Christian prayer foundations: patience

Wednesday, 2 March 2016

Life long learners

As the children of Israel are about to leave the wilderness and settle in God's promised land, Moses exhorts them to vigilance, lest the forget their experience of liberation from captivity, the need to trust God, letting his law guide their path in the new life ahead of them. It will be of no benefit to anyone to take God's favour for granted, as previous experience showed this leads disastrously to rebellion and rejection of God. It is better to see ourselves as life-long learners and teachers when it comes to faith in God. Like every other relationship in life, faith in God requires conscious effort to maintain.

'.. be careful, watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.' (Deut 4:9)

Jesus says;

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matt 5:17)

Paul in Romans 13:10 sums up what keeping the law strives to achieve 'Love does no wrong to its neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law.'

There is more to what love can achieve in us than simply not doing wrong to others, but this is the foundation of health and peace necessary for development in prayer and the service of others. The scriptures record prayers uttered in the face of threat, instability insecurity and desperation. Some of the Psalms cry out in anger, exhibit vindictiveness in the face of enmity and betrayal. Such honesty to God is part of the struggle to recover composure and stability. By God's grace we can move away from being dysfunctional and alienated and recover inner tranquility and harmony. Learning how to wait without reacting is vital.

'Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.' (Psalm 37:7)

It can take time to get back to where we'd prefer to be, and restore lost peace within. For some, it can take years to learn true patience.

'Lord ... I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.' (Psalm 131:2)

There are times when prayer in the 'secret place' where we habitually go to pray fails to be a place of comfort. Taking refuge in a place where others pray together, or find quiet sanctuary as individuals - a church or other place made sacred by the prayers of previous generations - can make a difference, and give us needed perspective.

'One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.' (Psalm 27:4)

'When I pondered to understand this, It was troublesome in my sight, until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end. ' (Psalm 73:16-17)

Thursday, 18 February 2016

Learning how to wait

Jesus speaks about persistence in prayer through the parable of the widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-7), and the importance of 'not losing heart' i.e. being discouraged, when it seems as if there is no result, no change for the effort made. Awareness, concentration and persistence don't come naturally, they develop over the passage of time.

The scriptures provide powerful examples of of prayers eloquently expressing praise and penitence, sometimes at great length. These are often conceived by people in times of trial or great joy, when making time to pray is less of an effort, since it is a response driven by exceptional experiences. As desire grows to get to know and trust God, and work on the relationship in earnest however, it can be harder to make more time for prayer routinely, given the pressure everyday life exerts to divert us. This can be discouraging, and leave us feeling guilty and ashamed.

It is better to remember that God is always ready to welcome us, however much or little time we manage to set aside. God knows better than we do the conflicting forces at work in us, consciously and unconsciously, and awaits our response.

'Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.' (Matt 6:8b)

'Lord you have searched me and known me, you know my resting and my rising, you perceive my thoughts from afar, all my ways lie open to you.' (Ps 139:1-2)

God is patient with us. From him we too can learn patience, with others and with ourselves. The word 'patience' has its root in the Latin 'patio', to suffer. Its meaning is given as 'the capacity to wait, to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.' In relating to God in prayer, learning how to wait, is part of learning persistence

'Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find.' (Luke 11:9) Words of Jesus which reassure us that there is purpose to persistence. Even so, what we find may not be what we thought we wanted, but it will be what God gives us, and we will learn to recognise this, as we persist in prayer, and realise that we can be thankful in all circumstances.

'Wait for the LORD; be strong, let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!' (Ps 27:14)

About this blog

The basis of Christian Prayer.

Christianity born of Judaism, owes its spiritual mother an immeasurable debt in many dimensions of faith; e.g.

Belief in one living eternal God, infinitely just, true and good, creator, source of all that exists.
Belief that time and the cosmos, despite the repeated cycles of nature, is a process of change with a beginning and end.
Belief that human beings are made in the divine image and likeness of their creator.
Belief that each person is called to find the meaning and purpose of life in relation to God, and develop this by means of prayer and worship throughout life.
Belief in the essential value and importance of understanding who and what we are as spiritual and moral beings, conveying this understanding through stories told about God in relation to humans.
Belief that remembering the story humans tell about themselves in relation with God is at the core of the personal relationship each has with God.
Belief that the rich record of these stories in sacred scripture has a life of its own and can inspire those who read and study them with a sense of meaning and to creative responses that nurture human existence intellectually, morally and spiritually.
Belief in the value of repeating the same annual pattern of scriptural story telling, in response to the cycle of the seasons, as a prime means to development as human beings as our creator envisaged.

Jewish believers derive their core sense of identity and cohesion from remembering the Exodus story and performing the rituals of Passover, and belonging to their ancestral homeland, Israel. Christian believers, keep Lent, Holy Week and Eastertide, to remember the ministry, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, two thousand years ago.

This story is understood as the foundation of personal relationship with God. It imparts a sense of belonging to a global fellowship of believers not dependent upon a specific homeland. The land of Israel plays a central part in the Christian story of faith, yet it's a story that's considered relevant to life, wherever it is told and awakes people to faith.

Forty days of Lent, fifty days of Eastertide is a season to work with the essentials of the Christian story and rediscover their meaning and relevance to lifes today. It is a time of returning and renewal, offering an enriched understanding of faith, and way to deepen the life of prayer.