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Text: James 5:13-18 I suggested last week that… Of all the activities in which we participate as Christ-followers, this issue of prayer will raise more questions and leave us with less certainty than anything else. I also suggested that amidst all of the mystery surrounding the subject, Jesus prayed as if he was assured that… Father was listening, that Father loved him, that Father believed in him and that Father could be trusted. ● I recognize a few common mistakes in our approach as it pertains to prayer. First, an ‘over-analytical’ approach to the subject (as is our tendency with most everything else concerning our faith) Understand, I am not opposed to a thoughtful approach to faith, in fact, I believe it is vital. But I am hesitant about an approach that is so “confining”- that imposes limits on God; an approach that assumes that the goal is “get a handle” on God! Secondly, our tendency is to “deconstruct” prayer, leaving it in pieces on the floor, all the while rendering it useless. We want to know how prayer works so that we can make it “work for us”! The result is a “heartless” (passionless) approach to prayer. Finally, I feel as if we are trying to find the “solution to prayer” (as we do with proper diet and exercise- something less demanding with quicker results!) ● So, what you will find intentionally absent from these teachings is the “how to” of prayer. ● In this week’s text, James locates prayer within the context of life (he runs the gamut of human experience). “Any of you suffering?” “Are any of you happy?” “Are any of you sick?” “Any of you committed sins?” (happy, sad, sick and sinful... that pretty much covers it, right?) ● Sometimes in life, there will be things we need to ask for, sometimes things to say thanks for, sometimes things to say we’re sorry for. ● According to James, prayer is the “rhythm” of life. Life affords us the greatest opportunity to develop our understanding and practice of prayer; it’s best place to learn to pray! Philippians 4:6 says, “…in everything, prayer”. ● Prayer is a means of intentionally engaging God (recognizing and welcoming his involvement) in all of life in order to prevent it from becoming simply a reaction to adverse circumstances. Why? Because we mostly associate prayer with our own needs. ● Actually, the word prayer comes from the Latin root where we get our English word “precarious”. The dictionary offers some interesting dimensions to our description: “Depending on the will and pleasure of another”. “Dependent upon uncertain premises”. “Dependent upon unknown circumstances”. “Characterized by a lack of security or stability that threatens”. So, prayer is for people who desire to live life from another perspective; who accept the limitations of their understanding and their feelings of uncertainty; and who feel threatened by the possibility of being left to themselves- without God.. without help! If God is to be known, he cannot merely be studied, he must be experienced. Our knowledge of God is greatly enhanced and solidified by understanding his dealings with his creation historically, but God is also to be known as we experience him personally. “Congratulations, you just began a relationship with God!” It sure sounded good, but I soon discovered that my belief that prayer was communication with the living God did not eliminate the inevitable tension that will always exist between Creator and created. Since God is personal (he displays all the qualities of personality), it only makes sense that he desire an intelligent exchange with us. ● As with any relationship, intimacy is developed as we experience the other in a variety of settings and situations. Prayer is “dynamic”- it’s growing and changing; it shouldn’t stay the same; it shouldn’t always sound the same. Each life-experience evokes a different response to be shared. So, maybe prayer is like any other relationship… it’s progressive- it takes time; time to discover each other and learn how to relate. ● In fact, prayer has all the characteristics of any relationship: In prayer, I have experienced moments of vibrancy as well as monotony; instances of undivided attention as well as frequent distraction; episodes of intense feelings of closeness as well as the periodic sensation of being alone; satisfaction as well as frustration. Reflections… ►Prayer always loses its appeal (vitality) in the face of responsibility and obligation. Our curious, idealistic approach to God has waned in the face of duty and disappointment. ►We can all pray because we all know how. I just know that prayer was much easier when we were kids. Kids pray without embarrassment, without hesitation; no concern over techniques or the use of proper vocabulary. We just said whatever popped into our head. Our prayers were honest and direct. We were told by people that we trusted that God was listening and we were just naïve enough to believe it. And, we didn’t seem to be able to take “no” for an answer… we just kept coming back! ►Sometimes our words actually get in the way of our prayers! Psalm 139:4 “You know what I am going to say, even before I say it, Lord.” Sometimes words limit our ability to communicate; to sufficiently express ourselves. ● I’m becoming convinced that my thoughts about God and how my heart holds God are the most authentic expressions of prayer available to me. ►Prayer realigns our lives. Prayer has a way of confronting all of the ways that I am misinterpreting life and God. It challenges my paradigm; it re-directs me (it’s why I’m convinced that repentance is a lifestyle, not just an act). ►We’ve got it all “sdrawkcab”! I notice these tendencies when I am talking to God. First, I inform him of all that’s been going on while he’s been temporarily distracted with others (get God “up to speed”). Then, based on the extensive nature of my knowledge and experience with such matters, I offer God what I believe to be the best course of action. Finally, I convince God that whatever he had in mind, this path might serve him best- after all, we just want God to “get the glory”, right? ● Prayer starts with God; recognizing God (“glory”) because God gives meaning to everything… even the things that don’t make sense! My response of praise is not merely a subtle attempt to “soften God up”! It then offers confession (not rehearsing our sins); coming to terms with myself. It shamelessly admits my state of utter dependence and puts me in the best possible position- to receive grace! Then, I confidently, yet humbly share my thoughts with God; not because they assist God in sorting things out, but simply because they are revealing- a voluntary offering of myself. ►Prayer is based on God’s complete knowledge of us and his sincere desire to be with us anyway! “What if I suggested that God is aware of you? That God thinks about you? And not just occasionally, but that it consumes him?” Psalm 139:17 “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered. I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me”. Psalm 34:15 “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry;” (NIV) “God keeps an eye on his friends, his ears pick up every moan and groan” (Message). ● In a way that I cannot fathom, God delights in me. He’s not repulsed by my sin- in fact, he expects it! He’s not offended by my self-directed motives- he realizes that selfishness is my “default mode”. ►With prayer, nothing is “off limits”. You can’t fake it with God and the good news is… you don’t have to! Since my relationship with God allows me to be who I am with God, it’s often pretty raw! It’s usually really short on piety (includes none of the trappings of ritual) and long on honesty. There’s nothing that I can’t talk about with God and no requirement to “check my attitude at the door”. In fact, it’s in prayer that all of these issues are addressed and resolved. It’s actually God’s “bigness” that makes closeness possible (he’s the only one who could love me like this!) ►Prayer is ultimately an act of faith. It requires praying as if God is present for/to us despite conflicting evidence and responding to him whether or not I can actually detect/sense his presence.
● Authentic prayer proves to be one of the
ultimate expressions of faith: to bring to my un-edited self to God and still
believe I can be loved! It’s why I keep coming back. |
