One Habit of Highly Effective Christians

How often do/should you pray? How long do/should you pray? Can you pray too much? What do/should you pray about? Is it possible to pray wrong? Are there certain words/phrases you need to use? What if you feel like God’s not listening? If God knows everything, why do I need to pray? Do I have to kneel every time I pray? What if you don’t have time to pray? Does praying really make any difference anyway?

Have you ever asked any or all of those questions? I have. I really struggle with the particulars of prayer. It’s not that I don’t pray, I do. The problem, for me, is that I’m pretty sure I’m missing some important component.

True confession time – I have a really hard time doing anything on a set schedule. It’s not that I don’t try or don’t want to keep a schedule. I really do! I make schedules and lists for myself all the time. I just rarely follow them, even though I know that certain things, (exercise, Bible study, cleaning, and prayer, for example) cannot be done correctly without scheduling them.

It’s not that I don’t want to do those things, I do. I know they’re all important. And it’s not that I don’t ever do those things, I do, just not regularly or often enough to really get the benefit of having done them.

I remember reading a story some time ago of an 85 year old woman how got trapped in an elevator for four nights and three days. She was all alone – no one else in the building and no signal for her cell phone. Can you imagine how terrifying that would be? She came to the conclusion that she could either panic or pray. She chose to pray and turn the elevator into her own prayer closet.

When the woman was interviewed later she actually said that she had felt God’s presences with her giving her both strength and joy. She said that she felt like the whole experience was a gift from God to provide her with an opportunity to develop a closer relationship with Him.

Isn’t that amazing? I really covet that kind of a relationship with God. I’m fairly certain, though, that the woman had spent many years before being trapped in that elevation, keeping appointments to spend time alone talking with God. That’s different than what Ron Halvorsen calls “crisis praying.”

“We usually don’t say much about prayer, and we don’t pray much, until a crisis comes into our life. Aunt Tillie is sick, so you go on your knees and you pray for the next few days that Aunt Tillie will get well. Or Uncle John. Or someone in the church is sick. That’s crisis praying. When you are sick, have you noticed that you pray more than you did before you got sick? That’s crisis praying. It still works, but is not as effective as the continual spirit of prayer.”[1]

Praying in a crisis is a good thing, but it shouldn’t be the only time we pray. And I think it can kind of mislead us, give us a sense that we are praying, so everything’s ok with our prayer lives. And can you imagine if the woman trapped in the elevator only had that kind of prayer experience? After the first few hours in the elevator, with no signs of rescue, she may have come to the conclusion that God wasn’t listening and given up.

When I was teaching, quite a few of our “classroom management” techniques involved learning the difference between “reactive” and “proactive.” You probably know the difference – reactive is dealing with each crisis as it comes along, while proactive is working in such a way that many of the crises don’t happen in the first place. The proactive route takes more time to begin with, but almost always works better than reacting to every little emergency as it comes along. I believe that prayer can be looked at much the same way. Like Halvorsen says, “That’s crisis praying. It still works, but is not as effective as the continual spirit of prayer.”

Another author describes the importance of prayer as the key to success in any field of endeavor.

“Some things make you successful whatever path you take-whether you're on the ‘mommy track’ or in a full-time career outside the home. You need to be with God daily. You need to be in constant prayer. You need to incorporate God's Word into your life, constantly evaluating your life to make sure you are following God's lead.” [2]

That’s proactive praying – being with God daily. Do you remember when you or your kids were taking some kind of music lessons? The question was always, “How often do we have to practice?” and the answer was, “You only have to practice on the days that you eat.” How often do we need to pray? On the days we eat would be a good place to start, but probably the time we spend in prayer needs to increase to the point that it’s almost like breathing, don’t you think?

“Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden Him; you cannot weary Him. He who numbers the hairs of your head is not indifferent to the wants of His children. ‘The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.’ James 5:11. His heart of love is touched by our sorrows and even by our utterances of them. Take to Him everything that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for Him to bear, for He holds up worlds, He rules over all the affairs of the universe. Nothing that in any way concerns our peace is too small for Him to notice. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for Him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for Him to unravel. No calamity can befall the least of His children, no anxiety harass the soul, no joy cheer, no sincere prayer escape the lips, of which our heavenly Father is unobservant, or in which He takes no immediate interest. ‘He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.’ Psalm 147:3. The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul upon the earth to share His watch care, not another soul for whom He gave His beloved Son.” (Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 100)

Ron Halvorsen describes prayer as 

“not what you say, it’s who you are. You see, prayer is your experience. It’s the breath of your soul. You don’t grab a breath at church, and then hold it until next week. And you don’t have to hit yourself on the head and say, ‘Breathe,Halvorsen!’
“No, it’s automatic. You see, once you come into that experience with God, you come in that experience with Jesus, you are with Him always in what you think.”[3]

The question is, how do I get to the point that talking to Jesus is a part of everything I do? I need to stop just reacting with crisis prayers and start, with the help of the Holy Spirit, building the spiritual discipline of personal prayer, worship and bible study time into each day so that when the crises do come, I can see them as opportunities to draw closer to God.

Where do we start? Sing it with me:

Into my heart, 
Into my heart, 
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. 
Come in today, come in to stay, 
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

Amen.

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[1] Ron Halvorsen, It Is Written Script: 1241 The Power of Prayer ©2012 It Is Written International Television

[2] Kay Coles James, Marriage Partnership, Vol. 11, no. 2.

[3] Ron Halvorsen, It Is Written Script: 1241 The Power of Prayer ©2012 It Is Written International Television

User Interface

Thoughts on the Sabbath School Lesson for 3.10.12

Do you know what a “user interface” is? If you do, please forgive me while I sound like I know what I’m talking about for a bit.

The “user interface” is how the user (human) interacts with an electronic device. For example, on some computers, the user interface is the keyboard and mouse; tablet computers and some phones are touch screen, so the user interface is the actual screen and a finger or stylus. Sometimes, it could be a voice into a microphone.

Well, I’m thinking that prayer is our user interface with God.

Philip Yancey explains prayer like this: 

“If prayer stands as the place where God and human beings meet, then I must learn about prayer. Most of my struggles in the Christian life circle around the same two themes: why God doesn't act the way we want God to, and why I don't act the way God wants me to. Prayer is the precise point where those themes converge.”[1]

My experience with electronics has taught me that getting used to each new user interface takes some practice, and that even then, they can be unreliable. If any of you have ever used a speech-to-print interface, you know that sometimes what you say shows up on the screen as something very different. 

Thankfully, I know that our communication with God in prayer is always reliable. My question is, though, is there a learning curve, a discipline involve in prayer, or is it ok to just wing it?  What do you think?

You have to admit when Peter was walking out on the water and he started to sink; he didn’t pause to structure his cry for help.

“And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ Matthew 14:28-30 NKJV

If prayer is our primary means of coming into the presence of God, is there a “right” way and a “wrong” way? Should we worry about making mistakes?

Peter Kreeft is the author of the book, Prayer for Beginners. This is what he has to say about prayer.

“Prayer is easier than we think. We want to think it is too hard or too high and holy for us, because that gives us an excuse for not doing it. This is false humility. We can all do it, even the most sinful, shallow, silly, and stupid of us.“You do not have to master some mystical method. You do not have to master a method at all. Can you talk to a friend? Then you can talk to God, for he is your Friend. And that is what prayer is. The single most important piece of advice about prayer is one word: Begin! God makes it easy: just do it!“God also makes it easy to progress in prayer …. for it gradually becomes more natural and delightful.”[2]

Do you know what I notice most about what Kreeft says?  He doesn’t say anything about asking for things.  Did you notice that?  He says that if you can talk to a friend, you can talk to God.  When you talk to your friends, do you spend the whole time you’re together telling them all about the things you want and need?  Do you do all the talking so that they can’t even get a word in edgewise?  Have you ever met someone like that?  Do you enjoy being with him or her? 

When we come to God in prayer, do we just start rattling off all the things we want/need all in one breath?  Do we think of prayer as one more thing to check off our “to do” list or is it something we look forward to?  Would you describe your prayer time as “delightful?” 

“While staying alone in her convent, an 85-year-old Catholic nun got trapped inside a broken elevator for four nights and three days. She tried pushing the inside elevator door, but the electricity went off. She had her cell phone with her, but there wasn't a signal. Fortunately, she had carried a jar of water, some celery sticks, and a few cough drops into the elevator.“At first she said to herself, This can't happen! But then she decided to turn her elevator into a personal prayer retreat. ‘It was either panic or pray,’ she later told an interviewer for CNN. She started viewing the experience as a ‘gift.’ ‘I believe that God's presence was my strength and my joy—really,’ she said. ‘I felt God's presence almost immediately. I felt like he provided the opportunity for a closer relationship.’”[3]

Doesn’t that woman have an amazing understanding of her user interface with God? She could have spent her time in the elevator begging God to send someone to free her and even being angry with Him when no one came, but she made the choice to snuggle up next to God and have a good chat.  I love that last sentence of that quote. God wasn’t testing her; He didn’t allow any trial to come to her; He “provided the opportunity for a closer relationship.”

Wow, I love that! I want to feel that closeness to God.

I know there’s so much more to prayer than just talking to God. I know there’s all the ins and outs of what we should ask for, how to ask, and how to interpret the answers to our prayers. That’s important stuff. But sometimes, maybe it’s enough to be with our Best Friend and chat – not with any ulterior motives – just the desire to feel close to Him.

“Prayer is the breath of the soul. It is the secret of spiritual power. No other means of grace can be substituted, and the health of the soul be preserved. Prayer brings the heart into immediate contact with the Well-spring of life, and strengthens the sinew and muscle of the religious experience.”[4]

Can you imagine not breathing for a minute? What about two or three minutes? We have to work really hard not to breath; that’s how much our bodies need air.  Why, then, do we even consider going through a day without prayer?

“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.” Romans 12:10-13

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[1] Philip Yancey, Prayer (Zondervan, 2006)

[2] Peter Kreeft, Prayer for Beginners (Ignatius, 2000), pp. 25-26

[3] Jenny Wilson, "Nun Stuck in Elevator Survives Four Nights on Celery Sticks, Water and Cough Drops," Time.com (4-28-11)

[4] Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers, pp. 254, 255

What are YOU wearing?

Do you think a fireman would run into a burning building without all of his safety gear on?  Would a SCUBA diver attempt a dive without wearing every single piece of his SCUBA equipment?  What about a soldier? A policeman? An astronaut?  No matter what we're doing, if it calls for some specialized safety equipment, we make sure we're properly attired before we start, right?  I mean, would any of us, intentionally, put even one hand into an oven without first protecting our hand?  Not on purpose anyway.

But when we face everyday trials and tribulations, we don't think twice about going forward virtually (or is it literally) unprotected – practically naked, in fact.  What's up with that?  

In Ephesians, Paul tells us how we should be clothed and prepared to face life in a sinful world:

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;...”  Ephesians 6:10-18

I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking that putting on armor was all well and good for folks who lived when Paul did, but we'd look pretty odd walking down the street dressed like roman soldiers.  But let's think it through a little bit farther.  Our lives really aren't much like a nice walk in the park, are they?  We (or maybe just I) often forget that we're walking through an active battlefield where the angels of God and the angels of Satan are fighting for our souls, every minute of everyday.  

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”  1Peter 5:8-9

The question is, would you step into a lion's cage naked?  Don't laugh because we're walking around in front of that hungry lion not just naked, but wearing raw meat perfume!  Who thought that was a good idea?

Let's check back with Paul and figure out what we need to be wearing to keep from getting eaten up by the lion, shall we?  Paul tells us that the first thing we have to do is to wrap ourselves in the truth.  But how do we do that, you ask?  Check out John 14:6: 

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

  Ah-ha!  We wrap ourselves in the truth by surrounding ourselves with Jesus—He is our foundation.

“The Lord will be your helper, and if you trust Him, will bring you up to a noble, elevated standard, and will place your feet upon the platform of eternal truth. Through the grace of Christ, you can make a right use of your entrusted capabilities, and become an agent for good in winning souls to Christ.” E. G. White, Our High Calling, 1961.

Next, Paul tells us to cover our hearts with Christ’s righteousness so that when Satan tells us that God would never really love sinners and that we will never be good enough, we can defend ourselves with the righteousness of Christ. 

“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” Philippians 3:8-9

Now comes one of the hardest of Paul’s directives:  "to walk in the footsteps of Jesus…” There will always be obstacles before us, but we are to follow our Leader, and meet our difficulties unitedly, hand in hand. There is only one way to heaven. We must walk in the footsteps of Jesus, doing His works, even as He did the works of His Father. We must study His ways, not man's ways; we must obey His will, not our own. Walk carefully. Do not go ahead of Christ. Make no move without consulting your Leader. Ask in humble prayer, and "ye shall receive." He is the Way, the Truth, the Life. …Our only hope of reaching heaven is to be one with Christ, and then, in and through Christ, we shall be one with one another. No one is called to walk alone. In Christ life and immortality are brought to light. He has opened the way to the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in Him, but He assigns to no one a path different to that which all must travel. He calls for unity, and unity we must have. God asks us to sink self in Christ. For the natural man this is not easy. But through the power of the incarnation of Christ, God manifest in the flesh, the strength of God is revealed in gentleness and beauty. To 

"as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God." By this power we may overcome our evil tendencies and so modify our imperfect dispositions that the will of God may be fulfilled in us.” E.G. White, Letter 79, May 7, 1903, to J.A. Burden and wife.

We must always carry in our minds the reality of our own salvation, once we have given our lives to Jesus.  

“Many have confused ideas in regard to conversion. … They could not comprehend the plan of salvation. “Many have stumbled to ruin because of the erroneous doctrines taught by some ministers concerning the change that takes place at conversion. Some have lived in sadness for years, waiting for some marked evidence that they were accepted by God. …they dare not profess Christ, because they fear it would be presumption to say that they are children of God. They are waiting for that peculiar change that they have been led to believe is connected with conversion. “… God accepted them when they became weary of sin, and having lost their desire for worldly pleasures, resolved to seek God earnestly. But, failing to understand the simplicity of the plan of salvation, they lost many privileges and blessings which they might have claimed had they only believed, when they first turned to God, that He had accepted them. “…The evidences of a genuine work of grace on the heart are to be found not in feeling, but in the life.”  E.G. White, My Life Today, 1952.

Finally Paul tells us that the Word of God and prayer are our weapons against evil.  There is a difference here though.  So far Paul has told us to “put on” something, but these last two are things we must “pick up”, and practice with so that we will be able to use them effectively when the need arises. 

“Let them study the Scriptures. Let them commit text after text to memory, and acquire a knowledge of what the Lord has said. . . . And in trial … spread out the Word of God before them, and with humble hearts, and in faith, seek the Lord for wisdom to find out His way, and for strength to walk in it. . . . “Let them have stated seasons for prayer, never neglecting them if it can possibly be avoided. … armed with the Word of God, having it treasured in heart and mind, they will come forth unharmed by all the assaults of the foes of God or man. . . . “Satan is a wise general; but the humble, devoted soldier of Jesus Christ may overcome him.” E.G. White, My Life Today, 1952.

You have to step out of the boat if you want your feet on solid ground.

 Commentary on the Sabbath School lesson for 3.26.11

“How interesting, … that in recent years reputable studies are showing that those who attend and participate in church services (compared to those who don’t) on a regular basis are:    •less likely to suffer from substance abuse
•more likely to be sexually responsible•less involved in risky behaviors
•more likely to practice business and work-related ethics•more likely to enjoy a richer social network and group support•more likely to display higher levels of self-esteem and personal efficacy•more likely to cope better with losses (death of dear ones, calamities, health complications, and so on)•more likely to harbor positive emotions (love, forgiveness, contentment, and so on)•less likely to harbor negative emotions (guilt, fear, hostility, anger, and so on).”[1]

Does any of the information in that quote startle you? Not at all? Maybe a little?  Maybe for other churches but not for your own?  Truth is, those studies shouldn’t surprise any of us, because we know that the closer any one of us comes in relationship to Jesus, the more emotionally stable healthy we become. 

We have to be like Peter and step beyond what we know about what is possible and impossible and put ourselves completely in the Hands of Jesus, only then can we begin to become who  He wants us to be.  We can break down that process into several interlocking elements:  

“prayer, corporate worship and community involvement, forgiveness, service, and trusting God,”[2]

“Some things make you successful whatever path you take … You need to be with God daily. You need to be in constant prayer. You need to incorporate God's Word into your life, constantly evaluating your life to make sure you are following God's lead. You must be in fellowship with a body of believers with mutual accountability and genuine friendship.”[3]

Have you ever noticed that the folks who seem the most critical of what’s going on around them, are often those who are not participating fully with their community of believers?  The more we isolate ourselves from our brothers and sisters in Christ, the less satisfactory is the rest of our life in general, and the more difficult it becomes to remain committed to our mission (spreading the gospel).

“In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell tells the strange story of Christopher Langan, a genius with a staggering IQ of 195. (For some perspective, Einstein's IQ was 150). During high school, Langan could ace any foreign language test by skimming the textbook 2-3 minutes before the exam. He got a perfect score on his SAT, even though at one point he fell asleep. But Langan failed to use his exceptional gifts and ended up working on a horse farm in rural Missouri."According to Gladwell, Langan never had a community to help him capitalize on his gifts.Gladwell summarizes the story of Langan in one sentence: ‘[Langan] had to make his way alone, and no one—not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires, and not even geniuses—ever makes it alone.’”[4]

Sometimes we hold back because we think we can manage on our own; sometimes it’s because we get so comfortable that we don’t want to make any unplanned moves.  But what if Peter had stopped to think about comfort instead of stepping out of the boat to come to Jesus?  What if he had waited for someone else to go first to see how they did?  Being part of the community includes leaving our comfort zone.

Jesus and His disciples didn’t lead a comfortable life, even according to the standards of their day, but they did have everything they needed to be emotionally and spiritually stable and mature: “prayer, corporate worship and community involvement, forgiveness, service, and trusting God.”

The notable exception was Judas; he held back.  He didn’t really move beyond his own plans and ideas.  He never fully committed his life to Jesus.

I’m afraid that I’m hopelessly mixing metaphors here – stepping out of the boat and being an active part of the community of Jesus.  But I think that assumes that being a follower of Jesus will always be a comfortable experience.  I don’t believe it will be (and in some parts of the world, already isn’t).  We have to believe like Peter did:  If Jesus says I can walk on water, I can walk on water.  And that no matter how dangerous things look from our perspective, the absolutely safest place we can be is on our way to Jesus.

That’s something we need to remember as the time for Jesus to come gets closer, because we can’t really prepare for exactly how things will be.  We only know that we need to hang on to Jesus.

Mark Mitchell explained it this way: 

“Several years ago I ran a marathon. I trained hard to be as prepared as possible, but there's a part of a marathon that's always hard to prepare for. A marathon is just a little over 26 miles, but experts tell you not to run over 20 miles in your training. That means the last six miles of a marathon are ‘no man's land.’ You don't know what you're getting yourself into. You may hit a wall. You may have cramps. You only know that it's going to be tough. But you also try to believe that if you train hard enough, you will be ready and will be able to cross that glorious finish line.“We read a passage like Luke 21, and it's like we're reading about the last six miles of a marathon. We know it's going to be hard, and we know that there is nothing we can do now to replicate what it will be like then. But Jesus has told us what to look for and how to be prepared—how to cross the finish line. We prepare by being wise and discerning about the false claims of religious hucksters. We prepare by resting in the fact that God is sovereign and whatever happens to us is part of his plan. We prepare by trusting that he's creating opportunities for us to bear witness, and he'll give us the words we need when we need them. We prepare by learning to endure hardship so that when greater hardship comes, we don't fall by the wayside. We prepare by refusing to allow ourselves to buy the lie that the things of this world are the most important things. We prepare by praying each day for God's strength to face whatever the last six miles of life may hold for us.”[5]

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[1] Dan Solis, “Partnership with Jesus”, Jesus Wept: Adult Bible Study Guide, March 19-25

[2] Ibid.

[3] Kay Coles James, Marriage Partnership, Vol. 11, no. 2.

[4] Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers (Little, Brown and Company, 2008), p. 115

[5] Mark Mitchell, in his sermon "Ready or Not, Here I Come!" PreachingToday.com