This past Wednesday we had a prayer devotional for our upcoming spring campaign. I always am encouraged when we as a congregation spend time in prayer mostly about one particular event. I interspersed the time with some songs and scripture reading, both designed to support the prayers about our spring campaign (we had five men offer prayer during this devotional time). Wade Tannehill's series on prayer (Can God be Persuaded to Act? click here) has caused me to think a lot about prayer and how God responds.
When I was asked to leave Tabernacle, Pat and I increased our prayer life - individually and together. We prayed fervently about where God wanted us to go, where we wanted to go, and hoping He would do it soon. We had our wish list but we knew that God would take us to where He wanted us in His own time. The frustrating thing was listening to the "quick responses" that others experienced when they prayed about their situations. One preacher friend told me he was fired by this congregation on a Monday some years ago. He and his wife prayed when he got home. That Thursday another congregation called to ask him to consider leaving his current congregation and come to theirs. Our prayers were not answered for almost a year (long search!).
I'm frustrated when prayer is made a mantra (say this prayer for 30 years and God will be with you each step of the way), when optimism rules (I'm an optimistic guy but my optimism doesn't
doesn't always seem to rule God - I think C. S. Lewis said something about people manufacturing positive feelings about prayer in the hope of getting a positive response from God), when faith is the key (I guess sometimes I must not have much faith) or when some formula is thought to activate God (say it in this way and He will listen). There is no magical formula about prayer and getting what you pray for. There is just me and God walking through this dark world together on the way to the land of rest. I pray about my situation and God guides me as only He knows best. Regardless of what happens (good stuff, bad stuff, really bad stuff, really good stuff, bland stuff) I stay faithful and continue praying until we reach our destination. We live in an imperfect world and our prayers will often produce imperfect results. So I continue to trust that my God and my Savior will be with me until the end of the age.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Facebook
Bob's meandering about life and fun.
About Me
- Bob Bliss
- Mount Dora, Florida, United States
- I've been in full time ministry for over 30 years (one year of youth ministry and the rest in the pulpit) with four churches. I'm married since 1976 to Pat. I have three grown children and three grand sons.
Prayer List
- Janice Taylor
- Dennis Hall
- Jean Wright & family
- Cathy Brown
- Sonia Sides
- Dana & Craig
- Carter family
- Smith Family
- Godknecht family
Currently Listening To
- 1Kings (ESV)
- My iPod
- 105.9 (Corolla)
Currently Reading
- Theology for the Community of God by Stanley Grenz
- Biblical Theology: A Proposal by Brevard Childs
Favorite Quotes
- ***"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." (C. S. Lewis)
- ***"Our churches have turned into theaters and our preachers have turned into witty motivational speakers with high entertainment value," (Thomas G. Long)
- **Too often, Preachers think that they have to make the Gospel more interesting to the world instead of allowing an already interesting and powerful Gospel go about remaking the world. Can preaching once again be revived to its proper end? (William Willimon)
- **Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs one step at a time. (Mark Twain)
- **The fundamental problem with most of us is not deficient self-esteem but inadequate divine-esteem. (Daniel Block)
- **If my sermon becomes another product that makes you feel a little less miserable this week, then that, it seems to me, is a little less than the gospel. (William Willimon)
Family Blogs
Friend's Blogs
Blogs I Read Regularly
- Ben Witherington
- Bible Software Review
- Biblioblogs
- Bill Williams
- Bobby Cohoon
- Bobby Valentine
- Brian Nicklaus
- Chris Clouse
- Donneyland
- ESV Translation Blog
- Evangelical Textual Criticism
- Expository Thoughts
- Jim McGuiggan
- Logos Bible Software Blog
- Matt Dabbs
- Mere Comments
- Michael Duduit
- My Place
- Neva Cooper
- Paula
- Phil Sanders
- Preacher's House
- Preacherman
- Preaching.Org
- Pulpit Magazine
- Steve Puckett
- Tim Archer
- Trey Morgan
- Uncommon Descent
- William Willimon
10 comments:
Yay! I love it when you blog, and you've been blogging often lately! What is the spring campaign? Got any more details?
Great thoughts on prayer. For me, the main point about prayer is the relationship it gives me with my God. Like you said, I may not always know where we're going, but we're going together, and I know He will lead me right.
Heritage Christian University (Florence, AL) is bringing 16 students and 6 adults to Mt. Dora during spring break (March 18-21) to do door knocking and a gospel meeting each day from Sunday Am to Wed.
Cool. I wish we could get that much involvement in our congregation to go to another one.
Bob, I am fully confident in your prayer life, and how God has moved in your family's life. I am wondering if you really meant "produce imperfect results." Are not all of God's results perfect even if we can't see the good in them at the time? Jeanne
Jeanne - I thought about "imperfect results" before I typed it and after. I looked at results from our vantage point rather than God's. Yes I know that his activity in the world produces righteousness and is perfect yet I wanted to convey the sense that we sometimes pray for situations and don't always get what we want. Perhaps another phrase would have conveyed the idea better but I couldn't think of one and I left it because it "spoke to me." I'm not sure that I can communicate entirely what I meant.
Bob ... I liked your thoughts. I wonder if God get's frustrated when I don't pay attention and I'm just repetitive in my prayers. I also wonder some times where the "Prayer Language" comes from. I want to talk openly and outloud to God. I do so much better in my prayer life with I dialogue with God. Dialogue: talking to Him like He's sitting right there next to me. (Which He is)
Trey - I like the idea of dialogue. I often talk with God while driving (I don't close my eyes!). It does seem to mean that prayer is more about a conversation than a formula.
I didn't intend to sound critical, and thought I knew what you meant, but felt I would ask. I wonder if women use the conversational mode more because we are not used to praying in public, thus don't use rote language as much. I tend to thank God for everything more than asking, but also praise Him all the time because of all He has done. He is an awesome God. Listening to your prayers has always seemed more like conversation rather than repetition, and I have appreciated that very much. And, Trey, I too talk to God while driving with my eyes open. The method is not as important as the heart. Jeanne/Nana
This may be repetitive, but I didn't see my comment when I closed your window so sent it again. Jeanne
Jeanne, I didn't think you were being critical at all. That's an interesting observation about women vs. men in their prayer language. I wonder if we men tend to be formula-oriented because we are up front and we often imitate each other ("guide, guard, and direct us") in order to be uniform and not out of step with everyone else. Where as when we are alone we had more of a conversational style. I have consciously made my public prayers more conversational.
I've always loved to hear you pray too. I definitely have a more conversational prayer going throughout the day.
Post a Comment