Jason's Blog

“No one comes to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” John 6:44

“See I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

The last two weeks have been profoundly full and I think replenishing.  As some of you know, I went to San Antonio for a spiritual formation retreat and then our congregation had the chance to host Dr. Eddie Parish from St. Amant Louisiana.  All of that made for some rich experiences so let me share just a little with you of what I have been trying to absorb that God has been teaching me lately.

First, let me unpack some vocabulary.  When you really look at it, there are two ways of looking at prayer: 1) discursive and 2) contemplative.  Discursive prayer is the kind we teach our kids and learn in church.  We pray in simple sentences and talk to God as our best friend.  Over meals, in small groups, from pulpits, and in classrooms we learn to pray as we hear others pray around us. 

One of the most significant discursive prayers is what we call the Lord’s Prayer. Luke the gospel writer records that Jesus taught his disciples saying, “when you pray say . . . (Luke 11:2).  We should never underestimate the power of surrendering to these simple words and learning how to pray again.  A quick list of other pray-ers in the Bible that we can turn to as examples are David, Solomon, Ezra, Nehemiah, the Prophets, and Paul.

The second major category of prayer is one that is less familiar to me though not less valid.  Contemplative prayer steps beyond words that we might pray and reflects a heart that rests in fellowship before God.  Ultimately as we become increasingly contemplative, God prays in us.  We become a pitcher into which God pours prayer and fellowship with Him. 

This may sound quite unfamiliar so let me have you think about two teachings of Paul.  1) He encourages the Thessalonians that they should pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:24).  2) Paul explains that the Spirit searches our heart and inteceeds for us in a way that surpasses words (Romans 8:26-27).  I think both of these passages reflect contemplative prayer where God draws us closer to him.

Now that I have these definitions in front of you, in my next post I want to discuss the interrelationship between these two types of prayer.

I was forwarded this link that I found pretty encouraging on receiving back kids that wander away from God.

I think it is important that we remain ready to embrace those from whom we are estranged.  This does not mean that we agree with the choices that others have made, but we do have to stand with open arms.

I really like this quotation:  “Victims need to repent of the fact that they all too often mimic the behavior of the oppressors, let themselves be shaped in the mirror image of the enemy.  They need to repent also of the desire to excuse their own reactive behavior either by claiming that they are not responsible for it or that such reactions are a necessary condition of their liberation.  Without repentance for these sins, the full human dignity of victims will not be restored and needed social change will not take place” Miroslov Volf, Exclusion and Embrace (1996): 117.

Jesus put it this way, “Father forgive them; they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Paul put it this way, “Forgive each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32).

Have you found it hard to face a child that has wandered away from God?  How have you dealt with it?