God-Light: Biblical Wisdom in Your Everyday
by Ken Wilson
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be
devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not think you are superior. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Ro. 12: 9-21)
Notice Paul doesn't quote Jesus directly. He didn't hear Jesus teach; gospels still being compiled at time of this letter. Paul met Risen Lord on road to Damascus and knew him by the Spirit--as we may. But the Jesus influence is here, if not the words.
Paul, like his master before him, taught wisdom by stringing proverbs like pearls on a necklace. Each pearl stands alone, but looks best as part of a necklace. Last week: "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." This week: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
This cluster of three--joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer--is in middle of necklace. Book-ended by love. Preceeded by sincere, devoted to one another, honor-others-above-yourself love.
Followed by hospitable, live in harmony love, and finally the classic mark of Jesus brand love: love of enemies. Because when we hostile to God--mouthing love, but opposing it in our lives---God sent his Son to woo us back with love to love.
Imbedded between these bookends: spiritual fervor "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Fervor, zeal, enthusiasm, prayer that is not book-ended by love is like fire in a living room without a fireplace!
We tell people on prayer ministry team: when praying for people, you may feel all kinds of spiritual intensity but that intensity has to be ruled by love for person you're praying for…intensity can frighten people….put your fire back in the fireplace!
So spiritual fervor without love is like fire in the living room without a fireplace. But love without spiritual fervor is unsustainable, like heat in a living room without a heat source.
"Be joyful in hope…" Life in ancient world was constant struggle as it is in ours despite air conditioning…
The disciple has a source of joy in the struggle--one that intensifies all other joys: "Be joyful in hope". Hope: capacity to lean toward the blessed future, enticed by one of our own, Jesus of Nazareth having shared our struggle to painful death, and rising from the dead as the first-fruits of a new creation which beckons us….
"….patient in affliction" In Gk, patience is a form of strength, forged in affliction--the ability to endure….One of the signs of the kingdom: so many people who are incredibly patient in affliction.
Someone asked, "What's up with worship leader wearing sunglasses--trying to be cool?" Actually he suffers eczema and light sensitivity. (Not that he doesn't enjoy wearing sunglasses because it makes him look cool!) This a man patient in affliction. We all know many others. People with opportunity to be patient in affliction often have deepest tap roots into living water. (Not to worry--we'll all get our chance…)
"….faithful in prayer" There's a reason these three pearls are strung together: Hope pulls us into prayer; affliction pushes us.
Faithful, as in, just do it! Show up, be there, take care of it. In Greek, faithful (proskatereo) strong relational overtones: to join, adhere to; to be ready; to give attention; be faithful; spend much time together.
Most of our failures in love are failures in faithfulness. Failures to just do the little things: to join in, be ready, give attention, spend time.
"faithful in prayer": not, sexy in prayer, exciting in prayer, skilled… not overflowing with bells-whistles & woo-woo, but faithful in prayer.
Let's consider a Lifetime of Prayer broken down into six categories of praying experiences:
1. The prayers of childhood.
Every child prays more than any adult notices. (The Spiritual Life of Children by Robert Cole.) My praying lifetime began with taking the prayers I heard at church to bed at night.
Key moments of prayer: in 5th grade, home sick from school, grandmother dying in our home; no one informed me, just knew something was up, went to basement, knelt on floor and said, "God, I love my grandma but she seems to be suffering; if you want to take her, that's OK with me…." Went back upstairs and she was gone….
Remember the prayers of childhood! Your prayers today are built on them. You'll never grow out of them, they can instruct you still….
[Spirit inviting some to recall prayers of childhood….]
2. The absence-ending prayers.
God is used to some long absences from the likes of us….I had six year hiatus between Junior High and college. Some absences are hot, some cool, or merely some distracted--as Paul Simon said, there are 99 ways to leave your lover….
And one way to come back: "take words with you and return to the Lord" (Hosea 14: 2)
Words: "I'm sorry for my absence…I need you….I want you…."
Some of you may be here today after an absence from God….for a host of reasons….and feeling a longing to return but wondering how such a thing may be effected: "take words with you and return"
Simple words that acknowledge the absence and signal a shift of the intention and orientation of your heart. Words that you summon from the depths of your heart and speak to God directly….
[act of surrender prayers here on the platform….]
3. The prayers of others heard in an intimate setting.
The most important prayers are not always the ones that come from our own lips. They may be the prayers we hear. We can't learn to speak if we don't first hear others speaking.
I recall as a "becoming a believer again" at age 19, hearing someone pray aloud in their own words at my kitchen table….feeling closeness of that simple conversational prayer, thinking, could I have that?
One of benefits of attending a small group if you're new prayer: learn by listening…learn by joining in with the prayers of others….
[None of us invents prayer. Prayer is a river that's happening with or without us. Faithful means "join in." Within the Godhead is one of us, a praying person who shared our struggles and prayed out of them, even as we do now, through a glass darkly…whether we know it or not, our praying voice is an echo of his praying voice.]
4. The prayers of a listener bearing your burden to God.
Have you yet had this experience? Sharing your burdens with someone willing to listen; who says, "Can I pray for you?" Then, having done his homework by hearing you well, gathers your burden into words and carries them to the throne of grace.
Paul: "Bear each other's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ"
Were do we bear burdens of others? To the cross in prayer. Elsewise the burdens of others will crush us, and what good will that do them?
When this happens we are in that moment fulfilling the law of Christ.
"Wherever two or three are gathered, there I am among them."
We can do that for each other! We can seek it out if we feel a need!
5. The prayers worked into the rhythm of your daily life.
Every life is composed of rhythms: beathing heart, breathing.
We form rhythms to make our way through time.
Daily, weekly…we all got rhythms. They are the hat hooks for prayer.
Are you a student, a mother with small children hanging on you at all times, in business, a nurse, a retired person? Your praying fits into the rhythms of our life.
A young mother nursing her infant, may use that time to laying her soul beside the Savior's breast in prayer….like the beloved disciple, leaning into the chest of Jesus at supper time….
You're off to work in the morning? In car before you turn on the ignition, or the radio, take time to pray: with aid of a prayer book, psalms, the Bible. Cars make great prayer closets.
Going to bed at night? Is there a prayer book, a bible, something on your bed-stand to remind you and help you to pray?
Eating meals? As often as you can, take your meals at a table, apart from your work space--it will help your digestion and your work--and before lifting sandwhich to palate, say a prayer--of thanks for the provisions of the day, making requests for the needs of the day….
Working prayer into the pre-existing rhythms of your life is like gardening, or managing your stock portfolio or working on your golf game….it takes more or less constant tending.
Because your life and your rhythms shift, so your praying does to.
6. The hunger-induced new ways of praying
Finally, as your hunger deepens for God or better put, your awareness of your soul's craving for God becomes more acute…your existing ways of praying may not be enough to satisfy.
You will then--if hungry enough--forage in new prayer territory.
Like me, I never got into the silence bit. Reading Bible, yes. Still do, every day. Praying in words? Yes, still do, every day. But silence, no. Because of the noise in my head--too great an impediment.
But I had the hunger, which is not always a pleasant feeling is it? More like a gnawing feeling that makes you grumpy.
The craving of the soul for God is more than can be met by one praying venue. For a while, it is satisfied by the worship celebration. But many appetites--including the one for God--are increased by being fed.
So you sometimes see people grumpy with God-hunger searching for the one venue that will satisfy it. So they go from venue to venue.
Whereas God may be saying, "The whole of life, this big wide world I've created is the venue for satisfying your God hunger!"
(Marriage suffers from the same thing: spouse is supposed to be your lover, best friend, confidant…the only person you relate to in depth. But marriage was not designed to withstand that pressure. It's one important relationship in a network….)
Several years ago when my God-hunger was no longer sustained by my existing prayer rhythms, I got grumpy at church…became focused like a consumer does, on what I didn't like about the service….
But then I foraged into some new ways of connecting with God in the rest of my life. Getting outside more. Enjoying nature. Divine Hours. Learning to practice stillness and silence. Making a space in my home for prayer that I enjoyed going to.
And something happened, I fell in love again with my church. Enjoyed songs I hadn't enjoyed before. Saw the wonder in the people coming forward for communion. Don't people look beautiful as they come for communion? Things I stopped noticing because of my God-hunger grumpiness, I began to see with different eyes….
If you're looking for a good book to explore new ways of praying, try
Prayer: The Hearts True Home by Richard Foster….
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer
: Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.