Years ago, my wife and I learned a technique called "conversational prayer" which radically changed the way we prayed together.
The ideas behind conversational prayer came from a book by Rosalind Rinker, then a staff person with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship in the U.S. These simple ideas were widely adopted in the church we attended at the time and we used them in our own prayer times as husband and wife.
In her book Prayer: Conversing with God, Rinker suggested that when people prayed in a group, they should allow the Holy Spirit to guide their prayers.
An easy way to do this is that when one person prays about a concern, he should pray briefly about one aspect of the problem and others should follow with their own brief prayers on other aspects of the same issue. Only when that concern had been prayed about should members of the group move on in prayer to something else.
This is different than the traditional approach of one person praying at length about a whole list of things. Often that method chokes group prayer. Since one person has prayed about everything on a list, there is no incentive for anyone else to pray - other than going through the same list a second or third time.
My wife and I have found this a liberating way of praying together. The Spirit brings something to our minds and we pray about it right away. My wife may pray about one aspect and the Spirit prompts me to pray about another facet of the same prayer need.
We have participated in prayer meetings which have gone on for a long time with people praying in this way. And at the end, we feel we have been with God - which, indeed, we have.
Now that I reflect on this, I would like to add another wrinkle - an important one. What would our prayer meetings be like if we included moments of silence to allow God to speak to us? That would be a true conversation.
After all, it is the way God spoke to Moses and how God had his great dialogue with Job at the end of the Book of Job. I would like to try that. I believe we would have an even greater sense of the presence of God.
Monday 30 July 2012
Monday 23 July 2012
Intimate with God
I want to know Jesus the way Moses and David and Paul knew God.
I know it sounds egotistical. But that is the kind of relationship God wants with everyone.
I used to want God's power so that I could do things that I wasn't strong enough to do myself. There is still that lingering feeling within me.
But, over the many years of my Christian life, I have been learning that God comes first before anything else. Now, our church is studying Transforming Prayer by Daniel Henderson which makes that point in spades.
Henderson declares that worshiping God is a major step to growing intimacy with God. As we begin by worshiping God in prayer, we grow closer to God and we are more open to what he is telling us.
"Worship-based prayer ignites a desire for spiritual intimacy and personal transformation," Henderson says. "In the discovery of these realities, a Christian is then empowered and enlightened to pray about issues and needs in a whole new way."
Henderson knows what he is talking about. For many years, he has conducted free-wheeling prayer gatherings where people share scriptures that are meaningful to them, sing songs and choruses, and pray. While worshiping God, people are healed emotionally and often changed.
Henderson is not alone. There is a growing movement in the church for intimacy with God. It is as old as the Bible, but it is spreading in our day.
Here is a brief video where Francis Chan, the well-known author and preacher, shares his passion for intimacy with Jesus:
I know it sounds egotistical. But that is the kind of relationship God wants with everyone.
I used to want God's power so that I could do things that I wasn't strong enough to do myself. There is still that lingering feeling within me.
But, over the many years of my Christian life, I have been learning that God comes first before anything else. Now, our church is studying Transforming Prayer by Daniel Henderson which makes that point in spades.
Henderson declares that worshiping God is a major step to growing intimacy with God. As we begin by worshiping God in prayer, we grow closer to God and we are more open to what he is telling us.
"Worship-based prayer ignites a desire for spiritual intimacy and personal transformation," Henderson says. "In the discovery of these realities, a Christian is then empowered and enlightened to pray about issues and needs in a whole new way."
Henderson knows what he is talking about. For many years, he has conducted free-wheeling prayer gatherings where people share scriptures that are meaningful to them, sing songs and choruses, and pray. While worshiping God, people are healed emotionally and often changed.
Henderson is not alone. There is a growing movement in the church for intimacy with God. It is as old as the Bible, but it is spreading in our day.
Here is a brief video where Francis Chan, the well-known author and preacher, shares his passion for intimacy with Jesus:
Sunday 15 July 2012
Beyond ourselves
When you get right down to it, I'm selfish. I think of myself first.
I don't think I'm unusual. But I'm fortunate that Christ is not like that. He was willing to give his life for me. And he's calling me to look beyond myself.
The question I need to ask is not "What do I want" but "What does God want"?
This is a fundamental question for prayer as it is in every other aspect of life.
Dick Eastman, long-time head of Every Home for Christ, says in his book No Easy Road:
"Only when he denies himself and lives close to God does man learn his beautiful will. When one really understands God's perfect will, the effectiveness of prayer is staggering."
As Andy Stanley pointed out in a recent sermon, Jesus began his model prayer - usually known as "The Lord's Prayer" - with God. That prayer begins with worshiping God in his holiness and asking that the Father's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
In his challenging sermon, Andy Stanley said we must be ready to accept God's will whatever it is, even though we may not like it right now. We can be sure that what God wants for us is best. You can hear more of his thoughts here: http://www.northpoint.org/messages/red-letter-prayers
The best way to know what God wants is to spend time worshiping him, seeking more of him. As we worship him, we draw closer to him. That is the route taken by the 16th century French monk Brother Lawrence.
Writing about Brother Lawrence, a friend said the monk spent his time continually "praising and blessing [God] with all his might, so that he passed his life in continual joy". The title of that book, The Practice of the Presence of God, catches the essence of Brother Lawrence's life - he lived as if Christ was present, talking with him.
If my mind and heart are enjoying Christ, I can be sure he is leading me along the path he has prepared for me.
I don't think I'm unusual. But I'm fortunate that Christ is not like that. He was willing to give his life for me. And he's calling me to look beyond myself.
The question I need to ask is not "What do I want" but "What does God want"?
This is a fundamental question for prayer as it is in every other aspect of life.
Dick Eastman, long-time head of Every Home for Christ, says in his book No Easy Road:
"Only when he denies himself and lives close to God does man learn his beautiful will. When one really understands God's perfect will, the effectiveness of prayer is staggering."
As Andy Stanley pointed out in a recent sermon, Jesus began his model prayer - usually known as "The Lord's Prayer" - with God. That prayer begins with worshiping God in his holiness and asking that the Father's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
In his challenging sermon, Andy Stanley said we must be ready to accept God's will whatever it is, even though we may not like it right now. We can be sure that what God wants for us is best. You can hear more of his thoughts here: http://www.northpoint.org/messages/red-letter-prayers
The best way to know what God wants is to spend time worshiping him, seeking more of him. As we worship him, we draw closer to him. That is the route taken by the 16th century French monk Brother Lawrence.
Writing about Brother Lawrence, a friend said the monk spent his time continually "praising and blessing [God] with all his might, so that he passed his life in continual joy". The title of that book, The Practice of the Presence of God, catches the essence of Brother Lawrence's life - he lived as if Christ was present, talking with him.
If my mind and heart are enjoying Christ, I can be sure he is leading me along the path he has prepared for me.
Sunday 8 July 2012
The power of blessing
The Bible tells us to bless God and bless others. Why?
In some way, blessing seems to release God's power in our lives.
Let's take the apostle Paul's words: "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse (Romans 12:14)."
If we follow that command literally, we will stop complaining about others. We will pray that God's goodness will be poured out on them.
Over time, we will change. And, quite often, the people we bless will be blessed. That may well change our relationships with them.
When we do what God wants, God works in us.
Maurice Berquist has a basketful of modern stories of the power of blessing in his delightful book The Miracle and Power of Blessing (you can find the on-line version at http://www.twolisteners.org/Blessings1.htm).
Berquist, a pastor, first experienced this power by accident when a woman with emotional and mental problems was brought to him. Not knowing what to do, he felt impelled to read with her Psalm 103:1-6 which speaks of blessing or praising God who forgives our sins, heals our diseases, redeems us and satisfies our desires with good things.
He asked her then to read through these verses with him and she did this, slowly and hesitantly. Amazingly, she was instantly healed and filled with joy. She had been scheduled to go to a mental institution for treatment the following week, but no longer needed to.
Berquist suggests we should begin by blessing or praising God for who he is and what he has done; then, bless ourselves (that is, be thankful for how we have been created for we have been made that way by God); and finally bless others in specific ways.
There are certain things about this book that I struggle with theologically. For example, he talks about blessing inanimate objects. Yet, I realize that Jesus blessed the loaves and fishes and they were miraculously multiplied.
But, the Bible does tell us to praise God, bless others, and be thankful in all circumstances.
Living that way will certainly please God and change us.
In some way, blessing seems to release God's power in our lives.
Let's take the apostle Paul's words: "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse (Romans 12:14)."
If we follow that command literally, we will stop complaining about others. We will pray that God's goodness will be poured out on them.
Over time, we will change. And, quite often, the people we bless will be blessed. That may well change our relationships with them.
When we do what God wants, God works in us.
Maurice Berquist has a basketful of modern stories of the power of blessing in his delightful book The Miracle and Power of Blessing (you can find the on-line version at http://www.twolisteners.org/Blessings1.htm).
Berquist, a pastor, first experienced this power by accident when a woman with emotional and mental problems was brought to him. Not knowing what to do, he felt impelled to read with her Psalm 103:1-6 which speaks of blessing or praising God who forgives our sins, heals our diseases, redeems us and satisfies our desires with good things.
He asked her then to read through these verses with him and she did this, slowly and hesitantly. Amazingly, she was instantly healed and filled with joy. She had been scheduled to go to a mental institution for treatment the following week, but no longer needed to.
Berquist suggests we should begin by blessing or praising God for who he is and what he has done; then, bless ourselves (that is, be thankful for how we have been created for we have been made that way by God); and finally bless others in specific ways.
There are certain things about this book that I struggle with theologically. For example, he talks about blessing inanimate objects. Yet, I realize that Jesus blessed the loaves and fishes and they were miraculously multiplied.
But, the Bible does tell us to praise God, bless others, and be thankful in all circumstances.
Living that way will certainly please God and change us.
Monday 2 July 2012
The throne of God
A key to confident prayer is the fact that our all-powerful God is seated on his throne, listening lovingly and mercifully to our prayers and praises.
The author of Hebrews says in chapter 4, verse 16: "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need."
Indeed, the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2:6 (New Living Translation): "For he raised us up from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus."
This is a wonderful and yet mysterious verse which seems to say that we are already seated with Christ in spirit in heaven because we are united now with Christ. We are not with Christ bodily, but we are in spirit.
Over the centuries, great Christian thinkers have said that, in effect, Christians have Christ's authority in prayer. In some cases, believers can be so certain that God has answered their prayers that they will declare God's answer and step out in faith, just as Elijah did in 2 Kings 18 when he told Ahab rain was coming after years of drought.
In Luke 10:19, Jesus told his disciples: "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy . . ."
Of course, there are conditions. We must pray as if Christ were praying. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit, confessing any conscious sin, and seeking what God wants. The Bible and the Spirit can be our guides on what the Lord desires.
Wesley L. Duewel, author of Mighty Prevailing Prayer, writes:
"In yourself, you are a weak human being. But in Christ you are seated beside Him on His sovereign throne and he delegates to you the privilege of praying in his name, resisting Satan, your already defeated foe, and crushing Satan under your feet because Satan is under Jesus' feet."
The author of Hebrews says in chapter 4, verse 16: "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need."
Indeed, the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2:6 (New Living Translation): "For he raised us up from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus."
This is a wonderful and yet mysterious verse which seems to say that we are already seated with Christ in spirit in heaven because we are united now with Christ. We are not with Christ bodily, but we are in spirit.
Over the centuries, great Christian thinkers have said that, in effect, Christians have Christ's authority in prayer. In some cases, believers can be so certain that God has answered their prayers that they will declare God's answer and step out in faith, just as Elijah did in 2 Kings 18 when he told Ahab rain was coming after years of drought.
In Luke 10:19, Jesus told his disciples: "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy . . ."
Of course, there are conditions. We must pray as if Christ were praying. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit, confessing any conscious sin, and seeking what God wants. The Bible and the Spirit can be our guides on what the Lord desires.
Wesley L. Duewel, author of Mighty Prevailing Prayer, writes:
"In yourself, you are a weak human being. But in Christ you are seated beside Him on His sovereign throne and he delegates to you the privilege of praying in his name, resisting Satan, your already defeated foe, and crushing Satan under your feet because Satan is under Jesus' feet."
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