AAEVS - Putting Together a Christ-centered Community (Part 8 & Conclusion)

(Prepare for another long read!)

Prayer

Our bodies need daily nourishment. Tasks such as problem solving and physical activity become difficult when the body is lacking nutrients. Likewise our souls need daily nourishment from spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible reading and study, etc. We can still worship and serve without them, but it will be dry and tedious. Spiritual disciplines, when used properly, bring us to fellowship with God and with one another.

So why is it hard to commit to doing these things regularly and proficiently? One reason is that they are in the group what Alex and Brett Harris calls "small hard things," things that are repetitive and do not get open recognition. We consider them to be chores that appear to have no perceptive benefit so we neglect them. Another reason is that they do not give us chemical stimulation like video games, television, and the Internet do. We demand in our hearts the holy and awesome God to be as entertaining as an inanimate electronics machine so we despise Him and His means of displaying Himself to us.

This boils down to priorities, what is most important? The Kingdom of God or our little sand castles that we build with things like education, jobs, comfort, security, family, (looking at it in isolation) church attendance and service, entertainment, community service, and health? Nothing wrong with these things but when they become more important to us than Jesus Himself then they are idols and they need to be put in their proper place in the Kingdom.

I will go over one of the spiritual disciplines: Prayer (And conclude this section)

Prayer is probably the most despised religious practice in the Western world today. Since prayer basically involves speaking into the air to no one in plain sight, our "enlightened," skeptic minds can mock prayer in contempt as a childish game of imaginary friends and wishful thinking. But our trust in God's existence and providence is reasonable. (Here's a book for details on the matter)

If we believe is true, then God has spoken to us in His word (which has been confirmed in many ways to be trustworthy) and He calls us to pray to Him as a real yet holy Father and King. Put aside your sinful demand to experience God with your senses and revel in His holiness.

(The imaginary friend dilemma would not be an issue if we remember that prayer is a royal address not a casual conversation. When we pray, we are going before a throne to express the state and desires of our heart to Him. God, in response, may alter His providence favorably towards the situation and/or bring to our mind a statement of His in the Bible on the matter.)    

Another reason why we might neglect prayer is because we feel like God is too busy to be interested in us; that God is more interested in big things like protecting orphans from third-world countries or presiding over the affairs of political leaders than in us personally. But if we profess faith in Christ, are baptized, hold our beliefs in orthodoxy, and live out our lives in repentance and obedience: God has granted us the right to claim His promise that He is very interested in our desires and struggles. (1 Peter 5:7)

The third reason why we might neglect prayer is because most of our prayers seem to go unanswered. This issue is close to the biblical dilemma of distressed saints complaining to God about His silence towards them. (Psalm 13:1; Lamentations 3:44) The Bible does give reasons why prayer can be hindered. Here is a list of attributes from Scripture that makes prayer effectual:

• Coherence with God's sovereign will. (1 John 5:14)
• Steady faith in God's promises. (Matthew 21:21-22; Hebrews 11:6; James 1:5-8)
• Hatred and hostility towards personal sin. (Psalm 66:18; James 4:3)
• Trust in the sacrifice of Christ. (John 14:13-14; Hebrews 4:16)
• Confident persistence. (Luke 11:5-13, 18:1-8; 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
• Prayer life that is primarily private. (Matthew 6:6)

If you want to go in depth about prayerlessness, BBH has a sermon on the topic.

So what can we do to spice up our prayer life? How can we as a church do our part to cultivate prayer in one another?

To answer the first question: the first thing to do, if there is coldness, is to get in fellowship with God. How do you know if you have fellowship with Him? When you are at peace with God and are communing with Him regularly. How do you get in fellowship with Jesus? Confess your apathy and your pride to Him, re-prioritize God's Kingdom in your life, immerse yourself in the Scriptures, assure your heart of His love, and love sacrificially your brothers and sisters in Christ. As you are doing these things, start small with your prayers then gradually increase them to where you can pray daily and maturely.

If you read my post from September 2012, you know R.C. Sproul's recommendation to pray through three things: the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed (as well as my added thing, our church's prayer requests.) I will tell you now; I never was consistent with this system. I personally recommend praying them at least once a week, although aiming for daily as much as possible. Don't let this system prevent you from praying other things that need to be expressed. And I think R.C. Sproul knows that, since he has a list (ACTS) of the types of prayers to be prayed, such as:

Adoration: expressing praise to God for His character and His creation.
Confession: expressing our sinfulness before God and His holiness.
Thanksgiving: expressing gratitude to God for His works and gifts.
Supplication: expressing desire to God for His providence to act.

Another thing is to pray God's word, especially the Psalms. All you need to express yourself properly is found in that book.

How do we apply this to our community? We can ask each other, "How is your prayer life?" Now, we need to be careful with how we probe; we are not spying for half-hearted Christians to excommunicate. We are trying to provoke one another to a life of prayer because Paul, quoting Joel, says that whosoever shall be calling upon the name will be saved. As J.C. Ryles said, we are not saved by prayer but we are not saved without prayer. (A Call to Prayer, page 2) Also, prayer is the best remedy for discontentment, if prayed in optimism.

Another application is to not despise public prayer. Paul said, "Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified." (1 Corinthians 14:16-17) According to this passage, it is appropriate to pray with the expectation of building up the hearers. To say "Amen" in response to prayer is to say "Let it be true" or "It is true." This exercise is to affirm your faith in the promises of God.        

I will not go into detail on the study of Scripture, but suffice to say, the Bible is not meant to be read then put away like a newspaper. We are to integrate it into our thoughts and habits. If you want to enrich your Bible reading, here are three sources that encourage a passion for Scripture:

The Conference on the English Bible

These lectures show the work and struggle that it took to get the Bible into our native language. (Lectures are arranged bottom-up)

Dust to Glory

R.C. Sproul comments on the themes that are throughout Scripture. (If you can't afford the cost, you can use your study bible introductions instead. If your Bible does not have them at every book, remember that the Bible is about God's (true) story of redemption and how everything fits in that story.)

Desiring God Chapter 5

Here, John Piper goes into more detail on reading the Bible.

Conclusion

It's been a long section so let me summarize what has been said and not said, the God we serve loves unity in diversity as reflected in His nature. Jesus prayed that His disciples would be one as He and His Father are one. He sent His Spirit to gather us as into local assemblies where we display the unity of the Godhead. It would be a disgrace to the triune God if we act as autonomous individuals with no connection with each other at all. But we are fallen sinners and we are prone to go alone for our own self-preservation. Therefore we rely on Jesus who in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

Has Jesus embodied the elements I discussed in part one? Yes. He consecrated Himself to the Father, loved and honored His disciples, kept His faith in His Father's promises, rejoiced and gave thanks, told what is true, shared sorrow and joy with those around Him, contented Himself to be a servant and committed Himself to the righteous Judge for offences against Him, was faithful and patient, fulfilled His ministry with joy, kept peace with His disciples, defended Himself and His disciples against the lies of Satan, prayed and read the word, respected the office of the religious authorities, regarded the physical creation, judged the nation of Israel, worked with His disciples to advance the Kingdom, welcomed visitors, and was a obedient son and worked as a carpenter. He is the one we are to center our community around.                        

This is not easy; we all would like to be anonymous and independent. But the questions that we need to ask are these: "Is God worth the effort to be holy?" And, "Am I willing to let the church lead me to holiness?"

References:

J.C. Ryles "A Call to Prayer"