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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
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
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