Post by Admin on Jan 30, 2020 7:45:44 GMT
Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker and later a writer who with her family helped many Jews escape the Holocaust by hiding them in her home. She was eventually imprisoned in concentration camps and was strengthened by her Christian faith. We used a famous question she posed: “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” to launch tonight’s discussion. Many were able to raise their hands to affirm that prayer was their steering wheel. For others, prayer is sometimes both. Thereafter we watched the Max Lucado video, which delved into verse 6 of our Philippians key verse. For much of the video, Max talked about the need to be specific in our prayers about areas that generate anxiety; for example, instead of a general plea to have “work be better,” instead we would identify the issues and address them directly, such as relief from an intimidating boss or open-mindedness for an idea to be presented at an upcoming meeting. This recommendation later generated much discussion among the group. For some, the idea of being specific would be so time-consuming as to preclude effective use of prayer time. Too much specificity could also develop into giving God direction about what to do to resolve our issues. On the other hand, being more detailed, limited, and precise in our prayer gives us opportunity to learn God’s will by observing how He responds; for example, if we pray about relieving a particular problem, and it is not relieved, this suggests we look differently at the situation and see if God wants us to deal with it, or learn from it, or perceive it in a new way. Another point of view is that digging into prayer with more detail allows us to see how we need to change in order to have the situation change; it gives us opportunity to transform.
In the video, Max used the story of the disciples stuck in the storm in which Peter is called by Jesus to walk on water as He did. This illustrated both the need to focus on Jesus during a storm, and also the pointed simplicity our prayers can take when, like Peter, we cry “help me.” In the discussion, we also read the set up for this story, Matthew 14:22-24, when Jesus goes alone to pray, sending the disciples into the boat that will be overtaken by the storm later. This passage suggested a lot about prayer: the need to be alone, to avoid distraction, to take all the time needed for a long list of specifics!
We also read the passage from Luke in which Jesus tells the story of the rich Pharisee and the miserable tax collector, to illustrate some points on prayer. Besides the overt lesson Jesus summarized about the humble being justified, we noticed additional aspects of the two different prayers. The Pharisee’s prayer was about himself and comparing himself to others. He says thank you, however the thanks are hollow because he fails to acknowledge his blessings and instead describes what he “isn’t.” He mentions his fasting and tithing with all the passion of a person checking a box. Meanwhile, the tax collector recognizes his sin, the first step on the road to repentance, although he is not at that stage yet. He asks God for help, instead of trying to show off to God.
A final point from tonight’s discussion was a counterpoint to one of Max’s topics in the video. Max suggested that the thanksgiving Paul mentions as part of the prayer sequence in verse 6 was a general thankfulness we should feel because of the love of God and blessing Christ’s presence in our life – regardless of the storms and disasters and challenges life throws at us. He further discussed the mistake we make in placing too many expectations of happiness in stuff (cars, money, jobs, fame, etc. etc.). No one disagreed with that assessment. A more immediate thanksgiving Max didn’t mention, which seemed clear to us, is that we have a God the Father who is ready to listen to our prayers – we bring our prayers and petitions, thankful that God is there and receiving the requests we present.
In the video, Max used the story of the disciples stuck in the storm in which Peter is called by Jesus to walk on water as He did. This illustrated both the need to focus on Jesus during a storm, and also the pointed simplicity our prayers can take when, like Peter, we cry “help me.” In the discussion, we also read the set up for this story, Matthew 14:22-24, when Jesus goes alone to pray, sending the disciples into the boat that will be overtaken by the storm later. This passage suggested a lot about prayer: the need to be alone, to avoid distraction, to take all the time needed for a long list of specifics!
We also read the passage from Luke in which Jesus tells the story of the rich Pharisee and the miserable tax collector, to illustrate some points on prayer. Besides the overt lesson Jesus summarized about the humble being justified, we noticed additional aspects of the two different prayers. The Pharisee’s prayer was about himself and comparing himself to others. He says thank you, however the thanks are hollow because he fails to acknowledge his blessings and instead describes what he “isn’t.” He mentions his fasting and tithing with all the passion of a person checking a box. Meanwhile, the tax collector recognizes his sin, the first step on the road to repentance, although he is not at that stage yet. He asks God for help, instead of trying to show off to God.
A final point from tonight’s discussion was a counterpoint to one of Max’s topics in the video. Max suggested that the thanksgiving Paul mentions as part of the prayer sequence in verse 6 was a general thankfulness we should feel because of the love of God and blessing Christ’s presence in our life – regardless of the storms and disasters and challenges life throws at us. He further discussed the mistake we make in placing too many expectations of happiness in stuff (cars, money, jobs, fame, etc. etc.). No one disagreed with that assessment. A more immediate thanksgiving Max didn’t mention, which seemed clear to us, is that we have a God the Father who is ready to listen to our prayers – we bring our prayers and petitions, thankful that God is there and receiving the requests we present.