What Makes Heaven Heavenly?

One of the memories from my childhood that comes to mind at times is watching a Hallmark Hall of Fame production of The Green Pastures. That would have been in the late 1950’s, when I was 10 or 11. The Green Pastures was a play telling about creation and other biblical stories. The narrator of these stories was a Black pastor, speaking to Sunday School students. What struck me about it was that heaven was portrayed as a gigantic fish fry, with all the fish, hushpuppies, cornbread, greens, and watermelon one could ever want, along with people to talk with, games to play, and a river to fish in, all on fine summer day.
Hearing this perspective got me interested in popular ideas of what heaven is like. Since then, I have kept my eyes and ears open to various pictures of heaven over the years, as seen in short stories, movies, cartoons, TV commercials, and so on. While the picture of a bountiful, everlasting fish fry is only seen in The Green Pastures, what is common in other pictures is the idea of heaven as a place that is very enjoyable and pleasant – a setting and activities that the person for whom the picture is being made would find to be highly desirable.
Somehow, in addition to a picture of a place of beauty and enjoyment there are also usually added robes, halos, and harps, and sometimes wings. Exactly how these things fit into a place of bliss is seldom spelled out, and I have heard comments by those who say that they have no interest in heaven if it means sitting around on clouds playing an instrument they do not want to listen on earth.
I am not sure where these pictures of heaven come from. The Bible of course speaks of heaven and hell. However, Scripture does not give us many details, and I suspect that over the centuries various authors and teachers have put in a variety of details to make the concepts of everlasting joy or misery more understandable. However, it seems that the various pictures of heaven that are common have taken on a life of their own and have become detached from the statements of Scripture. It is important to go back to Scripture to see what it says is at the heart of everlasting joy, for Scripture is not the ideas and dreams of human beings but has come from the heart and mind of God so that we might know what is true about him, about us, and about our relationship to him.
Understanding what makes heaven heavenly is important so that we desire it for the right reasons, and so that we can, if needed, explain to someone else why it would be a noble and blessed goal. It is also important for another reason. In April of 2009, the Worcester Telegram and Gazette had an editorial on the narrowness of conservative Christians that was headline something like “Conservative Christians Condemn Other Faiths to Hell.” The editorial went on to say that it was wrong for conservatives to say that those who did not believe as they did would be cast into outer darkness. The editorialist said that he or she was certain that God was merciful and that anyone who was basically decent would be rewarded with heaven.
That editorial writer was trying to be welcoming and inclusive, but he or she wrote out of ignorance as well as out of concern. There are many faiths, such as Buddhism, that have no belief in any kind of heaven. The idea in many eastern religions is that we are all “drops of water” that really belong to a great “ocean” of spirit, and that over many lifetimes, we learn and so grow closer and closer to reentering that vast ocean – eventually losing our individual identity as we finally merge back into the “ocean.”. The picture given in other faiths is that after death we walk the earth as disembodied spirits. Islam says that those who enter paradise will be rewarded with 70 virgins. (This idea leave me wondering what Muslim women have to look forward to.) Some faiths have no idea of an afterlife. If heaven is open to people of all faiths, then what is heaven like? Who is the being who prepares heaven? What are the criteria for being granted entrance into heaven?
As we look at the Bible to see what it says about heaven, one thing quickly becomes clear: the focus of heaven is God himself. In Isaiah 6, the prophet is lifted in a vision to the throne room of God, where the Lord is worshiped continuously by myriads of angels, calling to one another, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” (In liturgical congregations, the people join this song at every communion service, in the Sanctus.) In the last book of the Bible, Revelation, John is lifted up into heaven, and he also sees a great throne room, with Jesus Christ seated on the throne. Not only are angels gathered in worship, but so are “the saints,” all of God’s people. They surround the throne and continuously praise the Lord Jesus.
In 2 Cor. 5:8, Paul notes that to be “absent from the body” means that those who believe in Jesus are welcomed into his presence after dying. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. When Jesus speaks of paradise in the story of Dives and Lazarus, he pictures the beggar Lazarus as being “in Abraham’s bosom,” which is a picture of fellowship and intimacy. Jesus also pictures the selfish rich man as being in a pit of fire, tormented and miserable. (Jesus, by the way, speaks more often of hell and of the dangers of being condemned to hell than any other biblical figure. He makes it plain that he will be the one who decides each person’s eternal destiny. If we take his teachings seriously, we need to take this aspect seriously as well.)
The concluding chapters of Revelation speak of what comes after the end of the world. Scripture tells us that the entire creation is renewed; there is a “new heavens and a new earth.” When the earth was first created, God formed the Garden of Eden. When the earth is re-created, God brings in a city, the “New Jerusalem.” This signifies the unity of redeemed humanity. The new city is a blessed and beautiful place, filled with life-giving trees and a wonderful river. The city is filled with light – but there is no sun. The light that fills the new city and the new earth is the Light of the world, Jesus himself.
What makes heaven heavenly is the presence of Jesus Christ, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. This is in contrast to many popular pictures of heaven that amount to a “celestial Disney World.” Heaven is often thought of as a place where there are many enjoyable things to do and where one gets to be with the people one has enjoyed in this life. While I think that this is true as far as it goes, the real delight of heaven is being with God. One of the pictures used in Revelation is of a great wedding feast between Christ and his Bride, the Church. If you have been around newlyweds, you know that they simply want to be in each other’s presence. Great food and interesting activities are nice – but the real essence of their love and joy is being with one another. Thus it will be with Christ and his Bride – there will be joy in being together and enjoying one another ever more fully.
The heart of heaven is that we are with the God who made us and who, when we had fallen away in rebellion, redeemed us at great cost. The heart of heaven is knowing and enjoying the Lord. What distresses me about many of the common ideas about heaven is that it makes God into a gatekeeper of an eternal amusement park. He is somebody who must be gotten past in order to enjoy the delights of paradise. The question then becomes “how do I get my ticket into this place of bliss?” The usual answer is that if one is good enough, one may enter. It is this idea that led the editorialist of the T & G to say that God will allow people of many different faiths into heaven, for anyone who is basically decent and helpful will have earned their ticket into a celestial place of delights. Once past God as the gatekeeper, one needs no longer deal with him, but rather enjoy the everlasting fish fry.
But the Bible says that the heart of heaven and of heaven’s joy is that we are with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There are many beautiful and enjoyable things in heaven, but they pale into insignificance beside being with the one who made us and who redeemed us. If what the Bible says is true, then the only people who will enjoy heaven will be those who love and trust the holy Trinity. God does not need to be “gotten past” in some way, for he is not the gatekeeper to heaven – he IS heaven.
That is why it is important to cultivate a relationship with God in this life. We do not enter such a relationship by earning it through good deeds and obedience to his commands, for none of us can be fully obedient or do enough good deeds. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that we must be more righteous than the most righteous people of his day in order to be acceptable to God. That means that none of us can be good enough to merit a relationship with God. In fact, the only person to merit a relationship with God, whose obedience to his heavenly Father was perfect, was Jesus himself. How can we be as holy and obedient as Jesus was? We cannot. We do not have hope in ourselves – but we do have hope in Jesus. The Apostle Paul writing in 2 Cor. 5:21 says, “For our sake he (God the Father) made him (Jesus Christ) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” When we do not rely on our own goodness but on Jesus Christ, we are given the righteousness of Jesus as our own and we become fully acceptable to God. We enter into a relationship of closeness and joy, fully forgiven of our sin and with hearts open to God.
While we will never love God perfectly in this life, we can tune our hearts to enjoy him more fully as we worship, pray, read Scripture, and seek to serve others in his Name and for his sake. As we grow closer to the Lord, we will reveal his presence by developing the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and so on) and we will appreciate ever more fully the mercy of God in forgiving us and in giving us life eternal.
The reason we need mercy is that we are sinners, in rebellion against the God who created us. The reason behind our inability to be as good as Jesus is not that we are limited and fallible, but that we seek to take God’s place and call the shots. In his love, God has extended an offer of grace, so that if we repent of our rebellion and return to him in trust, we are forgiven and enter into friendship with God. Those who remain in rebellion will get what they want – freedom from God’s presence. They will also discover that such separation is agonizing. The hellishness of hell is not the flames, but the loss of God, for whom we were created and apart from whom we have nothing.
What about those of other faiths? That is a huge question, and one I cannot deal with properly in this brief article. We do know that God is a God of mercy. We also know that the God of mercy has given us a commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” It is our joy to tell others that they do not have to strive to reach some lofty spiritual goal, but rather can receive the blessings of God through Jesus Christ. God is a God of mercy. In his mercy, he sent Jesus. In his mercy, he sends us to invite people to know his Son.
The Green Pastures portrays heaven as an everlasting fish fry on a delightful summer day. There is some truth to this picture – whatever brings us joy on earth is a taste of the joy of heaven. Will there be harps and halos? I do not know – but there will certainly be music and light in abundance. The pictures we have of heaven may be helpful to some extent, but they are helpful only as far as they point beyond themselves to the real joy of heaven, God himself. In 1 John 4:8, we read, “God is love.” And in John 17:3, Jesus says, “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” The joy of heaven is the delight of knowing and being known by the one who is Love itself. Heaven is heavenly because God is there. There is no heaven apart from him, for he is all we need.

Copyright May 2011
Charles Sutton

Three Kinds of Faith

Recent polls reported in the magazine Christianity Today shown that 86% of all Americans believe in a God who answers prayer. Over 70% pray regularly, and over 60% say they pray daily. That is a lot of faith! It is good to know that so many people believe that God cares and helps.
But there are actually several types of faith. While any faith in God is better than no faith in God, the type of faith one has will do much to determine one’s sense of peace, love, and hope. There are three basic types of faith; one of them is almost useless, while another is a great source of calm and strength.
The first type of faith is the faith that God exists. This is a necessary form of faith. Without it, no other form of faith can exist. In Hebrews 11:6, we read, “without faith it is impossible to please God, be-cause anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Faith that God exists is foundational. On the other hand, it is far from sufficient. James writes, in James 2:19, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.” God's enemies believe in him; simple acknowledgment of God's existence does not make one any better, or any better off, than the devil. We do not do God a favor by believing in him.
The second kind of faith takes into account the second phrase of the verse from Hebrews, “that he re-wards those who earnestly seek him.” This kind of faith believes that God is a person and that he is interested in individuals. He can be known and he can be prayed to with hope for a response. This faith is far better than simply believing that God exists, for it speaks of God's character as loving and good. It believes that God loves those whom he has made and wants to see good things happen for them.
Such faith can do much to bring a sense of peace and hope. If I am confident that God loves me and wants to help me, I have hope in hard situations. I know that I am not alone. I am sure that there is one who is more powerful than I am who can step into a situation and bring good out of it.
This second type of faith is much better than the first. However, it is not as good as it might be. We know from experience that God does not answer all our prayers exactly as we request. Why not? This faith in a personal, prayer-answering God runs the risk of being what one might call a “begging and bar-gaining faith.” I can ask, “Why would God answer my prayers?” and come up with the answer that the response to my prayers depends upon the strength and sincerity of my own faith, or upon my faithfulness in keeping God's commands, or upon the degree to which I have been able to avoid doing what God forbids, or upon the number and quality of my “good deeds” or acts of piety and devotion, or all of these. This second type of faith can be very “me” centered. It can say that it is faith in God, but if the focus shifts to what I can do to be certain of answered prayer, then the object of one’s faith becomes oneself: what I can do to persuade God. One trusts one’s own abilities and actions, not the Lord.
There is also a second danger in this type of faith. Who decides what to pray for? If I simply review my life and my hopes and dreams, I can come up with a list of things I want and of areas where I can see I need help. Having drawn up my “shopping list,” I can then go to the Lord in prayer and ask him to give me the things I believe I need. But – how good is my own assessment of my needs? In Matthew 7:9-11, Jesus says, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” If my aim is to get my prayers answered as I ask them, then I may well be asking for a stone or a snake without knowing it.
The second type of faith is good, for it recognizes the reality of God and that he is personal and loving. It has the danger, however, of being self-centered, where I simply seek my own idea of what is good. That idea may simply come from a worldly viewpoint, seeking no higher good than my own comfort and convenience. It also runs the danger of trying to beg God for answers to prayer, or to bargain with him based on what I can do for him.
The third type of faith is the best. It is also the most terrifying. In Matthew 5:3, Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This is the first of the Beatitudes, and it is the starting point for blessedness. John Stott writes (in Authentic Christianity, p. 269), “The Church consists of the spiritually poor. The only condition of eligibility is destitution. The rich are sent away empty. We have to acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy, that we have no merit to plead, no strings to pull, no power to save ourselves. To such Jesus says ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of God is theirs.’”
The third type of faith trusts utterly in God. It says, “Lord, not my will but yours.” If I have this third type of faith, I not only trust God to answer my prayers, but my first prayer is, “Lord, you are great, awe-some, holy, and wise. What do you desire me to ask for?” The third type of faith starts with God, not oneself. It recognizes that we are each a fallible, sinful person and that we often do not even know what is best for ourselves.
It is always good to come before the Lord and to ask for those things that we see as needs in our lives and the lives of others. But it is better to look not only at our physical and emotional needs but even more at our spiritual needs. In Romans 8:29, we see God's appointed destiny for everyone who trusts in him: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” God’s aim is that we each of us reflect the character of Christ. Thus, we should open our hearts to the Lord, asking, “Father, where do I need to grow to be more like Jesus?” This kind of question is one reason why a Christian should be reading the Bible, for in Scripture we see both the qualities of Christ, and also the path towards those qualities of his character.
That path lies through the cross. The third type of faith recognizes that we have no basis for begging or bargaining with God. Every good thing we have from God comes through his mercy. We can only say, in the words of the hymn, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.” We do not earn or deserve our forgiveness as sinners; it comes because Jesus laid down his life for us. We do not earn or deserve the myriad blessings that come our way; they come from the hand of a Father who knows our needs before we even ask. This third type of faith recognizes the utter graciousness of the grace of God – his mercy comes because he is merciful and because we are in dire need of mercy.
This third type of faith encompasses the other two, for it believes that God exists and that God cares for his creation and invites people into relationship with him. But it goes beyond these two types of faith. Its focus is not on what we can get from God. While this third type of faith mean that we can tell the lord our own perception of our needs, it does not stop at our own perception. Rather, it goes beyond our earthly life to focus on God and on his Kingdom. It asks, “How can I grow to be more like Jesus?” It asks, “Lord, where may I be of most use to your Kingdom?”
The third type of faith is the least self-centered, but the most personally satisfying. By asking our Creator, “Lord, what do I need?” it frees us from the narrowness of our limited vision and places under the care of the wisest, most powerful, most caring of Fathers. By seeking to grow to be more like Christ, we grow toward our own unique way of expressing the character of the Lord Jesus. By seeking first the Kingdom of Christ, the Lord prepares us and enables us to make the contribution to his Kingdom that only we can make. When we trust him utterly, surrendering even our most precious hopes to him, we find that our hopes were too small compared to the delights and privileges he has in mind for us. It is terrifying to put our all on the altar, but satisfying to find that what God intended to give we could not even imagine in our shortsightedness.
Over 86% of the people of our nation believe in a God who answers prayer. This is a wonderfully high percentage. But how many of this 86% have not grown beyond the second type of faith, and look only to help for physical and emotional needs, as they define them themselves, and seek to have those prayers answered by begging or bargaining? What joy there would be if the vast majority of people who believe that God answers prayer simply said to God, “Lord, direct my prayers and my life. I have no hope but you.” There would be joy on earth, and even more joy in heaven. God would rejoice that his people trusted him with all they are and all they have, and we would know his delight.
Where is your faith on the spectrum of believing? Are you stuck in one spot, or are you prepared to grow? To trust the Lord with even the agenda for your prayers will show you the mercy and the power of God in ways you can scarcely imagine. Trust and rejoice!

(Copyright May 2011, Charles Sutton)

Prayer Course, "Kingdom Centered Prayer"

Prayer Course, Session IX 5 Dec 10 Kingdom-Centered Prayer

I. Becoming a Four-eyed Fish
The anableps is an unusual fish that lives in the coastal rivers and swamps of southern Mexico, Central America, and along the Caribbean to Brazil. It swims along the surface of the water and catches and eats insects that fly low over the water. It has the common name of “the four-eyed fish” because of the unique structure of its eyes. It does not have four eyes, of course, but its eyes are remarkable. Each eye has two pupils. When the anableps swims, one pupil is below the water line and the other is above it. The entire structure of the eye is altered so that the differences in the refraction of light in air and water are taken into account and the fish is able to see its prey above water and its enemies in the water. It has vision in two realms at once.
As Christians, we live in two realms at once. In Philippians, Paul speaks of longing to depart this earth and go to be with Christ. However, Paul notes, in Eph 2:4-7, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Because we are in Christ through our faith in him, and because Christ is now seated at the right hand of the Father, Paul notes that, while our bodies may be on earth, we are spiritually in heaven right now.
We live in two kingdoms at the same time. We live in history on earth. We live in heaven because we are in Christ. Because we live in two kingdoms we need to develop “four eyes,” like the anableps fish, so that we can see the world around us not only from the perspective of earthly matters, but also from the perspective of heavenly matters. And as we have and further develop that dual perspective, we will be able to pray not simply about earthly matters, but also from a Kingdom-centered perspective.
II. Need-Driven Prayer
The other day I listened to Jesus Take the Wheel, by singer Carrie Underwood, on You Tube. It tells the story of a young mother traveling with her infant child on a snowy Christmas Eve in Ohio. She hit a patch of black ice and the car started spinning out of control. Faced with serious injury or death, the young mother cried out, “Jesus, take the wheel.” The car straightened out and slowed down safely.
It is often that it is need that drives to prayer. God created us to glorify him and to enjoy him forever, and for that reason, fellowship with God is the primary purpose of prayer. Ideally, every believer would echo David daily, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Ps 63:1) But while we are forgiven sinners who are being sanctified, we are still sinners, and it is easy to neglect time with God. It is often need that drives us to prayer.
Mary and I have asked friends and fellow believers for prayer for healing for my Aunt Shirley and for Elizabeth and her relationship to her boyfriend, now her husband. We had great needs in these areas. There was nothing we could do about my aunt, and we did not know what to do about Elizabeth and Allen, whose relationship had, to our best insights, some troubling aspects. Our sense of helplessness drove us to prayer.
God is our heavenly Father. He is glad to receive us when we are in trouble, as we who have children welcome them when they come to us for help. There is an ideal reason to come to God, that of simply desiring his company – but there is no really bad reason to come. God’s grace is so open that he will take you for whatever reason you come – although his desire is that you, in time, will enter his presence not only for emergencies but simply because you delight in him and depend upon him in all things.
Need may drive us to prayer, but while prayers for our daily bread are fitting and right, we have also been told to pray “Thy kingdom come.” I believe that means two things for our prayers. First of all, we need to examine our perceived needs within the framework of God’s Kingdom: will an outcome that we are praying for advance the Kingdom? Might it have a negative effect? Can you see no effect whatever? Of course, we human beings do not have certainty in predicting the effects of any given out come. We certainly do not have enough knowledge or enough wisdom to be able to tell. But if we want to pray with God’s kingdom in mind, we need to think about possible outcomes and how they relate to God’s larger plan.
As we pray, we need to ask, “How might God be at work in me to make me more like Christ?” “How might this situation bring about better relationships among Christians?” “How will this bring people to faith?” “How might this situation help others to grow in the gifts God has given them to serve him?” After all, God’s purpose is not to make our lives more pleasant, but, as Eph 1:4 says, “he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” We also read in Eph 5:27, “that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
Part of Kingdom-centered prayer is praying about our needs with God’s purposes in mind, so that we see our needs not simply in terms of what we like or enjoy, but in terms of God has told us he wants us to do. Keeping God’s larger purposes in mind helps us to shape our prayers, not only in requests but in praise and thanksgiving, for the more we consider God’s kingdom and his eternal plan, the more astonished and delighted we become.
But there is larger perspective to Kingdom-centered prayer. I said that the first thing is to look at your natural requests from the point of view of the Kingdom, but Kingdom-centered prayer is more than taking a look at the requests we would have anyway. Kingdom-centered prayer also means looking at the needs of the Kingdom as we look at the world around us. In 1 Tim 2:1-2, Paul says, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” Paul does not urge prayers for those in political authority as an act of patriotism, but for the sake of spiritual growth and service.
There is nothing wrong with patriotism, of course, but one’s love of country needs to be in perspective. Many of the horrors of history have come about because an ostensibly Christian nation came to value the nation itself more than Christ. Hitler created a “German Christianity” that backed his dreadful policies. That is an extreme example, but there is always a danger that we will love something else more than God. When we do that, God moves from being God to being, in our minds, a means to an end or a power that we can seek to enlist on our behalf. Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world, and when we think in Kingdom-centered ways, we look at our nation, our state, and our community as places where we can manifest God’s Kingdom and its values, not as God’s Kingdom itself.
I mentioned the song, “Jesus Take the Wheel,” a few minutes ago. That song is not simply about a dramatic rescue for someone who recognized how much she needed divine help. In the song, the mother does not simply say, “Thank you, Jesus,” and then go on her way with no further thought. She reflects on her life and sees that she has been ignoring God and his values and ways, and says to the Lord again, “Jesus, take the wheel,” giving to him the “driver’s seat” of her life. She places her life and her choices under the dominion of its rightful King. She is beginning a Kingdom-centered life.
When we think in Kingdom-centered ways, we look at our nation, our state, and our community as places where we can manifest God’s Kingdom and its values. This means that when we look at the people and institutions around us, we are asking, “Where and how can God’s Kingdom be seen and grow in this setting?” Mary is a second-grade teacher in the Northbridge public schools. Because of current interpretations of the Constitution, she is not allowed to advocate for the Christian faith among her students. But there is nothing that says she cannot pray for them, that she cannot love them with a Christ-like love, or that she cannot seek to help them develop good character. There is also nothing that says she cannot teach them what Christians believe, as long as she does not try to have them profess Christianity. Mary’s goal is to love them with a Christ-like love, so that they will have, to some degree, an experience of grace in their lives.
For five of the last six years, Mary has also led a SuperKids outreach ministry in late June. That is an evangelistic ministry, seeking to extend and to build the Kingdom of God. For the most part, we have had kids with some degree of church background attend, and only a few kids who hardly knew about Jesus. But SuperKids did give kids connections to kids from a variety of churches and it reinforced the Gospel in their minds, so the Kingdom was strengthened. If a young person who believes in Christ only knows Christians in their own church, it can get a little lonely – but knowing that there are other believers out there can be very encouraging.
SuperKids is an example of the larger view of Kingdom-centered prayer, that of looking for ways in which the Kingdom of God can be extended and strengthened in the world around us. I would like to ask you all, what are some ways in which you or a group of interested Christians could extend or strengthen the Kingdom of God in this part of the world?
III. Thinking of Kingdom Goals
One reason it is important to think and pray in Kingdom-centered terms is that God has chosen to work through means rather than directly. There will come a day when he will manifest his Kingdom directly and completely, when the Lord Jesus returns. But until that day, he is using us to give something of a “preview” of his Kingdom, as we reveal Kingdom values and Kingdom character in our relationships and activities.
One of the views of the Millennium spoken of in the book of Revelation is the “Post-millennial” view. This view, which was held by Jonathan Edwards and a number of other Reformed theologians, states that through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Church will spread the Gospel throughout the world and as the world becomes more and more Christian, there will be a “golden age” in which God’s values will be predominant in human life. After this, Christ will return, judge the earth, and then establish his Kingdom fully. This view is in many ways an optimistic one, but it does have the advantage of encouraging people to think, pray, and act in Kingdom-centered ways. It gives us hope that what we do will really have an effect. We can help bring in God’s Kingdom. While I am not entirely sure about this in terms of the history of ideas, I suspect that postmillennial thinking gave impetus to the “progressive” movement, which holds that liberal political values will bring in a golden age.
Personally, I am an amillennialist. I do not believe that the 1,000 years is a literal period in history, but rather a statement of Christ’s complete victory over Satan by his death and resurrection. In spite of that victory, however, human sinfulness and the struggle between good and evil continue. This means that I am not an optimist about human history. The 20th Century, which saw “the war to end all wars” in its second decade, the war against fascism in its fourth decade, and phenomenal technological advances throughout, also saw millions of people dying at the hands of their governments and the deaths of more people for their faith in Christ than in all the centuries beforehand. I do not think that either technological advances or political progressivism will bring in a “golden age” of human freedom and happiness. Satan may be defeated, but he is like a snake with its head cut off – the fangs still contain venom, and the body can still thrash dangerously. Satan’s defeat has only increased his anger and his desire to take as many with him as he can.
Does this mean that I think that Christians should simply prepare to endure as best they can? Should we hunker down and forego seeking to show Kingdom vision and Kingdom values? Not at all. We should be doing the right thing because it is the right thing, not because we have a reasonable hope for wide-spread success. The Lord Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples. He told us that remarkable things would happen, but he did not promise that our efforts to spread the Gospel would meet with universal reception or that living according to his teachings would always bring acclaim from others. He did not promise unchallenged success – but he did promise that he would be with us.
At the same time, I am convinced that when we seek to reveal Kingdom values in our daily lives and seek to extend the Kingdom by sharing the Gospel and making disciples, things happen. People come to faith and find mercy and freedom. Our lives gain a stability that enables us to have peace in the midst of struggles. Most of all, God is honored – and enjoyed. The Kingdom of God is present – not in its fullness and not in its glory, but in reality, for where God has the allegiance of our hearts, minds, and strength, the Kingdom is present. What we do now will matter for all eternity, for we are God’s subjects right now, and God wastes nothing that we do for him.
IV. Kingdom-centered Prayer
A few weeks ago, I shared with you the basic structure of my daily prayers as an example of one way to set about having an organized discipline of prayer. You may have noticed that on Saturdays I pray for government leaders. The Apostle Paul enjoined us to pray for those in civil authority, and he did so at a time when few, if any, officials even pretended to be Christians. Our culture is becoming less and less aware of its Judeo-Christian background, so in some ways we need to pray more for our officials than before. The world is more complex and their resources are less stable than ever. Our leaders need all the help they can get!
I also pray for Christian businesspeople. As Christians, they really need to be spiritual “four-eyed fish,” seeing both their business environment and the Kingdom of God with clarity. They have the challenge of living their lives and running their businesses according to Kingdom principles in a setting where those values are often overlooked or even despised. So I pray for their discernment and wisdom, so that their businesses will be not only well-run, but outposts of the Kingdom of God.
It is not only Christian businesspeople who need to be spiritual “four-eyed fish,” however, for we are all called to live for God in a world that prefers to pretend that God does not exist, or does not matter. We need to see the world as it is, and we need to see the world from God’s perspective. If we do, we can pray not simply for our own perceived needs, but with a vision for the Kingdom of God. And, having prayed, we can live and act for the Kingdom of God, to God’s glory and our joy.

Prayer Course, "Forms of Prayer"

Prayer Course, Session VIII 14th Nov 2010
Forms of Prayer
I. Written Prayers
Throughout its history, the Christian Church has largely used written prayers in its worship. If you look in the back of the Psalter Hymnal, you will see liturgies for baptismal, the Lord’s Supper, marriage, excommunication, readmission to communicant status, ordination, and marriage. There are many written prayers within these liturgies. The same is true of the various Presbyterian churches, the Methodist Church, the Reformed Church in America, and of course those denominations noted for being “liturgical churches,” the Episcopal Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the various branches of Eastern Orthodoxy. Written prayers have been the norm for most of the life of the Church, and, indeed, in the synagogue before it.
It is quite understandable that this would be so in a society in which many, if not most, people could not read or write. Through a steady liturgy which did not change much from week, people could learn the form of the service and participate in it. They could learn prayers that said covered the most important aspects of life and of living as a Christian. Of course, there has always been the danger that learned prayers will be used as though the person speaking were a parrot, knowing the words, but not the intent or nature of the prayer – but for a sincere person, the prayers could give voice to the heart and say what needed to be said the Lord.
Some people have said that since written prayers can become lifeless and mechanical, the best way to pray is to use extemporaneous prayer at all times. The trouble with that idea is that we human beings are creatures of habit, and we may just use stock phrases time after time, without thinking about what we say. Extemporaneous prayer can also ignore entire topics or ideas, simply because the person praying has not thought of them.
There are advantages and perils to both written and extemporaneous prayers. Indeed, as I have been thinking about this, it has come to me that there is no “safe” method of living the Christian life. We cannot say, “If I do these things, and do not do those other things, I am certain to please God.” That is the way the Pharisees thought, and because they focused on their traditions and not on God, they became proud, and eventually they twisted their traditions away from the commands of God. Sin is not something we can avoid by setting up exactly the right system, because sin starts in the human heart. We have to be constantly aware of our need for grace. Without such an awareness, it is all too easy to fall into presumption and into taking God for granted.
Which is better: written prayers or extemporaneous prayers? Since the purpose of prayer is to enjoy the company of God and to share our hearts with him, we use whichever will enable us to do that. When I have a household repair job to do, I take my toolbox out and choose the best tools for what I am going to do. It is the same with prayer: what will best allow me to open my heart to God? Sometimes it will be a written form, sometimes it will be extemporaneous, sometimes a combination – and sometimes I have to call someone or attend a small group of some kind. A hammer is not the best tool for all household tasks, and no one kind or style of prayer is the best at all times and in all situations.
This morning I want to talk about some of the various forms of prayer that were developed in the Church over the centuries. While most of us use extempore prayer in personal devotions, in small group settings, and in worship, the use of various forms of prayer can add to our capacity to open our hearts to God. While we have the promise that the Holy Spirit will interpret our prayers to the Father, expressing our praise and concerns more fully than we are able, we also have the Apostle Paul saying, in 1 Cor 14:15, “I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also. The wisdom and insight of those who have gone before us in the Christian path can help us to express what we most deeply desire to God.
I am going to be using prayers mostly from the Episcopal tradition because that is what I am most familiar with, but most of these prayers reflect the forms that have been used across many different churches. As I said a moment ago, virtually all the denominations that are rooted in the Reformation have a variety of written prayers to be used in services. Some have many, others relatively few, but the written services of the various bodies tells us that written forms of prayer help us both to express our hearts to God and to inform our hearts about what is true and good.
II. The Collect
The first form of prayer I want to look at is the collect. This is a form of prayer that we use every week. It is a prayer form that developed in the western Church. It is hard to say how it got the name of “Collect.” It may have meant that a group of people had “collected” themselves together to worship, and they said the prayer together. Or it may have meant that the prayer was intended to collect together the silent prayers of those who had gathered. In liturgical churches, there is a collect assigned to each Sunday, along with specific Bible readings, and at Virginian Seminary one of the professors said that the collect of the day collected together the common theme of the readings.
At any rate, this short prayer is called a “collect,” and it has a simple form: an invocation of God, an ascription that focuses on one aspect of God’s character or attributes, a request related to that aspect, and usually a Trinitarian closing. I am going to show you three classic collects. Sometimes one part is missing, but that is the basic structure of the collect.
The first is the Collect for Purity. This is usually prayed at the beginning of the Communion service in Anglican congregations: “ALMIGHTY God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
The ascription focuses on God’s omniscience, and the request asks that the hearts that the Lord sees and knows will be cleansed, so that the worship to follow will be fitting for the Lord who is being adored.
The next two collects are found in the service of Morning Prayer, the Collect for Peace and the Collect for Grace. We always stand in need of both peace and grace, so they are used in every daily prayer service.
The Collect for Peace says, “O GOD, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom; Defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
This collect actually has three ascriptions. The first is that God is the author of peace and one who loves concord, or peaceful relationships. The second acknowledges that eternal life is found only in relationship to the living God. The third focuses on the reality that serving God leads to freedom, while not serving God leads to enslavement by sin. Only the first ascription is reflected in the request: “Defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord” Life may bring many challenges, but if we are in the Lord’s hands and depending upon him, we can have peace even while we are beset on all side, for God is in control.
The Collect for Grace prays, “O Lord, our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day; Defend us in the same with thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings, being ordered by thy governance, may be righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The grace that this prayer asks for seems to be more sustaining grace than saving grace, but it does recognize quite clearly that without God’s gracious presence and power, we are in danger from outside ourselves and from within ourselves, and that it is only by his grace that we are able to do what is right and good.
The collect form is probably the most common form of written prayer. The prayer in our weekly bulletin is a collect. I have noticed that sometimes it is the collect appointed for that particular Sunday according to the Christian calendar, according to the Book of Common Prayer, although most of the time it is not. In any event, we use the collect form at Fairlawn week by week.
I think of the collect as the jewel of written prayers. It is a short form of prayer, but in recalling a particular quality of God’s character or one of his attributes, and then making a request in which that attribute is used on our behalf, it gives us a lot to consider as we pray. I use the Collect for Purity and the Collect for Grace in my daily prayers. While they are short, it still takes me some time as I pray, because one can adore the Lord while considering his character and attributes in using these prayers, and then recall particular aspects of one’s life and heart while making the request. A good collect can give much food for thoughtful prayer, as one applies it to oneself.
III. The Litany
While many of us are not familiar with the name “collect” for a prayer, we are familiar with the word “litany.” This is another ancient form of prayer. It is a form intended for congregational use, in which the leader makes a brief invocation or intercession and the congregation makes a reply. The reply is usually consistent over the entire litany or smaller sections of it.
Here is the Great Litany from the Book of Common Prayer. The Great Litany was the first prayer in English during the Reformation in England. It was translated and revised in 1545, about four years before the Book of Common Prayer was adopted. The roots of the Christian litany go back to the Fourth Century. The litany form may have been used in the prayers of the synagogue at the time of Christ and earlier.
Although I am not going to look at the entire Great Litany, here it is:
O GOD the Father, Creator of heaven and earth;
Have mercy upon us.
O God the Son, Redeemer of the world;
Have mercy upon us.
O God the Holy Ghost, Sanctifier of the faithful;
Have mercy upon us.
O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, one God;
Have mercy upon us.

REMEMBER not, Lord, our offences, nor the offences of our forefathers; neither take thou vengeance of our sins: Spare us, good Lord, spare thy people, whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood, and be not angry with us for ever.
Spare us, good Lord.

From all evil and mischief; from sin; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; from thy wrath, and from everlasting damnation,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all blindness of heart; from pride, vainglory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all inordinate and sinful affections; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From lightning and tempest; from earthquake, fire, and flood; from plague, pestilence, and famine; from battle and murder, and from sudden death,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all sedition, privy conspiracy, and rebellion; from all false doctrine, heresy, and schism; from hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word and Commandment,
Good Lord, deliver us.
By the mystery of thy holy Incarnation; by thy holy Nativity and Circumcision; by thy Baptism, Fasting, and Temptation,
Good Lord, deliver us.
By thine Agony and Bloody Sweat; by thy Cross and Passion; by thy precious Death and Burial; by thy glorious Resurrection and Ascension, and by the Coming of the Holy Ghost,
Good Lord, deliver us.
In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment,
Good Lord, deliver us.

We sinners do beseech thee to hear us, O Lord God; and that it may please thee to rule and govern thy holy Church universal in the right way;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee so to rule the heart of thy servant, The President of the United States, that he may above all things seek thy honour and glory;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to bless and preserve all Christian Rulers and Magistrates, giving them grace to execute justice, and to maintain truth;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to illuminate all Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, with true knowledge and understanding of thy Word; and that both by their preaching and living they may set it forth, and show it accordingly;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to send forth labourers into thy harvest;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to bless and keep all thy people;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to give to all nations unity, peace, and concord;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to give us an heart to love and fear thee, and diligently to live after thy commandments;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to give to all thy people increase of grace to hear meekly thy Word, and to receive it with pure affection, and to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to bring into the way of truth all such as have erred, and are deceived;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to strengthen such as do stand; and to comfort and help the weak-hearted; and to raise up those who fall; and finally to beat down Satan under our feet;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to succour, help, and comfort, all who are in danger, necessity, and tribulation;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to preserve all who travel by land, by water, or by air, all women in child-birth, all sick persons, and young children; and to show thy pity upon all prisoners and captives;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to defend, and provide for, the fatherless children, and widows, and all who are desolate and oppressed;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to have mercy upon all men;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers, and to turn their hearts;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to give and preserve to our use the kindly fruits of the earth, so that in due time we may enjoy them;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to give us true repentance; to forgive us all our sins, negligences, and ignorances; and to endue us with the grace of thy Holy Spirit to amend our lives according to thy holy Word;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us.
Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us.
O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world;
Grant us thy peace.
O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world;
Have mercy upon us.
O Christ, hear us.
O Christ, hear us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
The Great Litany begins with an invocation of each of the persons of the Trinity, and then confesses sin and appeals to God’s mercy, both for forgiveness and for protection from the things that lead to sin. The congregational responses are “Have mercy upon us” as the Trinity is invoked, and then “Good Lord, deliver us.” Then there are requests for the things that are required for life in this age, as individuals, as members of the Christian Church, and as citizens of a nation. While we were considering the Lord’s Prayer, we noted that the supplication for “our daily bread” included all that we need for life, and the petitions in this litany help us to remember and reflect on the specifics of daily bread. The response of the congregation to these requests is “We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.” There are three requests near the end of the Litany that focus on some difficult areas of spiritual growth and life – repentance, forgiveness of our enemies, and victory over sin and Satan.
The concluding requests of the Great Litany call upon Jesus Christ as our merciful Savior. This litany is a long and comprehensive one. There are other litanies that aer shorter and focus more on one area of life or one aspect of prayer, such as a litany of thanksgiving.
Here is the “Micah Sunday Litany,” available from the CRC Worship resources. It focuses on our responsibility to help those in need:
A MICAH SUNDAY LITANY
Leader: What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?
People: God, open our ears, our hearts and our minds to your call.
Leader: In a world of injustice, violence and pain, forgive us for turning away from the suffering of your people.
People: God, open our ears, our eyes and our hearts to the needs around us.
Leader: Teach us to walk more closely with you. Empower us to walk hand-in-hand with those in need so that, together, we may reflect your good intentions for the world.
People: God, use our hands and our hearts to serve others.
Leader: Challenge us on life’s journey to do justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with you, O God. Amen.
IV. Confessions
At Fairlawn we use a collect each week. I cannot recall using a litany here, but I do know that we use another form of prayer each week, the prayer of confession. There seem to be about five or six confessions, rotating on a weekly basis. One is based on a confession from the Communion service of the Book of Common Prayer, another is based on the liturgy of John Knox, and one is from the Psalter/Hymnal. I do not know the source of the other prayers of confession.
They all have some things in common: an admission of the various ways in which we sin, an acceptance of responsibility, and an appeal for mercy, based not on our merit or even upon our repentance but upon the Lord Jesus. Some prayers of confession simply say “for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord,” while others will appeal to his work on the cross.
Here are the two confessions from The Book of Common Prayer. The first is used in Morning Prayer and the second in Communion.
A General Confession (From Morning Prayer)
To be said by the whole Congregation, after the Minister, all kneeling.
ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore thou those who are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind In Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.
A General Confession (From Holy Communion)
ALMIGHTY God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all things, Judge of all men; We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, Which we, from time to time, most grievously have committed, By thought, word, and deed, Against thy Divine Majesty, Provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us. We do earnestly repent, And are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; The remembrance of them is grievous unto us; The burden of them is intolerable. Have mercy upon us, Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; For thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, Forgive us all that is past; And grant that we may ever hereafter Serve and please thee In newness of life, To the honour and glory of thy Name; Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The first confession contains the phrases, “and there is no health in us” and “miserable offenders,” which point to the Reformed doctrine of total depravity, or as RC Sproul has put it, “radical corruption.” While in the common grace of God, we are not as bad as we could be, the warping nature of sin has touched every aspect of our being. Part of the departure of the Episcopal Church from orthodox Christian faith was the elimination of those two phrases in the 1979 edition of the BCP. But when we confess our sins, it is a good thing to admit that we are sinful to the core of our being and that our only hope is the grace of God. It may be tempting to think, “We human beings may be imperfect, but we’re not all that bad.” If we want to feel better about ourselves by this thought, we can do so – but then it is also very easy to depend upon our own efforts and not the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus as the basis of our standing before God.
One reason why the Christian church has used written prayers is to teach sound theology. Unfortunately, poorly written prayers can teach unsound theology. Written prayers are useful for giving words to thoughts and emotions we may be struggling to express in our own words. It is necessary, however, to be sure that the written prayers we use not only give the words we need to speak our hearts to God, but also express the truths of the Bible. Since prayer is communion with God, we want to express our hearts to God, but we also want to hear his heart, and only Biblical truth will let us know God’s heart and will.
V. A Bidding Prayer
I want to conclude our look at forms of prayer with two more prayers. One is another form of prayer and the other is simply a classic prayer that I have found useful both in congregational settings and in helping me in my personal prayers.
The first is what is known as a “bidding prayer.” That is, the officiant at worship asks, or bids, the prayers of the congregation for certain areas of life, both temporal and spiritual. The following is the only example of this sort of prayer I have seen, but there are others, I am sure.
A Bidding Prayer.
GOOD Christian People, I bid your prayers for Christ's holy Catholic Church, the blessed company of all faithful people; that it may please God to confirm and strengthen it in purity of faith, in holiness of life, and in perfectness of love, and to restore to it the witness of visible unity; and more especially for that branch of the same planted by God in this land, whereof we are members; that in all things it may work according to God's will, serve him faithfully, and worship him acceptably.
Ye shall pray for the President of these United States, and for the Governor of this State, and for all that are in authority; that all, and every one of them, may serve truly in their several callings to the glory of God, and the edifying and well-governing of the people, remembering the account they shall be called upon to give at the last great day.
Ye shall also pray for the ministers of God's Holy Word and Sacraments; for Bishops [and herein more especially for the Bishop of this Diocese], that they may minister faithfully and wisely the discipline of Christ; likewise for all Priests and Deacons [and herein more especially for the Clergy here residing], that they may shine as lights in the world, and in all things may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour.
And ye shall pray for a due supply of persons fitted to serve God in the Ministry and in the State; and to that end, as well as for the good education of all the youth of this land, ye shall pray for all schools, colleges, and seminaries of sound and godly learning, and for all whose hands are open for their maintenance; that whatsoever tends to the advancement of true religion and useful learning may for ever flourish and abound.
Ye shall pray for all the people of these United States, that they may live in the true faith and fear of God, and in brotherly charity one towards another.
Ye shall pray also for all who travel by land, sea, or air; for all prisoners and captives; for all who are in sickness or in sorrow; for all who have fallen into grievous sin; for all who, through temptation, ignorance, helplessness, grief, trouble, dread, or the near approach of death, especially need our prayers.
Ye shall also praise God for rain and sunshine; for the fruits of the earth; for the products of all honest industry; and for all his good gifts, temporal and spiritual, to us and to all men.
Finally, ye shall yield unto God most high praise and hearty thanks for the wonderful grace and virtue declared in all his saints, who have been the choice vessels of his grace and the lights of the world in their several generations; and pray unto God, that we may have grace to direct our lives after their good examples; that, this life ended, we may be made partakers with them of the glorious resurrection, and the life everlasting.
And now, brethren, summing up all our petitions, and all our thanksgivings, in the words which Christ hath taught us, we make bold to say,
OUR Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
This prayer covers many aspects of the requests the apostles taught us to pray for – for the Church, for “kings and all in authority,” for spiritual well-being, for our life together, for health and strength. There are also thanksgivings for God’s common grace in living upon a fruitful earth and for the grace he has shown us in the lives of those who have followed him in years past. When I have experienced this prayer in worship, the leader did not just read these biddings for prayer as quickly as possible, but rather with slowly and with pauses from one topic to the next. In that way, the entire congregation is united in prayer, but each person can frame the prayers on a particular subject from his or her own knowledge and perspective.
The final prayer I want to look at is the General Thanksgiving used at the end of Morning Prayer:
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we, thine unworthy servants, do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and lovingkindness to us, and to all men; [particularly to those who desire now to offer up their praises and thanksgivings for thy late mercies vouchsafed unto them.] We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful; and that we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
This is a short prayer, but it covers a lot of ground. It gives thanks to God for both common and saving grace. It offers an opportunity for members of the congregation to offer their own particular thanks for special blessings they have received. And it concludes the thanks with an appeal to be enabled to respond to God’s graciousness in the best way possible, living a life that honors God, extends his kingdom, and reflects his character.
Many congregations that uphold biblical teachings rely almost exclusively on extemporaneous prayer for their congregational worship and in small groups of various kinds. Extemporaneous prayer can express the needs and thanks with great precision because it can state specifics about both. But just as we have the treasure of theological though from the great Reformers, we also have the treasure of the worship and prayers of those who have gone before us. That gives us two great resources for our prayer – the written prayers from the past, and our insights into the present situation and its blessings and needs. I believe that we need both to enjoy our time with God as we lift our prayers and praise to him.

A Meditation for Aunt Shirley, Given at her Funeral

My memories of Aunt Shirley go back to when I was about four years old, around 1950. My dad was serving with the Air Force overseas, and my mother, Bill, and I were living with Grandma and Grandpa Sutton. Since John Humble was about the same age as Bill and I, we spent a lot of time together, and I can remember going back and forth between the homes on Mill St and Oliver St often, maybe every day. It was delightful, for at both ends of the trip there was a warm welcome – and often cookies! I was beginning to appreciate what a loving person Aunt Shirley was, and what a good baker.
About ten years later, after my Dad retired from the Air Force, we were living on Mill St again while Dad looked for work. There was still a lot of traveling between Mill St and Oliver St. I used to spend Wednesday nights with the Humbles, so that I could help John deliver the heavy Thursday morning paper, with all its extra advertising. Aunt Shirley and Uncle Jack were always so welcoming when I came to stay over, and when John and I returned from our rounds there was a good breakfast waiting for us.
During my high school years, the Chuck Suttons, the Don Suttons, the Humbles, and two other families used to go camping together a few times a year – ten adults and more than twenty kids. I do not think that we teens and kids had many conversations with the adults, as we were engaged in our own activities – but the adults certainly had a grand time with each other. I can remember thinking that they were really ancient. A vast gulf seemed to be between us, and I had little idea of what they did or thought.
Of course, I now know that, being in their 30’s & 40’s, they were not at all ancient; indeed, they were still young. As I got older, and especially after I got married, that “vast gulf” disappeared. I began to talk with my aunts and uncles a lot more. I heard many stories about their years growing up in the house on Mill St – about Grandma Sutton baking eight loaves of bread three times a week in the old coal stove, about Dad and Uncle Donald and a batch of the neighborhood boys heading off on a Saturday to the woods by climbing onto a freight car, about taffy pulls, singing after supper almost every night, and many more little stories of their life among friends and family.
I began looking at the photos on the walls of the homes on Mill St and Oliver St, and began to see a larger story there, as I remembered those little stories. It was the story of a family that was rich, not in the world’s goods, but wealthy beyond the hopes of many in love and in faith. The welcome that I received when I was four when I came in the door at Aunt Shirley’s was warm and real. At the time, I noticed it in cookies. Years later, I noticed it in the care and concern of Aunt Shirley – and indeed of all my aunts and uncles – about how things were going. They were not being polite when they asked; they really wanted to know, because they cared for me, and not just me but all my cousins.
Since I grew up in a branch of the family that often lived far away, and since I later spent a lot of my 20’s and 30’s in various places around the country, I did not get to visit in Wilkes-Barre as much as I now wish I had. A lot of my cousins did, and I know that they have been blessed by seeing Aunt Shirley & Uncle Jack, Aunt Claire & Uncle Walter, Aunt Betty and Grandpa Sutton, and the cousins who lived here. There was always a warm welcome here in Parsons for other members of the family, and their friends.
I have been talking a good bit not only about Aunt Shirley but about the family she grew up with, and their children. One reason for that is because it is impossible to separate who Aunt Shirley was from that family. She was the next-to-youngest child, and her brothers and sisters formed her as well as her parents. But there is another reason: Aunt Shirley was the last of that family we had among us. Her passing marks the end of an era. We still have my mom and Uncle Jack as representatives of that great generation, but there is no one left now who grew up at the house on Mill St in the first half of the 20th Century.
I am glad to know that there is still a batch of cousins here in Wilkes-Barre to represent the family and our history, and that they are Aunt Shirley and Uncle Jack’s descendants. They too have many good memories of Aunt Shirley. That is good for them and good for all of us.
We cannot separate Aunt Shirley from the family with whom she grew up, because it was a very close and caring family. But every member of that family had his or her own particular personality, and we can remember Aunt Shirley in her own constellation of gifts and graces. I can never think of Aunt Shirley without hearing her laugh in my mind, a combination, more or less, of a whoop and a giggle. She was one of the most joy-filled people I have ever met, and laughter came easily to her. She could certainly talk about serious and difficult things, but while she took things seriously, she never took herself too seriously, and she often saw a funny side to a serious situation.
Besides her laugh, when I think of Aunt Shirley, I also picture her in two places – the first with a warm hug of greeting at her front door, and the second is at the table in her kitchen. She was a great cook, a marvelous baker, and a wonderful conversationalist. After a delicious meal, we could sit and talk for hours.
And many people gathered around that table – her children, and in due course, grandchildren. Her nephews and nieces and their children – and not only those of the Sutton side, but also the Humble side of Aunt Shirley and Uncle Jack’s family. For years, Aunt Shirley and Uncle Jack hosted Sunday dinners, with many people seated around the table. And there would be friends as well – especially friends of her children and friends from church. I can remember thinking several years ago, “It is sort of like I have a second mother” – and then as I listened to more stories as time went on, I realized that Aunt Shirley was indeed a second mother to a number of people. Aunt Shirley and Uncle Jack did not brag about it at all, but there were a number of people who spent a few weeks, or months, or even longer, at their home, because they needed a place to call home for a time. Aunt Shirley had a tremendous gift of hospitality. She was a great cook, and even more a great and kind heart.
And we cannot talk about Aunt Shirley without talking about her faith. She was a lifelong member of this congregation, and as a member she was both blessed by it and a blessing to it. As we are gathered here today to remember Aunt Shirley, we are dealing with two great realities. One is her loss – we will never hear her laugh again, or get a hug, or taste her cooking. We will never hear her ask how we are, knowing that she really wants to know. She will no longer promise to pray for things that concern us. We have a real and deep loss. At the same time, we rejoice that she is in heaven, freed from the aches and pains she endured these last years, reunited with her parents and brothers and sisters, and with a son-in-law and many friends who went on before her. And she is with the Lord Jesus, whom she followed all the years of her life. She is standing before his throne with myriads of saints and angels, praising and adoring him with a radiant joy.
There might be those who would say, “Of course she is in heaven! She was a good person. God will accept her because of the life she led.” But if you were to tell her that somehow, her response would be a laugh. She may have been good in comparison to other people, but no one is anywhere near as good as God requires.
Aunt Shirley is not in heaven because she was good. Rather, I think that she would say that, as far as she was good, she was good because she was going to heaven. Her life was one long thanksgiving for the grace and mercy she received from Jesus Christ. She knew that Jesus had died to pay the just penalty for her sins, and because he had died for her, she joyfully lived for him.
In her growing up years, Aunt Shirley was a member of Christian Endeavor, a church-based youth ministry. CE’s motto was “love and service,” and the CE movement believed that “youth can lead.” Teens were taught how to run meetings and how to organize and carry out activities. As useful as such skill could be however, the main reason the youth of Christian Endeavor were taught such things was so that they might be in fellowship with young followers of Jesus, and that they might love the Lord Jesus and serve him in their daily lives, while helping others to know him. Aunt Shirley never forgot those lessons, and she applied them all her life, not only as a young person. And she did so out of delight, not duty, for she knew the deep and transforming love of God.
All who knew Aunt Shirley were blessed by her. She was, by the mercy of God, simply that kind of person. I have only touched on a few of the stories that could be told about her, but even in these few, we know that we have lost a wonderful person, someone filled with kindness, and humor, and love.
We will all miss her more than words can say. We have the comfort of God’s promises, but that does not mean that pain and loss simply vanish. Uncle Jack, we know that your loss is great, and we are praying for you. John, Barbara, Elizabeth, and Ellen, you have lost a wonderful mother, and you also have our prayers. Thank you for sharing her with so many others who were blessed by her care.
We will miss her. The lives of those whom we love are too short, no matter how many years, or how full, or how well-lived. But we can give thanks to God that he placed Aunt Shirley in our lives and that he gave us an experience of his love through her.

Series on Prayer: Settings for Prayer

Prayer Course, Session VII

I. Where May One Pray?
As we have talked about prayer over the last two months, we have usually considered prayer in two settings, personal prayers and Sunday morning worship. These may be the two most common settings for prayer, but there are other settings, and today I want to look at a variety of settings where prayer is an essential part of the event. What are some settings for prayer that you can think of?
I will begin with congregational prayer in worship and then go on to several other settings, including individual prayer. After that I will look briefly at some special circumstances for prayer.
Congregations go about their prayers as a congregation in a number of ways. Liturgical churches, such as the Lutherans, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox, have numerous written prayers throughout their services. What one might call traditional churches, such as Fairlawn, will have a few prayers in their services, including one by the pastor that deals with the needs of the congregation. I have to admit that I have not been to too many “contemporary” services, but from what I can see, they are a period of singing, followed by a period of teaching, with prayer in the middle or at the end.
The danger for prayer in the liturgical setting is that the celebrant and congregation may simply read the prayers and not pray them. The danger in the contemporary service is that focus may be more on the music and the personality of the worship leader and the experience of it all, and not on prayer. The danger for prayer in the traditional setting is that the largest element of prayer depends on the pastor and on his ability, or lack of it, to give voice to the concerns of the congregation.
The strength of liturgical worship is that its elements have been proven useful over centuries of worship. If the celebrant and congregation have a living faith, and if they have learned the prayers not just as memorization but as an expression of faith, the prayers can give powerful voice to their hearts as they offer them to the Lord. The strength of a contemporary worship service is that it is flexible and the prayers can express elements of adoration, thanks, and intercession with pinpoint accuracy, if the prayers are not overshadowed by the music or the preaching. The strength of the traditional service is that some of the prayers are traditional and written and can be wonderful vehicles to express one’s heart to God, but there is also a time of prayer that is open to praying for very specific needs and situations.
I want to make a side comment that I think has some bearing on congregational prayer, and indeed on prayer in many different situations. That is, I think that personality has some bearing on how we experience prayer in general, and prayer in worship in particular. Some people are extroverted, while others are introverted. Some people are intuitive, while others are very able to focus on and name details. We are all some blend of a variety of characteristics, and our personality make-up will probably lead us to prefer or at least be more comfortable in one worship setting than another. That being said, however, persons of all personalities must remember that worship is fundamentally about God, and not about what style one might prefer. It is one thing to prefer one style of worship; it is quite another to insist that it is the only valid style there is.
We have covered a number of things over the last two months that talk about what prayer is and how to pray. While there are certainly some basic aspects to prayer that cannot be compromised, there are other aspects that can and will vary. I love to pray with and for other people. One theologian I know of regularly spends eight hours in prayer, delighted to enjoy the Lord for such a period of time. Some people can write prayers that express one’s longings in a marvelous way. Others have a gift of being able to lead a large group of people in praise and intercession. God invites all his children to come before him for the pleasure of his company and to listen to their hearts, but his children do so in a wide variety of ways, depending on their personality, their gifts, and so on.
I have outlined three basic styles of prayer in worship, the liturgical, the traditional, and the contemporary. I think that they are all valid styles. Each has its strengths and each has its weaknesses. I do think that the contemporary style is the one most likely to “go off the rails” because it is so flexible and can easily become about “what makes me feel good” rather than about God. As an Episcopal pastor, I led liturgical worship for years, and I love that style – but I have also experienced liturgies that were hollow and empty because the leaders were just going through the motions. When I was at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, I spent a summer as an intern at a Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and led some traditional services while the pastor was on vacation –and I can tell you that praying the pastoral prayer is a real challenge!

II. Prayers in Small Groups
Besides prayers during Sunday worship, many churches used to have a Wednesday evening prayer meeting, and in some places it is still common. I am not sure, but I think that these prayer meetings got their start in the mid-1800’s as a time to pray for missionaries. They are not as focused now, and for quite a long time they have been more like an informal worship service with a little more prayer than usual. Such prayer meetings have also been a smaller gathering than Sunday worship, and this leads me to a second major setting for prayer: the small group.
This setting is one that is dear to my heart because I learned to pray in a small group while I was a student at the University of Virginia. The local chapter of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship held a prayer meeting Monday through Friday at 6:00 PM in the University Chapel. I began attending these meetings in the fall of my first year at UVa and I attended regularly during my time at The University. They were simple: we sang a few hymns, shared prayer requests, and prayed for those requests. Attendance ranged from four to ten students and usually our faculty advisor. We had one simple rule about praying: pray about one request and one only at a time. That meant that you could pray only one sentence if you liked, which made it easy to pray out loud. Sometimes in a prayer group there will be two or three people who will pray about all the requests, leaving the others wondering what to say.
Inter-Varsity called our method “conversational prayer.” One person might pray a few sentences about one of the requests, and another person would pray about some other aspects of the situation. As each person prayed, it was likely that their insights would be used by the Holy Spirit to give further insights, so that as most of the group prayed on a given topic, the topic received extensive coverage in prayer. The group was also more united in spirit, for they had not simply prayed in one another’s presence, but had prayed together.
When one topic was covered, we moved onto a new topic. Each evening, we would sing for about ten minutes, share for ten or fifteen minutes, and pray for ten or fifteen minutes. It was not long, but it was powerful. I think that it was most powerful in the lives of those who attended. Most of the requests were for relatively small matters – tests we were facing or other academic challenges, dealing with a difficult roommate, a few health concerns, and so on. But the experience of praying together and of seeing real but undramatic answers to prayer deepened our faith and encouraged us.
We also prayed about the spread of the Gospel among the students at UVa. We held a few outreach events, and followed up interested participants, and most of us tried to learn how to share the Gospel one to one. Inter-Varsity had come to UVa about 1955 and it had a small but consistent presence up through my fourth year. A professor of economics, Dr Ken Elzinga, joined the faculty at the start of my third year. He began his lecture on the first day of teaching Econ 101 with the statement that he was a committed Christian and that he would welcome conversation with any student who wanted to know more. During my fourth year, a local Baptist pastor who had gotten to know some students through conversations as they worked out at the gym began a ministry that had a profound effect on our fellow students. More and more students became Christians because of these men. Our prayer meeting grew and grew until we had forty or fifty participants – and rather than pray as a whole group, we sang and then broke up into smaller groups so that the personal dimension of prayer would not be lost.
When the members of the Virginia Christian Fellowship prayed for all those years from the mid-fifties to the late sixties, we did not expect God to answer our prayers for the spread of the Gospel at UVa in the way that he did. We thought that he would teach us more and better ways to share our faith, and that our fellowship, and perhaps the Navigators and the Baptist Student Union, would be the agents of sharing the Gospel. But God had other ideas in mind, and the heart of our prayers was answered, as many students came to faith in Christ.
When I began at UVa, there were perhaps two hundred committed Christians in those three groups, out of some 7,000 students. Today, there are several thousand committed Christians students, a network of Christian ministries who work together harmoniously, a Christian study center that offers a great series of courses, and many Bible studies and prayer groups. The faculty has many Christian members and they are well respected. Indeed, Dr Elzinga went on to become chair of the Economics Dept.
As we gathered in the University Chapel in the mid-60’s to pray, we had no idea that God was going to answer our prayers in the way he did. But he certainly did – and as things developed, we discovered that, while we sometimes felt all alone in praying for the spread of the Gospel at the University, there were others, in groups and individually, who had been praying for the same thing. God answered, and continues to answer, all our prayers in a wonderful way.
This is one instance of small group prayer at work. As I said, I think that one major thing that enabled the depth and extent of our prayer as a group was the pattern of conversational prayer: each person who prayed was to stay on one topic, and to leave room for others to add their own prayers for the same topic. I have an idea that the once-common Wednesday night prayer meeting came to resemble a less formal Sunday service was because two or three people prayed for everything at length, so that the rest of the people did not know what to pray for – and even if they had had an idea, would have been too scared to say anything because they could not be long and eloquent in their prayers. Conversational prayer lets a beginner learn how to pray in a group by praying a sentence at a time, not necessarily a paragraph at a time.
There are three basic types of small groups that pray together. One is the sort of group that I experienced at UVa, where the purpose of the group is prayer. There are two others. One is the fellowship group which meets to study the Bible and to pray. I have known of some large churches, such as Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Va., where everyone is encouraged to a part of a fellowship group of a dozen or so people. One person cannot be friends with all the people in a 1200 member congregation – but one person can know a dozen, and enjoy mutual fellowship and support as they study the Bible and pray for one another. The group leaders are trained and have regular meetings together, which helps the groups all work toward the goals of the larger congregation.
Another group in which prayer is appropriate, and indeed needed, is the leadership group. The governing board of an Episcopal Church is responsible for the business dealings of the congregation, and in many parishes, the Vestry did simply that, with perhaps a perfunctory prayer at the beginning of the meeting. When the renewal movement came to the Episcopal Church in the 70’s, many congregations awakened to the reality that business decisions were really spiritual decisions and prayer became a major part of their time together. The Vestry of St Paul’s Church in Darien, CT, began to have two meetings a month. One was for business and the other was dedicated to prayer, seeking to discern the Lord’s will for the parish. The leadership, most of whom were newly converted Christians, recognized that if they were going to have the Lord direct the parish according to Scriptural principles, they would need to rethink everything about the life as a Christian body. They needed to be clear about God’s purpose for the Church and God’s purpose for their congregation. They also needed to be clear about how they carried out the business of the congregation and how they related to one another. So they spent one evening a month in Bible study and prayer, and one evening a month doing business – with a lot of prayer throughout the meeting. It was a lot of hard work, but St Paul’s has remained a godly, Bible-based parish and its example was used by many other parishes as they sought to become Christ-centered, Bible-based congregations.
The leadership of a Christian congregation should conduct its business according to sound business practices. There should be no sloppiness in bookkeeping or undertaking projects without thinking them through and calling that “moving in faith.” But when Christians think things through, they must also pray them through, carefully reviewing Scripture and listening to the Lord so that they do the right thing, at the right time, and in the right way. Prayer is hard work and it can be very tempting to bypass it, but leaders need to pray for what they are doing as leaders.

III. Prayer Chains and Prayer Partners
There are two other settings for prayer that are much quieter than congregational prayer or prayer groups. These are prayer chains and prayer partners. Prayer chains are wonderfully simple ways to have people pray for pressing concerns, especially since the advent of e-mail. The request comes in to a head of the chain, who sends it out to the members of the chain by phone or e-mail, and the members of the chain pray for the request. Some are able to pray for a few minutes, other for longer. Some may add the request to their daily time of prayer, others may not. Each prays as he or she is able, when and where they are able. Such praying lacks the fellowship of a group gathering to pray, but people are able to pray about a situation quickly and easily, and to keep on praying over time.
Another quiet setting for prayer is a prayer partnership, where two people agree to pray for one another. They meet anywhere from once a week to once a month. The meetings last an hour or two, as the two exchange their concerns and give updates to one another. Sometimes life is fairly calm and the prayer partners are able to give praise and thanks to the Lord more than they need to make requests of him. At other times, one of the two may be undergoing severe trials of some sort. The other prayer partner can listen, offer support and understanding, and often is able to see things that the one in trial does not. Together, they can walk with each other through a hard time.
Faith Alive, which was one of the renewal movement groups in the Episcopal Church, emphasized the importance of prayer and encouraged parishioners to form prayer partnerships. The father of a friend of mine had teamed up with another man in his parish back in the Seventies, and their prayer partnership lasted until 2005, when one man died. God used their partnership to help them and encourage them in the challenges and trials of life, and, because each man, in a sense, held a mirror up to the other, each was God’s agent in helping the other to grow in being like Christ.
In a sense, a married couple is a natural prayer partnership, and such a couple would not have too much trouble making the time to pray together at least once a week. But there is something good and helpful about two men or two women setting aside a few hours on a regular basis to get together and pray. Married couples can see things those outside the relationship cannot see – and a caring, prayerful outsider can offer things that a spouse cannot.
Prayer chains and prayer partnerships are quiet settings for prayer. A prayer chain will usually only have a name and number to call in a congregation’s bulletin, and a prayer partnership is not likely to have any official notice at all. But God can and does use such prayer settings to bring glory to himself and strength and help to others.

IV. Individual Prayer
The setting for prayer that comes to mind most readily when the topic of prayer is raised is that of an individual praying. A great deal of what I have said over the past eight weeks applies to individual prayer, but I do want to add a few things to that today. Individual prayer is another area where personality makes a big difference. Some people, according to their personalities and to their setting in life, can pray for hours at a time. Others are only able to pray for a few minutes a day. Some people are very systematic, and others less so – although I do think that a regular discipline of prayer requires some kind of system.
I am going to share with you my system. I have left a lot of details out, but you can see the broad structure of how I pray, and some details for some areas. Some of the things on it come directly from suggestions given by Scripture Union, a Bible study guide that I used for some thirty years. Some people I know simply use the Book of Common Prayer and pray through the service of Morning or Evening Prayer, adding in details of thanksgiving, confession, or request as needed. Other people may use a collection of devotional readings and prayers. Mary has her own system for her daily prayers, and it is different than mine – although both of us have decided that, rather than pray for everything everyday, we divide our concerns up over the course of a week, so that we can pray with more definition on a particular item, rather than trying to fit everything in on each day.
A man was told by his doctor that he needed to exercise or risk having a heart attack. The man joined a gym and asked the athletic consultant, “What is the best exercise to avoid a heart attack? Should I use the treadmill, the rower, or the stairclimber? Should I lift weights or not?” The consultant replied, “Well, I can tell you which exercise will give your heart the best conditioning – but the truth of the matter is, the best exercise is the exercise you will actually do.”
The best format or system for individual prayer is the one you will actually use. Those of you who have an established custom of regular, personal prayer know that as time goes by, you change your format, through greater insights, to refresh your method, or to focus on some area more fully than you do now. I am not fully satisfied with my format, and I am sure that it will change in the future. But the important thing about individual prayer is not the perfection of the format or method, but that one actually goes before the living God to enjoy him, adore him, confess to him, thank him, and ask him for what is needed for ourselves and those around us.

V. Ecumenical Services and Healing Services
The settings I have looked at so far are the most common settings for prayer: congregational prayer in worship, small group prayer, the prayer chain, prayer partners, and individual prayer. I want to look for a few moments at two other settings for prayer that are less common, ecumenical prayer and healing prayer services.
On Sunday, September 16, 2001, hundreds of people gathered at the Village Congregational Church to pray for our nation. Only a few days before, we had suffered a dastardly attack by Islamic extremists which had killed 3,000 people and could easily have killed many more. We were fearful and angry – and as Christians, we knew that being fearful and angry might be understandable, but it was not really where we were supposed to be. We needed to pray for ourselves, for the families and friends who had lost loved ones, and for our leaders. So we gathered, sang, heard a message or two, and prayed. It was an extraordinary service of prayer.
Most ecumenical prayer services are not as intense as that one was. Some, indeed, can be dreary affairs, if the planners try to operate from the smallest common denominator of the various Christian bodies who have gathered together. But an ecumenical gathering can also be an occasion of wonderful prayer, if each Christian body brings the best of its tradition and invites the others to use it thoughtfully – and, most importantly, if the Lord Jesus is the center and focus of the gathering. The Northbridge Association of Churches has sponsored some good ecumenical worship services over the years and I have been thankful to be a part of them.
In some areas, there are regular gatherings for interdenominational prayer. A few years ago, I heard of a city in the Central Valley of California (I think it was Fresno) where the churches reached out to each other, saying, “God has placed us all in this city for a reason. Let us see what we can do to work together to share his Gospel and to reveal his love.” So the clergy and many laity began to meet together and to pray to know how best to work together to share the news of God’s amazing grace to those who did not attend church. As the churches worked together, some amazing things happened. One particular thing I remember about their joint work in prayer and action was that all the churches agreed to have a common pre-marital process that would challenge couples to not only plan the details of the ceremony, but to deal with the hard places in their relationship to one another. The churches also agreed to form a support system for the recently married. As a result of these commitments to one another, the divorce rate in the city went down markedly. This was but one result of a commitment to pray with one another in Jesus’ name and for his honor.
I ask you to note that I am speaking of ecumenical prayer, not of inter-faith prayer. Sometimes there is an effort to get leaders, at least, of various faiths to join together in a prayer service. I cannot imagine participating in such a service, because the unspoken message of such a gathering is that we do not, and indeed, cannot, know who God truly is. I am not free to put Jesus up simply as one member of a pantheon. He is Lord of All, not Lord of Some. To share a prayer space with Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims is to place Jesus as just one of a crowd of equally valid religious expressions.
I want to close out with one further setting for prayer, and that is a healing prayer service. Such a service is not common around here, but I have participated in a number of such services over the years, and while I was in New Jersey, the church where I was an assistant pastor held a weekly service of healing prayers. But there was a critical difference between the services I was a part of and of those that many people might think of when they hear “healing service.” Some of the ministries that focus on healing through prayer make the assumption that the same gift of healing that the apostles used is still available today, and there are those who can, if your faith is strong enough, heal you through prayer.
If you read Acts, you will read of many instances of healing. In Acts 5:15, we read of people needing healing standing where Peter’s shadow would fall on them, and of their healing as Peter walked by. Later on, in Acts 19:11-12, we learn that handkerchiefs and aprons that had been used by Paul were taken to those who were ill or demon-afflicted, and when those cloths touched those needing healing, the illness or the evil spirit left. In those very early days, before the Gospels were written and before the writings of the apostles were collected and recognized, the Lord used miracles of healing to demonstrate the truthfulness of those who shared the Gospel. The healing miracles showed that God was alive and active, and that those who trusted Jesus would be freed not only from the burden of illness, but also from the burden of guilt that they carried.
The healing prayer services of which I was a part did not see healing by command or by simple presence as a gift that God had continued to give after the apostolic age had ended. God has his Word written, and we do not need to confirm it by signs as they did in those days.
God still has the power to heal, however, and as his children we are privileged to come before him and ask him to work within us or those for whom we care. We recognize that here each Sunday in the pastoral prayer, and as we note those who are ill or injured in the notes in the bulletin, so that we can pray for them over the week. The services of prayer for healing that I have been a part of are opportunities to focus on this area of need. In the services I have been a part of, one person or a team of two or three people speaks with a person seeking healing for himself or for someone close. The request is listened to by the team, who then pray for the needs expressed – and often for a few more needs than are expressed, for as those who are praying do so, they come to understand various dimensions of the situation, and lift up those things as well. It is not done flashily, and it is not done expecting that someone will say “Be healed!” and a person throw his crutches away.
The blessings of a healing service are twofold. The first is that it is a blessing for a person to share the need and to be surrounded by people who care about the need. As I mentioned when I was speaking about prayer in small groups, to pray in the Name of Jesus is to invoke his presence and to experience it. The person who asks for healing prayer is encouraged by the compassion of those who are praying. More than that, God has received the prayer and will give an answer in his way and in his time. In my own experience, God has responded by giving the person health, through the skills of the medical profession and through his own Holy Spirit, or by giving the person courage and patience to endure cheerfully. And, as in our prayers for evangelism at the University of Virginia showed, what God does and when he does it may be far beyond what we imagined or expected.
I want to close with a quote from Tim Challies, who maintains the blog “Informing the Reformed.” He recently wrote reviews of five books on prayer, and here is what he said about the book A Praying Life:
"One of the areas in which this book spoke to me was in the way it moved me away from structure, at least in certain cases. We’ve all been taught ACTS or another model for prayer. These are often very helpful guidelines for praying carefully and systematically. But where Miller helped was in freeing me from those under certain circumstances so I could pray “randomly,” praying as my mind moved from one thing to the next. There is a certain freedom I’ve found in that, realizing that structure is not the same as depth. In my review I point to another strength. 'Perhaps the greatest strength of this book is Miller’s unrelenting emphasis that prayer cannot be an add-on to the Christian life; it cannot be supplemental but must always be instrumental. This book will equip you to understand prayer properly and, on that firm foundation, to commit yourself to it, with confidence that God is willing and able to hear and answer your prayers.'"