Prayer: Change Me
Re-posting this since it did not get mailed out and is the first of the Prayer series. Apologies to those who read this already online.
He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ~ Matthew 18:2-4
I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it? ~ Isaiah 43:19a
Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays. ~ Soren Kierkegaard
"We each have the voice of Sadducees and Pharisees that roil and breed ceaselessly within us like a nest of “brooding vipers.” Speaking, they often seem to be in a superior, or elevated position, yet their true faces are our wounds, anxieties, and even fear of change. When we are held in their grip, we are inflexible, and not capable of renewal. We know only one answer, and are unable to entertain a new question. The poison in their terrible fangs will kill any possibility of the new life we are trying to discover—quickly, silently, and certainly." ~ Alexander Shaia
Take me, mold me, use me, fill me
I give my life to the Potter's hand.
Call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me. ~ Darlene Zschech
May I know Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly. ~ Bishop Richard of Chichester
The words from the Bishop of Chichester may sound familiar. They turned up in the 1970s in the musical, "Godspell" in the song, "Day by Day." Three simple requests having to do completely with our relationship with God.
In most of the churches I know, there are fewer words that get us more anxious than the word change. Hard enough when the change is about a worship service or an addition to the church building. I remember living through an addition to one of my former churches where the sanctuary was completely flipped around. That was a tough one for a lot of people.
But as hard as all of those might be to deal with, there is probably nothing more overwhelming than the idea of changing ourselves.
And yet at the very core, the Christian faith is about just that: change.
Or more accurately, transformation.
Becoming new.
If you think about it, that has already been happning in your life. Are you the same in your faith as you were as a five year old? 15 year old, and so on?
When we pray we are, yes, like beggars as Luther said.
But we are begging for more than a laundry list of needs to a God who is like a fairy godmother granting wishes.
When we pray we are begging the divine to move us. To bring us to a new place. When we pray words of supplication and intersession - praying for our needs and the needs of others - we are opening ourselves up to what those words mean. We are begging to live intentionally, being aware of the needs around us...and for that awareness to transform us.
We are begging for relationship. "May I know thee more clearly..."
We cannot fully know God if we remain static; if we don't bend like a reed rather than stand rigid as an oak as the Holy Wind blows through us.
God is always doing something new, and as we pray we get to take part in that. Prayer itself brings us into relationship and new life with both the divine and with each other.
Let the wind blow through you and see where it takes you!
Prayer: Listen to the songs Day by Day and The Potter's Hand as part of your prayer today. (if the links don't work, you can find both on Youtube).
He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ~ Matthew 18:2-4
I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it? ~ Isaiah 43:19a
Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays. ~ Soren Kierkegaard
"We each have the voice of Sadducees and Pharisees that roil and breed ceaselessly within us like a nest of “brooding vipers.” Speaking, they often seem to be in a superior, or elevated position, yet their true faces are our wounds, anxieties, and even fear of change. When we are held in their grip, we are inflexible, and not capable of renewal. We know only one answer, and are unable to entertain a new question. The poison in their terrible fangs will kill any possibility of the new life we are trying to discover—quickly, silently, and certainly." ~ Alexander Shaia
Take me, mold me, use me, fill me
I give my life to the Potter's hand.
Call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me. ~ Darlene Zschech
May I know Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly. ~ Bishop Richard of Chichester
The words from the Bishop of Chichester may sound familiar. They turned up in the 1970s in the musical, "Godspell" in the song, "Day by Day." Three simple requests having to do completely with our relationship with God.
In most of the churches I know, there are fewer words that get us more anxious than the word change. Hard enough when the change is about a worship service or an addition to the church building. I remember living through an addition to one of my former churches where the sanctuary was completely flipped around. That was a tough one for a lot of people.
But as hard as all of those might be to deal with, there is probably nothing more overwhelming than the idea of changing ourselves.
And yet at the very core, the Christian faith is about just that: change.
Or more accurately, transformation.
Becoming new.
If you think about it, that has already been happning in your life. Are you the same in your faith as you were as a five year old? 15 year old, and so on?
When we pray we are, yes, like beggars as Luther said.
But we are begging for more than a laundry list of needs to a God who is like a fairy godmother granting wishes.
When we pray we are begging the divine to move us. To bring us to a new place. When we pray words of supplication and intersession - praying for our needs and the needs of others - we are opening ourselves up to what those words mean. We are begging to live intentionally, being aware of the needs around us...and for that awareness to transform us.
We are begging for relationship. "May I know thee more clearly..."
We cannot fully know God if we remain static; if we don't bend like a reed rather than stand rigid as an oak as the Holy Wind blows through us.
God is always doing something new, and as we pray we get to take part in that. Prayer itself brings us into relationship and new life with both the divine and with each other.
Let the wind blow through you and see where it takes you!
Prayer: Listen to the songs Day by Day and The Potter's Hand as part of your prayer today. (if the links don't work, you can find both on Youtube).