A “WORKING PRAYER TIME”

A “working lunch” – have you ever participated in one? It’s a natural & efficient way to use time. A lot of good has been accomplished through such strategies. As someone who tends to be time-conscious & task-oriented, I have to confess that I really like it.

It’s easy for time-conscious & task-oriented people like me to fall into the trap of thinking that prayer is non-productive time. After all, what is being DONE when we pray? Aren’t we usually in a stationary position, doing nothing or nearly nothing with our hands? And just as bad, we may even have our eyes closed! How can you get anything done that way?

But, just to make sure we are making efficient use of the time, we have lists of prayer lists that we dutifully read off. (These are sometimes no more than a “honey-do” list for God.) We also tend to spend more time moving our lips than opening our hearts & ears to hear what God might have to say to us. This is at least in part so that we can feel like we accomplished something while just sitting still with our eyes closed.

Prayer isn’t work, you say? If you don’t think it is, try doing it for 8 hours. Or even 8 minutes.

They say that Martin Luther spent several hours a day praying, & that if he had an especially busy or stressful day ahead, he spent an additional hour or 2.

One thing’s for sure – you won’t regret it. And quality time spent with your Heavenly Father will change your life.

PRAYING THE SINNER’S PRAYER

I’ve been thinking a lot about the process of the Christian life. Jesus saved me ‘way back in 1972. In the intervening decades (wow, it’s been 43 years since that very special September afternoon), He has made a lot of changes in me. At that time, I had no clue about the journey I was beginning.

You see, many people think of the Christian life as an event, rather than a process. It’s more than just “praying the sinner’s prayer” that we often see or hear. In fact, there are a lot of people who suppose that they are Christians, and who appear to believe that praying that prayer is the extent of Christian experience.

I believe that God purposely describes the Christian life sometimes as a marathon race and at other times as a wrestling match. He also uses agricultural terms to describe it. What is common to all these analogies? One commonality is that they each begin with a specific event (the starting gun, the bell in the first round, the planting of seed).

Another commonality is a process. The runner must reach the various milestones of the course and the wrestler must consistently apply the right strategy through the whole match. And the farmer must care for & watch over the seed he has planted until he harvests the produce.

It’s not enough to just start.

God is all about beginnings (& new beginnings). But He is also all about the processes through which He brings His ultimate purpose to completion.

What is His ultimate purpose? It’s not just for us to be with Him forever, as wonderful as that is. His ultimate purpose is actually to transform us into the image of His Son. If that doesn’t happen, we will be terribly out of place. Talk about the ultimate awkward moment!

Embrace the process that God is bringing you through & be thankful for it. You can do this as you remember His purpose in it all.

YOU'RE HUNGRY – WHY?

Throughout their history, Pentecostals & charismatics have been known for their desire to experience the dynamic working of the Holy Spirit. We probably have dozens of songs expressing the idea that we are hungry or thirsty for God’s presence & working in us.

My question is – Why? Why do we have this deep desire to experience more of God?

Of course, there are many good, biblical reasons for such a hunger, which relate to our personal walk with the Lord. Sometimes we need encouragement or to be set free from something that has hindered us. At other times we may need physical healing or the consolation that only the Spirit can give in times of difficulty or loss.

Of course, many of us can also describe times when in simplicity, ignorance, or even selfishness, we thought that the whole purpose of the Spirit’s dynamic working was to just give us an experience. That special experience would show us (& probably others too) that we really were spiritual, & had been initiated into the “elite” of the Kingdom.

  

It is right that we desire to experience God’s presence in tangible & dynamic ways. But why? It is because of His redemptive purpose, which can be defined as the ultimate reason why God works in the world today.

He works toward the salvation of human beings & toward the conformity of believers/disciples to the image of Christ.

God’s redemptive purpose is more about fruitfulness that experiences. When He in His sovereignty blesses us in a dynamic way, it is to further that purpose in & through us. 

Remember this - Even in times when you don’t feel it, you can still unconsciously carry His presence in your life so that others may be brought into contact with Him.

IN PRAISE OF ROUTINE

It seems that in our times people value & look for the new, the novel, or the different. Things or activities that are routine aren’t appreciated, just because they are so common. After all, some routines are just boring & easily taken for granted.

We often fail to appreciate the value of routine. What would life be like if one day the sun didn’t come up or the seasons no longer changed?

Have you lost a loved one whose mannerisms, words, or routines you sorely miss? 

Routine provides a natural, unhurried rhythm – like the Sabbath, which provides man the opportunity to worship the Lord. In doing this, man is renewed spiritually, physically, emotionally, & mentally.

The routine of doing the right things, the right way, for a long time also brings good results. How else, other than thru this, can excellent medical professionals, musicians, athletes, scientists, etc. be produced? 

That’s why spiritual disciplines are so vital.

They are the routine or discipline of doing the right things repeatedly. The result is a consistency in prayer, Bible reading/study, obedience to & sharing of known truth, & a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God. 

Effective ministry is also a result of doing the right things, for the right reasons, over a long period of time. This results in healthy churches that exalt Christ & effectively share God’s Word in their communities.

CULTURAL BLIND SPOTS

One of the big advantages (& sometimes frustrations) in living & ministering in a second culture is the chance to see or experience things that are totally different from anything you knew back home.

A humorous example of this is skin whitening soap. Most Americans, if they heard that a whole section of the average drug store here is dedicated to products that promise to whiten dark skin, would probably laugh.

On the other hand, if Filipinos learned how much money an American can spend at a tanning salon, they would have a hard time believing it. The immediate desired results of these 2 actions are opposite, but they both arise from deep cultural values & ideas that define what is attractive.

A more serious example is how individuals see themselves in relationship with family, peers, & the larger culture. In the West, we tend to define everyone & everything else by ourselves as an individual.

Here in the Philippines, the opposite is the general rule. The individual is defined & finds significance based on his family & peers, & how faithfully he fulfills their expectations.

Which view is the right one?

Just now you may have, without thinking, started mentally listing reasons why your view of how individuals should see themselves is the right one.

Philippians 1:6 says, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Think for a minute about what would happen if North American Christians would interpret a verse like as a promise to their church rather than to just them as individuals. (It’s important to remember that Paul wrote this letter to a congregation, not just one person.)

While Western Christians are correct in seeing the individual’s accountability to God, they are often blind to the importance Scripture places on the individual’s place in the community of believers. “It’s just me & Jesus” reflects an over-emphasis on the individual. This is a cultural blind spot for many of us.

Sometimes in the Philippines, a believer takes his cues from a family or group that doesn’t prioritize living for Christ. Family loyalty is a biblical value, but this loyalty becomes a kind of bondage if it becomes an excuse to disobey God’s will. One of our most effective church planters in Mindoro had to put aside her family’s objection to her going into ministry. I believe that God will honor her obedience. She has recognized her cultural blind spot & overcome it.

There is something to be said for individualism & for valuing the family or other social grouping. Scripture places a high value on both, while also placing limits on each one. It challenges our cultural conditioning & calls us to open our eyes to our blind spots.