Dear Wes, “I think we should pray as a region.”
That was the text I got from a student leader while I was on the road, busy, and thinking to myself, “Yeah, we should,” but not really wanting to. I continued in my head, “How do I fit that in?”
And then I came to my senses. I believe prayer can change the history of the world. I believe prayer is the MOST we can do. I really do think that. Recently, I had an oral exam for my ThM degree, which I’ve been working toward for 10+ years. One of the nine questions I needed to be prepared to answer based on coursework I took was:
“What do you believe about prayer and providence?”
A simple question, sort of. But wow, it took longer than I thought it would to come up with an answer. Preparing to answer it in front of two theologians took even longer, still. My answer was four things:
1. “Prayer is the human response to the outpouring of love by which God lays siege to every soul.”
– Richard Foster, Prayer.
That was the student’s response to life. It should be mine. But it is not as much as I’d like for it to be. And it seems to come in seasons.
2. God responds to prayers.
I can’t explain it, but I see it in Scripture (Abraham, Moses, Hezekiah, Jesus, Paul, and many more). Whether a subscriber to meticulous providence (as predestination as you can get) or the other side, which is beyond Arminianism, Open Theism (future doesn’t exist so not even God can know it, but he knows all the possibilities of it), they believe God responds to prayers. I can give each of their rationales, but overwhelmingly, they all agree. As do I.
3. Prayer is the MOST we can do.
Here’s where I can get in trouble a bit with my fellow theologian friends. If we believe this is true, why don’t we do this more? Exactly my question to myself. Do my reactions, responses, and thought-life dictate that I believe this? This is where the student really challenged my thinking.
4. Prayer is a command.
I can list the dozens of Scriptures that describe and imply it, but a few that popped into my mind are:
- Matt. 6:9 ff.
- Acts 2:42 ff.
- Rom. 12:12
- 1 Thes 5:17
- Phil. 4:6;
- Col. 4:2 ff.;
If you ask me how I live out the Christian life, my answer is probably going to be something along the lines of “obedience.” I could explain what I mean by that, but it is certainly what I’ve come to realize in my journey.
The funny thing about this question I needed to prepare for?
They didn’t even ask me about it. So, apparently, that question was more to do with the response to the student, my own growth, and for this blog.
I hope you’ll join us for prayer whenever you can on the THIRD Sunday of each month at 7pm Pacific. Request to receive Zoom links by emailing me here.