24 June 2009

On the Journey

                            Are these the fruits of our commitment to pray?

              What kind of difference has prayer made in your life these past months? On the first Sunday of the New Year, I encouraged you to devote 10 minutes every morning to prayer. Today, I am wondering about your experience of prayer. Did you seek to make prayer a daily discipline? Have you persisted in prayer across these months? Have you been able to detect a new intimacy in your relationship with Jesus? How has this dedication to prayer changed you?

              In January, I determined that I would set aside 10 minutes for prayer during the first half-hour I was awake each day. My desire was to pray alongside you each morning. As the months have passed, these ten minutes have stretched into an hour. Bible reading, reflection, and prayer now start my day.

I begin each morning reading a chapter from an Old Testament book, the Psalms, a gospel, and another New Testament book. A brief devotional reading by Thomas Merton follows my scripture reading. Next, I devote about 10 minutes to reading a primary work by one of the desert fathers. I spend this time at the kitchen table.

              After my time for reading and reflection, I move to a place I have designated for prayer in our living room. I quiet myself, and then I begin to clear my mind. I seek the silence where the voice of God may address me. Early on in this process, I did a lot more talking than I do now. In recent months, I have begun to experience a deeper intimacy with Jesus in prayer. At this time, this deepened relationship seems to require fewer words and is much more satisfying. The periods of silence grow longer, but my experience with Jesus grows more profound.

              By now, I refuse to begin my day without this time for prayer. This time is essential for me. I get up earlier each morning to assure that the demands of my day do not steal this precious time from me. This time of prayer each morning has become my highest priority. It comes before my cup of coffee or the newspaper.

              I have asked myself what difference prayer has brought to my life. I have recognized a gradual transformation. Prayer nurtures the fruits of the Spirit within me in a way that I could never accomplish before. There was a time that I used to pray verbally that I would be kind to the people I encountered during the day. Now, I don’t pray those words, but I discover that I am possessed by a deep desire to offer kindness to people I meet. I don’t have the words to describe this process to you, but I have been astounded by some of the subtle changes prayer has wrought in me. 

              Yesterday morning, I began to wonder if our collective commitment to prayer is not bearing more fruit for the kingdom of God than perhaps we are acknowledging. Of course, I am assuming that many of us have embraced this discipline of morning prayer. John reminds us that without Jesus we can do nothing. Have we, through prayer, begun to engage a new spiritual power as the body of Christ called Immanuel?

              At times, a renewed commitment to prayer is the only way I can explain what we have done together over the past several months. Some of our friends are discovering that Jesus is leading them to places they never dreamed of going, and, rather than resisting him, they have freely surrendered to him. They don’t know what this means, but they can do nothing other than obey. Does prayer explain our faithful presence during these trying times? Is the hope we have in our hearts for the future of Immanuel a gift of prayer? Did prayer nurture the generosity in our hearts that produced an offering of over $50,000.00 for our Klintsy Partnership this year? Did prayer compel some of us to follow Jesus to Russia in the midst of uncertain times? Were the hearts of our youth made receptive to the call of Jesus to go to inner city Chicago this July by our faithful prayers? Did prayer inspire our faithful offerings to sustain the work of the kingdom of God? Have we avoided exhaustion while continuing to minister despite the uncertainty of these times because we experienced the power of prayer that allowed us to run and not grow weary?

             In my heart, I want to believe there is a connection between a renewed commitment to prayer by our community of faith and the fruits of the kingdom and Spirit we see among us now. I want to believe that we are emerging as a people more dependent upon God as we live through this season of displacement. I hope that what we are seeing now is only the first fruits of the great harvest that is yet to come. Today, I wonder if we are not experiencing a refiner’s fire. As the body of Christ called Immanuel, are we on God’s anvil? Is God forging us into an instrument useful for His kingdom which will be our future?

Let’s renew our commitment to pray every single day. May we trust that God’s life changing power is released in us through prayer. May we recognize the fruits of the Spirit among us as the result of faithful prayers in which we relinquish our lives into God’s plans for us. Let’s pray without ceasing!jamie