The ordinary leads to the extraordinary

Ordinary, everyday objects can inspire and draw us nearer to God.

Decades ago, I attended a prayer seminar where the speaker asked us to look at our watches and use this object as a launching pad to prayer.

So, I did.  And it opened up my mind to God's greatness and his awesome qualities.

As I repeat this exercise now, my watch makes me think of "time".  God is beyond time.  The apostle Peter says in 2 Peter 3:8 that, for God, "a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day".

Like many others, I try to fit God into my conception of time.  I feel I have urgent needs which need to be met immediately.  But God's vision is greater than mine.  His answer to my prayer will come - but maybe not until much later, perhaps even after my death.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews notes in Hebrews 11 that many Old Testament believers died for their faith in God, expecting a future Messiah.  But they would be rewarded in time for their faith when Jesus died and rose again centuries later.

My watch reminds me, too, that my time on earth is limited and that every minute is precious.  I am here to worship God and love him and everyone I meet.

The fact that time does not bind God makes me realize how great God is.  He created time for us as human beings to work out his plan for our redemption.  We are made in the image of God, but we are not God.

All this is a good beginning for a prayer time worshiping the Lord and contemplating his majesty and greatness.

Ever since that prayer seminar, I have periodically used things I see to stimulate prayer.  I do this especially when I am out walking.  Nature provides a lot of inspiration for prayer.

For example, a tree in late autumn, stripped of its leaves, can remind me that God is the source of life.  The tree may be bare now, but the sap will flow in the spring and new growth sprout.  The same can happen to us in our lives.

I have returned to this practice more intently recently. 

It's something I can do anytime.

And it keeps my mind on God.

Reflective prayer

I believe that God is at work in every aspect of my life.

I just need to see what he is doing.

As I said last week, I have been pondering David's words in Psalm 68:19: "Praise the Lord; praise God our saviour!  For each day he carries us in his arms."

That tells me that God is so intimately in touch with my life that he is carrying me, even when I don't know it.

Now, I am reading and attempting an old prayer approach that quiets me and prepares me to reflect on what God is telling me about my everyday life.  He is speaking to me about the people I meet, the emotions I feel, the gifts God is giving me unawares.

The approach is called "The Examen" by the Jesuits.  It is practiced today by Christians across denominations - by evangelicals as well as Catholics.

It was developed by the founder of the Jesuits - St. Ignatius Loyola - centuries ago.

A central aspect of the examen is gratitude, although there are other facets as well.  Among them are confession, praying for our needs, and seeking God's guidance.

This fits well with the apostle Paul's words in Philippians 4:6: "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all that he has done."

Of course, my prayer times often include something of each of these features - from thankfulness to praying for my needs.  The difference is that the examen asks me to reflect on my day and the coming day, looking for God's hand in my encounters with other people and in daily activities.

As I think about it, this prayer practice promises to deepen my relationship with God as I ask him to open my eyes to what he is doing.

Here are the basic elements of "The Examen" taken from this web-site - https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/how-can-i-pray:

• Become aware of God's presence: Invite the Holy Spirit to help you understand from his viewpoint what has happened to you during the day;
• Review the day with gratitude: For me, this is an important step.  One writer puts it this way: "Walk through your day in the presence of God and note its joys and delights."  I take for granted so much of what goes on around me, but these joys and delights are God's gifts to me;
• Pay attention to your emotions:  What feelings did you have during the day?  Were you anxious? Angry? Bored? Joyful? Confident?  That should lead to asking God what he is telling you about your emotions.  Is he asking you to correct mistakes or move in a new direction at work or home?  Or, is he pointing out a new path in your life?
• Choose one feature of the day and pray from it: Ask the Holy Spirit to point you to something that happened during that day that is particularly important to God.  It could even be something that seemed unimportant to you at the time.  Pray spontaneously in praise, gratitude, repentance or intercession; and
• Look toward tomorrow:  Ask God for insight into what is coming up tomorrow.  Ask him for help and understanding and pay attention to your feelings as you contemplate what is coming.  Tell the Lord about your thoughts in prayer.

As one writer put it: "Do all this in the spirit of gratitude.  Your life is a gift, and it is adorned with gifts from God."

Amen.

He carries us

It matters how we view God when we pray.

If we think he is unhappy with us, we pray tentatively.  We may feel he will ignore us because we have sinned or done something wrong.

If we feel loved by the Lord, we will pray with confidence and hope.

The good news of Jesus Christ makes clear that God is loving and merciful, ever ready to forgive us and give us good gifts.

I have come back several times recently to Psalm 68:19 where David writes: "Praise the Lord; praise God our saviour!  For each day he carries us in his arms."

What a picture of our loving God!  We may feel hopeless and helpless, but God is not letting us go.  He is carrying us through our troubles, even though we don't know it.

David responds to this truth with praise.  So should every follower of God.

I am struck by how often the psalms speak of God's lovingkindness - a lovingkindness that stretches forever.

One of the greatest expressions of his love for us is in Psalm 103:11,12 where David says:

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west has he removed our transgressions from us."

He goes on to say that the Lord has compassion on us as a father has compassion on his children.  He knows we are weak.

David often writes about God being his refuge and fortress in difficult times.  He even declares that we are like chicks sheltering under the protective wings of their mother.

God is for us - not against us.

The scriptures say that David was a man after God's own heart.  A major reason was that David acknowledged his sins and his weakness before God and humbly depended on the Lord to guide him.

The psalms are really a book of prayers.  The writers praise God and express their deepest feelings, opening themselves completely to the Lord.  Some of the psalms are vengeful, but so are we on occasion. 

God answers our prayers according to his own ways, not ours.  We can be confident that his answers are always best for us.

We can count on him to carry us every day.

Psalm 23: Springboard to prayer

I love Psalm 23 as a springboard to prayer.

I find myself returning to it repeatedly.

Many other prayer warriors speak of this psalm as an inspiration in prayer.

A couple of nights ago, I was thinking again about the opening words of the psalm: "The Lord is my shepherd."

I focused on the first two words: "The Lord . . ."  There is so much to meditate on in these words that you can spend an entire prayer time pondering them.

As I was thinking about these words, I pictured the Lord in heaven in the apostle John's magnificent description in Revelation 1 and Revelation 5.

In Revelation 1, the picture of Jesus is stunning - and frightening.  He is glorious and his eyes are like flames of fire and his face gleams like the sun.  And it seems as if a sword is coming from his mouth - perhaps a sign of his power to judge.

Quite rightly, John reacts by collapsing in front of him.

But Jesus demonstrates his love and grace by touching him and telling him not to be afraid.  And he tells him to record the vision.  This suggests to me a sign of Jesus' love for us - he wants us to know what is coming ahead of time so that we can prepare spiritually for the end times.

For me, this is awe-inspiring.  Our God is a great God, a just God and a mighty God.  He is not to be trifled with.

Later in Revelation 5, we get a very different picture of Jesus.  A scroll is presented and a mighty angel shouts: "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?"

John is devastated because no one steps forward - until he sees a lamb "looking as if it had been slain".  The lamb takes the scroll and those around him fall before him and praise him in song.

This brings forward the sacrifice of Jesus for us as believers.   He loved us enough to die for us.  He is both almighty and self-giving.

These word pictures of Jesus are a launching pad for praise and worship.

When I think of those words "the Lord",  I could also contemplate other  qualities of God - creator, redeemer, healer, provider.

Indeed, the remaining words of Psalm 23:1 speak of the Lord as our shepherd.  That itself is enough for more praise.

As Donald S. Whitney says in Praying the Bible, we can use phrases from Bible passages such as the Psalms to trigger praise and requests.  The Bible becomes a book of prayer and praise.

Our prayer lives need never run dry.