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Two Different Kinds of Prayer

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I’ve been mulling over what I heard from Chris Brooks at Kairos tonight. He spoke from Luke 18:9-14 about two men who went to the temple and offered two vastly different prayers to God.

One was very devout. He said all the right words and spoke out of a life that was consumed with faithfulness and devotion. He went above and beyond the minimum requirement. In terms of what most people look for, he was the model picture of faith. But God didn’t heed his prayer.

The other was a scoundrel. He knew it. His prayer was less of an exercise in devotion and more of a cry from the core of his being, almost a primal scream. “Have mercy on me, a sinner,” was his repeated refrain and his anguish took the form of beating his own chest while echoing a mantra of desperation. His is the prayer God heeded.

I’ve been guilty of trying to impress God with flowery language and pious phrases when what He really looked for from my prayers was transparency and honesty. What He longed for from me was my soul laid bare and my deepest sighs and groans laid at His feet.

I’m still figuring out the whole prayer thing. A lot of the time I feel like I’m praying to the ceiling, airing out my laundry list of wants and needs, and reciting rote words that sound and feel hollow and empty.

Sometimes, the best prayers are the shortest. A lot of the prayers that moved Jesus to action were less than ten words– “Have mercy on me, Son of David,” “I belief, help my unbelief,” “Remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

What matters most is not what you say or don’t say to God, but an attitude of confession and repentance with a heart willing to listen and to obey whatever Jesus asks.

What matters more than what we pray or when we pray or how we pray is that we pray. I believe God honors the earnest prayer offered in faith, even if the words aren’t right (or even if there are no words at all).

Just pray.

 

Farewell to Lorien (and to Another Golden Age Actress)

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“Crying farewell, the Elves of Lórien with long grey poles thrust them out into the flowing stream, and the rippling waters bore them slowly away. The travellers sat still without moving or speaking. On the green bank near to the very point of the Tongue the Lady Galadriel stood alone and silent. As they passed her they turned and their eyes watched her slowly floating away from them. For so it seemed to them: Lórien was slipping backward, like a bright ship masted with enchanted trees, sailing on to forgotten shores, while they sat helpless upon the margin of the grey and leafless world” (J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings).

Few are probably aware of it, but the world lost another star recently in the passing of Gloria DeHaven. She was another from the golden age of Hollywood who has slipped away from us.

I love watching Turner Classic Movies because I feel as though I’m stepping back into a simpler, less complicated world where it was easier to tell the good guys from the bad, where love was something worth fighting for, and where the cause of the just prevailed.

The world portrayed in these old movies is more and more a relic of the past with so many of the virtues and values seemingly going extinct in a world where more is better and where everything needs to happen NOW.

Seeing the old black-and-white does something good for my heart. The same goes for Technicolor. A lot of the newer movies may look and sound better, but they ain’t got the same soul (to appropriate a line from a Bob Seger song).

The old movies were about telling stories about real people who laughed and cried, loved and lost,  lived and died. There weren’t any CGI effects– just witty dialogue and fleshed-out characters.

I’ll have to look up one of Gloria’s movies and watch it in her memory. RIP to another from a golden age gone forever.

Your Own Echo

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Someone made a very astute comment on Facebook recently that has stuck with me. Basically, what he said was “how can you grow if all you ever hear is your own echo?”

He meant that how could you ever mature and learn if all you ever listened to and read were people who only expressed those views you agreed with? How could you continue to expand your horizons if you shut out any dissenting opinions and opposing viewpoints?

That’s a valid question.

If you want to grow, I think it’s good to occasionally read a book that you know you will disagree with. It’s good to listen to someone who espouses a different worldview than you. If you lean to the left politically, maybe read something or listen to a speech given by a conservative, and visa-versa.

You’ll probably get angry with what you read. But then you have to ask yourself why you’re angry. Is it that what the person is saying causes you to doubt your own viewpoints? Or maybe have you fallen into the trap of demonizing anyone who disagrees with your worldview?

You’ll know you’ve reached maturity when you can disagree with something or someone and still respect their arguments that are put forth in a civil manner. You can choose to see that people have the right to believe differently than you and that maybe if you had shared the same experiences you might have a similar viewpoint.

I’m still hoping that we can reach the point where we can sit down with our political opponents and talk through our issues rather than blasting each other from a distance and spouting hateful rhetoric and insults.

It’s best to take everyone else more seriously and take yourself a lot less seriously. Remember that there’s a lot yet that you don’t know, so keep an open-mind when it comes to people you disagree with. We could all learn something.

 

 

Six Years Later

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Lost in all the hoopla over both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions and all the madness that ensued was the fact that recently I celebrated my sixth anniversary of blogging for WordPress.

Part of me feels that it can’t have been six years because the time has gone by so very quickly. Another part of me is shocked that I’ve only been doing these posts for six years because I feel that I’ve grown so much since that very first one way back in July 28, 2010.

C. S. Lewis wrote that often on a daily basis you can see very little change, but when you look back over a number of years you see a huge difference between your present self and your former self. Time can be deceiving in that way.

I truly believe that monumental change happens in the form of daily small changes that happen over time. Every 10,000 mile journey begins with a single step and the daily choices you make that take you either closer to or further away from your desired destination.

I’m thankful for a vehicle like WordPress that makes it easier for me to get my thoughts out there into cyber-land. I also love the fact that it corrects my bad spelling so that you think I’m smarter than I really am.

My advice for those who want to write is two-fold: 1) find your own voice and 2) stay true to it. Finding your own voice means that you tell your own story and not someone else’s. It means that you write about what you know and what makes you come alive. Staying true to your own voice means that you write what’s in your heart, not what you think others will want to read. Most of all, just write.

Thanks, everybody, for six amazing years. Here’s to at least six more years of me writing and you reading.

 

Maturity

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I’m laying (or is it lying) in bed, typing this as I listen to the rain pounding on the window. There’s something comforting to me about storms when I am safe indoors and not out driving in one.

I’ve been thinking about something quite a bit lately. In theory, we’re the most tolerant society, yet in practice we are anything but. We talk a good game about how we tolerate anything and everything, yet wait until someone disagrees with us or spouts a political view that is opposite to what we hold dear and see just how tolerant (or intolerant) we really are.

It’s about maturity. How do you react when you speak your opinions and someone contradicts or criticizes you? How do you take criticism?

Once again, I do not mean that you meekly abide under verbal or physical abuse. I do not mean that you allow someone to berate or insult you and not defend yourself.

I do mean someone who disagrees with your beliefs or convictions. How tolerant are you then?

I confess I don’t like criticism. I may not always show it, but I tend to be defensive and angry when I get told I’m wrong. A lot of people are that way.

Maturity means you don’t always have to agree 100% with criticism, but you can always find some nugget of wisdom there. You can always use the negative comments to spur change for the better within yourself.

It’s one thing to be steady in your convictions, beliefs, and actions, but it’s quite another to live outside of any accountability in a place where no one can ever correct you for a perceived mistake or unwise choice. You need at least one person whom you give the permission to speak into your life, even if that means they can tell you the truth about when you’re out of line.

Maybe we can get to the place where we can actually have an open dialogue and listen to what those on the other side of the debate are actually saying instead of the all-too-common haranguing, name-calling, and demonizing that characterizes much of what goes on in politics and society.

Maybe we can get to the place where we welcome dissenting voices that will challenge us to examine our own beliefs and convict us to live in such a way that our actions match our words.

God help us all.

My Occasional Political Soapbox Rant

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It feels like an extended full moon season the way people are acting. Actually, it’s just election season, and people have lost their ever-loving minds. In response, I broke from the norm and wrote a rare political rant. Here goes (deep breath):

Rant for the day: It seems to me as long as the two-party system is in play, both parties are all too willing to play up the other side as being evil and how you must vote for our candidate unless you want “them” to win.

There’s an underlying sinister attitude on both sides that says, “You’re gonna take what we give you and like it. If not, there’s the door. The other side will be glad to have you.”

Sadly, too many are too willing to drink either the blue Democratic or the red Republican kool aid. Too many are selling out their own ideology and beliefs to tote the party line instead of thinking for themselves. Too many will turn a blind eye to the faults of their side while magnifying the faults of the other side and demonizing anyone who disagrees with them in any way. The end result will most likely be more of the same, regardless of the outcome. Here endeth the rant.

The point I’m making is that people are once again willing to believe that politics as usual can solve what is ultimately are deep spiritual problems that no human candidate (male or female) can solve. Once again, most will be disappointed when they find out the result is politics as usual.

I’ve mentioned it before, but it bears repeating. After this election, we will have a new president, but Jesus will still be King. In four (or eight) years when the next one steps into office, Jesus will still be King. After the last President, Jesus will still be King.

My hope isn’t in what some politician will do in the distant future or in the promises he or she makes. My hope lies in what Jesus has already done and in the promises He’s fulfilled. I’m banking on the fact that whatever I am afraid of and whatever obstacle lies in front of me Jesus has already overcome and defeated on the cross.

My hope is not in Trump or Clinton. My hope is still in Jesus.

 

 

2,200 and Counting

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“And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life” (1 Corinthians 7:17, The Message).

I recently received a notification of my six-year anniversary with WordPress. I’ve come a long way since that very first blog way back in July of 2010 that announced my arrival into the wild and exciting world of blogging (said with sarcasm).

I’m still not a fan of the word “blog.” It sounds like something you do that you don’t ever discuss in polite conversation, especially in mixed company. It also sounds like something you blow out of your nose when you have a cold.

In the ultimate irony, I’m slowing learning that to grow up and get to the place God created you to be, the best place to start is to learn to be content with where you are and who you are. The more you strive out of insecurity or envy, the more you find you’re vainly fighting the air while running in place. You don’t get very far that way.

The best way to find contentment is gratitude. Giving thanks makes what you have enough (as Ann Voskamp has said more than once) and it makes your life fuller and richer by putting your focus on what you have instead of what you lack.

Giving thanks opens your hands to receive more true riches from God’s hand. The problem with the prosperity gospel is that it focuses on the temporary riches that rust and fade, but the true riches that come with thanksgiving are the kind that are eternal and changeless.

I’m thankful tonight for a job that I enjoy, a cat who also moonlights as a very affordable therapist, a comfy bed, people who care about me, and a God who is crazy about me even after all these years.

I’d call that the good life.

 

Another Night of Worship

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It’s 10:19, I’m tired, and my feet hurt. A little. That’s a good thing. A very good thing, in fact.

I tallied just over 13,000 steps today after getting in over 22,000 yesterday. I’ve put in quite a bit of walking lately, which hopefully translated into burned calories and lost weight.

Tonight was the semi-annual Kairos Night of Worship. The theme was Wildfire, praying  to be the spark that leads to revival fires breaking out in this land.

I’ve been praying for revival, especially in my own heart. Everyone goes through seasons of dryness and numbness in their spiritual walks and I am no exception to the rule. I know faith isn’t solely about feelings, but I also know that it can be rough when it feels like you’re going through the motions.

Still, God is faithful, even when I’m not. His fidelity more than makes up for my lack of it. If it were up to me, I’d have fallen away a long time ago, but it’s not. God is more than up to the challenge of holding on to me during the seasons when I’ve felt like letting go and giving up.

It was a great night. Sure, the worship songs were amazing and the teaching was stellar. For me, the best part was the reminder that my primary identity, the core of who I am deep down, is that of Abba’s child.

All of my failings and weaknesses do not define me any longer. My on-and off-again passivity does not define me. Being Abba’s child and hearing my Abba call me Beloved is what defines me both now and forevermore. That’s what I choose to identify myself as from this day forth.

I’m thankful for family and friends who consistently remind me of my true identity and who encourage me to be better today than I was yesterday. Thanks, everyone.

 

 

Return to Radnor

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I returned to Radnor Lake State Park. Sure, it was hot and sticky. Combine that with my propensity for sweating and the result is usually not pretty. But I didn’t care.

I was in my Walden Pond. I was in my safe haven.

I trekked down my favorite trail and then added about an hour’s worth of walking. I put in about 2 1/2 hours of walking, totaling just under 6 miles. I should sleep good tonight.

My favorite part is the silence. I don’t mean the total and complete absence of sound but the absence of the usual noise and clamor I hear for the greater part of my day. All I heard around me were the subtle sounds of nature.

The thought occurred to me as I was walking that the silence around me was sacred and to disturb it would be profane. So many people in this day and age are almost afraid of silence, filling their lives with nonstop noise and ceaseless clamor. I believe that silence can be the empty space where the words of God fill in, where my heart is finely tuned to hear what He’s been saying to me all along in all my busyness, hustle and bustle, ceaseless clanging noise.

I didn’t see as many critters this time. Perhaps they’re just as weary of the heat and humidity as I am. Maybe I just wasn’t looking in the right places. I’ve been known to not always be the most observant person.

I’m still game for living in Thoreau’s Walden Pond, even if that means taking a break from all things electronic. Some days, I could use that break to restore my calm.

PS I got my steps in (and then some). I ended up with 22,245 steps, or about 9.87 miles. No wonder my feet hurt.

 

Who Holds the Day

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“Our circumstances are not defined by what the day holds but by Who holds the day” (Aaron Bryant, Campus Pastor of The Church at Avenue South).

You and I both know what the day holds. There are already not enough hours in the day to get it all done. Some of you are already hyperventilating at the mere thought of the overwhelming list of tasks that await you when you get to work on Monday.

I have a new mantra based on a sermon I heard this morning at The Church at Avenue South. Our circumstances aren’t defined by what the day holds but by Who holds the day.

God is more than enough to handle what your day brings. He is more than enough to calm your fears and carry you through your stressful day. He is more than enough to make up for your woeful inadequacy to face what’s coming.

The One who holds the day holds every single day of your life in His capable hands. He’s the one who knows when a sparrow lands. He’s the one who knows the number of hairs on your head. He’s the one who clothes the lilies of the field and feeds the lowliest of those sparrows. He will take care of you.

I’m still not a fan of Mondays. I’m thankful they don’t come more than once every seven days. I seriously don’t think I could handle more than one Monday a week.

I’m even more thankful that the Lord of the Sabbath is Lord of the Mondays, too. He’s just as able to save and deliver you on Monday as He is on Sunday (and on every other day of the week as well).

Once more. Your circumstances are not defined by what the day holds but by Who holds the day. You will be just fine.