Sea Gull Monastery (3-19-12)
Sabbath time at Jamestown dock
void of boats
just lonely posts;
Seagull sentinels
perch like stylite
desert monks
Doing nothing apparent.
What purpose, this unnoticed sitting
so still and tranquil
Alive to no one
but themselves and their Maker
and me?
What difference do they make?
What difference
does prayer make?
The people of God have always had a balance of praying at set times and places as well as “praying without ceasing.” We all need a Rule of Life (or Game Plan) to be disciplined and intentional in our growth as followers of Jesus. Prayer is no exception.
I’d like to list some resources from previous Ruminations postings and books that can supplement the teaching and discussions we are having about prayer.
Praying with the Church is Scot McKnight’s excellent survey of the order and set ways believers in biblical and church history prayed.
Martin Luther’s letter to his barber on praying gives practical advice on the use of the Bible and specifically the Lord’s Prayer.
For the Jesus Prayer, I recommend listening to a modern Orthodox teacher, Kallistos Ware, who I had the privilege to meet at a North Park University talk. Available at Ancient Faith Radio here.
The Jesus Prayer is a recent book on the prayer and so much more by Frederica Mathewes-Green that I reviewed previously. There is now a shorter booklet available, in ebook form or packages of 5 from Paraclete Press called Praying the Jesus Prayer.
A Praying Life, by Paul E. Miller is a recent book on prayer that is one of the most honest and practical I know of.
Remember, if we don’t pray somewhere – sometime, we will probably not pray everywhere – all of the time!
The Apostle Paul’s “All – Trilogy” (1 Thes. 5:16-18) has been deeply impacting us.
ALways rejoice;
ALL the time (without ceasing) pray;
In ALL circumstances, give thanks,
for this (all 3!) is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
The Greek text puts the “ALL” constructs at the beginning for emphasis. In the teaching on Pray without Ceasing (all sermons available here on the website) points to God’s goal of our constant communion with Him. Our cell phone, social media world provides an analogy of continual connection that we might not have thought possible a few years ago. (Sure, we often are more known for what one of my sons called “texting without ceasing” but it removes our excuse for thinking we can’t continually be in prayer! (Someone reminded me recently that technology CAN also be used to enhance continual -and prompt- prayer for people all around the world.)
To truly make sense of giving thanks in all circumstances, we need to embrace the will of God, as stated in 1 Thes. 4, as our sanctification or holiness. The ultimate purpose of God for us is our transformation into the image of Christ! God is in it all – in everything that we experience! Romans 8:29 in The Message captures the big picture well:
…we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.
If you would like to listen to the North Park lecture on PRAYER by Bishop Kallistos Ware that I referenced, it is available on the Ancient Faith Radio site here.
Preaching on the parables this summer – the recurring theme has been watchfulness, self-examination, and last week, the priority of what’s in that spiritual center of all we are and do…called the Heart. (sermon on Mat. 15) Described hundreds of times and in dozens of ways (go ahead – search for ‘heart’ in Bible Gateway), the heart needs our utmost attention.
Let me again highlight the vital importance with 2 verses and a quote from the ‘Church Fathers.’
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
(Proverbs 4:23)Our holy fathers have renounced all other spiritual work and concentrated wholly on this one doing, that is, on guarding the heart, convinced that, through this practice, they would easily attain every other virtue, whereas without it not a single virtue can be firmly established. (St. Symeon the New Theologian, 10th cent.)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
So the first two things we can say: Guarding our Hearts is not an option for the Christian Disciple. And continual prayerful communion with God is the best starting point.
What is the Lord teaching YOU about Guarding your Heart? Share a comment.
On the journey of what it means to truly “Follow” Jesus, we are faced with the dangers of temptation and compulsive sins, by which the Enemy would “threaten to un-do us!” (to use a phrase from Luther’s A Mighty Fortress)
These dangers are not only for the person overcome by a sin, but also for the whole church community. (listen to the recent sermon on this important teaching in Galatians 5:25-6:5).
We are called to what the Scripture and the Church through the centuries have called watchfulness – sober attentiveness that pursues constant communion with God. We said that the stages of temptation that lead to greater and greater danger go like this:
1. Provocation (or suggestion)
2. Interaction (or giving attention)
3. Consent (or forming images in the imagination)
4. Captivity (or taking action)
5. Domination (or Compulsion)
I referenced Frederica Mathewes-Greene and I would like to post the excerpt from her book, The Jesus Prayer, that I have blogged on in the past. She goes into much more detail that you will find very helpful. She begins by asking a question that frames the issue in terms of the Greek word Logismoi or sinful thoughts. Her use of nous is the Greek word usually translated ‘mind’ or ‘heart.’ It is the ‘spiritual heart’ where we can commune with God. Here is the section of the book (permission pending.) Continue Reading…
