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Posts Tagged ‘prayer’

Tabitha, Get Up!

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 29, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 9:40
Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.

Some say that the person who is sick must have faith in order to receive a healing. But doesn’t this story contradict that idea? Tabitha could not have had anything in mind–she was dead. Well, then, they say, the person praying must have great faith. But there are examples in scripture where a person is healed only by touching the garment of Jesus or one of the disciples.

Let’s face it. Healing is a mystery. And so is death and illness.

Why do some get sick and some not? Why do some die from their illness and some not? We will never know.

It is God who heals and not we, ourselves, no matter how much faith we have. God is sovereign and God chooses. In most cases, healing and resurrection have a longer reach than just a benefit for the person healed or raised from the dead. Either Jesus was building faith in his followers or he was removing the veil from the eyes of the unbelievers that they might see and believe.

There are a few instances when Jesus specifically told the healed person not to tell. My guess would be that these healings were for the witnesses present and would not serve to rouse faith in non-believers. In other words, there was no point in telling because nothing would come out of it.

What does all this mean for me today? I wish I knew. I know in my heart if I could consistently hear God’s voice within, I would know how to pray for those who are sick (emotionally and physically). But, heck, I can’t even hear His voice to find a misplaced book, much less broker health.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of my favorite photographers, said that he would hear the word “yes” in his mind whenever he was looking through the viewfinder. And in that moment, he would know that he had captured something meaningful. I believe this “yes” is the same voice for healing.

Lord, as I pray for others, speak your “yes” that I might hear and the sick made well. Give me confidence to pray. And may every healing bring your kingdom closer to our hearts.

I pray again today for Kim G, Vanessa M, Anne W, Sarah W, Rebecca M, Becky T, Jeff B, Chelsea A, John, Janis U, and Lily B.

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Asking God to Forgive

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on October 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 7:59-60a
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

Interesting that Stephen does not say, “I forgive them,” but asked, as Jesus did, that the Lord God forgive them. There is a fine line difference and it’s worth noting, I think.

I’m guessing Stephen never held anything against them in the first place. From the get-go, he was able to keep their “issues” separate from his own. But to pray to God and ask Him to forgive one’s adversaries is proof of a higher concern: that their actions would not block them from eternal things.

Hmm. I’m a long way from this place, this higher level of forgiveness. I’m still struggling with the one on one type. Maybe I should try this God forgiveness first. Would looking at the difficult relationships in my life through the eternal eyes of God give me new personal perspective? Perhaps the little irritations would be less irritating. Perhaps the memories would be less vivid. Perhaps the patterns would finally break.

Have I secretly hoped that God would take on my banner of revenge? Romans 12:19 does say that God will avenge. Have I been playing a game of extending personal forgiveness while hoping all the while that my magnanimity would heap burning coals on the heads of my “enemies?”

Oh, secret heart, look what peeling away some layers has revealed. Forgive me… and yes, forgive them… the list is long, but you know them all… my friends, my colleagues, my staff, my neighbors, my family, my customers, my classmates, my church, my students, my politicians, my leaders, my relatives, my strangers… who am I to say that my feelings, my pain, my fears, and my disappointments must be avenged? Who am I to say?

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Path of Joy

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 2:28; Psalm 16:11
You have made known to me the ways of life; You will enrapture me [diffusing my soul with joy] with and in Your presence. [Amplified]

David spoke as Jesus and Peter speaks for both. In either case, the path of life is laid out before them and in it there is promised joy. The trick is staying on the path.

If I had to pick words that typify my life, I cannot say that “joy” would be one of them. I cannot blame anyone but myself for this. I have strayed from the path of life many times. Of course, these course corrections are only evident in hindsight. At the time of choice, there is only that, my choice. I’m not sitting there thinking, “oh, I’m getting off this path of joy and striking out on my own.” No, I’m thinking I’m still on the right path for me.

Please don’t misunderstand me. The path of life… the path of joy… is not without struggle and even pain. The path is best known for our abandon to God’s way, a divine destiny. I’m not sure we are even aware of the true path, not really. Just calling oneself a Christian does not necessarily mean we are on the path of joy either.

Am I in God’s presence? Am I engaging God in my life? Am I including God in my decisions? Am I sharing my way with others? Am I really interested in experiencing joy?

Joy is not “happy.” Joy is contentment and conscious companionship with God in Christ.

I have always wondered what it means to pray without ceasing… today, I wonder, isn’t it really just Christ consciousness without ceasing? God is with me. Christ is in me. I am not alone. In this place, there is joy.

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Pick Your Last Days

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 2:14, 16b-17
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say…. this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel [2:28-29]: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams….”

When, exactly, are the Last Days? Good luck with that. Theologians and other Christian writers have written volumes about this phenomenon while the Pentecostals and Charismatics have been waving the Last Days banner since the turn of the 19th century. People have been talking about the Last Days for a long time. Is it possible that we’re still in the Last Days? Have the last 2000 years been the Last Days?

In his post-Holy Spirit filling in Acts 2, Peter certainly implied that the Last Days were beginning that day. He saw the outpouring of power and the speaking in tongues (other languages) that day as a sure sign of Joel’s prophecy being fulfilled.

Here are the choices I see: either we are still in the Last Days… or the Last Days haven’t really started yet… or we’re on the other side of the Last Days. Pick your camp!

I think the disciples and newly committed Christ followers in Peter’s time, believed the Last Days were right then and that it was indeed … a matter of days or weeks, at best, before Christ would return and the world would end as they knew it. They lived and died as martyrs because of their commitment to this idea. They lived fully and without compromise.

But, in the same way that Nineveh was spared when Jonah finally did what he was supposed to do, e.g. warn Nineveh’s residents of coming destruction if they didn’t change… so has the world has been spared… for now. We are still here.

But are we paying attention to the Joels and Jonahs of our own age? Are we reading the signs of warning? Are we taking seriously that we may be on borrowed time?

There are still men and women today prophesying… seeing visions… and dreaming dreams. Their words speak of spiritual deserts, economic chaos, environmental collapse, human suffering at the hands of evil, starvation and traumatic illness.

Not everyone can be a prophet or a watchman on the wall, but we can be listeners. We can change our own small world. We can love our neighbor and love our environment. We can pray for change. We can pray for healing.

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Power in the Waiting

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 1:4-5
On one occasion, while he [Jesus] was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Waiting is not the easiest thing to do. In fact, I think it’s one of the hardest. In this case, I doubt the disciples had any clue what it would mean to be “baptized with the Holy Spirit.” But they understood waiting and they understood this command to wait would test their trust and their faith. I always wonder if they all waited or did some fall away?

People usually use a period of waiting to fantasize about the end results (and generally, the result they themselves want). They begin imagining what the end of waiting will be like without living fully within the waiting period itself. I have come to believe that waiting is an active time. Waiting is a time of introspection and evaluation. Waiting itself is productive within.

Looking back over my life, I can see how many mistakes could have been avoided just by exercising a little waiting. But I have always been in a such a hurry for the next experience. As I grow older, I have been getting a little better at waiting, just because I have been forced to practice. And slowly, I see its merits and enter this time more willingly.

There is a popular phrase used by many Christians: “I am waiting on God…” Sometimes, it feels like they are in an outer office waiting for an appointment with a busy God who’ll fit them in when possible. They are passing the time, reading magazines, watching TV, or listening to their ipods. There is no relationship with the One on the other side of the door. While others simply use the phrase as a way to avoid making any decision at all. If one waits long enough, a decision is usually made for you. This method is rather passive aggressive in my book.

Waiting on God has no value in my mind unless it comes with contemplative study, prayer and worship.

This is true for the individual as well as a group. But I have very little experience with group waiting. I’m still working on the first hurdle. But that’s coming. Group waiting is even more difficult because the everyone needs to let go of their personal agendas and allow the best result for the group as a whole emerge: more patience, love, sacrifice, and trust.

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How Many Rooster Crows?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on August 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 13:38b
“…I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”

Living in the city, I don’t really hear roosters crowing. And yet, I do resonant with the idea that each morning, roosters herald the dawn and a new day. But how many mornings have I betrayed the very God I love through inattention and disregard? How often have I “disowned” Him from fear?

There is a powerful skit I used to perform for small groups where Jesus would surprise me one morning when I was getting ready to go to work, but running late. I reasoned with Him, since we didn’t have time to sit down together, He could stick around, have a cup of coffee, and we would connect later that day. Instead, He offered to go with me to work. I thought that was inappropriate. I suggested He visit my next door neighbor now and then we could visit later. And so on the skit would go until I ended up getting really angry and “nailing” him to the wall so he would stop pestering me since I was so busy.

Or, perhaps the rooster crowed and caught me on a day after I disowned the Lord like Peter because I was afraid. The fears that cause my betrayals are not the same ones that Peter had. My life has never been threatened because of my faith. I am usually afraid of others and their opinion of me. Too often, I have chosen silence when it would be better to speak. I have looked the other way in the face of sin or need. I have indulged myself and my children and we have dipped our feet into the world while others suffer.

Slowly, I am changing. I am getting better about hearing the rooster crow as a call to prayer. I am seeing Jesus in the people I meet. I am waking up.

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Hour of Decision

Posted in Feast Days and Holy Days, Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 12:23
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified….”

There are several places in scripture where Jesus refers to “the hour.” Sometimes he speaks of it as a time that cannot be known or that the hour was approaching or that the hour had not yet come. But here in John 12, the tone changes and he identifies the time as “his hour.” From that “hour” forward, everything would be different.

I’m pretty sure most of us can’t predict when one of our “hours” is necessarily approaching, but when it does come, I think we know it for what it is. Now, I am not talking about the hour of a person’s death. I am talking about an hour of decision… an hour of transformation… an hour of self-discovery. These “hours” or times usually place a question before us: will you go or stay, will you accept or reject, will you agree or disagree, will you lie or tell the truth, (to name a few). These are those decisions that cannot be taken back.

Preparation for these “hours” is general, at best. As a Christian, the obvious things apply such as prayer, study, worship, and sensitivity to the voice of God. But perhaps it is more telling how we walk out our decisions after they are made.

I have a friend who is in a terrible marriage (who doesn’t know someone like this?) and continues to grieve and cry and rant over the circumstances. I understand in my heart and yet, I cannot help but think that the “hour” came and went. If a person decides “to stay,” then the rest of the time should be spent making “to stay” work. If not, then go, and make “leaving” work. One cannot both stay in body and leave in spirit or heart (or vice versa). It is living a lie.

When Jesus resurrected Lazarus, it was His last great miracle. He did not tell anyone “not to tell.” His time had come and everyone needed to know it. So He climbed on a donkey and entered Jerusalem publicly inviting His enemies to finish what they had started. He accepted every step, every curse, every attack, and every pain after His decision. We must do the same.

We have been fooled into believing that the decision itself is the hard part. Not at all, it’s the life after the decision that is the challenge. Thanks be to God who helps us walk out our decisions, both good and bad.

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