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If you greet My Son believing that instruction, discipline and inspiration are enough to keep you on track, you will see Him as merely a religious cheerleader, not the holy Savior you desperately need.
from Larry Crabb's The 66 Love Letters
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Greetings!
I've often heard it said that we should pray because God answers prayers. And that's Scriptural.
So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer. Ezra 8:23 (as just one of many examples)
But I'm learning that's just part of the reason we should pray, and really it's a secondary one. This is because, by itself, it makes our prayer life conditional. Conditional upon what *we* need.
I've seen prayer bring about desired events. I've also seen prayer not bring about desired events. And I've seen desired events happen without me praying about it.
So if I cling only to the reasoning that I should pray because God answers prayer, but then I see God not answering prayer or desired events occurring despite me not praying for it, then I may (and am) tempted to simply not spend as much time in prayer.
This fact disturbs me. And it teaches me that answered prayer isn't a wrong reason to pray, but that it's only part of the reason. There must be more to prayer; there must be an even more powerful reason to pray.
And God has begun to show it to me. In my recent prayer time and Scriptures studies, and in discussions among the Israel/Palestine mission team (whose theme is pursuing Biblical prayer), we have discovered that:
We need to pray because it pleases God. Rather than praying so that we get something, we need to pray so that God gets something. (Namely, our attention and submission.)
The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked,
but the prayer of the upright pleases him. Proverbs 15:8
Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, ..... golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Proverbs 27:9a, Revelation 5:8b
This rocked my world. (Ashamedly so, since I should have recognized and embraced this 30 years ago.) Prayer is not about me (us) and what I (we) want. Prayer is about God and what He wants. Prayer is not about asking for what I want as much as it is asking about what He wants. Or, more specifically, it's about making what I want equal what God wants, so that when I ask for the things that I want, I am also asking for the things that God wants.
Prayer is about transforming my perspective so that I see things with God-filtered glasses. Prayer is about transforming my heart so that I feel things as God does, so that my heart beats in sync with His Heart. Prayer is first and foremost relational before it is petitionary. Relating to God (becoming more Christ-centered) will then allow me to accurately ask for the things He wants me to ask for. This is what Christ meant when He said,
And I will do whatever you ask in my
name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my
name, and I will do it.
[John 14:13-14]
And what John meant, at the end of his years, when he said,
This is the confidence we have in approaching God:
that if we ask anything according
to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have
what we asked of him.
[1 John 5:14-15]
So, we need to pray because it pleases God, and in our prayers we need to ask for whatever it is that He wants. And the only way to know what God wants is to ask Him, which goes back to the relational aspect of prayer.
Think about this way: when we approach God in prayer, the first half of it should be spent relating to Him, getting to know Him and asking Him what it is He wants. And then the second half of the prayer should be following through and praying/asking for those things (that He wants) to come to reality. In fact, the word amen, which we almost always use to close our prayers, means let it be so.
So what some of us on the Israel/Palestine team have begun to do is start our prayers with the following two questions:
Abba (Papa), what it is that makes Your Heart leap with joy? For I want my heart to leap with joy for the same things!
And Lord (Master), what is it that makes Your Heart break in pain and anger? For I want my heart to break in pain and anger over the same things.
As we have begun to ask those two questions, and then actually take the time to shut up and just listen to what He places in our heart and mind (i.e., nudges us with), it is radically transforming our perspective, attitude and desires. And that in turn is radically transforming what we ask for in the petitionary second half of the prayer time.
So instead of just assuming that God wants 'Joe' to find a job and 'Sally' to be healed of her cancer, we are first taking the time to actually ask Him what it is that He wants. And we are finding that God wants what He describes in His Word: while He sometimes wants to deliver us from pain and trouble immediately and reward us with good things, more frequently He wants to allow suffering in our lives so that we will draw closer to Him and find the even greater reward of simply being in His Presence.
Let us also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great
revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of
Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But
he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made
perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about
my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That
is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in
hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I
am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. Luke 22:42
So instead of asking for God to provide 'Joe' with a job, we are asking that God show Himself to Joe during this jobless time, understanding that God's nearness is a greater reward than any job can provide. We ask that God provide Joe with a job *only after* Joe has learned whatever lesson it is God is excited to teach him in this phase of his life.
Instead of asking God that 'Sally' be healed of her cancer, we are asking God to use this cancer for His Glory. Only once His Purpose has been achieved through the cancer, will we then expect God to remove it.
Now let's be honest. Asking God to show Himself through the current pain in our lives rather than asking Him to take those pains away isn't something we are going to jump at the chance to do. But we need to do it anyway. Because as I said before, we are learning that prayer is not about getting good things we would like to have, but rather about pleasing Him. And more than anything, God wants to dance with us. And if that means going through some pain for the opportunity to dance with the Ancient of Days, we should jump at that chance!
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 1 Peter 4:12-14
but those who hope in the LORD (rather than pleasant circumstances) will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31
But for you who revere my name (rather than 'good things'), the sun of righteousness will rise with
healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released
from the stall. Malachi 4:3
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
[I have seen this verse quoted countless times with the explanation that if you go to God and ask Him for things such as a good spouse, good job or deliverance from pain, He will give it to you. But that is not what this verse says. It says that if you begin to find your excitement simply in being near Him, then the desires of your heart will change from wanting a good job, good spouse and no pain into wanting simply to be near Him, despite the very fact that you may have a crappy job, no spouse and tons of pain. Your circumstances become insubstantial as your time with Him takes on incredible substance.]
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your
bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your
spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1
So keep holding onto the secondary reason to pray, that God answers prayer. But hold on even tighter to the primary reason for praying: to let your heart leap and break with what makes His Heart leap and break, knowing that this increasing intimacy and Christ-centered perspective, attitude and desire is what most pleases God.
Wow, that is way longer than I intended to write. But I pray that God reveals Himself to you through these words, in whatever way He deems proper.
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And let me make the Rekindling announcements brief, so that you can go and spend some time in a new way of praying tonight (or this morning or afternoon, depending on when you read this).
ISRAEL/PALESTINE TRIP UPDATE
We have our team! There are seven of us who will be headed over to the Holy Land in November, to pray with and for the saints of the land, the living stones that are the Orthodox, Catholic, Evangelical and Messianic Christians caught in the middle of a multi-layer war. We are privileged to watch and learn from many Palestinian Christians who I find to be modern day Biblical heroes.
So please pray for Cindy Shiblie, Lori Smith, Bethany Bochicchio, Barbara Salisbury Quesada, Ric Angresano, Kevin Morrow and myself as we follow God's leading on a journey that we know is going to rock our world a bit.
And please join us in this adventure by becoming part of the prayer team. We need you!! And if you feel led to add a financial donation to your prayer support, you can do so at Rekindling's secured website.
LIBERTY SEMINARY
Over the last few months, God nudged me to finally consider going back to school to further my education and hone my teaching and counseling gifts, so that He can better use me for His Purpose. And in eight days, I am headed down to Lynchburg, VA to attend Liberty University full-time. I will be pursuing two Master's degrees: Theological Studies and Pastoral Counseling. It will take 5 semesters total, and then I will go wherever He leads me from there.
Rekindling will continue during this time with the monthly FIREWATCH, and I also intend to start back up the Rekindling blog again. I won't have as much time to teach workshops and do 1-on-1's at least for now (though I hope God still allows me to do them from time to time), so I want to continue delivering the message He has laid on my heart through another avenue: the blog.
I am super excited about this next stage in my walk with the King of Kings, so pray that He reveal Himself to me even more fully through the classes and relationships (and challenges) that I will face down there.
CHRISTMAS KARAOKE at the FIREHOUSE
I know this is way early, but save the date now and put this in your calendar.
On Saturday, December 11, from 7-10pm, we will be hosting a Christmas party/fundraiser at the Ashburn Firehouse. It will be a karaoke party, with food provided, celebrating Jesus' birthday and the work He is doing through Rekindling. You and all your friends are invited!
and that's a wrap for this month's FIREWATCH. As always, know that I want to agape love each of you, so if any of you (even those I have not met) need any thing (encouragement, help moving, Scripture knowledge, prayer, etc.) just say the word.
passionately His and sincerely yours,
shannon
703.899.7442
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