Prayer and Presence

Our gathering of misfits watched The Passion together last night. I was not really looking forward to it, but I think that our hearts were stirred as we took communion together immediately following the movie. Watching the movie from a perspective of what Jesus went through to break the power of sin out of his great love for us is quite different than watching it from the perspective of appeasement of God's wrath toward humanity. Did that make sense? If not, read He Loves Me by Wayne Jacobsen. He explains it far better than I. . .

I've been putting some thought into our journey recently. It's been a little while since we have been "unhooked from the Matrix." We are moving on from being critical of the Institutional Church to learning how to live the way that God has called us to: loved by Him, loving Him, and loving others, and letting the rest work itself out.

I need to confess that there are some things that left bad tastes in my mouth about organized religion that have caused me to react in ways that may not be positive. I think one example is prayer. I have been turned off by some of my charismatic brothers and sisters that over spiritualize every little thing in life and turn any difficulty into and attack by Satan. I have participated in praying for the sick that never got healed. I have prayed for and against circumstances that never worked out the way we were praying. (Looking back, there were many reasons why those prayers weren't answered. Don't want to go into it now.) So, I figured, screw it! I'll pray for the basics: God's will etc. But, I need to confess that I stopped praying with passion. I stopped praying with eager expectation. I was really paying God lip-service. . . and I thought this was part of my new journey.

As I begin to understand and live in the love God has for me I am learning to discern God's will in prayer. There is a spiritual realm where there is a battle going on, and prayer does affect it. I am asking God what He is doing. How does he want me to pray in certain situations? I am not taking for granted that God wants to heal somebody, or make a certain situations benefit my, or someone else's, self-interest.

God is active in His creation for the purpose of our redemption. He wants to transform humanity into His image and make us whole. He wants to see us free from sin. Can I pray those things for myself, for my friends and family, for my town, and eagerly expect God to answer? I think so. . .

If God is present in us, can we expect His power to flow through us? In the Naked Church, Wayne Jacobsen says, "We are a generation mostly won to Christ through the persuasion of orators, not the power of God's presence. Paul warned us that such people would have the inclination to put their trust in man's wisdom instead of God's power." What I get from that is talk is cheap. Intimacy is linked to God's power. So many people we come into contact with need the healing presence of Jesus. I have begun to see the fruit of God's presence in my life and His power flowing through me as people are being changed. I hope to see more as I continue to grow closer to Him. . .