On Prayer

I'm even hesitant to discuss prayer as I have been a slothful, lax, negligent pray-er for most of my 60 years. I've had times of devout praying; I've had years with virtually none.

I've been reading about prayer. Figures...it's always easier to read about something than to actually do it. Nevertheless, I offer the following truths about prayer found in my recent readings.

From E.M. Bounds' important book, Power through Prayer, (how come I haven't read this before now?):
NOTE: This book was written specifically to pastors, so everywhere the words pastor, minister etc. appear I simply substitute Christian, child of God, or believer.

• "The preacher's relationship to God is the insignia and credentials of his ministry. If he does not excel in grace, he does not excel at all. If he does not preach by life, character, and conduct, he does not preach at all."
• Martin Luther's motto was "He that has prayed well has studied well."
• "The preacher must primarily be a man of prayer. In the school of prayer, only the heart can learn to preach. No learning can make up for the failure to pray. No earnestness, no diligence, no study, no gifts will supply its lack."
• "Our laziness after God is our crying sin."
• "No man who is not a man of prayer can do a great and enduring work for God, and no man can be a man of prayer without giving much time to prayer."
• "Public prayers, as a rule, ought to be short and condensed. Our short prayers are effective and efficient because long ones have preceded them. The short, prevailing prayer cannot be prayed by one who has not prevailed with God in a mightier struggle of long continuance."
• "A prayerful ministry is the only ministry that brings the preacher into sympathy with the people. Colleges, knowledge, books, theology, and preaching do not make a preacher, but praying does."

From Elizabeth Elliot's Notes on Prayer: "One way of laying down our lives is by praying for somebody. In prayer I am saying, in effect, 'my life for yours.' My time, my energy, my thought, my concern, my concentration, my faith--here they are, for you. So it is that I participate in the work of Christ. So it is that no work of faith, no labor of love, no smallest prayer is ever lost, but, like the smoke of the incense on the golden altar, rises from the hand of the angel before God."

I do not know who authored the following but I found it in an old tract that belonged to my sister:

He prayeth best who loveth best

All things both great and small;

For the great God who loveth us,

He made and loveth all.

And finally this from The Meaning of Prayer by Harry Emerson Fosdick: "The Eternal God calls us every one by name. He is not the God of mankind in the mass; He is the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob! All great pray-ers have lived in the power of this individual relationship with God. They have said with the Psalmist, 'I will give thanks in the great assembly: I will praise thee among much people.' (Ps.35:18)"

Head knowledge not enough

I have spent most of my life pretending I am intellectual. But the older I get the more I realize that smart isn't enough, in fact, it may be detrimental. I read alot, think alot, pray alot, but still seem to have a never-ending struggle with doing alot. Why is that?

Some would say that head knowledge (you know, scholars, deep thinkers, classically trained debaters, the intelligensia, and ivory-tower braniacs!) are the real deep Christians, the ones who know oodles of doctrine and church history (not that that is bad, it isn't). But when the disciples tried to shoo away the children Jesus reprimanded them and told them that 'of such is the kingdom of heaven' and that if they 'did not become as a little child' then their prospects for kingdom living were dim. Now why did Jesus say that? What about children are we to emulate? Is it their complete and, dare I say, naive faith? Is it that they trust without needing all the details or even fully understanding the claims or demands of the Christian life?

I think that for most of my life I have been hiding behind 'head knowledge' because 'heart knowledge' is what actually causes us to live a life of cross-bearing and self denial. I don't really like the whole idea of lugging painful burdens, like a cross, or of saying 'No!' to self over and over and over. Yet I know that if I want to be a disciple of my dear Lord Jesus then I must everyday deny myself, take up my cross and follow him. I have had some dark times in my life (often of my own making though that never makes the pain any less!) and during those times it has felt like just Jesus and me...and it was enough. He is enough. But we can be praising God everyday for the fact that He has placed us in families and families (even kind of dysfunctional ones) can make our journey so much sweeter and not nearly as frightening.

Since perfect love casts out fear and since God loves me perfectly I have no need to fear Him. He is the Gentle Shepherd that carries those with young in His bosom and tenderly guards His sheep. I have a loving family, but if I didn't, my Shepherd would be enough.

I think heart knowledge is what leads to adoration of our Lord. I think heart knowledge helps us to really live as those who esteem others better than themselves, as those who love their neighbors as themselves, as followers of Christ who deem it a privilege to see in every occurrence 'a chance to die' to self and live to Christ.

Truth is, if I DID even 1/10 of 1% of what I already KNOW to do, I would be very devout and pleasing to the Lord. For those who say there is nothing that we can do to garner God's blessing, I ask, then why is the newer testament full of imperatives for us? There are hundreds and hundreds of things we are to DO, simply because we are told to and because it brings peace to our souls and comfort to those both in and outside the fold.

I'm going to give the gaining of 'heart knowledge' a whirl. I really don't need anymore head knowledge, not at this point anyway. I admit to a certain fear about 'heart knowledge' as I have heard that it can be quite painful and often causes one to spend hours in prayer, days fasting, nights weeping and years toiling with others for the sake of His glorious Name.

Nevertheless, I'm going for it!

Peas in Abundance

I think this might be the very best pea crop I've grown in the past 30 years. This is mostly due to the fact that I have all the room I could possibly want for my garden and, therefore, I planted lots of peas. The thing about this crop is that it takes a lot of pea plants to produce enough to do more than eat them fresh.

So far this year we have picked 16 ice cream pails full of luscious peas. They are indescribable when fresh. The children like to hang out in the garden eating peas as fast as they can pick and shuck them.

Again, as I have said often: It is a blessing to live in America!

Berry Pickin'

Yes, that's a drainer full of luscious strawberries! We went picking at a berry farm south of Northwood. Ooh, la, la! The strawberries were sweet and juicy. I made jam with what was left after fresh eating.

And the 'berry lady' grows June berries. They are worth their weight in gold! We picked and picked and picked. Then we ate some with cream (real cream!) and sugar, just like when I was a kid! Oh, my, surely this shrub grew in the Garden of Eden.

Froze the rest for June berry pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas.