Prayer

I've been meaning to put up a few more interesting pictures (somehow, I think "random street" doesn't quite cut it), but we've been so busy that oftentimes I just forget to take any. So here are a few more, depicting some recent days. I will do my best to get better at this, because we really have been up to a lot! As I mentioned in my previous post, this week is officially called "Medical Outreach Week." Read about it if you're interested.

Well now. On to deeper and more thoughtful things! Today I will write about the topic of prayer.

Last week in class we looked at: different motivations for praying, what prayer is, why we would want to pray. And as I sort out my thoughts about all of it, I find I don't know where to begin. Yes, I could just spit out everything we covered in class, but a little bit about me: I oppose surface-level explanations of things. And prayer is a topic that resonates deeply within me, because typically, prayer has been a big part of my life. So, I suppose I will begin with what I know.

Prayer is, by dictionary definition, "an address (as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought." (Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary). But since I know that the God whom I serve is not only real but personal, prayer, for me, means talking to and interacting with God - the only God, who created the great expanses of the universe, and also created me. It occurs in a personal way, similar to the way I might interact with a friend.

Now, when I think about the nature of friend-with-friend interaction, some words that describe it are: informal, personal, light-hearted but also deep, transparent, and honest. In a friendship, there is mutual caring and understanding between the two parties, and this bond cannot endure unless it stands upon a strong foundation of trust - which includes a strong commitment on both sides to walking in integrity.

But there is another side to prayer which marks it as a different kind of relationship than the kind that exists between two friends, and even between two lovers. And that difference lies in the parties involved. When I pray, I am no longer dealing in the human-with-human realm, but have entered into a different equation in which I come face-to-face with the greatness and beyond-pure holiness of the only Most High God. I now have a personal inner response to contend with, which will either be appropriate, affirming the truth of who he is, or inappropriate, disregarding the reality of his nature.

If I choose the former, then my praying is based in truth, and can be considered consequential. If the latter, then it has no base whatsoever from which anything can procure. So, when I pray, I am either genuinely connecting with the Most High God, or not connecting with him at all.

So up to this point, we have seen prayer in light of the depths of friendship, but also the undeniable truths about who God is. Now I will arrive at a summation of all this, and that arrival is found in the person of Jesus Christ, son of the Most High God. Why does he matter when it comes to prayer? Because without his death and resurrection, I would not be able to even enter the presence of God. See, though I desire friendship with God and he is capable of giving it in return, I remain at odds with him because of the very fact that he is God, not human.

And Jesus Christ? The answer to my dilemma: God-on-earth, made human, so that I, as a human, might connect with the Most High God; first by accepting his undeserved death in my place, then by allowing his resurrection to bring me life.

Basically, once I get life through Jesus, I can come into God's presence. Why? Because now I am relating with God on a basis of truth. I have responded to him appropriately, affirming the truth of his nature by affirming what he's done for me through Jesus Christ. Now, when I pray, I am in fact genuinely connecting with the Most High God.

Above: 1. Early morning, loading mattresses for a weekend outreach trip to El Paso, TX.

2. At this month's Community Night, we all check out the newly-built home for the Lehman family, who just moved here from Pennsylvania to join our staff.

3. Ty Thurman, my team leader, is about to give us our morning announcements.

4. Lunchtime!