Another Look at Prayer

Prayer was one of the first areas God addressed as my faith began to grow after years of placing on the back burner. Prayer became a repeated theme in my reading and studying, and I became aware of a desire to improve my own prayers. Looking back, I realize I spent a significant block of time focusing primarily on prayer that I later came to think of as a season. Over the years I have been through many different seasons with different emphasis. However, lately I’ve been feeling the pull to come back and revisit the subject of prayer.

So why take another look at prayer? The reasons are the same now as they were way back then, a desire to keep an effective and fresh perspective on prayer. I still remember a Sunday School teacher talking about prayer with almost a feeling of defeat as they confessed that prayer was often boring. It seems to me that they shouldn’t be, especially since Jesus prayed so often, and He is not boring. So, I can’t imagine that we are supposed to settle for boring prayers.

I would also hear other people pray out loud in a way that would appeal to me and wasn’t boring. So, I began to try to figure out what it was that made their prayers appealing and to see if I could incorporate these things into my prayer life. I also wanted my prayers to be effective and in the same way I looked for prayers that were effective to examine.

I’ve been told people enjoy hearing me pray. I can assure you that it wasn’t always that way, and if it is true, it is only because of an effort to cooperate with God in learning to prayer in a genuine manner. It has taken practice and intentional effort to grow in this area.

This need for practice and intentional effort is why I believe it is time to take another long look at prayer. If I am not intentional in my efforts to improve, I will get comfortable and begin coasting, and coasting can lead to a stall in forward progress, and eventually sliding backwards, especially if I’ve stopped on a slippery slope. To be honest, I may already be coasting, so it’s definitely time to make some changes. I should never be willing to stop learning and for me, a sense of complacency that everything is “just fine” is usually a sign of the exact opposite, and I’ve begun to settle for less.

This time I’m going to blog as I study and meditate, and I hope you will consider joining my on my journey. I’m not promising any great theological revelations, but if anything I’m working through helps you as well, that’s great. So, most of my posts for the near future will probably be prayer oriented, and hopefully a little more frequent than I’ve been recently. I’d love to hear what you think.

Next time I’ll be reviewing the basics of the what prayer is. After that I have a few things to start looking at, but as in most journeys, there are often surprises waiting around the corner, so we’ll just have to see where the road leads. Until then, Choose Joy!

Receiving Peace

Our son graduated from high school last month.  For those whose children have already crossed this milestone, you understand when I say that the past year has been a hectic march of joy, celebrations, frustrations, aggravations and even disappointments.  One of my biggest struggles during all of these was holding on to some sense of peace.  With the luxury of 20/20 hindsight, I can see that there are times I had much more success than others.  So, I began to wonder why, and could I learn anything from my experiences?

I know I talk about joy a lot, but right next to it on the list of spiritual fruit, is peace.  Jesus told the disciples in John 14:27 that He would leave peace with them and give them His peace.  Note that Jesus claims ownership of peace, “my peace”, and also the ability to give it. In the prophecy found in Isaiah 6:9, Jesus the Messiah, is called “Prince of Peace” and “the government will be on his shoulders”.  The weight and responsibility of rule will rest on the Messiah’s shoulders.  He will rule.  One of the things He will be responsible for is peace, He will be its Prince. So, Jesus has rule and ownership over peace.  He is able to give peace to us and He has promised to do so.  When He is in control, there is peace.

One thing I see is that Jesus gives us peace.  He is offering it to us.  However, we have to accept the offer and receive it.  Like anything given to us, if we do not take hold of it, grasp it, and take it into our possession, we don’t actually have access to it.  So what prevents me from accepting His peace?  It seems to center around my need to hold onto something else instead of making room in my hand to grasp onto peace.  I like to be in control.

Sometimes my lack of peace comes from wanting to have my own way, or to be in charge. I try convince myself that what I already have hold of is somehow better than what is being offered.  I need things to be the way they are.  I am familiar with the way things are, even if the current circumstances inevitably let me down and contribute to my lack of peace.  The world will tell me that whatever I am doing to satisfy my needs has to be better than anything God would have to offer me.  Maybe I like what I’m holding onto and just don’t want to give it up, even though I know it isn’t good for me.  How could God fill the need I have better than I am already?  

That leads me to the other major reason I don’t accept God’s peace, fear. What if I don’t  like what is offered?  What if it means something bad has or will happen?  These questions lead me straight to anxiety and a complete lack of peace.  The strange think is that all my fear, worry and fretting over a situation doesn't correct the situation or guarantee that I can keep something bad from happening  I feel even more out of control as a result, and peace seems farther and farther away.

So how have I successfully received peace? I’ve found in either scenario that the answer lies in one question God is asking me, “Do you trust me?” Settling this issue has always helped me. Sometimes it takes some reminders to honestly and truthfully be able to answer with a “Yes”.  To do this I have to find my happy place.  This is where I remember God is always in control, has a plan for me, nothing happens to me without His permission, and it will always be for the kingdom, and therefore, my good.  This is hardest for me when the “bad” think looks like suffering or loss.  God does not guarantee He will stop the bad things from happening, but do I trust Him to take care of me even when they do happen? What if the bad things last a long time?  Is my love and trust in Him strong enough to know I will not be alone or forsaken even during the bad things? I only have to remember how He has always been there for me and come through for me, usually bigger and better than I could have even imagined.  His past faithfulness gives me the ability to trust in His future faithfulness.

Once I can truly say “Yes, Lord, I trust you”, I find letting go of my agenda becomes much easier and God’s real peace is found.  Once I experience it, I know it is good, and my hope is to experience more.

Choose Joy! (and receive peace!)