Patterns of Prayer - Week 6

As we enter into this last week of our patterns of prayer, I am so grateful for all of you who have taken the journey with us! Thank you too for those of you who have shared stories, prayers and your lives from the last few weeks! Just so you know, next week, I hope to post a little about Passion Week and reflections/prayers about the cross, Good Friday, resurrection...AND how we participate in the story to ready our hearts for Sunday!




So...this week has been a tough week for me as far as praying goes. My calendar has been full, my brain focused on lots of "stuff" to get done, and my heart kind of fuzzy. I guess it's been a real Lenten week - in the wilderness. A friend of mine summed it up this way (which really resonated with me, so I'm going to use her words):

As I laid in bed this morning thinking about how little I really did focus on last week’s prayer topic and thinking about the schedule I will have the next few days and for the next few weeks I felt Lent slipping away from me. God felt far away. I didn’t feel like praying – didn’t feel like praying for me or those I knew let alone for such all encompassing topics as the church or the world. God seemed silent. I felt like I hadn’t seen him much in my conversations or encounters lately and like I didn’t have the time to personally seek him out in my hectic travels… But, then I realized something… What I was feeling felt like it didn’t fit with Lent, but it was in fact the very essence of Lent. I had wanted Lent to be this journey of repairing brokenness, this journey of spending devoted time in prayer, this journey of sensing God’s presence and feeling close with him… but that’s not really Lent – Lent is wilderness – Lent is brokenness – Lent is loneliness – Lent is silence – Lent is God’s silence as well as mine. The Biblical story that Lent symbolizes is that of Christ’s temptation in the wilderness, the desert. It’s not a story of peace and tranquil quality time with God. It’s a story where the main character finds himself alone and lonely, without food and hungry – God is not around (at least not noticeably) instead there are temptations to face and Christ must cling to those words which God had spoken in the past because at the time God was silent.

Well said, Bethany...well said!



So the focus for this last week of our Lenten journey is the future. We've already looked at patterns within ourselves, patterns of confession, patterns of how we relate to our family, friends, and those who are "invisibles" or enemies. We've asked God to show us new patterns as we think about His Bride here in the US and give us new patterns of sight as we look at the rest of His world. So the question looming before us now is...how do we take these new patterns, new insights, new practices into the FUTURE and not fall back into old patterns?? Lent is not just about stopping or doing an activity for 40 days, but is about allowing God in that stopping or starting to change us and to live in that change into the future.

Praying Lent:
This week spend some time in quiet reflection over the past 5 weeks. What has God said to you? Where has He convicted you? Where has He given you a new pattern to live instead of an old? Then pray over all that and ask God to show you what this looks like into the future - His future. Pray for future generations of Christ followers. Pray for the future of the Church in the US and the world. Pray for future encounters with "invisibles" or family and friends. Pray for your future as you walk in relationship with God.

Living Lent:
For me, I am going to go photograph patterns this week. I want to use them as a prompt and reminder that God has new patterns of living for His people. I want to use them to pray and ask God what my part is in those patterns. I want to seek Him about taking my part of the pattern into the future. (If this exercise resonates with you, I'd love to see some of your images and perhaps insights from this week.)

Patterns of Prayer - Week 5

What a week!! We had the privilege of traveling to California for a wedding. Being the photographer, I got to see the beauty of a bride and the joy of a groom as he delights in her. It was a great reminder of Jesus' love for His Bride and what the church can be at her best!!

So far in our Lenten journey, we've looked internally, then locally; last week we focused nationally and now our focus will turn global. What are our patterns of thinking toward the rest of the world? Do we regularly pray for other parts of the world? Do we, as the family of God, pray for other believers elsewhere in the world? What do we think our obligation is toward them (the global church) and the rest of humanity?


Lots of questions, but ones I believe we must grapple with (especially now that the "World is Flat"...) And even at a time of an unstable economy here in our country, we still have so much compared to most of the rest of the world.

Praying Lent:
God, what is your heart for all the nations? How do we align our patterns of thinking and prayer with Your heart? How do you want us to live differently or what do you want us to do in regard to Your world? Would you pray these questions this week? Would you pray for people and organizations who are doing good things (God things!) in the rest of the world? Would you pray for peace and justice in places where they seem to live on the edge of turbulence?

Living Lent:
Easy: Perhaps we could put a globe on our kitchen tables. Each time we go to eat, let's pray for somewhere in the world. Pray that the Kingdom of God might be spread across those places.
Harder: Perhaps there is something you do daily (buy a newspaper, buy a Starbuck's coffee...). This week, consider not participating in that activity and take whatever money you would have spent on it and give it to an international relief organization. (Sure it may not be much, but if every person who reads this blog did it...well, who knows...)

God, I believe you created this world
And as such, You love it.
Give me Your heart for the global community I live in
Show me the part you want me to play in Your redemption of it.

Patterns of Prayer - Week 4

(One small disclaimer: this has been the toughest blog to write so far. If I have stepped on toes or offended, I apologize, but I believe this is an area in need of great prayer!!)

Church: (n) Webster’s defines it as a building for public worship.
Wikipedia says it is an association of people with a common belief system
How do you define it? What do you see when you look at the church?

This weeks focus is going to be on the church here in the United States. As we have been praying, we’ve gone from the centerpoint of looking at patterns in ourselves, then we’ve moved to our family and friends. Last week we looked at our patterns towards those “invisibles” around us, and so now our focus extends out another circle – to that of the church in America.

When David and I first joined OC, we were challenged by some words from our team leader. He said (after spending many years overseas), “the rest of world is watching the US church”. At first this seemed like an overstatement, but we began to ask ourselves…What does the rest of the world see when it looks at the US church?

Here are some possible (and ugly) descriptors: individualistic – the focus is on ME, consumeristic – the organization exists to serve ME, lack of unity – let’s separate myself from those different from ME, institutionalistic (is that a word?) – I am obsessed with the size of MY institution and holding on to MY position…are we noticing a pattern???

On the other hand, one of the most beautiful metaphors for the church is that of a Bride. She comes down the isle - stunning in her beauty, overflowing with love for her Groom, the center of attention, yet all her attention is on him. What are the patterns the US church needs to adopt to become this radiant Bride? How do we get there?

Praying Lent:
Pray for the revealing and conviction of the ugly patterns the church here in America so readily falls into. Pray she comes to a place of confession, repentance and a new reliance on her Groom (God). Pray for unity.

Living Lent:
Find a beautiful picture of a bride, frame it and put it somewhere you will see it often. Use it as a reminder to pray for the US church and for yourself, as you may be a part of the Bride here in the States.

Patterns of Prayer - Week 3

This week our focus of prayer takes one more "ripple" out. We will pray for people that still live around us, though perhaps not as immediate as our friends, family and neighbors. This group of people may be easier to pray for, but it may be more difficult to break our patterns of behavior toward them.

I was challenged this week by a quote from a book:

“I know what it’s like to move around in the world, but not really be a part of it. And I know what it’s like to have people stare right through you, and not believe what they are seeing.”.. (Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult)

It made me think of my patterns of behavior toward those who are "invisible" to me in this world - the poor, the immigrant, the elderly, even my enemy. They are invisible because my pattern is to look away or direct my eyes to see something else. I think about the guy who stands on the corner of the Costco parking lot holding a sign that explains his condition to me. I am much more comfortable not making eye contact with him, or looking right through him and getting on with my life.

Even when I give toward this group, they can still be invisible. I think many remain invisible to us because we tend to give to organizations that work with "them", but it allows us to still never really see them. Or perhaps we see them as a group, or clump them together, instead of seeing individual people.

Praying Lent:
Perhaps this is just my hang up, but I'd like to challenge all of us to look at our patterns of thinking, seeing and relating to people in this "invisible" category. (Maybe our first prayer should be for God to show us who is in this category for us!) And then, could we ask God how He sees those invisibles? What are His patterns of extending the Kingdom to these ones? How do our patterns not align with His and, through confession, we ask that we would begin to see more of what He sees and do more of what He does.

Living Lent:
This is a tough one, because our "invisible" people will all be different. I think we need to somehow SEE people in this category and interact with them. So maybe this means stopping and talking to them - really seeing them. Maybe it means offering a meal to them and joining them. What does it mean for you? What is God telling you to do this week, to live out His heart for invisibles?

Patterns - Week 2

This last week, I've been struck by the patterns of 'what I've done and what I've left undone'. Some of you have too. One person shared with me that she wrote down the patterns in her life that God was showing forth and another wrote a beautiful blog in which she shares "It’s starting to be clear to me that the journey through Lent must start with me. It must start with looking at my own brokenness and my own sinfulness…and it must be a look that leads to repentance."

I have been stirred with thoughts about confession - that it is the broken place that brings vitality to our walk with God. It is a place of extreme humility but also of great freedom. I am convicted that I so often choose to 'fix it' myself, a pattern that sometimes renders God unnecessary.



Praying Lent:
As we move out in our concentric circles, this week we will look at and pray about/for the patterns in our relationships with our families, friends and neighbors. What sorts of patterns in those relationships do we 'do or leave undone' that need to change? Do we give and receive forgiveness with those in this circle? Are we actively pursuing reconciliation? Are we confessing to one another?

(WOW! Looking at the above questions, it might be one heck of a week between me and God and those around me!! Please pray for me...as I'll pray for you!)

Living Lent:
For those of you who like tangible prayers, how about this: Find a piece of patterned cloth that perhaps represents your Lenten journey. Find photos (or representative items) of the family, friends, or neighbors that God shows you that you need to change your patterns of relating with. Put them in the cloth and tie it up. Keep it in a place to remind you that this is what you carry on this week of the journey...and pray for insight and courage to change the pattern.

Ashes

We attended an Ash Wednesday service this afternoon and I was struck by a couple of things. First, the call to confession and repentance. How often after reflection and self-examination do I leap forward into "fixing things" without the crucial step of confession before God? I don't really like to name my sin, I just like to fix it. But God knows I need confession and repentance. I need a place to lay it all out before Him and agree with Him as to what it really is.

Secondly, I was struck by the need to confess to one another...something I have no place for, but wonder if that is to my detriment. How serious was God when He said in the scriptures, "Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed..."?

Lord, we confess to You and to one another that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.

We have been deaf to Your call to serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved Your Holy Spirit. We confess to You, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness. The pride, hypocrisy, and impatience in our lives; our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, our anger at our own frustration and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves, our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work; our negligence in prayer and worship and our failure to commend the faith that is in us.

Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done. For our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, for all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us, for our waste and pollution of Your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us.

AMEN

Patterns of Prayer

Do you ever notice patterns? I like patterns. I see them everywhere. From fabric, to fence-posts, to planks on the boardwalk, to repetitive details on the wall of a church, I see them and I enjoy them. They call to someplace deep in me reminding me of how life should be lived – in a rhythm, a pattern consistent with the heart of God. They also convict me of where I have created my own patterns to live by – where I have exchanged God’s design for my own.

This prayer journey that we embark on is all about patterns. Observing and paying attention to old patterns that need to be abandoned and taking up new patterns that we haven’t acted upon yet. It is about the pattern of asking and listening – not just one or the other. It is, if you wish, a time to ask God for His design concerning our praying, our eating (if you choose to fast), our generosity, our repentance, our reconciliation, our allegiances, and our broken world.

We will pray in the pattern of concentric circles – starting with a small inner circle and working our way out little by little each week.

Praying Lent:
Week 1/Circle 1 – We start with ourselves. Pray to see the patterns in our own personal lives that keep us from God. Ask God what rhythms He wants us to embrace and practice during this time. Confess… lay before Him the deep longings of our hearts…let Him know that we believe, but need help in our unbelief. Then…listen.

Living Lent: (some other crazy ideas)
Read Isaiah 58, Psalm 51
Place a mirror as a centerpiece on the dinner table this week – to remind us to look at our lives or place a container of water as a centerpiece to remind us to pray “Create in me, a clean heart, O Lord.”