Somalia

There are times when I am too overwhelmed by the complexity of a situation and I do not want to pray to God because I am afraid that my words are too simple, too inadequate, too narrow for the multitude of factors that can be prayed for. Sometimes I do not want to pray, because I don't quite trust God when He says that the most important thing is not that people have food and clothes and shelter, but that they know Him. Other times, I cannot pray, because my heart is bleeding, and the sorrow drowns my thoughts.

Somalia, I am sorry.

Aligning hearts

The lovely Miss L sent me an news update from her friend about her struggles to get funding for some overseas flights. I found the most beautifully sentiment expressed in it:

I was convinced, however, that if going there was what God wanted me to do, He would provide. And if He didn’t want it, then I didn’t want to go anyway!

I absolutely love it. I am often disappointed or upset when things don't turn out the way I want or think they should. But here, the friend responds in faith and contentment, surrendering her plans to the Lord:"And if He didn’t want it, then I didn’t want to go anyway!" If only we were always so content and confident in God! If only we always believed that He knows what is best for us!

Dear God

please help my heart to align itself with Your plans for me today.

Amen.

"the whole creation has been groaning"

I was asked to pray a prayer of intercession tonight at church. Below, some of it:

In the global context, Father, it seems as if every day the list grows longer of countries that are rising up against dictators or oppressive governments. We praise You for having created humans in your image, humans who know the difference between justice and evil, freedom and oppression, but Father, this has led to horrific accounts of violence, deaths, oppression in the Middle East and Africa in countries like Syria, Yemen, Tunisia, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Zimbabwe. We pray for your people in these countries, that they will hold firm to Your Word and to Your Sovereignty, and we pray for Your Will to be done.

Father God, we also pray that people in these contexts and around us will realize that true freedom is only to be found in you, that no matter what they do to fight evil in this lifetime, evil can only be ultimately defeated by what you have done in Jesus. Romans 8 reminds us that “the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”

In doing prep work on the various countries, I grew increasingly saddened. So many countries on this Guardian.co.uk map, and so many countries mentioned in this Foreign Policy article on the events in THIS WEEK ALONE. I was going to list more in my prayer, then realized that I'd be listing most of the countries in Africa and in the Middle East.

Oh Lord, your creation is moaning.

Snapshots from an art exhibition and a chance encounter

Snapshot 1: The art exhibition

Princess Sarah and I went to an art exhibition opening tonight. Lots of fun. Different, crazy shocking, cute, interesting art pieces. Could use the same adjectives to describe the people. Anyway. While we were there, she asked how my QTs were going. It was a relief to confess to someone that they weren't, and they hadn't been for a while.

'Oh', she said.

Oh well, I thought.

She didn't say anything further, 'cause she knows when to rebuke and when not to.

We carried on walking for a bit, then I asked her what she was thinking. 'Well', she answered, 'I was thinking that God wants me to tell you to just talk to Him 'cause He misses you. But then I thought it might sound a bit lame'.

Sarah's great like that.


Snapshot 2: A chance encounter

We left after a while, as we felt like escaping into town and seeing what was happening there. After finally parking (after circling more than a few times), we got out and started walking. Then we got stopped by someone asking for money. And lo and behold, it was E and his wife Z from the night shelter, hiding out from the wind in a doorway. Obviously, I couldn't just walk past as I know them reasonably well, so I asked them how things were going, and what they'd been up to... And their story was heartbreaking. Not knowing what to say at the end of all this, I feebly said 'I hope eveerything works out for you', at which point Z said 'But it will. It always does. 'Cause He [pointing upwards] always looks out for us. Even when.. There was a stage where I didn't want to listen to Him, 'cause I got so tired of messing up the whole time. I got so tired of saying sorry to Him, 'cause there was so much to say sorry for.'

After greeting, Sarah and I decided to leave our plans and just head home. This encounter was just a little bit too much on top of a very full day. And as we were walking back, Sarah asked me what Z had meant - and for some reason I understood perfectly.

Dear God

Dear God

Thank you for being patient and for giving us another day in which we can tell others about you. Thank you that you have given us another day to learn what it means to be your child and to walk in faith. However, there are many things we still struggle with (me especially). I'm struggling to see why you can't just make everyone I love a part of your family RIGHT NOW, 'cause Father, I know you can if you want to. But you know what, with you it's more than just a case of 'if you want to'. 'Cause if my heart is breaking to see how confused and alone some of my loved ones are, how much more compassion do you feel for a whole earth of your creations. You know far more than me when it comes to these matters.

So, Father, instead I pray for more patience on my part and trust and willingness to be obedience. I also pray for more patience on your part, and for mercy. Father, I know there is nothing I can do to twist your arm, but I also know that you hear my prayers and know my heart, so please have mercy on my friends and family that don't know you yet.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

PS Just to clarify...

Umm... I tend to shout at God a lot. Well, not really shout at, but rather get frustrated, confused, mad, sometimes despairing... Not that I'm saying we should shout at God. But we should come to Him with our true real selves, and talk to Him as if we are His children. Sometimes, for some silly reason, I put pressure on myself to have these perfectly worded prayers etc.etc., but I actually think it's really fake and not what God wants. Umm, yeah. So if you're in a bit of a bad place, talk to God about it, and tell Him how you're really feeling.

Okay.

Ummm... yeah...

Romans 12:12 says

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer."

Isn't that great?

Hebrews 10:19-25 - Love and good deeds?

As you avid readers of my blog know (haha, avid, I certainly hope so), Hebrews 10:19-25 was our first Bible study passage of the year. It was chosen specifically to go with our theme for the year - Saved to Serve... Any guesses why?

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Anyway, I was particularly struck by the bit in bold. Not because it's in bold, mind you (you silly person you, I put it in bold myself!), but because I had just skimmed over it casually when reading it for the first time. And the second time. And the third time. But I had to stop and think about it when I was going through the Bible study questions. The ones that stopped me were:

How can we spur one another on toward love and good deeds?
What part should the Bible and prayer play in this?

Blind panic! What was the answer?!?!

Luckily, my brain hadn't disappeared too far off in the holidays (it never gets too far away; it's lazy like that), so I managed to haul it out for a quick think. And this is what I came up with.

We need the Bible when considering love and good deeds because:
- the Bible gives us examples of what love and good deeds look like! Not only through the ultimate example of Christ's love for us (i.e. sacrifice at the cost to self), but also through directions on how we can show this love (e.g. not saying nasty things about each other, but building each other with our words).
- the Bible reminds us why we are to love and perform good deeds! As seen in the Hebrews passage above, the writer doesn't start immediately with the list of "Let us..."s; he gives us the reason for this in that Jesus has broken down the barrier between man and God!

And prayer? Why do we need prayer? 'Cause we can't do anything without God's help!

So arising from these, here are a few tips we thought of that might be helpful:
- model to each other what it means to love and perform good deeds.
- talk about what it means to love in action!
- remind each other of Jesus and what He's done for us. There's no greater motivator than the amazing love of an Amazing Person!
- notice and quietly praise each other when you act in love and good deeds. We don't do deeds for men's glory, but it is encouraging when you're struggling with something to be appreciated!
- pray for each other.

Any other ideas?

Struggling with prayer: some practical tips

I've been lank encouraged and provoked to think by the current sermon series we're having on prayer. What's been missing for me till this point, however, are practical tips on prayer. So I was quite intrigued when a friend said that she just sorta cordoned off 20 minutes in her day for prayer with God, no matter if she felt she had anything to say or not.

Now, as my prayer life till that point had been consisting of a few one-liners after reading my Bible, a few more minutes of desperately racking my brain to think of something more to say to God, then giving up, this was a highly novel thought for me. So I've been trying it, and it's working! :) I don't always use up the whole time, but that's okay, you know. I'm praying much more than I used to, and we can't expect to run when we've just started to crawl! Hehe, I have been facing some hiccups, 'cause I try do it as soon as I wake up, and there was that one morning where I fell asleep in my session, so I gave myself another session, but then I fell asleep again!! [Third time lucky, if you're wondering ;) ]

Here are some other tips that I've found to be helpful:

- pray continuously throughout the day, as you're reminded to and as things are happening around you. Who said that one-liners aren't prayers?!?! Iif you're like me, you WON'T remember to later!

- sometimes the 20 minute session can get daunting especially if I don't have time free, so then I try break it up into 4 5-minute chunks spread throughout the day. Or something similar.

- use the Bible and your quiet time passage to pray through! The Psalms are an amazing aid to pray with!

- do it whenever, wherever! If I'm doing something on autopilot (like washing the dishes, or walking around town), I try to pray. If I'm lying in bed struggling to fall asleep, I try to pray. If I'm waiting in a queue, I try to pray. [Especially then. It keeps me calm and patient ;)]

- talk to God about EVERYTHING! Sometimes I just like to talk to God about what's happening around me. It's not necessarily something that's bothering me or that's a concern or something that I'm thanking Him for, but just my thoughts. It's not only training me to turn to Him when I do have issues or concerns or want to thank Him, but it also reminds me that God isn't a vending maching, but Someone with whom I have a relationship.

But yeah, I'd really like to hear more prayer tips from you guys. Leave a comment :)

Oh yes, and I got the greatest feeling the other day, when I was upset and my spirit just cried out "DADDY!" to God. It's wonderful to think we can call God "Daddy!" :)

Talking to our Father

For a long time earlier this year, I had really been struggling with doing my quiet times (from hence forth they will be referred to as QTs), but once I started being more disciplined, I realized some truths about prayer.

It's going to sound sillily simple, but you must think over it, ‘cause it really helps you:
In EVERYTHING, think of Christ's example first and pray to God.

Prayer is good for many reasons, but there are a few reasons that I've been reminded of particularly.

1. It 'puts you in your place’!
= It reminds you firstly of who God is - the Dude in control, who sent His Son to die for you.
= Secondly, it reminds you of who you are - the dude who messed up sadly-badly, and who is wholly dependent on God.
2. God is gracious and He answers prayers :)

example: if you've got someone who keeps on irritating you, you should remember Christ- i.e. you must have pissed off God a lot with your sinful actions, but he still died on the cross for you; so that reminds you to be humble – cause you're just the same - , and it reminds you to be gracious, ‘cause Jesus was gracious. And if you pray, it reminds you that you're not going to be nice to that person out of your own good character, but God's going to provide that power.

And He does.

PS sillily = silly used as an adverb... that's right. I'm an English major. I have a license to make up words!