Today’s Readings: Psalm 11; Exodus 2:1-22; Luke 9:37-50; Romans 9:19-27; Psalm 4
Some folks in progressive faith communities have great difficulty maintaining an active prayer life. And why is that? It’s because many of them were taught early in life that there was one (and only one) way to pray: a type of prayer known as intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer was originally based upon a theological belief in a transcendent God; a transcendent God is a God who is w-a-a-a-a-a-y up there. Given such a theological starting point, many folk’s prayer lives were then spent bringing God up to date on what’s happening down here and requesting particular outcomes. As many people’s theologies evolved during their lifetime, they moved away from a belief in a transcendent God and toward the belief in a more imminent God; an imminent God is a God who is present right here and right now. As individuals moved toward a belief in an imminent God, they no longer knew how to communicate with God since they no longer felt the need to update God or ask God for things since God was already present in the midst of events and needs. I was reminded of this theological shift (and the resulting difficulties that shift presents when it comes to our prayer lives) as I read the opening words of today’s second Psalm. That Psalm began with the words: “When I call, give me answers…” (Psalm 4:1 – The Message). And how was I reminded of those words? Well, given many of our initial theological belief in a transcendent God, it was easier to understand what it meant for God to “give me answers” – for when you asked for stuff, people considered it answered prayer if they got what they wanted (some folks even felt that not getting what you asked for was a prayer answered with a resounding “No!” – but that would be the stuff of a different blog entry). It’s a little more difficult for many to understand what answered prayer looks like given a belief in an imminent God. If God is already here and already active in a situation (even those situations that might seemed messed up at first glance), what does answered prayer look like? I suppose the answer would look different from person to person. For me, answered prayer, is no longer linked exclusively to an external outcome; for me answered prayer is more of an increased internal awareness on my part. Today, I would invite you to examine your own prayer life and ask yourself, “What does answered prayer look like for me? May God be with you as you explore those important question. Til next time…
Some folks in progressive faith communities have great difficulty maintaining an active prayer life. And why is that? It’s because many of them were taught early in life that there was one (and only one) way to pray: a type of prayer known as intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer was originally based upon a theological belief in a transcendent God; a transcendent God is a God who is w-a-a-a-a-a-y up there. Given such a theological starting point, many folk’s prayer lives were then spent bringing God up to date on what’s happening down here and requesting particular outcomes. As many people’s theologies evolved during their lifetime, they moved away from a belief in a transcendent God and toward the belief in a more imminent God; an imminent God is a God who is present right here and right now. As individuals moved toward a belief in an imminent God, they no longer knew how to communicate with God since they no longer felt the need to update God or ask God for things since God was already present in the midst of events and needs. I was reminded of this theological shift (and the resulting difficulties that shift presents when it comes to our prayer lives) as I read the opening words of today’s second Psalm. That Psalm began with the words: “When I call, give me answers…” (Psalm 4:1 – The Message). And how was I reminded of those words? Well, given many of our initial theological belief in a transcendent God, it was easier to understand what it meant for God to “give me answers” – for when you asked for stuff, people considered it answered prayer if they got what they wanted (some folks even felt that not getting what you asked for was a prayer answered with a resounding “No!” – but that would be the stuff of a different blog entry). It’s a little more difficult for many to understand what answered prayer looks like given a belief in an imminent God. If God is already here and already active in a situation (even those situations that might seemed messed up at first glance), what does answered prayer look like? I suppose the answer would look different from person to person. For me, answered prayer, is no longer linked exclusively to an external outcome; for me answered prayer is more of an increased internal awareness on my part. Today, I would invite you to examine your own prayer life and ask yourself, “What does answered prayer look like for me? May God be with you as you explore those important question. Til next time…
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