A Praying Life: Chapters 25-26

(A few friends and I are reading this book together.  Each week we will read two chapters and on Friday I will post my comments from the reading.  Others may add their thoughts in the comments section.  If you are interested in reading this book as well, here is the link for the Kindle version of the book.)

Chapters 25-26

- "It [the kingdom] is so strange, so low; it is seldom recognized.  It looks like a mistake."  (Pg.  212, Loc. 2715)  The Jews did not see Jesus' kingdom because it didn't look the way they expected it to.  I wonder if I do the same- if I do not see His kingdom coming in my heart because I expect it to look like something else.  If so, may my perception change so that I will recognize His work more clearly.

- "So we pray to escape a gospel story, when that is the best gift the Father can give us."  (Pg. 213, Loc. 2733)  I can see how God works through what he describes as a "gospel story."  I struggle to see the difference between escaping such a story and wanting to see God answer prayer.  For instance, couldn't Kim's not speaking be considered a gospel story?  If we aren't to escape them, how do we ever pray for deliverance from troubles?  I'm trying to see how these things fit together.  If anyone else has thoughts on the matter, I'd appreciate your input.

- "The best place to pick up the unseen connections of our designer God is in disappointment and tension."  (Pg. 216, Loc. 2777)  Mental note: next time disappointment and tension come, may I be alert to look for the connections of my God!

- "Everything you do is connected to who you are as a person and, in turn, creates the person you are becoming.  Everything you do affects those you love."  (Pg. 217, Loc. 2785) 

- "The bottom line is we don't write down our prayer requests because we don't take prayer seriously."  (Pg. 221, Loc. 2804)  Ouch!!

- I have been really looking forward to the practical instruction in the book- the explanation of his prayer system.  I appreciated the following quotes that give a warning: "Systems can become rote, desensitizing us to God as a person" (Pg. 223, Loc. 2830), but don't let us pendulum swing too far: "All of us create systems with things that are important to us."  (Pg. 223, Loc. 2838)  I'm eager to learn more!

I've had my say, what say you?

Discussion on Chapters 23-24

Discussion on Chapters 27-28

A Praying Life: Chapters 23-24

(A few friends and I are reading this book together.  Each week we will read two chapters and on Friday I will post my comments from the reading.  Others may add their thoughts in the comments section.  If you are interested in reading this book as well, here is the link for the Kindle version of the book.)

Chapters 23-24

- "We don't like the messiness of unanswered prayer - or answers that are different from what we requested."  (Pg. 196, Loc. 2479)  The word "messiness" is a good description.  When God doesn't answer the way we expect/want, we wonder if He is answering no.  Should we continue praying or should we take His "no" and stop praying?  We can be tempted to wonder if something is wrong with God.  Is there something wrong with me?  Messiness.  I was helped by his description that prayer is not magic, that it would mean nothing if God answered immediately every one of our prayers.  I had not thought of it from that perspective.

- When talking about the answer to their prayer that Kim speak, he said it was "work, prayer, mistakes, frustration, more work, more prayer, breakthrough, work, prayer, and so on."  (Pg. 198, Loc. 2505)  He makes similar mentions a couple more times in these two chapters.  He describes prayer as God's weaving His story.  The author is helping me to see the interconnectedness of prayer with the other parts of my life.  I don't think I would have said prayer was completely separate, but his explanations have helped me to see that I have separated it to differing degrees in my practice.  Said otherwise, I'm seeing that the formula isn't always simply [Prayer + Waiting], but it can include many other things (repentance, working) that all impact each other.

- "Often when you think everything has gone wrong, it's just that you're in the middle of a story.  If you watch the stories God is weaving in your life, you, like Joseph, will begin to see the patterns."  (Pg. 203, Loc. 2596)  May God open my eyes to His weaving the details of my life!

- "We can dream big because God is big."  (Pg. 206, Loc. 2617)  Yes ... but my question resurfaces.  Earlier in the paragraph he discusses the reality of hope.  He uses Abraham and Sarah having a son, Joseph's brothers bowing before him and David receiving the kingdom as examples.  I'll repeat my mental speed bump- each of these had God's specific Word.  Am I to hope differently in areas in which I don't have His guarantee?

 

I've had my say, what say you?

Discussion on Chapters 21-22

Discussion on Chapters 25-26

A Praying Life: Chapters 21-22

(A few friends and I are reading this book together.  Each week we will read two chapters and on Friday I will post my comments from the reading.  Others may add their thoughts in the comments section.  If you are interested in reading this book as well, here is the link for the Kindle version of the book.)

Chapters 21-22

- I had said that I felt the previous two chapters were especially powerful.  These two chapters gave me a lot to chew on.  I agreed with a lot of what he said, I saw myself in some of the situations he described, and I found myself wanting to stop and think through the material.  I finished the chapters wishing for more help on how to live in the "desert."  I see the follies and failures of denial and despair, but I'm not sure what to do instead.

- "Abraham stakes his life on the hope line, but he never takes his eye off the reality line."  (Pg. 183, Loc. 2303)  I think this statement illustrates the difference I see between Abraham's problems and mine.  Abraham had God's specific promise.  Yes, his circumstances would have made it humanly difficult to believe what God had said, but he had God's promise.  Often I feel I'm in the desert without God's specific promise.  In other words, Abraham could "stake his life" on the hope line because God said the hope line would happen.  I struggle to know how much to stake on my hope line because I have no promise from God that the hope line will happen.  I can easily keep my eye on the reality line, but how do I interact with the hope line?  This has been an ongoing question in my mind that came up again when reading the above sentence.

- "The hardest part of being in the desert is that there is no way out.  You don't know when it will end.  There is no relief in sight."  (Pg. 183, Loc. 2311)  When a problem has a clear (or expected) end, I find it easier to prepare myself to tough it out.  When I can't see that end at all, it is much more difficult to remain motivated in the struggle.

- In describing what happens in the desert, the author said, "You cry out to God so long and so often that a channel begins to open up between you and God."  (Pg. 185, Loc. 2340)  When I step back and evaluate things, I need that channel to God more than I need exits from my deserts.

- I liked this: "If Jesus were a magic prayer machine, he'd have healed this woman's daughter instantly, and we would not have discovered her feisty, creative spirit.  Likewise, Jesus' ambiguity with us creates the space not only for him to emerge but us as well."  (Pg. 190, Loc. 2394)

- The thought of Jesus lingering "at the edge" of a situation was a help to me.  (Pg. 191, Loc. 2420)  It reassures me that He is there, even when I cannot discern Him.

I've had my say, what say you?

Discussion on Chapters 19-20

Discussion on Chapters 23-24

A Praying Life: Chapters 19-20

(A few friends and I are reading this book together.  Each week we will read two chapters and on Friday I will post my comments from the reading.  Others may add their thoughts in the comments section.  If you are interested in reading this book as well, here is the link for the Kindle version of the book.)

Chapters 19-20

- I thought these two chapters were especially powerful.  In talking about his daughter Emily, it helped me see practically how the principles he's been discussing fit into everyday life.  I found myself thinking, "Phew!  Good thing I'm not a parent, or he would be stepping all over my toes in these chapters!"  To those of you who are parents, I hope these chapters were a help to you.  Later, I realized that while other relationships are naturally different from the parent/child relationship, the principles can be applied.  Thus, I saw my need for these truths and couldn't just ignore them because I am not a parent. 

- "I prayed for little Emily because I couldn't get inside her heart."  (Pg. 165, Loc. 2089)  And I also can't get into the hearts of those around me.  This inability to get inside another's heart often results in me doing nothing.  I'm encouraged to strike at that inactivity and, instead, pray for those in whom I see a spiritual need.  

- "Because I was speaking to my heavenly Father about the potential drift of her heart, I could relax in the face of sin.  Prayer softened me." (Pg. 165, Loc. 2095)  I see that if a person's failures and sin bother me too much, it is likely due to me: 1) not praying adequately for him and 2) not truly trusting God to make the needed change in his heart.

- "Until we become convinced that we can't change our child's heart, we will not take prayer seriously."  (Pg. 169, Loc. 2130)  Again, applying it more broadly: until Jacob is convinced that he can't change another's heart, he will not take prayer seriously.  

- "I was also struck by the wisdom of God's five-year delay to our prayers for Emily."  (Pg. 176, Loc. 2230)  In many ways, I think I am naturally patient.  However, seeing the author's willingness to pray about the same area of his daughter's life for years revealed a lack of patience in my prayer life. I want, even expect God to answer in what I consider to be reasonable timing.  Honestly, I don't want to pray for an area in someone's life for five years that I feel God could accomplish it in a matter of weeks or months.  This again touches my trust in God to work and my willingness to see the big picture in people's lives.  I don't want to simply read these words, I want to incorporate them in my life!

I've had my say, what say you?

Discussion on Chapters 17-18

Discussion on Chapters 21-22