Friday, September 17, 2010

First Think, Then Pray - Part Five

First Think, Then Pray

NOTE: Several months ago I began a series on the Prayers of St. Paul. That work led me to write a short book about learning to pray as the first century church prayed. Beginning with this post I will be posting excerpts from the book. You may EMAIL office@christumc.us if you are interested in receiving a copy of the book.

Kingdom Prayers

If you use the prayers of the Apostle Paul for guidance there are two basic categories for prayer.

The first category is for your Christian character to be developed. Too often Christians want the assurance of eternal life without having to take seriously God’s call for holiness of life. The Apostle Paul taught that assurance of our right standing with God and our seeking to live the life in Christ go hand and hand. Paul knew that as Christ is formed in us we will live our lives as Paul proclaimed in Galatians 2:20

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

We are living life trusting in the Son of God when we take seriously the teachings of Jesus. God’s purpose for us is that we would be transformed so that we relate to God and to the world as Jesus did. That is why I stress our vision to seek the Life in Christ as Our Way of Life. One of the best places to learn about Jesus’ way of relating to God and to the world is the Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5, 6, & 7.) I believe this is the essence of Jesus’ teaching. When Jesus teaches us to turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, love our enemies, he was not just waxing philosophical. He was serious. These are the ways of the children of God.

(I suggest you include a reading of the Sermon on the Mount several times each year as a part of your personal devotions. You may want to consider selecting several different translations of the Bible for your reading of the Sermon on the Mount.)

The second category of New Testament Kingdom prayers is for the church to effectively proclaim the gospel. The more we live life by trusting God, the more we can be used by God to proclaim His Kingdom. The more the church is centered on Christ the more value it is to God to transform the world. I think this is the key to understanding Kingdom prayers. Many Christians seem to believe that being a Christian simply means believing in Jesus; trying to live a moral life and going to heaven when they die. God’s purpose for the church is so much more than that. God wants the church to make disciples for Jesus and to seek to build for the Kingdom of God through ministries of peace and justice. A disciple is one who is actively seeking to live life trusting in Jesus. In the Gospels Jesus shows us what the Kingdom of God is like and calls us to work and pray, ‘Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’

One way to keep focused on Kingdom Prayers is to remember the 3 H’s that are signs of a disciple. A disciple has a:

Hunger for God; and a

Hatred of sin; and a

Heart for people, especially for those who do not yet know God.

The Core Values of the Life in Christ[1]

At Christ Church we have a statement of our Core Values as followers of Christ. I have found it very helpful to read through these Core Values to help me understand how to pray:

Core Passion: I live to know Christ. “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead.” Philippians 3:10

EXAMPLE: WWJD. What would Jesus do if He were in my shoes? The Bible promises that God is working in me to bring me to a place where I want to do as Jesus would do, and God is working in me to give me the power to do as Jesus would do. (Philippians 2:13) One time I was concerned that one of my children was about to make a decision that he would regret. I wanted to pray that he would not yield to temptation and that he would do the right thing. As I remembered my Core Passion is to know Christ, my prayer request changed from asking God to fix the situation to asking God for wisdom to do as Jesus would do. God gave me both the wisdom to know what to say and the power to have a conversation with my child.

Core Experience: I come to Him to celebrate His glory "At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2: 10-11

EXAMPLE: These hard economic times are hitting the families in our church hard and impacting the church just as hard. Being a pastor is to be under a constant strain in these times. At times I get frustrated and start feeling a bit anxious. Sometimes I am tempted to bring God a list of all the things that I think will make my life better. But, I remember my Core Values. The experience of God that I seek is to come into His presence with thanksgiving and to celebrate His glory, not just seeking to make my life better. My prayer request changes from asking God to change or improve my circumstances to thanking God for the wonder of His love. Then I ask for wisdom and guidance to respond to my situation in ways that bring glory to Jesus.

Core Strategy: I will trust His provision. “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4: 19

EXAMPLE: The great missionary Hudson Taylor said, “God’s Work, done God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.” My mission is to make sure I am staying in God’s will; that I am doing what God has called me to do, in the way that God is leading me. This is not just an affirmation for ‘church work.’ God’s work, God’s way applies to my role as a husband, father, friend & neighbor as well as the missions and ministries of the church. Many times a church puts its priorities on trying to raise enough money to pay its bills. Trusting in God’s provision means that the first priority of the church is to make disciples, not so that the church has more people which may mean more money. Rather, that the church can share in God’s joy as more people are coming to faith in Christ and God’s Kingdom is being extended. (Remember, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33)

Core Hope: I expect to become like Jesus “Let your bearing for one another arise out of your life in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5 (NEB)

EXAMPLE: 2 Corinthians 3:17 (The Message) says, “Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”

Do you believe that? How might our lives be different if we actually believed that God wanted to transform us to become like Jesus? Our Core Hope is about living in expectation that God is indeed working in us to this end. Every circumstance of our lives provides God with an opportunity to work out our transformation. Are we looking at the circumstances in our lives with this expectation, this hope?

Core Attitude: Thy will be done “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2: 20

EXAMPLE: Our Core Attitude is reflected in two ways in our lives. First, we have a desire for a full and unconditional surrender of our will to the will of God. We know this desire is not fully developed in us all at once. It takes time. Therefore, the second way our Core Attitude is reflected in our lives is when we are faced with a circumstance where our will conflicts with God’s will, we remember our Core Values and with God’s help, do as Jesus did and pray to God, ‘Not my will but yours be done.”



[1] These Core Values were adapted from, The Pressure's Off: There's a New Way to Live by Larry Crabb, WaterBrook Press (2004)

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

First Think - Then Pray - Part Four

First Think, Then Pray
NOTE: Several months ago I began a series on the Prayers of St. Paul. That work led me to write a short book about learning to pray as the first century church prayed. Beginning with this post I will be posting excerpts from the book. You may EMAIL office@christumc.us if you are interested in receiving a copy of the book.

Misdirected Prayer Requests

Many of the prayers in the church today are contrary to Biblical models. Let’s look at some of the common misdirected prayer requests circulating within our churches.
If someone loses their job we may be asked to pray that they will find work. That’s good. But it’s not enough. There may be something God would have us to do to bring help or comfort to the situation, but how often do we seek God’s guidance on how we can help? I’ll go further on this point below.

What about the prayer request to have a better work environment? God has called His people to be a light to the world. An unpleasant work environment may be the place God needs us the most. Instead of praying to move we can pray for strength to be a faithful witness. Again, I’ll go further on this point below.

Each Individual Is Important To God

The Bible affirms that each individual is important to God. Often we hear someone say they have confidence their prayers will be answered because so many people were praying with them. Sometimes people will mention that through the internet they are connected to prayer chains around the world. Where in the Bible are we taught that if more people are praying there is a greater likelihood God will answer our prayers? It’s not there. Yet many times someone will try to get all their friends to pray in agreement with them in the belief it makes a difference whether or when God answers their prayers. If that were true, what would that say about the character of God? It would suggest that God plays favorites and responds first to the person who has the most friends praying with them. The Bible teaches God does not show favoritism. (See Acts 10:34 and Romans 2:11)

NOTE: The issue I am addressing is our individual prayers. The Bible does refer to the prayers of the saints and to when the people of God are praying. That context refers to the church being united in prayer for issues relating to the mission of the church.

Often I hear people say that they have been strengthened by people praying for them. I have no doubt that is true. Certainly we are encouraged when we know that we are not alone and that many people are supporting us through a particularly trying time. But, God’s is for us. God working in us through the circumstance we are experiencing is not increased because many people pray. God’s responds whether one prays or one thousand. In fact, the Apostle Paul says in Romans 8 that there are times when we do not know how to pray, yet the Holy Spirit intercedes and prays for us, perfectly according to God’s will. To think we need a lot of people praying for us in order for God to answer our prayers is to take the power of prayer off of God and put it onto the people praying. That’s not what we want to do.

Praying Certain Words

Another suggested prayer method is learning to pray scripture or quote promises of God in your prayers. Again, you are hard pressed to find any example of this in the New Testament. It is a very good thing to know scripture and allow scripture to influence the things for which we pray. (Remember it was scripture that empowered Jesus to resist the temptations of the devil after his forty days in the desert.) It is also a very good thing to know about the promises of God. But, no where is it suggested in the Bible that we somehow gain greater access to God by praying certain words. This is much like the fable that God helps those who help themselves. That, of course, is the exact opposite of what the Bible says. Jesus said blessed are the meek because they know apart from God’s grace there is no hope for them. (Matthew 5:3)

Praying For Healing

One of the most common prayer requests is for healing. It is good to pray for healing, even though we do not understand why on some occasions we believe people are healed by God and on others we see no evidence of healings. The fact that we do not understand should not prevent us from praying. We do not need to try and explain why we may not see the results we are hoping for. Some things will remain a mystery.

In our prayers for healing we need to remember that our illnesses come from two basic sources. First, illnesses are a natural part of our mortal life. Our bodies wear out. Secondly, illnesses are cause and effect. Examples of this run from the sublime to the ridiculous. As an example, my son came to me and asked for prayer because he was concerned about his high cholesterol. High cholesterol can be the result of genetics but most often it is a result of being over weight and what we eat. I asked my son had he considered changing his diet from biscuits and gravy for breakfast and McDonald’s hamburgers for lunch. Certainly we want to pray for healing in our own lives as well as to intercede for healing in the lives of others. We also want to learn to take responsibility for the decisions we make. Sometimes we are able to take corrective action and participate in our own healing, or as in the example above, suggest corrective action to others.
Other examples are more sublime. I recall being in a hospital room when a person in their mid-forties died from lung cancer. A grieving relative kept asking, “Why?” Their question was not so much why the person had cancer as they knew the person had smoked over a pack a day for more than thirty years. But, the person was a Christian. They had prayed for healing and were not satisfied by the notion that the person had experienced the ‘ultimate healing’ of being taken up to heaven.

The healings of Jesus in the Gospels were proof that He was the Son of God and also examples of what life is like in the Kingdom of God when sin and evil have been ultimately defeated. As for now, we live in a world where sin and evil are all around us. God has planted the church in the midst of the world to be a lighthouse. Through our faith in Jesus we have salvation which is liberation from the guilt and fear and power of sin. Because of what Christ has done for us we get to live in the presence of God, for all eternity, without shame. This, I believe is both healing and comfort from God and it is this reality that we are called by God to witness to the world.
Of course there are other examples even more troubling, such as cases where the illness is not the result of anything we have done or where we are the victims of tragic accidents not of our own making.

Often in our prayers for healing we are faced with the classic conundrum. If our prayers are not answered does that mean?

A- God could have answered my prayer, but choose not to; or
B- That God lacks the power to answer my prayer.

Let’s address option B first. Paul writes in Ephesians 1: 19-20,

“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.”

God having the power to intervene in our circumstances is not the issue.

As for option A, Paul writes in Romans 5: 8 & 11:

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”

Our relationship with God has been established by the faithfulness of Jesus. Every action God takes is motivated by His great love for us. Some people like to say that God answers all of our prayers and sometimes the answer is no (or not yet.) I am troubled by that saying because it can create the inference that God could have done something for me, but choose not to. I would rather say, God always answers our prayers and His answers are always expressions of His unfailing love for us. The promise of God is that God is using every circumstance in our lives for his good purpose of transforming us to become like Christ. (Romans 8:28-29) Although it may take us a good deal of time to understand how God is using certain circumstances for good in our lives; never-the-less, God is at work in us.

Our circumstances may be different, but the reality of God’s love is unchanging. Our prayers for healing may not result in the circumstances being changed, but I do believe our prayers to receive God’s comfort are answered.

Praying About Money

Another common prayer request is about money. Not surprisingly, this is the topic that Jesus taught about the most. However, most of the prayer requests about money are misdirected because they simply want the problem to go away.
Like most people, I have had family members struggle with their finances. Sometimes the problem is caused by adverse circumstances such as the loss of a job or a medical crisis. Most of the time, however, the financial problems are caused by bad decisions. In the course of my ministry several members of my congregations have faced financial crises and some have filed for bankruptcy. To the best of my knowledge, none of the families that applied the teachings of Jesus to their personal finances experienced these issues. Those who controlled their personal financial practices by making disciplined, regular giving to the church their number one priority have been able to handle all of their finances with Godly wisdom.

Certainly we have empathy and compassion for those in financial distress; however, our prayer requests should go beyond asking for relief from the crisis. Our prayers can be for wisdom to learn from our mistakes and for a willingness to direct our whole life to God, which includes learning and practicing Godly principals in our personal finances.

Prayers for Protection

Another frequent prayer request is for traveling mercies or a hedge of protection around someone who may be traveling or going into a risky situation. It is good to pray for protection; however, have you considered there is a higher purpose for which you can pray? Even a cursory reading of the New Testament or early church history reveals that the followers of Jesus experienced much physical injury through their travels and ministries. They were ship wrecked, beaten, jailed, exiled and martyred.

Do you remember the Apostle Paul’s conversion experience? He encountered Jesus face to face. Later, God gave him the revelation that was the basis for his gospel of grace. If anyone was close to the heart of God and could have benefited from these types of prayers it was Paul. Yet, he experienced accidents at sea and suffered brutal assaults inflicted by his enemies.
Once, when he was in jail he had an opportunity to communicate a prayer request to his friends. His request was not to change his circumstances; it was for encouragement so that he would boldly proclaim the gospel while in jail. (Colossians 4: 2-4)

On another occasion Paul knew he was journeying into harms’ way and he asked the church to intercede for him in prayer. (Romans 16) The journey resulted in Paul being jailed for two years. Then he was shipwrecked traveling to Rome where he spent the rest of his life in jail. His prayer request was not that he would be spared from experiencing these adverse circumstances. Rather, he wanted to be strong in the Lord so that he could boldly proclaim the Gospel despite his circumstances.

Intercessory Prayers & Prayers in a Crisis

What is the first thing most Christians do when faced with a crisis? Pray. And ask others to pray for them. The same is true when you learn of a friend in a crisis. You pray and ask others to join you.

This is not the wrong thing to do, if your prayer is asking God for wisdom on how you can respond to the crisis.

If you are in a crisis then you can pray and seek God’s guidance on how to respond to your circumstances. If you have a friend or family member in a crisis then your prayer can be for wisdom on how you can be a help and a comfort to your friend.

Unfortunately, most prayers in these situations simply tell God about the circumstances and ask God to change the circumstances. These prayers are often about pain avoidance rather than how the person can experience God working all things together for the good of transforming their life to become like Jesus.

The problem is when we are praying for God to change the circumstances we are in effect trying to put the ball in God’s court and then sitting down. The expectation is that God is going to fix things. If it is your crisis, then you may be avoiding taking responsibility for your life. If it is your friend’s crisis you may be avoiding taking responsibility to help. Yes, responsibility to help. God’s command that we love our neighbors as we love ourselves means that we are willing to invest ourselves into the lives of our neighbors. In addition to praying for someone, it may well be God’s will for you to do something that will bring help or comfort to them.

Love is a verb. The Bible says that Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. That proves God’s love for us. (Romans 5:8) The action God took was evidence of God’s love. So it is for us. The action we take in response to God’s leading is evidence of our love for God and love for the person for whom we are praying. Sometimes, because we are separated by time and distance, we may not be able to personally get involved in a situation. Most often, however, we can, if we choose to act in love.

Does this mean that intercessory prayer doesn’t work? If by work you mean that your prayers for another person will cause God to move in that person’s life to change their circumstances, then yes, I am saying that does not work. Would you really want God to answer those prayers? Given the choice of asking God to change a circumstance based upon my wisdom and asking for God’s will to be done, I choose trusting God’s way over my way.

In the New Testament church intercessory prayers were Kingdom related. The prayers were petitions for the individual’s life to be transformed through their crisis, and for strength to witness to their faith in Christ while in the midst of a crisis.

This principal applies to all intercessory prayers, not just prayers about a crisis situation. As an example, I remember a wedding I was officiating. The groom’s father made the statement that from the time his son was born, he and his wife had been praying for the person – the wife -- God would bring into their son’s life.

It is very good to desire a Godly spouse for your children. However, too often the prayer seems to stop by just telling God what kind of spouse you desire for your child. This raises several concerns. First, if we assume that God has chosen the perfect person as our child’s spouse we are getting into the realm of predestination. As Christians we believe God has given us free will. Yes, God knows our future, but that is because of his infinite wisdom not because he has already predetermined what choices we are going to make. Second, this way of praying falls into the category discussed above where we pray for God to do something and now that we have put the ball in God’s court we sit down. How then should we pray?

At the end of this booklet there are thirty-one prayers for Biblical virtues. (Appendix B) First, I suggest you pray these for yourself as well as for your children or others. Secondly, seek God’s wisdom on how you can teach your child to direct their whole life to God and to learn how to make Godly choices in their lives.

Can you see the difference? Instead of just praying that God send a Christian to marry our child; we pray to take responsibility for our life as a disciple of Jesus and as a parent. We seek to fulfill our responsibility to impart Godly wisdom to our children so they can learn to make wise choices for their lives.

Another example of intercessory prayer is when we pray for others to come to faith in Christ, or if they have cooled in their commitment to Christ, for their renewal of faith. Too often our concern for others in this regard stops with our prayers. Again, it is like we are putting the ball into God’s court then stepping back to see what God does. God’s will is for each of us to become instruments of grace that God can use to bring people to faith. This, of course, means that we are willing to become involved in the spiritual life of others.

One way to think about how we can be involved with others is: Make a friend; Be a friend; Lead a friend to Christ. Remember the benediction mentioned above: “Bear witness to the love of God in this world so that those to whom God is a stranger will find in you generous friends.”

Love Defined: “The will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.”

In summary, it is wonderful that we care enough about other people that we pray for them. However, it is even better when we seek Godly wisdom on how God can use us to bring about His purpose in the lives of others.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

First Think, then Pray-- Part Three

First Think, Then Pray

NOTE: Several months ago I began a series on the Prayers of St. Paul. That work led me to write a short book about learning to pray as the first century church prayed. Beginning with this post I will be posting excerpts from the book. You may EMAIL office@christumc.us if you are interested in receiving a copy of the book.


Misdirected Prayers

The Christian knows that Jesus was a man of prayer and as his disciples we too should be men and women of prayer. However, it is the one part of the Christian experience that is least understood and practiced. The reason for this is that our prayers are misdirected.

I don’t mean misdirected as though our prayers are not directed to God; but misdirected in their purpose. I informally surveyed prayer requests that came across my desk or were sent to me through a prayer chain network.

Almost 100% of the requests were asking God to change circumstances.

If a person was sick the request was for healing; if there was a burden the request was for relief; if there was a loss of a job the request was for a new job; if current job conditions were unpleasant the request was for a job in better surroundings; if there was difficulty in a marriage or relationship the request was either a generic ‘make things better’ or to change the other person.

You get the point. The prayer life in the average Christian church has been greatly influenced by our culture. The entire focus of the American culture is entitlement to the ‘American Dream’ which means the individual becomes the center of their own existence and that self gratification, self actualization, and self fulfillment becomes the driving passions of life.

As a result the average prayer request is about changing our circumstances, and those prayer requests are misdirected.

Our cultural influence can be seen in the perspective that many Christians have for the life of a Christian: Life should be good; free from pain, disease, or distress. When faced with what they think are adverse circumstances their first thought is, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Kingdom Prayers

As Christians we are called to look to the New Testament church to influence our prayers. The prayers in the New Testament are Kingdom prayers, relating to making the disciples fit for the Kingdom and for the advancing of God’s Kingdom. What does this mean?

When John Wesley taught about our lives as followers of Jesus he spoke about Holiness of Heart and Holiness of Life. When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior we become a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17) This is the holiness of heart John Wesley taught.

Next, the Holy Spirit begins to work within us teaching us how to live as the beloved children of God. This is the holiness of life John Wesley taught.

Holiness in life is learning to put into practice the teachings of Jesus.

Advancing the Kingdom is fulfilling the command of Jesus to “go and make disciples of all the nations.” (Matthew 28:19)

The prayers in the New Testament are requesting God to transform the life of the individual; not to change the individual’s circumstances. The mission of the New Testament church was to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. When the lives of the individual followers of Jesus were transformed to become like Jesus, they transformed their environment. Because the New Testament church prayed this way the Christian church is still making disciples of Jesus Christ more than two thousand years later.

The Protestant Reformation, the Wesley Revival, all the great renewal movements of the church came about as men and women learned to redirect their prayers.

They stopped praying to change God and started praying to change themselves. They stopped praying for God to change their circumstances and started praying to become more like Jesus.

Yes, God cares about the circumstances of our individual lives. The Bible makes this clear in places like Psalm 56:8-9 where the psalmist writes that God keeps ‘my’ tears in His bottle; and God is for ‘me.’ And Psalm 23:4, “for thou art with me.” It is not a question of whether God is concerned about the circumstances of our lives; rather, it is to what end is God concerned about our lives?

I believe the Apostle Paul reveals God’s purpose:

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” 2 Corinthians 1: 3-4 (NLT)

Did you see God’s purpose? “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.”

Paul’s experience of God’s comfort was in the sufficiency of God’s grace (2 Corinthians 12.) God's grace provides us the means to be in a right relationship with God, even though we do not deserve it and cannot earn it. For Paul, experiencing God's love, God's acceptance of him, while in the midst of great difficulty, knowing God was along side of him was sufficient. That was God’s comfort.

Are we looking to God as our comfort? To comfort is to be with someone, to come along side of them. Too often Christians are not looking to our Merciful Father to comfort us. We want our Powerful God to change our circumstances. When we do receive His comfort, are we seeking out others with whom we can share God’s comfort? I do not see much comfort sharing. This may be because Christians are missing God’s comfort as they strain to see a change in their circumstances.

A line in a benediction says, “Bear witness to the love of God in this world so that those to whom God is a stranger will find in you generous friends.”

Therein is the will of God for our lives: To experience God’s love and to share it with others.