Godward Toil

Paul prays for Thessalonians' resolutions, for the glory of God

I took encouragement this morning from Paul's words for the Thessalonians in 1 Thes 1:11-12.  He told them that he was praying that God would, "fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."   

• This passage encouraged me with the following truths:It is good and right for Christians to "resolve for good."  (He wouldn't be praying for God to fulfill their resolutions if it weren't good to be making them to begin with!)
• My resolutions and works of faith are fulfilled by God's power (not my own).
• The end (the "so that") of my resolutions and work is for the name of Jesus to be glorified and for me to caught up in that glory with him ("glorified in you, and you in him").

So, take heart, and be bold in what you resolve for Christ today!

Stewardship of focused prayer time: Concentric circles and daily themes

In light of the unimaginable importance and privilege of praying, I want to steward my focused prayer time well.    The Lord wants us to pray constantly and spontaneously (1 Thes 5:16-18).   But the Bible also encourages us to "devote" ourselves and be "steadfast" in prayer (e.g. Acts 1:14, Col 4:2), suggesting a kind of discipline and focus.   We are also to pray in, for, and about everything (e.g. Phil 4:2).   Not only about everything, but about nearly everyone--Paul's epistles indicate that a full prayer life includes supplication for lots and lots of people--groups of people (like whole churches) and specific people, like companions, friends, missionaries, and enemies.   (For additional encouragement about focused supplication and the need to "take steps to see that it is part of your regular life, the same way eating and sleeping are"  read or listen to this sermon by John Piper: Devote Yourselves to Prayer)

The enormity of importance and need for prayer can be overwhelming...and, if Satan has his way, defeating.   There have been many times in my life, including very recently, where I got away from praying because I felt like I didn't know where to start.  I would approach the throne of grace, feel lame and distracted, and shrink away into other activities.  Earlier this week, I talked with a dear brother who confessed how much his heart would sink when someone asked him to pray for them, because he knew he wouldn't end up faithful to the request.   I resonated very much with that feeling.

At the deepest level, my failure and that of my brother comes down to an overfocus on self--a "pride of worm" where I am stuck on the lameness I see in the mirror, instead of on the excellencies of Christ I would see if only I would turn away from the mirror and look through the window of His Word.   So, the struggle here is the daily struggle to die to self and live in Christ.   But that struggle happens at lots of levels--from the most mysterious to the most concrete.   One of the purposes of this blog is to explore some concrete tools in that struggle, i.e. how can I set up my life to maximize the chances that I'll let go of it!   

Many books have been written about the disciplines (tools) surrounding prayer, exploring lots of different aspects of it.   I want to share one systematic supplication strategy that has helped keep me focused and encouraged in prayer.   I have just returned to and retooled these structures, so I am excited to share them.  I'm sure this level of lists and structures is not for everyone.   But for my distracted and sometimes overwhelmed soul, these have been a Godsend.

My prayer life is richest when I simultaneously use two strategies:   Concentric circles and Daily Themes.    I got the concentric circles from John Piper, who describes his circles in the sermon I linked to above ("Taking Steps: How" section).    The concentric circles approach starts with the one most in need of prayer (me), then moves out from there.  I start needs I have, then move to my wife, then to my children, then to a list of others that is different each day the week.  So, at the back of my journal I have something that looks like this:

Everyday
Me: Search me, forgive me, and help me (list of heart and other needs such as purity, integrity, gentleness as a husband...)
My wife (list of specific needs she has indicated or I have discerned)
My children (a list of 4 or 5 needs for each.  These range broadly and evolve over time.  For example, a list for one of my children right now reads, "Teachable spirit, Angry growl, Blessing others w/ joy, Intelligible speech, Kindergarten, Salvation")       

Monday:  Work, Career Direction, Coworkers (list of 2 specific co-workers).  [On Monday since it starts the work week.]
Tuesday:   Joy of the Lord for unsaved friends/family (list of 3 or 4 specific people)
Wednesday:  Local church (list of groups and ministries I'm involved in or am considering involvement in, our pastors and staff, specific people at our church I want to pray for regularly)
Thursday:   Universal Church.  Pastors/ministers, other churches/ministries, persecuted church.  (list of specific ministers/missionaries, churches, ministries) [This is a series of concentric circles that moves from specific people in ministry and missions, to larger entities.]
Friday:   World and Current Events.  City, state, country. Elected officials (list of a few, right now includes candidates too!).  Secular organizations (like my undergrad college). Key issues (list of a few like racism, abortion, poverty). 
Saturday:   Family and Closest Friends.  [On Saturday because I desire some of these prayers to prompt me to call people and Saturday is usually the best day for that.]

I can't say enough how freeing it can be to realize that I don't need to pray for everything and everyone every time.  If I tell someone I'll keep them in prayer, it might mean I do that once a week when I reach the daily theme or list that pertains to that person.   I also don't feel the need to hit every item on the daily theme lists every week.   I let my heart, guided by the Spirit, lead me.   After all, despite these  detailed efforts to devote myself to prayer in a focused and diligent way, I don't really know what to pray for!   There is a marvelous paradox at the center of Christian prayer:  What we pray for really matters, really counts.  We need to pray often, specifically, and steadfastly. AND our prayers are like the utterances of a tired baby who knows not what she really needs:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

Knowing this glorious truth should embolden all of us to pray freely and often.   I am jealous for the joy that comes with such prayer, so I am zealous for any tool that will get me there...concentric circles, daily themes, lists, key verses, computer code, resolutions, and whatever else it takes!

Sin is a waste of time

Thought for the day:   Sin is not only an affront against God and harmful to your soul, it is a colossal waste of time and harmful to productivity.   When a regenerated person violates God's commands and his/her own conscience, a spiritual process of conviction begins.  The pain and anxiety associated with an unclean conscience, and the process of repentance and restoration take time, energy, and focus away from the things over which God has given us stewardship.   Repentance and restoration are glorious, but purity and dwelling with God are so much better....and more productive.

Fighting temptation is often hard and time-consuming.  There is a lie that our minds generate and Satan stokes that we might just save time by giving in and getting on with other things.   We have to fight this lie by knowing that fighting will always be more productive.   We can get more done--through work and through prayer--by staying pure.    For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. (1 Pet 3:12)  (See also Jas 15:16, Prov 15:29)

Loss of productivity is not the most important reason to stay in God's loving hands, but it is a good reason.  We should desire fruit and despise whatever would rob it.    

Getting things done with prayer

In a recent sermon on prayer, John Piper made the following staggering assertion:

...God has ordained to make our prayers real causes of real events. Real causes. The words of James 4:2, “You do not have because you do not ask,” do not mean, “You would have had anyway, even if you didn’t pray, since God had a plan and your prayers don’t matter.” “You do not have because you do not ask” means prayer causes things to happen that do not happen if the prayers don’t happen. This is breathtaking. And if you neglect this privilege—your participation in God’s moving the world—you are acting very foolishly. We pray because it is a staggeringly awesome privilege.

I nearly gasped when I heard this.  And it has changed my prayer life.   Why?

Anyone who knows John Piper's mission and theology knows that no one on Earth has a higher view God's sovereignty and supremacy.  In the very paragraph before the one I quoted above, he says,  "God runs this world with infinite wisdom. You and I never inform him of anything he doesn’t already know. We never add to his wisdom about what he should do next."    So when I heard him say "prayer causes things to happen that do not happen if the prayers don’t happen," I knew that  He was not taking about an open theism position in which God lacks foreknowledge and therefore is ever improving and responding.

That meant that I really needed to come to terms with this radical statement.  Does he really mean "cause"?   Do my prayers matter in a "cause" kind of way?   I knew that I hadn't been praying like that.   I asked God to show me truth, to enlighten and enlarge my mind so that I might possibly hold onto such a potentially glorious paradox long enough to examine it and let it touch me.    With that prayer, I went to the Scripture and found just what John Piper found:   We have an inscrutable God who knows and causes all things, and who has taken pleasure in causing prayer to cause things to happen in the universe.   This reality is so profound, that I can barely begin to think about before I exhaust my mental capacity.

Yet, marvelously and inexplicably, my soul can respond to it.  When I was first born of God, I prayed this way.  And I have begun to pray this way again.  Early this week, while I was reading the Bible in the morning, I felt overwhelmed by all of the tasks and responsibilities I had this week.  I could not see how I could possibly do everything that I had to do.  Next actions and projects identified, but not nearly enough time to fit them in.  In my prayer journal, I asked God to help me.   And I asked with the fervency that came from the meditations on prayer that had been sparked by the Piper sermon.   Later that day, one of the huge things I had to do was completed and taken away in 30 minutes.   When it happened, I knew with certainty (with as much unprovable certainty as I know I love my children) that my prayer had caused that to happen.  I thanked and praised Him.   An unbelievable interaction had taken place with the One who holds the universe in His hands.  I participated in God moving the world.  He caused my circumstances (the work I had, the sermon, everything), moved my heart to pray,  heard the prayer, and made it happen.   He ordered all of this such that my prayer was the only way it would happen--and/because it is the way He gets the most glory.

Prayer:  a trusted system for getting things done.