Second Word: Prayer

To understand and live the life of the Kingdom of God requires a radical openness to thinking in entirely new ways. Openness: that was the first word we looked at last week. Today we consider a second word: prayer. Everybody who is religious, and many who are not, seem to pray. But we are talking here about rarely found kingdom-seeking prayer.

It all starts as we are confronted by this man Jesus. We hear him proclaiming the good news of the kingdom. We are open to his radical idea of living life on earth according to the principles of heaven. Then several things may happen to us.

We see that we will be strangers in this world and we may feel afraid. We may feel this is way above our pay grade. We may wonder how his teaching can work or just how to put some of it into practice. For a normal human being to contemplate living life by the age to come, not in heaven, but right here and right now, is something akin to an ant contemplating how he will get dressed up, drive a car to work and do a PowerPoint presentation. It is overwhelming. Seems impossible.

And then maybe we understand why Jesus said so much about prayer. “Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find” or “Pray like this, ‘our Father who is in heaven.’”

For Jesus himself, who was the very embodiment of the kingdom, prayer was not so much something he did; it was the air he breathed. We can find and live kingdom life, but never without prayer.

Focus Scriptures

Matthew 6: 9-13

9"This, then, is how you should pray:

" 'Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

10your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

11Give us today our daily bread.

12Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.'

Matthew 7:7-12

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If 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! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

April 19

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First Word: Openness

Last year I identified four words that I found to be keys to grasping the height and depth and length and breadth of Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God. This week and for the next three, I want to focus on these words.

The first key is openness. Since the kingdom is best understood as “the age to come” breaking into the present age, kingdom concepts are so counter-intuitive and counter-cultural. So many forces within us object to the life that comes from the age to come. All this means that if we are going to let the kingdom life take up residence in our hearts, we have to make a decision to be radically open, and then reaffirm that decision again and again.

Our minds are full of beliefs and agendas. To live a kingdom life, we must surrender all those beliefs, enter a state where we are being transformed and then be open to thinking in totally new ways—even ways that will likely seem crazy to an old mindset schooled in the ways of the world.

If you are tempted to think, “I have been through that stage; I have been in the church 20 years; or I have been a disciple for 15 years,” be careful. Most religion is some kind of synthesis of the world’s wisdom and biblical ideas, with the world’s ideas often being the tail that wags the dog. If you are certain this could not be true of you, you are most at risk. We must humble ourselves at the feet of Jesus and be deliberately open to allowing the other-worldly kingdom to come and for God’s will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Focus Scripture

Matthew 18:1-5

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

Critique of Complaining

I recently attended a funeral service for a long-time friend of my family. As in other such services, I heard him described as a man who never complained even though he suffered in many ways in the last years of his life.

Each time I have heard that comment about someone living or deceased, I know that this could not be said of me. Until a day I well remember more than thirty years ago, I would say I had become a chronic complainer. On that day I let my wife and then others know that I was repenting of that nasty habit that does nothing good for anyone. That was part of a larger effort to seek a new heart.

Since then I have had lapses, but have not lost my conviction that complaining is something I don’t want in my life. It just doesn’t fit with sharing in the kingdom of God, with having tasted the powers of the age to come, with having a Heavenly Father who promises you his “much more.”

I understand that there are times when it seems helpful to vent our pain and frustration, and I wonder if some of those who are honored for never complaining may have stuffed when they needed to be more open. I am thankful for my wife and brothers who have allowed me those times of catharsis. However, apart from such “exorcisms,” I want the tenor of my life to be one of gratitude and anticipation and not one of complaining. The kingdom calls us to nothing less.

Focus Scriptures

Philippians 2:12-18 (NIV)
12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out[c] the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Philippians 2:12-18 (NLT)
12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 16 Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. 17 But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God,[e] just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. 18 Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.

Ephesians 4:29-32 (New International Version)
29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Ephesians 5:4 (New International Version)
4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving

Shabbat Shalom

From sundown last Friday to night fall last Saturday, Sheila and I observed a Jewish-style Sabbath (Shabbat) to give us time to prepare our hearts for Easter. We read about Shabbat from Jewish and Jewish Christian writers and as novices to Sabbath observance, we sought to follow as many of the guidelines as possible.

At 6:48 Sheila lit the candles, waved her arms and said the blessing. After sundown at 7:09 I said the Kiddush to bless the wine. Since we were not attending a service, we soon enjoyed a “festive” meal by candlelight, using no electrical lighting the rest of the night.

After dinner, we read more articles on the meaning and value of Shabbat, read a section of a new book titled Distracted, and let all these writings guide some special conversation. The television and computers were shut down. No phone calls were allowed to interrupt. Most Jewish writers describe Shabbat as a blessing, and we understood why.

Just to keep it real, this quiet time to focus, eventually found us discovering some hurt we both were feeling. As we explored these things, it seemed that our time of renewal had taken a wrong turn. But as has been so often true over our forty years of marriage, prayer remarkably brought us to a good place.

Somewhere, sometime I will write more about what we experienced that Friday night and the next day until nightfall, because like creation itself, it was very good. We came away from this island of tranquility fully refreshed.

In my younger years, I was taught that the only thing we need to know about the Sabbath is that we Christians don’t have to observe it. I now want to teach others that we are free to observe it and that we might be surprised at what a gift it can give us.