Something Missed

I will be the first to confess that the church of my memory is not as perfect as my memory would lead me to believe, but those memories were shaped by the experience of a beginner in the faith filled more with innocence than the cynicism of a worn out preacher who bears the scars of too many church battles.  Regardless of the discrepancy created by the views from the opposite ends of life, I still remain convinced that some things about the church of my memory would enrich the church which exists around me in the present moment.    

One of those things is the moment when those who came to worship were given the opportunity to stand in the midst of the congregation and speak their personal story of faith into existence again in the sacred space.  For many of those who stood in the church of my memory, their words were about the time of coming to faith in Christ.   In all fairness it can also be acknowledged that once you heard some of those faith stories, you knew what was coming the next time certain ones stood to speak.   

But, what is lost is the moment when the young hear the old tell their stories.  Stories are powerful things.  Stories of faith bear the kind of spiritual power which can only be described as life changing.  When they are spoken those who have not yet really started the journey are pointed toward the way of faith by people who are a part of the community and not just the preacher who is often perceived as the one paid to tell the story.  Hearing someone else's story has been the catalyst for many a young believer to make a trip to the altar and find the faith which has been spoken about by so many who have been known and trusted for a lifetime.  

Something to Grieve

 I have always been grateful for the influence of the church on my life.  Some things about the church of my past have all but disappeared.  I am grateful, too, that I was around when some of those things belonging only to the memory of a few were common happenings.  One of those remembered things was what was called the Testimony Meeting.  It was often something not planned, or maybe it was planned by a preacher who had a sketchy sermon.  I am old enough now to consider the possibility, but not back then.    

In my days of ministry I often invited people to stand where they were in the pews and share something of their faith in Jesus Christ.  As a boy growing up, my neck was on a swivel looking at those older folks who spoke.  As I became older and encouraging others to share their faith, it was never a disappointing experience, but an inspiring one.  Of course, there were some who could be counted on to speak at the drop of a hat and what they shared was almost predictable, but there were also those timid souls who seemed afraid of the the sound of their own voice who stood for the first time to speak.  As I think back over the years of ministry I can remember more than just a few of those who stood to tell the rest of us about their faith in Jesus.    

The demise of the Testimony Meeting is something over which the church should grieve, but grieving over such a thing is simply not within the psyche of today's church where each minute is carefully planned and orchestrated.  While some of the more contemporary churches might speak of such a possibility with openness, the program is too important to allow something as unplanned as the work of the Holy Spirit to take over and run the show.  And, if such is true for the modern version of worship, it is even more true for the traditional gatherings with all the liturgical trappings.  The grieving will have to be for a small group to remember. 

Simple and Mysterious

What the Creation story of Genesis reveals to us is a story that speaks of beginnings and humanity's movement from exile to Home.  A man and a woman were created for life in the Garden of Eden, but they made a bad choice and they were cast out of the Garden.  The history of humanity has gone forth from that moment when human life was conceived in a Garden into a world where sin, and guilt, and death seemed to have the upper hand.  And, of course, the New Testament gospel of Jesus is God's response to this untenable predicament of humankind.   The cross makes the way to the place of beginnings an option of grace.    

Of course, what has been set forth is likely to be seen by some as an oversimplification.  Others will point to great doctrines not mentioned.  And, some will read the words with dismay thinking the mark of understanding has been totally missed.  There is some truth in such responses; yet, it is also true that as complicated as some might make the gift of justification, salvation, and sanctification, it remains simple enough that a young child can receive fully these holy blessings.    

In actually, the gospel is not a complicated thing.  Jesus spoke His truth in such a way that it blessed children, challenged uneducated fishermen, and opened the door of the Kingdom to those judged to be the worst of society.  It is more mysterious than complicated.  God's love is a wonder of the creation.  He never fails to love us.  Everything we know about Him comes from this love.  What is amazing is not that something talked about with such complicated language could be so simple, but that God would choose to love us unconditionally even though we often seem to like traveling any road rather than the road Home.       

In His Presence

When we draw aside for our quiet time, or our devotional time, we do so with intentions of spending time in the presence of God.  It is our time with Him.  What we know is that sometimes it works out gloriously and sometimes it seems God must be in another world.  Our best laid plans do indeed go awry.  But, the truth is that we need not seek Him, or set aside time with a hope that He will show up.  Instead, another option is to follow the model set forth in the second chapter of Genesis.    

Verse 8 of the 3rd chapter  creates a different image of us to consider as it says, "They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze..."  Being in the presence of the Lord God did not require looking for Him.  Nothing special had to be done.  It seems from the language of the passage that the Lord God had a way of showing up.  He was present in what was an ordinary evening moment simply because He chose to be.  The Garden of Eden couple had been with the Lord God on so many such moments that they knew to look for Him, to expect Him, and in this case of shame and disobedience to hide from Him.     

This early image of God being with us enables us to understand that God is where we are and He reveals Himself for moments of intimacy simply because such is His nature.  To look for Him only in our quiet times is to miss the holy intention.  Every moment holds within it the possibility of divine revealing and holy words to hear.  What is takes is for us to live with eyes that are looking, ears that are listening, and a life that is bent on paying attention.  God can be counted on to take care of the rest.  

The Wind

The wind was powerfully present today.  At the end of the day with some grilling to do, I found myself out there sitting in the midst of it.  Listening.  Watching.  Feeling.  The wind was all around and everywhere.  It howled softly and then loudly.  It ran across the top of the hay field grass like some invisible power set loose to go from wherever to there.  The tops of the old pecan trees were moving first one way and then another.  From whence it came and where it was going I do not know, but it was certainly here in the present moment of the day that was slipping toward the sunset.     

Such moments invariably bring to mind what Jesus had to say to Nicodemus.  As He talked about the Spirit and birth in the Spirit He said, "The wind blows where it chooses,and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know not where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8).  Who among us can put the Holy Spirit in some understandable and manageable box?  It is as impossible as harnessing the wind which blew wildly all around me in that moment of sitting in the midst of it.  Could it be true that the Holy Spirit is indeed wild beyond our imagination and out there having an impact on the world which is around us an in us?    

We catch evidences of the wind.  The trees stir and the grass waves all at the beckoning of the wind, but the wind we never see.  So, it is with this wild powerful Holy Spirit.  Though invisible to the eyes of birth, evidences of His presence and His work are all around us.  When we begin to see, it is time to sit down, allow that holy power to wash over us, and rejoice that once again we have been made alive to the reality of God's presence in our life.

Intercessory Faith

One of the great healing stories of the New Testament is found in the second chapter of Mark.  Jesus was in a home in Capernaum and the word got out which brought a great crowd of people to the place where he was staying.  Getting to the door was impossible, but there was a paralytic whose friends were determined to get him in the presence of Jesus.  Up on the roof they went.  Some roof tiles were removed and the next thing the guy on the mat knew he was being lowered into the room where Jesus was sitting.    

It is the next move which really lights up the story,"When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven you....I say to you, stand up, take your mat, and go to your home.' "  (Mark 2:5, 11)  What we must not miss is that it is the faith of the friends which made the difference.  Whether or not the paralytic had faith as well is totally irrelevant.  The act of the men who lowered their friend into the presence of Jesus was the operative faith in the story.  Though there is no mention of prayer in the story, it is a story of an act of intercession, nonetheless.     

This story becomes a story of the power of intercession in the ministry of healing.  Our prayers for others do make a difference.  Our acts of compassion offered in behalf of someone suffering make a difference.  We may be able to actually be with our friend in the moment of need, but we may be miles and miles away making physical presence impossible.  It does not matter.  No matter the distance which separates us from someone who is in need of healing, we can through our prayers bring them into the presence of Jesus.  Once we have done this, we have done our part in the partnership we share with Jesus in the ministry of healing.   

A Place for Healing

The old baseball movie left us with the "build it, they'll come" image.  It is a saying that has since those days been changed a bit to point us toward a lot of possibilities.  One thing about which I have become convinced over the years is that if the church offers a service centered on the healing ministry, people will come.  I saw this first hand in those early days at the Vidalia Church when we announced "A Service of Prayers for Healing" on Sunday evenings.  Those who came were certainly not the Sunday morning crowd, neither were they the usual Sunday night crowd, but always there were those who came from the unexpected arenas of the community bringing their need with them.    

Jesus never put up a sign announcing this dimension of His ministry, but word got around and people showed up.  Mark writes about Jesus healing Simon Peter's mother-in-law of a fever and by the time of evening "the whole city was gathered around the door."  (Mark 1:33).  As Mark tells the story this was only the first of many who were to be touched by the healing hand of Jesus. There was even one paralyzed man who was brought to Jesus by his friends whose tore off roofing to get their needy friend to Jesus.  Mark does not make the healing ministry of Jesus a side show issue, but one central to the reason Jesus came to dwell among us.  

The church has always identified itself as the Body of Christ meaning that it is stand in the world as Christ would stand in the world were He still present in the flesh.  If such is true, if the church truly does see itself as the Body of Christ in the world, then there is no excuse for delegating this ministry to the backroom.  Instead, there is every reason for the church to create  moments for the prayers for healing to take place so that the suffering ones can be touched and anointed in the name of the Christ. 

The Real Model

The model for the ministry of the church is Jesus.  Unfortunately, the modern day church sees such a model as being too simplistic, or maybe not realistic for a complicated time.  What the church has mistakenly chosen as its model is the business model.  With this model the traditional pastor is replaced by a CEO, the bottom line is not souls, but dollars, and success becomes more important than faithfulness.  If the church were to seriously embrace the pattern of Jesus' ministry, it would surely wear a different face and would find a motivation more compatible with the Sermon on the Mount than some ten steps for a successful church.    

One of the things which would surely change is the church 's attitude about the healing ministry.  There is no way to read the New Testament without coming to the conclusion that Jesus was about a healing ministry.  Suffering people were important to Him.  He had time for them.  He laid His hands on them instead of seeking to keep them at a distance.  And, most importantly, He prayed for them.  His healing ministry was not a peripheral issue, but one that consumed a large portion of His time.   

A faithful church cannot regard the healing ministry as optional, or something for other churches to embrace, but a ministry that is essential to its own identity.  While making this a central part of what the church is about may take a host of different forms, it does not seem to be something which can be ignored simply because of the discomfort it might create for some of its leaders, or members.  To engage in a healing ministry is to embrace a ministry which is more about holy mystery than logic and one which constantly reminds the followers of Christ who is really in control.  

The Ministry of Healing

It has always seemed that the church has shied away from the ministry of healing.  Perhaps, it is out of a fear that it is a ministry prone to sensationalized images of people jumping out of wheelchairs, or throwing away crutches.  It could also be that it is a ministry with such powerful undertones that the timid church knows not how to handle something beyond its ability to handle.  Or, perhaps, it is a ministry which the church would rather relegate to the Jesus on the earth era and not something which is really possible for this more sophisticated and medically enlightened age.     

When I first found myself as a  spiritual leader being moved toward embracing this mysterious ministry, there was more than just a measure of hesitancy.  It seemed that praying for people to be healed was dangerous business.  It involved risking the possibility that people would pray,  rise as before, and then leave the place of prayer with a compromised or lost faith in Christ.  A part of me argued that it was not worth the risk, but another part of me argued that there was too much within the Scripture which pointed the church toward such a ministry.    

As I struggled with what to do, those Words of the Scripture lingered demanding a response which spoke of faith, "Are any among you sick?  They should ask for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord."  (James 4:14)  In the end the Word's call prevailed and I moved toward this ministry of healing with a church that was affirming of the call.  Looking back to those beginning days, it seems that any church interested in the ministry of healing must begin with the Holy Word which is where the church always gets its primary directives.  

The Healing Prayer

When I was the pastor of the Vidalia Church, I led a five night study on the healing ministry of the church.  The group that came each night was not a large group, but one of the ones upon whom the study had a profound effect was me.  It is often said that if a preacher's sermon puts the preacher under conviction, it must be a good one.  Maybe the same might be said of this particular study.  By the time I had finished the study of preparation, led each session, and had time for the Word of God to take root in my own heart, I was convicted by my failure of waiting so long and convinced that the healing ministry had to be a vital part of ministry going forward.     

Back then we had Sunday evening worship and so after the study, one Sunday night a month was focused on the healing ministry of the church.  It was not just a time for preaching or teaching about the healing ministry found in the Word, but also of inviting people to come to the altar for prayers for healing.  Those times of prayer are remembered as some of the most powerful moments of work around the altar in the years of my ministry.  I came to understand that as we knelt there together, we were doing so at a moment when human need and the power of God converged in one place which meant that it was no ordinary moment.    

The service was called "A Service of Prayers for Healing."  I was uncomfortable with calling it a healing service.  While I believed it was a means of bringing the healing power of God to bear on human need, the healing work was left to God.  It seemed to me that what He was calling the church to do was to pray for the healing of those who came.  In the book of James there is a Word which says, "Are any among you sick?  They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord."  (James 5:14)  The church has often been too timid about the ministry of praying for those who are sick among us.  Perhaps, it is because we forget that we are not called to heal, but to pray.   

The Sinner's Prayer

Back in the day when I was on my way to becoming a follower of Jesus, the Sinner's Prayer was a hot item in evangelism circles.  Anyone who showed up at the altar with a heavy load of sin was likely to soon be joined by some eager believer who was ready to coach them in repeating the Sinner's Prayer.  For the helper at the altar getting some repentant soul to pray the Sinner's Prayer was considered a great spiritual victory.  Once it was prayed, the helper was free to go find another ready to repeat the words of salvation.  Of course, coming to Christ is not quite as simple as repeating a few words.  

Certainly, it is more simple than some folks would choose to make it, but it is not the words repeated which seal the deal.  It is the grace of God.  It is the spirit of the heart.  The Sinner's Prayer is not one found in some liturgical worship resource.  It is a loosely worded prayer which says in different forms,  "Lord, I am a sinner.  I ask you to forgive me.  I believe in your Son, Jesus Christ, who died for my sins, and now I ask Him to come into my heart.  I ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen."   There is nothing wrong with the prayer, but it is not some magical word which causes holy mystery to happen in our lives.  It is simply one expression of what may be in our heart and which needs to spoken to the Heavenly Father who sent His Son to the die on the cross for our sake.   

There are, of course, other prayers which could be classified as a Sinner's Prayer.  The 51st Psalm is a rather long example.  Isaiah 6:5 is a much shorter one as we hear Isaiah saying, "Woe is me!  I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and live among a people of unclean lips..."  The Sinner's Prayer is a prayer useful in the beginning, but it is not the only time on the road of faith that we will need to pray such a prayer.

The Jesus Prayer

Most of us have prayed the Jesus Prayer at one time or another.  Of course, it may be an abbreviated version of it, but the shorter version does not take away its power.  The Jesus Prayer in its long form is, "Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."   Around this neck of the woods it is often quickly exclaimed in its shortened form which is, "Lord, have mercy."  The "Lord have mercy" prayer is usually the prayer which requires no prior plan, no formal posturing, but simply a quick reaction to some unforeseen circumstance and in its most often used form is not a prayer relating to sin, but a prayer that seeks deliverance.    

It is, of course, extemporaneous to the core.  No prayer is more spontaneous.  It is more like the prayer of the first reaction.  It is interesting that it is often the natural prayer of those who are not sure about their faith in Christ and have even more doubts about praying.  I have heard it prayed in a variety of situations.  It is the prayer prayed when the hammer his the finger instead of the nail  It is the prayer prayed when passing what appears to be a horrible accident.  It is the prayer often prayed when we hear the news that a friend has been diagnosed with cancer.     

After being around here and there for a few years, it becomes obvious to even the most cynical that not all of life is within the scope of our control.  Even those who speak irreverently of God have been heard to utter, "Lord have mercy" when life dumps some disaster upon them.  It is a prayer very basic to the human experience because it is a prayer of our inner being as it calls out to the One who created it.  Like a child who calls for a mother or father, so does our spirit sometimes call out to our Creator God long before our conscious mind has time to give it consideration. Such is the nature of this shortened form of the Jesus prayer we pray around here.     

The Real Prayer

I remember the moment of worship though it was over twenty-five years ago.  It was a community Thanksgiving service sponsored by the local ministerial association.  The service began with a prayer from the Episcopal priest who shared a prayer from "The Book of Common Prayer."  After the service had ended and we were walking toward separate departures, I overhead one of the more independent minded pastors saying a bit too loudly,"...it wasn't a real prayer, it was one read from a book."  For him the only real prayer was the extemporaneous prayer which he would say came from his heart and not a book.    

Even though I did not then agree with his assessment of the offered prayer, I can understand that he came from a tradition that regards liturgy with suspicion.  But, it is also true that "The Lord's Prayer" is a written prayer from a book and was likely used often in the church where he preached.  It is always true that our criticism of others does not require consistent practice in our own life.  

So, according to his definition, maybe "The Lord's Prayer" is not a real prayer since it comes from a book and not from the heart.   Actually, any real prayer, the ones read and the ones created in the moment of need are real if they come from the heart.  David wrote in the 51st Psalm, "...a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise."  (Psalm 51:17)  Whether we read the words from a book, or pray them extemporaneously, it becomes a real prayer only when the words come from a broken and contrite heart.  

The Evening Prayer

My first lessons about prayer came from my Mother.  From her I learned to make my bed an altar, to kneel down before going to sleep, and praying the prayer many of us learned which began with "Now I lay me down to sleep..."   To look back at the beginning of my prayer experience is to see this prayer as my first evening prayer.  In the more formal life of the church the evening prayer is called the Compline.  Compline refers to the last liturgical prayer of the day and in some ways might be called the church's official bedtime prayer.   

It has been some time now since I prayed the prayer my mother taught me.  She would be fine with the change since the real lesson she taught was the lasting one which was to pray.  I do, however, still find myself with an evening ritual before going to sleep.  As I linger between being awake and being asleep I often remember a simple prayer learned from the Celtic tradition which says, "I lie down this night with God and God lies down with me.  I lie down this night with Christ and Christ lies down with me.  I lie down this night with Spirit and the Spirit lies down with me.  God, the Son, and Holy Spirit be lying down with me."      

Some might find the prayer unacceptable, maybe even theologically unsound, but it gives me a moment of remembering that even in the midst of unconscious sleep, I am not alone.  Asleep I may be, but still am I in the presence and the care of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  If such are my last conscious thoughts before the sleep which is entered into on the way Home to the Father as my Mother's first prayer taught me could happen, then my last thoughts here will be of the One who will surely carry me safely Home.  

The "Just Came to Talk with You, Lord" Prayer

Years ago, way back before I can really remember when, I remember a song entitled, "I Just Came to Talk with You, Lord."  It was a song that spoke of a prayer which was empty of asking, but filled with thanking and remembering.  It is the kind of prayer not often prayed by most of us.  We come to the moment of prayer with some kind of agenda.  There is something we need, or something someone else needs, and we need to make sure God knows what is going on where we are walking.    

Seldom do we come to the moment of prayer empty of petitions.  Seldom do we come to our quiet moments seeking nothing except being in the presence of the One who loves us unconditionally.  It is a different moment for us when we come to our prayer time seeking nothing but a moment to remember God's blessings, express our gratitude, and sit speaking of our love for the One who loves us so much.  The Psalms are full of verses which bring to mind memories of God's goodness and the Psalmist's praise.  It is a model which we do well to not only see, but to embrace.   

When was the last time we came to the Father with a heart which was saying, "I just came to talk with you, Lord.  There is nothing I would ask of you, I just came to be with you, to be thankful, to praise you, to love you."  It may seem like an easy way to pray, but it is harder than it might seem because we are bent in another direction.  Too much of our praying is all about me and all about what I want God to do which makes praying in this different direction a more difficult moment than it might seem.  

The Intercessory Prayer

The Scripture has a number of major characters who stride across the stage and linger in the spotlight for what seems like forever.  Abraham and Moses are a couple from the Old Testament and Peter and Paul are a pair from the New Testament.  But, there are also a host of minor characters whose lives proclaim powerful messages to us.  One mentioned in Paul's letter to the Christians at Colossae is Epaphras.  His moment in the spotlight is a couple of verses long and is found in the parting words of the Apostle Paul.  "Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you.  He is always wrestling in his prayers on your behalf..."  (Colossians 4:12)       

When we practice the spiritual discipline of intercessory prayer, it is not likely that we think of it as a moment of spiritual wrestling.  Wrestling is an interesting image for this type of prayer.  The implication is that there is an adversary against among we are struggling in our prayer.  It also carries with it the possibility of being thrown to the ground and being left with hurts and scars.  Maybe intercessory prayer is more dangerous than we thought.  Or, maybe our practice of it is a Sunday School version rather than a standing at the gates of hell kind of struggle.    

When we start thinking about intercessory prayer as well as practicing it, Epaphras is a good role model and mentor.  It would do us well to sit with this minor character for a spell, sees what makes him tick, and notice how it is that he is praying.  Perhaps, we have not seen any of this in what we have observed as his brief appearance on the pages of Scripture which may simply mean that we have not lingered long enough to see the wrestling match, or to get in the fight with him.  

The Unceasing Prayer

Some verses of Scripture leave us with a "not really" mindset.  Those verses sound good, but cause us to wonder if it is something realistic in our spiritual lives, or just some pie in the sky.  I Thessalonians 5:17 is one of those verses.  It is not a long verse, only three words long.  It simply says, "...pray without ceasing..."   Perhaps, our experience would say there is nothing simple about it, but instead something which stretches our spirit to consider new spiritual possibilities.     

I remember some years ago reading a small volume written by Frank Laubach who read the verse and made the decision to move toward it in his personal life.  Most of us would not make the effort, but decide as we are reading that it is a word that points us to something which is not really attainable.  We end up figuring it is one of those verses written to keep us pointed in the right direction.  But, then again, maybe such thinking is a cop out.  Maybe it is a way of excusing ourselves from the work of moving in what would be a new direction.    

What seems apparent is that we cannot live twenty four hours a day in a devotional mode.  Praying without ceasing may have more to do with a life style of paying attention to the way God is always making Himself known in the midst of our daily lives.  If prayer is just about talking, then maybe we can never live with this spirit about which Paul is writing.  But, if prayer is about awareness and learning how to be mindful of that holy awareness as we go forward through the day, then it may be that a constant awareness of God's desire to show up and speak will carry us toward a different place in our praying.  We think of prayer too much in terms of what we do and not enough about how it is a means of knowing the presence of God.  Is not being constantly aware that God is present just another way of praying without ceasing?   

The Spirit's Prayer

It is often true that we do not know how to pray.  Maybe, how is the wrong word.  Perhaps, what is the more operative word.  There are things that trouble us so deeply that we are not only overwhelmed by our emotional response, but we find that no words seem to come forth which really speak to the sense of loss or grief that we are experiencing.  Most of us do not have to look back down the road too far to remember such a moment.  Those kind of moments have come to all of us and, unfortunately, will come again.    

We should not be surprised at our inability to pray.  God has a plan for those moments.  It is a good plan.  The Apostle Paul spoke of it in his letter to the Roman Christians,  "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words." (Romans 8:26)  Being comfortable with those kind of moments is not always easy for us.  We tend to be the kind of well meaning saints who simply plow ahead even though we are not sure about the will of God in a particular situation which is, after all, the direction our praying should take us.   

Another Biblical writer has an important word to say which has some application in those uncertain moments.  He wrote, "For everything  there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:...a time to keep silence, and a time to speak..."  (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7)  Listening is something most of us do not do very well.  It might be a good idea the next time we feel like we are in some hole where the words are only echoing around us without any sense they are rising toward heaven.  Maybe those are moments for listening.  Listening might enable us to hear a Word which comes from the Spirit and which we know as something that resonates with the very thing we are struggling to articulate.  Who knows?  The Spirit may even be praying it better!

The Demonstrative Prayer

Growing up in the Methodist tradition meant a more reserved style of worship than some of the Pentecostal groups within the community who were said to clap their hands, or wave them in the air, or maybe even move up and down the aisle.  Such things never happened in the Methodist Church of my boyhood.  Neither did it happen in the churches I served as pastor for over forty years.  Oh, there were moments when there was a break in the decorum, but normally no one got too enthusiastic about worshiping, or praying, or praising.    

A life within such a reserved tradition has had its effect on me.  As I have gotten older I am more likely to be more demonstrative in my response to God, but it mostly happens in private moments instead of the public ones.  As I have become acquainted through reading with Celtic spirituality, I have sensed a movement toward more demonstrative moments in prayer.  There are times when the words seemed inadequate to express what is stirring within us.  

Sometimes what is stirring within is impossible to frame with words.  Perhaps, the Psalmist was sensing such within as he wrote, "Praise Him with tambourine and dance..."  (Psalm 150:4)  Or, maybe this is part of the reason a woman wrote about an experience of dancing with arms outstretched to God in the light of the rising full moon.  Or, perhaps, this is why some soul would raise their hands in the midst of a sedate worship experience and risk the judgmental stares of those who were so glued to earth they could not see heaven breaking in among them.  It is hard for those of us who have been disciplined to pray, or praise, or worship without making a disturbance to entertain a different way, but just maybe, it would do our souls a measure of good to let them free for a moment of shaking that tambourine and dancing with the wind.

The Encircling Prayer

One of the new ways I have learned to pray comes out of the Celtic tradition and is called an encircling prayer.  It seems that it was a common practice for these ancient saints to start praying for protection while facing the east and then turning sunwise until the prayer of protection had been prayed in all four directions.  Sometimes it involved a raised hand and sometimes it was simply the body turning while praying.  It was a prayer for an encircling in time of danger.    

Last night as the strong winds starting pounding the house enough to awaken me, I laid in bed and prayed such a prayer.  I did not get up and move about, but I imagined the farm around me and in my mind and in the presence of God prayed that there would be protection on every side from the wind which had the potential to drop trees over pasture fences, or on top of the old farmhouse, or even block the road which takes us to the highway.  I prayed for protection of a place, the animals who share the land with us, and my wife and I as well.     

Of course, what I did was simply a new way of praying an old prayer.  We have all prayed in the face of some approaching storm for safe keeping in the midst of it.  And, we have likely prayed from time to time that a threatening storm would pass us without bringing harm to us or the home we treasure.  What is also true is there have been times when we spontaneously simply prayed, "Lord, have mercy," in the face of possible danger.  No matter how we pray, we know the One who lived among us and taught us to pray hears not only our imperfect words, but also knows the fears within our spirit and the hope which dwells in our heart.  

The Expectant Prayer

Learning to pray expectantly is not always an easy thing for us.  We often talk about praying with such a spirit while we harbor doubt in our hearts.  We are asked to pray for someone's healing and we do so, but sometimes the prayers are more perfunctory than hopeful and faith filled.  We ask for God to keep us safe through an upcoming journey and forget at the end that we have arrived without harm.  We pray for a growing sense of God's presence in our daily lives, but we walk through the day without paying attention to the many possible means of manifestation which are alongside our path.    

The New Testament writing which carries the name of James has a Word for us as we pray such prayers, "But, ask in faith, never doubting...for the doubter, being double minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord."  (James 1:6. 8).  Is it not true that we often receive that for which we ask?  Did not Jesus say in the Sermon on the Mount, "Ask, and it will be given..."  (Matthew 7:7)  Is it not true that we are often afraid to pray such bold expectant prayers?  And if we do dare to pray them, is not also true that we pray those prayers silently lest someone hear and think we are practicing a kind of foolish praying?    

Praying expectantly is something most of us have to learn.  We have to practice those prayers.  We have to come to a place where we are able to turn loose our fear of not being heard, or of praying prayers that receive no response from God.  We have to come to a place where the answer or the response to our praying is not the goal, but instead the goal is laying before the Father a heart that truly desires something good for one of His own.  What we have to come to terms with in our journey toward expectant praying is that we are not responsible for the way God chooses to use our praying.  Our only responsibility is to do the praying.

The Secret

When I left home for college, I carried with me a desk lamp which still sits on the desk in front of me.  It has made many a journey with me.  By today's standards it is bulky, too big, and likely not as energy efficient as a more modern addition would likely be.  But, I remain partial to it.  On the neck of the lamp is attached a cloth book mark which has woven into the fabric a poem entitled, "The Secret"  by Ralph S. Cushman,.  It begins with the words, "I met God in the morning when my day was at its best, And His presence lingered like a glory in my breast."     

I have had those words in front of me for a life time and, yet, it took most of it for me to realize the truth of those words and the value in practicing them.  The liturgical cycle of prayer followed by many provides a devotional moment known as "Morning Prayers."  And while it took me a long time to understand, there is something something profoundly powerful and personal about morning prayers.  It would seem to be a natural thing for us as we are awaken by our Creator, but so often we rise in such a hurry we forget what He has done in stirring us from our sleep.    

The poem comes to a conclusion with the words, "So I think I have learned the secret from many a troubled day.  You must seek Him in the morning, if you want Him through the day."  Indeed, it is such a simple truth, full of both logic and common sense.  Our experience of doing it another way has taught us that the beginning has a lot to with the ending.  It is something true of our daily walk as well as the longer one we take from the darkness of conception to the darkness of the grave.  All the way there is awareness of His presence until finally it is not just His presence, but His unimaginable glory that we see.  

The Message of Ashes

Lent does not begin with a party.  Neither does it lead us to a party.  It begins with ashes and ends with a cross.  It has been a week now since the church gathered for a service of the imposition of ashes.  Of course, not all churches have such a service.  It is too Roman Catholic for some Protestant communities and too morbid for others.  I remember a guy who found himself at one of those Ash Wednesday services in my past and came to me afterwards with his ashes on his forehead to say, "That was the most depressing thing I have ever done at church!"     

The ashes must have been a surprise to him and even though I spoke about the meaning of them in the message of the evening, he was still surprised....and depressed.  It is understandable.  It is not every day that someone stands inside our comfort zone, looks us in the eye, and tells us we are going to die which is exactly what happens when we hear those words, "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return."  We do not always know what to think about those words, or what to do with that dark symbol of our mortality which is worn on our forehead for everyone to see.    

The truth is Ash Wednesday makes most folks uncomfortable because there is no place we go where we are told without any attempt to make it easy to hear that we are destined to die.  It is a message we generally do not expect to hear at church because in these days successful churches work to make us feel good and there is nothing about those ashes which gives us a warm fuzzy feeling.  What they do give us is an awareness that our life is not really in our hands, it is in God's hands.  It remind us that there is an end as surely as there was a beginning.  And, it speaks to our need to make the best use of the days we have as we possibly can.  To realize we are going to die one day may be the best impetus to live today well.  

Walk On

When Jesus looked a man in the eye and said, "Follow me,"  He was literally inviting the would be disciple to begin a physical journey.  Jesus was a walker.  He walked constantly from one place to the next place.  To follow Jesus meant putting on walking shoes.  It is different today.  To follow Jesus is not going to require us to get on the road which will take us from one place to another, but it will require us to get on the road which takes us from where we are to where we are going.  It requires no shoes, only faith.    

So, while He still calls folks to a journey, it is a different kind of journey.  It is a journey with no destination at the end of the road.  It can be said with more truth than we might realize that the journey only ends as we take the final step from this life to the one He has prepared for us.   In the meantime life is not about the end of the road, but it is instead about what and who we encounter on the road.  When we first heard the invitation to go with Jesus, we started out under the illusion that we knew where the road would take us.    

One of the things we learn if we stay on the road long enough is the reality of that illusion.  The road with Jesus is unpredictable.  No routine is so important that it cannot be laid aside for another.  When change begins to overtake us, we are most likely hesitant to move forward in a new and different way.  But, such is the way of Christ.  Who among those disciples of long ago would have predicted in the beginning that the road was going to take Jesus to the cross and them to a death not caused by disease or aging, but by faithfulness.  It is no easy road.  It never has been.  But, it is the road which takes us Home to the Father and there is none like it.  Walk on.  

Jayber's Prayer

I cannot remember the number of times I have read "Jayber Crow" by Wendell Berry.  Those who know me know I am prone to read a good book more than once, but "Jayber Crow" is in a class of re-runs all to itself.  Those who have journeyed with Jayber have shared some memorable moments, but by far, one that is the most etched on my mind is the moment when he comes to a life changing spiritual change.  It not only caused him to leave Pigeonville College where he was learning to preach, but also brought him to a new place in his spiritual journey.    

At a time when he was struggling to understand new things which were unfolding in his life, we find these words,  "But now I was unsure what it would be proper to pray for, or how to pray for it.  After you have said, 'thy will be done,' what more can be said?"   It is a word which mostly shatters many of our definitions of prayer and causes us to wonder about those persistent prayers for specific blessings from God.  Does God ever just turn away from all our begging and bargaining wishing that we would simply pray, "thy will be done,"  and then say "Amen.?"    

I must confess old Jayber's words have shattered many of the things I thought I had figured out about praying.  If it is so simple then I have really complicated a simple thing and muddied up heaven's waters.  Maybe Jayber's prompting has had something to do with it, or maybe it is the new awareness of God being present in everything and everyone around me, but more and more I find myself coming to a place of regarding prayer as a moment for being in the presence of the Holy One who knows both my heart and the things for which I would pray until heaven's doors were broken down if such a thing were possible.      

The Old Stuff

When it comes to our diet of spiritual readings, we often settle for authors we have already read, or the ones recommended by a friend, or maybe, a book that has had a hot advertising campaign.  It is easy to be captivated by the trendy presentations of the books found in the religious section of the bookstore.  For most readers of our day something written within the last few years by someone marketed as an insightful writer of genuine faith is bound to be a better read than something written a hundred years ago by someone unknown to us.    

With such a criteria for reading, we are likely to miss out on some really good stuff.  This good stuff is the stuff which has stood the test of time.  It is not marked as trendy, but something which has given several generations of readers guidance and help for their spiritual journey.  Something old, but still around to be read might be worth a second look.   It would be a shame to finish the journey of faith without reading "Pilgrim's Progress," one of Charles Spurgeon's sermons, or "Practicing the Presence" by Brother Lawrence, or some other writing deemed of no value simply because it is a hundred years old.     

Lent is a time of spiritual practices.  In addition to the disciplines we normally practice, there might be some value in laying aside the familiar for something we might not normally choose to read.  Most likely even a not so serious search will reveal some writings and some authors we have heard about, but have always figured to be either too hard to read, or so old it could not possibly still have relevance.  An older book may have to be read a little more slowly if the language is difficult, but getting slowed down a bit may be just the thing we need to get our spiritual ears open to the new things God may be trying to say to us through some old stuff.  

A Memorized Word

When I was seven years old, my Mother took my sister and me on Sunday evenings to the Pierce Chapel Church some miles from Waycross, Georgia.  It was my mother's stomping grounds when she was growing up.  It was also where my Daddy had only recently been laid to rest in the cemetery outside the church.  On those Sunday evenings the children were encouraged to share verses of Scripture memorized during the week.  A recited verse put a gold star on the chart up front by my name.   I liked getting gold stars so I learned some Scripture verses.    

Over the years I got away from the practice.  I learned some of the required ones like John 3:16 and Psalm 23, but mostly I depended on being able to find the verses I needed as I went along.  As I became an ordained person a lot of Scripture was put to memory not by intention, but by constant usage.  Practicing a discipline of memorizing Scripture just never seemed to be something which attracted me.   As I have gotten older, there has been some regret about that indifference to memorization.  It seems that it speaks to a loss of some important Words I could be carrying around with me instead of depending on the Book.  

A few weeks ago I broke with my old habits and put to memory the 150th Psalm.  It is a powerful word which centers of praising God.  Several times a day I have thought about this Psalm and recited it silently in my mind.  What a blessing it has been!  One of the times I often recite it is as I get in bed to go to sleep.  Going to the place where sleep invites me with these verses on my heart has proven to be a good discipline.  And, as I go through the day, there are numerous encounters with the Creation which have caused me to loudly proclaim this Word of praise.  As the Psalm says, "Praise the Lord!"

The Inspired Word

It is an easy thing to read the Scripture without reading the Scripture.  It is easy to pick up our Bible and see it as something else to read instead of something which has the inherent power to speak the Word of God to us.  To many times our daily reading takes on the nature of one more thing to do on our daily spiritual checklist.  When we finish our devotional time, all the boxes have been checked.  And while this kind of reading can still a means the Spirit uses to break into our lives, it is never the same as picking up the book, holding it reverently, and wondering what God is about to say as we read.     

One of the things we cannot honestly say about the Bible we take down from the shelf is that it is just another book.  It is never just another book.  It is what the Holy Spirit says about it, "All scripture is inspired by God..."  (II Timothy 3:16).  Its purpose is also stated in that verse, "so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient for every good work."  (II Timothy 3:17).  Anyone who belongs to God is one who understands that the Word gives us what we need to know about living a life of faithfulness to the One who has created us.   Living without the Scripture is like life without the instruction manual.    

To consider for a moment what it means that the Scripture is inspired by God may shake some of the trendy notions about the Word which makes us, the reader, the authority when it comes to interpretation instead of the Holy Spirit.  The Scripture is not about what we want God to say to us, but about what God wants to say to us.  We can play all kinds of mental games with it and we can read all kinds of comments designed to support some secular version of a contemporary issue, but it still remains what the Spirit says.  It is the inspired Word of God and if it is inspired, then we put ourselves in spiritual peril if we view it to be any less.  We may not like what God is saying within its pages, but it is what it is.  

The Ancients and the Cows

Whenever I watch the cows chewing their cud, I think of the way the Lectio Divina  invites us to chew on the Word.  The Lectio Divina is an ancient monastic spiritual practice which enables us in reading the Word as well as in praying.  There are four basic movements within this spiritual discipline.  The first is reading the Word.  It does not call for reading big chunks of Scripture, but reading slowly and allowing a verse, or a few words, or even a single one to take root in our soul.  The second part is the cow part which is reflecting on the Word or Words which have called to our spirit.  I am convinced that rumination is just another word for contemplation.     

While the first two movements with the Lectio Divina are Scripture centered, the final two are centered in prayer.  The third part involves responding to the Word which has been digested, or received with spontaneous prayer.  And, the fourth part is for some the hardest part in that it is a call to rest in God's presence.  The resting may seem unnecessary to our hurried spirits, but it is the part which enables us to listen and to hear what it is that God might be saying to us through the Word which He has put in our heart.    

To be honest is to acknowledge that such a prayer discipline requires more than the few minutes many of us are prepared to invest in prayer.  Another thing to be considered is the way such praying might take us out of our regular patterns of reading the Word and praying.  And finally, it is important to lay aside any expectations of spiritual benefits which might come through this discipline of prayer for -Lectio Divina is not about spiritual benefits, but experiencing the presence of God. 

Spiritual Chewing

Prior to retiring some twelve years ago, I had never really been around any large animals such as inhabit a farm.  I well remember the first time I stepped into the pasture where four cows grazed.  They seemed huge.  I had no idea what they would or would not do.  Now there are ten.  And while I still respect the fact that each cow is a large animal that could inadvertently came me pain, there is no longer any apprehension about being out there among them.  I have learned a lot about them.  And, I have learned a lot from them.     

One of the first things they taught me was their practice of rumination.  With large tongues wrapped around the grass, they break it, and swallow it into one of their four stomachs.  After their fill of eating, they go down on their haunches, regurgitate what has been eaten, and chew on it for awhile before swallowing it again.  There is nothing more peaceful around here than those moments when the cows are sitting out there chewing their cud.    

Rumination and contemplation seem to be synonyms.  The cow chews what has been eaten and our spiritual disciplines invite us to contemplate what we have read and allowed to become a part of us.  As the cow needs to sit with what has been received, so do we need to sit with the Word which we have read and put inside our mind and heart.  It is not enough to simply read.  There also needs to be some silence, some stillness, some time for just sitting with the Word with a prayer that whatever it is that God is saying to us through that Word might become life giving for us.  As the cow chews its cud, so do we need to chew on the Word.  

Bold Praying

As I was on my knees cleaning up around the blackberry bushes this afternoon, my mind slipped into the neutral position as it often does when such tasks are before me.  It was in those moments that I remembered a story from II Kings.  King Sennacherib of Assyria captured all the fortified cities of Judah and set his forces against Jerusalem.  It was a moment of great danger for the Hebrews.  King Hezekiah received the threatening message of the Assyrian King and went to the house of the Lord, spread the letter out before him, and prayed.   There was no battle for the city.  Verse 35 of II Kings says, "That very night the angel of the Lord set out and struck down one hundred eighty five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; when morning dawned, they were all dead.  Then King Sennacherib of Assyria went home..."  

There is much talk in these days about praying for the people of Ukraine as the horror of war is  raining down upon their land.  It is not a day for timid, warmed over prayers, but a time for bold prayers in behalf of a threatened people.  This story from II Kings might seem like something which can only be true in the remembered story of a people greatly threatened by an aggressor, but it can also be a guide for us as we pray about this terrible moment in the story of the nations.  While we may not want to be praying for the death of a several hundred thousand soldiers, the story is a reminder that the power of evil can surely be stopped in its tracks.    

So, as we pray for the people of Ukraine, a people vastly outnumbered and greatly under equipped with military might, may we dare to pray the bold prayers, the daring prayers, the prayers that ask God to intercede and hinder those with evil intent to the point that they return home without accomplishing the evil they intended.  The whole story covers several chapters.  It is a story to read and allow it to serve as a guide for the bold praying needed in these days.  May it so serve us and provide help for a threatened people under siege.