to love?  Kenny may not have the biological connection but he has the heart connection.  He has shown my children the love of a true father! 

Kenny's example gives me a much greater appreciation and understanding of just what Joseph did!  How precious a gift indeed!

By the way, he's already there.  Got the call about 30 minutes ago.  Keep them in your prayers-they've got a long way to go!

Malachi's Priestly Smackdown

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament.  It's the last word we hear for a few hundred years before the story of Jesus begins in the New Testament.  Some of you may be familiar with part of the book because there is a section in chapter 3 about tithes and offerings which is discussed by those who preach the "prosperity" message.  But chapters 1 and 2 deal with Priestly conduct and let's just say Malachi doesn't mince words!  If there was ever an example of God giving a "Priestly smack down" this would be it!

Here are some examples from chapter 1 in The Message paraphrase:

"You Priests have gotten everyone in trouble.  With this kind of conduct, do you think I'll pay attention to you?...Why doesn't one of you just shut the Temple doors and lock them?  Then none of you can get in and play at religion with this silly, empty-headed worship....You profane me when you say 'Worship is not important, and what we bring to worship is of no account,' and when you say, 'I'm bored-this doesn't do anything for me."

Or how about this from chapter 2:

"It's the job of priests to teach the truth.  People are supposed to look to them for guidance....But you priests have abandoned the way of priests. Your teachings have messed up many lives....You fill the place of worship with your whining and sniveling because you don't get what you want from God."

Ouch!  Tough words from God but God never sends a Prophet without words of hope as well.  Bottom line, he is asking the leaders to turn and repent and treat God with respect again.  He is asking them to be true servants again.  Live right.  Serve well. 

Are there parallels with this story from old with our faith story today?  Have we gotten out of whack with our worship?  And I'm not talking about just ministers here, I'm talking about anyone in a leadership position within the church!  Do we give our very best to service?  Or do we worry more about what is in it for ourselves? 

These are tough questions to confront.  We may not like the answers.  That doesn't mean that we shouldn't ask the questions.  Otherwise we may face a Godly rebuke like we see in the book of Malachi.  Let's listen and heed the wise words of Malachi!

Notes from Around the Blog World

It's snowing here in Missouri!  Not a lot of snow and it is not a steady snow but there was just enough to slick up the roads and cause lots of accidents this morning!

Closer to home, I have had a fun filled and exciting time breaking the ice off of the top of the water troughs for the animals.  So, rather than attempt to write a quick blog post that I am not going to do justice to, I'm just going to link you to some good blogs worth reading!

Allan R. Bevere had two really good blog posts in the last couple of days:
90% of Americans Believe in God, Gallup is unimpressed
Jesus is Not Paula Deen

My friend Craig Adams posted some information on Good ole St. Nick!
Old St. Nick

And a good reminder from Dan Dick!
Occupy Christmas

My children are anxiously watching out the window hoping for some more snow!  Me, I just want to wrap my hands around a warm mug of hot chocolate!  It would be nice to regain some feeling in my fingers!  They're just a tad stiff from breaking up that ice! 

Enjoy!

Pondering John's Baptism

This weekend my daily Bible reading took me further in to the Book of Acts, which I've read many times before.  But I was really struck by this story about Paul, and some disciples, in a way that I had never been struck before.  Maybe it is because I am reading it in The Message paraphrase or maybe I just never paid close enough attention!  Anyway, here it is, from Chapter 19:

"Now it happened that while Apollos was away in Corinth, Paul made his way down through the mountains, came to Ephesus and happened on some disciples there.  The first thing he said was 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?  Did you take God into your mind only, or did you also embrace him with your heart:  Did he get inside you?' 'We've never even heard of that-a Holy Spirit:  God within us?' 'How were you baptized, then?' asked Paul.  'In John's baptism.'  'That explains it,' said Paul.  'John preached a baptism of radical life-change so that people would be ready to receive the One coming after him, who turned out to be Jesus.  If you've been baptized in John's baptism, you're ready now for the real thing, for Jesus."

I want to point out a few things here-first Paul did not question the fact that they were disciples.  Second, he didn't question the fact that they were baptised.  By asking them if they had received the Holy Spirit, he was in essence asking them what type of baptism they had received.  When the disciples replied "John's baptism", you see Paul saying "That explains it!" 

A modern day reader might look at that exchange and conclude that the disciples were not really baptised because it's assumed that it is a given that we are baptised by the Holy Spirit.  I think Paul would disagree with that assertion.  So, here's what I am pondering.  Those who are in the church are baptised, but how many in the church are stuck in John's baptism?  Weird question?  Let me explain.

Paul describes John's baptism as "radical life change so people would be ready to receive the One coming after him" or in other words  taking "God into your mind only."  They received the Holy Spirit but they had not yet "embraced" the Holy Spirit. 

I may be splitting hairs here but I do wonder how many people are sitting in our churches longing for something more and yet getting the impression that this is as good as it gets in their spiritual life.  Faith, to them, is an intellectual exercise that you try to apply in a practical way in your daily life.  I believe taking faith beyond the church doors and using it in your daily life matters!  But I also get the sense that people are longing for something deeper, something more and they're not sure how to find it!  They sense, that there is something more, that there should be something more but how do you find that something more?

Apollos taught what he knew.  He taught it faithfully and well and the disciples followed.   Paul came along and showed them the next step.   They were not aware that there was something more.  Modern day Christians don't have the same exact problem but there is a similar issue-who will teach them how to take the next step?  Who will help point the way to something more? 

This may seem like a weird thing to bring up during Advent but think about it-when a woman experiences pregnancy she knows that the baby and her body will go through change.  There is a process that happens.  There is something more than simply being pregnant.  The first flutter, the first strong kick, the first bout of 3 a.m. false labor.  All of it leads up to the big event, the actual birth!  But there is even more after that-there is raising, to the best of our God given ability, the little helpless squirming bundle that is now in our arms!  There is always a next step, there is something more.  If you apply that analogy to the church-are we as a congregation teaching that something more?  Or are we just letting our members rest in a baptism that is similar to the baptism of John? 

It's a question that I think we should consider pondering.

The Coolest Mystery that You'll Never Fully Understand

Yesterday morning turned a little crazy around our house.  My daughter called me in full blown panic.  She is being transferred to her new post and she has to drive herself.  Her Jeep was acting up again and she needed to find a place to live because there is no housing available on base.  All of this would normally be a minor nuisance except for the fact that she moves next week!  I don't care how old your children get-when something comes up, fully mommy mode kicks in because once a mommy, always a mommy!  Even if they are far away, somehow you find a way to help!  I spent the morning on the Internet and cell phone.  I do believe today will be a much calmer, quieter day-although there is still a lot of work to do!  There's a plan in place now to make the transition smooth!

Yup, my daughter is beautiful, intelligent, poised and level headed but every once in awhile she still needs her mommy!  I look at my children and am amazed sometimes because I wonder how in the world I managed to raise them!  Parenthood is part art, part science and a whole lot of mystery!  That little baby grew and became an amazing individual and in the whole scheme of things you're not really sure how that happened!

In The Message paraphrase Ecclesiastes 11 says this:

"Just as you'll never understand the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman, so you'll never understand the mystery at work in all that God does."

Parents can relate to that statement!  Scientists and doctors can explain the process and National Geographic can create shows that illustrate the mechanical points, but that forming life is still a miraculous mystery that we will never fully understand.  As we come in to Advent I think about Mary and what it must have been like for her and how gutsy and courageous she was in saying yes to God's plan.  She knew, going in, that this child was going to be unique and special.  (All parents believe that each child will be unique and special but Mary heard it from an angel).  I doubt that she could even fathom just how things would turn out.  If she knew that 33 years later, the child that she carried, raised and nurtured was going to have to brutally die on the cross and that she would have to witness this, I wonder if she would have had cause to pause. 

Conventional thinking at the time was that the Messiah would be the "new" David.  He would be a king after God's own heart ruling a kingdom here on earth.  It was envisioned that he would be king and rule justly and live to a ripe old age and then die a natural death and be buried, just like David.  Persecution, suffering, they were not part of the equation. 

No parent ever envisions the worst for their children.  No parent wants to see their child suffer or make wrong choices or worse, that the child dies before the parent.  That is never part of the future that we envision for our children!  We envision the very best!  And though sometimes we can explain their choices, sometimes what happens to our children is a complete mystery!  We don't know what the future holds!  Why do they turn out the way they do with all of the likes and dislikes and quirks and individual personality?  The same set of parents raises the same set of children yet each turns out differently.  That is truly the mystery!

If that is how it is for us as parents imagine what it is like for God!  Each and every one of us created, each and every one his child, yet each and every one unique and different.  God envisioning the very best for each of us.  God also knowing though that pain and suffering will come in to each and every human life, to each and every one of his children.  It is a part of the warp and weave of life here on earth. 

No wonder he created a plan to be able to claim his children again!  No wonder he chose the mystery of childbirth-the creation of a baby in order to fulfill his plan.  God knew that there would be suffering and pain involved yet he also knew that there would be great joy that would come as well! 

God is the ultimate parent and he envisions the very best.  Yet sometimes a child will suffer.  It must be difficult to watch sometimes.  Yet that is the mystery of children, each one individual, each one with free will.  Will they make the right choice?  That is the question and that is the mystery.  It is the coolest mystery that we as parents will never fully understand!  That is exactly how it is supposed to be because that is a part of the mystery of life!  Just like Mary, we made the courageous choice to see it through, not fully understanding what that choice might entail but believing the very best for our children and their future.  We said yes to the mystery!  I for one am glad that I said yes!  I think just about every parent would say the same thing!  Life truly is a mystery!