Clay in the Hands

I thought I would do one more post on prayer today.  I am working through all the elements found in this passage for the sermon on Sunday.  One of the things that I think we can understand from Jesus’ words is that authentic prayer is just that – authentic.  It must be real, it must be from your true self.

All of us carry baggage – we are complex beings with many layers that make up who we are.  But when we strip away all the external layers and get at the heart of who we really are, that person that really only God knows, we have reached the true self, we have reached the point of being able to pray unhindered.

I encourage you today to get real with God – be yourself.  God already knows you anyway!

Have a great weekend and as always, thanks for reading.

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Since we are talking about prayer this week, I feel led to speak to an area of the Christian walk that we don’t want to talk about much.  But if there is anyone reading today going through trying times (I would be shocked if there aren’t) this is for you.  If you aren’t going through tough times right now, that is a blessing.  But I would guess that all of us have at times and will again in the future.

When we go through trying times, God does not leave us.  Friends are placed around us to help – to listen.  Strength comes to us in ways that don’t make sense.  But what I feel I need to say today is this:  there are times that are so rough that we realize talking to a friend does not help, talking to a pastor doesn’t help.  Making ourselves busy to get our mind off of it doesn’t work either.

What then?

There are times in our lives, in our Christian walk, when there is no one or nothing to turn to.  No place we can go to get away from it.  No apparent relief to be found anywhere or in anyone.

It is in those times we must turn to God.  My own experience teaches me that even though the times can be painful, God never leaves me.  I can’t explain the sense of peace that comes when we rest in God and let go of our fear or anger or anxiety – I can just say that it is real.

So today, if you are in the midst of tough times, turn to God.  Cry out to God and let yourself rest in the arms that will never let you go.

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Yesterday, my post discussed that we should spend time alone with God.  I would like to keep that theme going today.  I want to begin with a question, “Is it possible to be alone with God even in the midst of a crowd?”

One of my most meaningful experiences I have ever had in sensing God’s presence in the midst of a crowd came a few years ago in a busy lobby of a hotel in Chicago.  I was waiting on my next meeting to begin and so I sat down to read.  I was reading Thomas Merton’s little book, Thoughts in Solitude.  The following is from my journal entry that day, July 26, 2006:

I took out my little book and began to read – normally I’m ready to check off another chapter but this time I read about 6 lines and stopped – going back to read them again.  I then stopped and shut the book and just praised God in all the hustle and bustle and noise – all of which would be insurmountable distractions at any other time.

What I read that made me stop was this:  “When I am liberated by silence, when I am no longer involved in the measurement of life, but in the living of it, I can discover a form of prayer in which there is effectively no distractions.  My whole life becomes a prayer.”

As I pondered these thoughts – I was swallowed up in the noise around me.  I heard nothing at all and everything all at once!  I praised and thanked God for the joy of life – as I saw people sharing a drink I praised God for the joy of friendships and relationships . . . The general praise was for the gift of life – a gift we take – I take – for granted, and certainly do not normally see it in a crowded, busy, downtown hotel lobby.  But this day was different.  This day I did!  Thank you God!

The point of all this is sensitivity and focus.  God is all around us – God is with us no matter where we go or what we do.  We just have to look for God.  We should most definitely have a place we meet with God regularly.  But in the in between times we must learn to make a space inside ourselves to meet with God as well.

Have you ever had experiences of God’s overwhelming presence in the midst of odd circumstances?  Let me hear from you.

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We talked about prayer in our worship service this past Sunday and we will continue on that topic this coming Sunday.  If you read the book of Mark, you are struck with the sense that Jesus spent time in solitude (look here for an example).  He felt the need to get away and focus on communication with God.

Now if Jesus felt the need to spend time alone with God, how can we think that we could possibly live the way we know we should live if we don’t do the same?  Time alone with God in prayer and scripture reading are the foundation for living and growing in our relationship with God.

So where do you go to be alone with God?  What do you do when you are in that place?

I would love to hear your response – who knows, it might make it into the sermon this week.

Thanks for reading!

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Have you ever noticed how everyone looks forward to the weekend?  Why is that?  Is it because the days are different somehow?

The obvious answer is that the weekend brings days away from work – days off – for most people.  Isn’t it interesting that God knew we needed days off.  Genesis is clear in that when God was creating the world, the seventh and final day of creation was set aside for rest.  The writer could have just as easily said, “and on the 6th day God created . . .”  and ended the story there.  But God knew that we needed to understand the importance of rest – of time away from our regular routine.  So much so that the 7th day was included in the story to help us understand that rest is just as much a part of creation as the creation of the earth, the animals, the plants and us.  In order to function fully as God intended for us to function – to fulfill our calling as human beings – we need rest.

So what are you going to do with those days off?  I challenge you this weekend, or the next time off that you have, to 1) spend some time doing something totally different.  2) Spend some time in prayer and  3) spend some time with your family.  God will honor it and you will be ready to go for the next week.

Have a great and restful weekend – and thanks for reading!

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This morning I am thinking about living the transformed life.  When you stop and think about it, that is really what following Jesus is all about – striving to be more like him.

We have developed some concrete steps or tools to help us in our effort to become more like Jesus – scripture reading, prayer, worship, service, just to name a few.  These are all essential.  But lest we think this transformed life is something we attain, remember this:  God calls us to be faithful in what we know to do, but at the end of the day, the growth, the transformed life, comes from God – not our efforts.

I read a quote this morning that said, “We know that living a transformed life means living at God’s direction with grace-given capacity.  This is more than we can do on our own, and, in fact, living the transformed life does not mean trying harder.  It means trusting more and staying close to the only One who can make us more than we are.  As we learn to put our trust and faith in God, we become open and available to receive God’s forming and transforming power in our own lives.”  (Rueben P. Job)

Wow!  Do you find this a little liberating?  The drive that is within each of us tells us that if we want to see progress in whatever we are attempting, we have to try harder and push farther.  But we are reminded today that while our effort is an essential component to our spiritual transformation, it is not the essential element.  Trust in God.  Make yourself available to what God wants to do in and through you today and then watch God work a miracle.

Thanks for reading!

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