Seeking God in Prayer

This past Sunday, January 16 we looked out how we can seek God through prayer. For me there were a few key takeaways.

One of the key takeaways for me was thinking through what my primary metaphor for my relationship with God is. I gave four metaphors that are suggested by the Bible: Boss; Doctor: Friend and Father.

One of our primary aims for this series is to move us towards Jesus. If our primary metaphor is the Boss metaphor, my guess is that our stance will be one of avoidance. On the other hand the other three metaphors suggest relationships where the other is looking out for us. The last two in particular are relationships that draw us in.

The second key takeaway for me was wrestling with why it often appears that our prayers are unanswered. Again let me say that I don’t have an answer that will cut through the mystery and give us a guarantee that our prayer will be answered exactly in the way we want it answered. What I can do is offer a couple of suggestions that have been somewhat helpful to me.

The first might be the bowls of prayer suggestion. This is suggested by Dave Smelzer, the pastor of the Boston Vineyard. The imagery is taken from the book of Revelation which depicts bowls in heaven filled with incense and the incense is the prayers of God’s people. When the bowls are filled up an answer is poured out. I find this a little helpful, but also more than a little daunting. How do I know how big the bowl is? How do if I know if I am even getting close? Is there another bowl I should be focusing on? Smelzer says that this view can definitely result in tyranny and a constant feeling of guilt for not having prayed enough or praying for one while we let other bowls sit empty. The only way this works he says is if we depend on the Spirit to lead us into what to pray for in the first place. As I said I find this suggestion to be helpful in a limited way, and I can see how when used rightly it would be a real encouragement to persevere in prayer.

The second suggestion, I personally find more helpful, and that is the fact that God’s desires are currently opposed. This by no means eliminates the mystery, but for me it is helpful to remember that there are certainly parts of the universe that are not currently as they will be. One example of one thing that is not yet as it will be and that times resists God’s will would be …uh let’s see... me. A second would be...drumroll... you. Beyond us, the Bible points to a spiritual world that is at war against God. This helps me some as I wrestle with prayer. I think this is one of the reasons that Jesus taught us to ask for God’s will to be done on earth. This tells me that God’s will is probably resisted currently on the earth. Again this by no means eliminates the mystery, especially when the unanswered prayer is very close to our hearts. But for me, it does encourage me to push forward, knowing that one day God’s will – will be perfectly reflected here on earth.

The final and most important takeaway for me was that the reward of prayer is not ultimately what I might get from God, but instead an actual relationship with the Living God. This has been my experience. For me the greatest joy of seeking in prayer has been finding Jesus himself. I am convinced that this relationship is the reward.

So brothers and sisters may you find yourselves in a living, communicative relationship with the Living God as you pray.

Peace,
John

What are you seeking 1

This past Sunday, January 9 we began a new series of talks, entitled What are you Seeking? I’m taking the title from the question that Jesus asked the two followers of John the Baptist as they trailed after him.

The thing that is interesting to me is their response. They want to know where Jesus is staying. Jesus response is equally interesting, come and see. Both are relational responses. I think that the ultimate answer to the question what are we seeking, is that we are seeking relationship with our Creator. We can seek after many other things, but unless we are richly connected with our Creator, we will always be left with a hungry heart. We will be perpetually seeking after things that will not satisfy.

It seems to me that our culture as a whole is seeking. What is interesting/distressing/potentially exciting (depending on your perspective – for me I guess it is a mix of all three) is how many people in our culture our opting out of organized religion. The Nones are the most rapidly growing segment of religious affiliation in the USA.

The more I pursue a relationship with Jesus (or perhaps more accurately, the more I am aware that Jesus is pursuing a relationship with me) the more I become convinced that Jesus did come with a revolutionary message of Love. That he came to bring us into a right relationship with God and each other.

This is where the forgiveness of sins, becomes really crucial. If the universe is relational (and it increasingly looks like it is) than sin is less about a violation of rules and more about a breaking of the right relationship we were meant to have with God and each other (can you feel how relational – say the ten commandments are – and why Jesus gives a relational summation – Love God and Love People – you really can’t get much more relational).

When this fabric of relationship is torn, then forgiveness becomes absolutely necessary (think about your closest human relationships and how they really only thrive where there is forgiveness).

This is why it is crucial that Jesus save us from our sins. We need saving/forgiveness because sin alienates us and shatters the Shalom we were made for (both to enjoy and to contribute to – think about the opening chapters of our story in Genesis – all the rich relationships for which humanity was meant and how humanity’s act of rebellion alienates them from God, each other and the land).

I opened the talk with the question what are you seeking, and had hoped to end with what is Jesus seeking, but alas I had talked for too long in the beginning.

So here is a quick thought on that:

Jesus says that he is seeking that which was lost. It strikes me that Jesus is very interested in re-connecting people to himself and also to community with each other. This to me seems to be the over-arching story of what he is doing in the gospels. Paul reflecting on Jesus says that Jesus is reconciling us to God, that is, Jesus is restoring our relationship with God.