CN | A Praying Life: Unanswered, Yet Watching a Story Unfold

City Notes: Books in 25 minutes or less

City Notes (CN) are more than a book review. They are meant to provide you with direct quotes from some books I've read in the last year, so you can get a taste of the overall theme of the book and then begin to chew on what your life might look like if you applied what you read. Here are links to the previous CN books: AND; Life Together; A Meal with Jesus; The Art of Neighboring; Speaking of Jesus and A Praying Life Part 1 and Part 2.

Part 4: Living in Your Father's Story | Chapter 19: Watching a Story Unfold

"One of the first things I noticed as I prayed for (i.e. spouse, child, friend, neighbor, enemy, etc.) was that I became more aware of him or her as a person. It also took the steam out of my tendency to fix that person with quick comments. Because I was speaking to my heavenly Father about the potential drift of this person's heart, I could relax in the face of sin. Prayer softened me. ... Until you are convinced that you can't change a person's heart, you will not take prayer seriously." – pgs. 166-167

"I often find that when God doesn't answer a prayer, he wants to expose something in me. Our prayers don't exist in a world of their own. We are in dialogue with a personal, divine Spirit who wants to shape us as much as he wants to hear us." – pg. 168

"We instinctively believe that if we have the right biblical principles and apply them consistently, our kids will turn out right. But that didn't work for God in the Garden of Eden. Perfect environment. Perfect relationships. And still God's two children went bad. ... Until we become convinced we can't change our child's heart, we will not take prayer seriously. Consequently, repentance is often missing. When we see, for example, our son's self-will, we usually don't ask, How am I self-willed? or How am I angry? We want God's help so we can dominate our son. We forget that God is not a genie but a person who wants to shape us in the image of his Son as much as he wants to answer our prayers." – pg. 169
 
Chapter 21 | Unanswered Prayer: Understanding the Patterns of Story

"The theme of the desert is so strong in Scripture that Jesus reenacts the desert journey at the beginning of his ministry by fasting for forty days in a desert while facing Satan's temptation. His desert is living with the hope of the resurrection yet facing the reality of his Father's face turned against him at the cross. ... Suffering burns away the false selves created by cynicism or pride or lust. You stop caring about what people think of you. The desert is God's best hope for the creation of an authentic self. Desert life sanctifies you. You have no idea you are changing. You simply notice after you've been in the desert awhile that you are different. Things that used to be important no longer matter. ... After a while you notice your real thirsts. While in the desert David writes, 'O God you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water (Psalm 63:1). The desert becomes a window to the heart of God. He finally gets your attention because he's the only game in town. ... Without realizing it, you have learned to pray continuously. The clear, fresh water of God's presence that you discover in the desert becomes a well inside your own heart." – pgs. 184-185

"When we don't receive what we pray for or desire, it doesn't mean that God isn't acting on our behalf. Rather, he's weaving his story. Paul tells us to 'continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving' (Colossians 4:2). Thanksgiving helps us to be grace-centered, seeing all of life as a gift. It looks at how God's past blessings impact our lives. Watchfulness alerts us to the unfolding drama in the present. It looks for God's present working as it unfolds into future grace. Watch for the story God is weaving your life." – pg. 187  

Chapter 22: How God Places Himself in the Story

"Jesus' ambiguity with us creates the space not only for him to emerge but as as well. If the miracle comes too quickly, there is no room for discovery, for relationship. With both the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:23-28 and us, Jesus is engaged in a divine romance, wooing us to himself. When you persist in a spiritual vacuum, when you hang in there during ambiguity, you get to know God. The waiting that is the essence of faith provides the context for relationship. Faith and relationship are interwoven in a dance. Everyone talks now about how prayer is relationship, but often what people mean is having warm fuzzies with God. Nothing wrong with warm fuzzies, but relationships are far richer and more complex." – pgs. 190-191

"Many of us wish God were more visible. We think that if we could see him better or know what is going on, then faith would come more easily. But if Jesus dominated the space and overwhelmed our vision, we would not be able to relate to him. Everyone who had a clear-eyed vision of God in the Bible fell down as if he were dead. It's hard to relate to pure light." – pg. 193 

Chapter 23 | Praying Without a Story

"To live in our Father's story, remember these three things:

1. Don't demand that the story go your way. (In other words, surrender completely.)
2. Look for the Storyteller. Look for his hand, then pray in light of what you are seeing. (In other words, develop an eye for Jesus.)
3. Stay in the story. Don't shut down when it goes the wrong way.

This last one, staying in the story, can be particularly difficult. When the story isn't going your way, ask yourself, What is God doing? Be on the lookout for strange gifts. God loves to surprise us with babies in swaddling clothes lying in mangers. ... To see the Storyteller we need to slow down our interior life and watch. We need to be imbedded in the Word to experience the Storyteller's mind and pick up the cadence of his voice. We need to be alert for the story, for the Storyteller's voice speaking into the details of our lives. The story God weaves is neither weird nor floaty. It always involves bowing before his majesty with the pieces of our lives." – pgs. 201-202

"Twice Joseph loses his coat as he is being humbled; each time the coat is used as evidence for a betrayal. Twice, as God elevates him, he is given a new coat by Pharaoh. You can tell that Joseph realizes God is weaving a story with coats and silver because when his brothers arrive, Joseph gives each of them a coat and silver. He wraps up the story of his life by blessing his brothers with the very items they have stolen from him (see Genesis 41-45). Joseph has not given in to bitterness and cynicism; instead he discovers the gracious heart of his God, grace he extends to those who have harmed him. Forgiveness flowed. By giving his brothers coats, Joseph has become an artist. He has noticed God's use of themes in his life and extended it. He takes God's brush and finishes the painting. He has learned his heavenly Father's rhythms. ... When confronted with suffering that won't go away or with even a minor problem, we instinctively focus on what is missing, such as the lost coats and the betrayal in Joseph's story, not on the Master's hand. 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. You'll become a poet, sensitive to your Father's voice." – pgs. 202-203

Chapter 24 | Hope: The End of the Story

"Hope is a new idea in history, a uniquely Christian vision. We take it for granted because the mind of Christ is pervasive in shaping the modern mind, but it wasn't always that way. The ancient Greeks had two kinds of stories: comedy and tragedy. A comedy was fun, but it wasn't real. A tragedy was real but not fun. If you took a hard look at life, it was sad. If you ignored life, then it was funny. Their philosophy mirrored their plays. Stoic philosophers sought to be moral in a meaningless world. Life was a tragedy. They toughed it out. Epicureans just had fun; life was a comedy. They coined the phrased, 'Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.' The gospel is Good News. Because God broke the power of evil at the cross, we can, along with Sarah, look at our cynicism and laugh. Not surprisingly, Jesus' first miracle was making about 150 gallons of fine wine so a good party could become a great party (see John 2) Tragedy doesn't have the last word. God saves the best for last." – pg. 205

Chapter 25 | Living in Gospel Stories

"The gospel, the Father's gift of his Son to die in our place, is so breathtaking that since Jesus' death, no one has been able to tell a better story. If you want to tell a really good story, you have to tell a gospel story. In Yann Martel's bestseller The Life of Pi, a Hindu boy named Pi meets a Catholic priest, Father Martin, who tells Pi the story of the gospel. Pi asks for more: 'I asked for another story, one that I might find more satisfying. Surely this religion had more than one story in its bag – religions abound with stories. But Father Martin made me understand that ... their religion had one Story, and to it they came back again and again, over and over. It was story enough for them." – pg. 213

" ... gospel stories always have suffering in them. American Christianity has an allergic reaction to this part of the gospel. We'd love to hear about God's love for us, but suffering doesn't mesh with our right to 'the pursuit of happiness.' So we pray to escape a gospel story, when that is the best gift the Father can give us. ... The Father wants to draw is into the story of his Son. He doesn't have a better story to tell, so he keeps retelling it in our lives. As we reenact the gospel, we are drawn into a strange kind of fellowship. The taste of Christ is so good that the apostle Paul told the Philippians that he wanted to know 'the fellowship of sharing in (Jesus') sufferings' (Philippians 3:10, NIV). It was Paul's prayer. Living in a gospel story exposes our idols, our false source of love. ... If we pursue joy directly, it slips from our grasp. But if we begin with Jesus and learn to love, we end up with joy." – pgs. 214-215

"In his second inaugural address Lincoln said, 'The Almighty has His own purposes.' Reflecting on the speech Lincoln wrote to a friend, 'Men are not flattered by being shown that there has been a difference of purpose between the Almighty and them.'" – pgs. 214-215– pg. 216

"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. All of life is covenant. Imbedded in the idea of prayer is a richly textured view of the world where all of life is organized around invisible bonds or covenants that knit us together. Instead of a fixed world, we live in our Father's world, a world built for divine relationships between people where, because of the Good News, tragedies become comedies and hope is born."– pg. 216 – pg. 217

Part 5: Praying in Real Life | Chapter 27 | Keeping Track of the Story: Using Prayer Cards

"Prayer is asking God to incarnate, to get dirty in your life. Yes, the eternal God scrubs floors. For sure we know he washes feet. So take Jesus at his word. Ask him. Tell him what you want. Get dirty. Write out your prayer requests; don't mindlessly drift through life on the American narcotic of busyness. If you try to seize the day, the day will eventually break you. Seize the corner of his garment and don't let go until he blesses you. He will reshape the day." – pg. 233

Chapter 28 | Prayer Work

"When I begin praying Christ into someone's life, God often permits suffering in that person's life. If Satan's basic game plan is pride, seeking to draw us into his life of arrogance, then God's basic game plan is humility, drawing us into the life of his Son. The Father can't think of anything better to give us than his Son. Suffering invites you to join his Son's life, death, and resurrection. Once you see that, suffering is not longer strange. Peter writes, 'Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings' (1 Peter 4:12-13)." – pg. 236

Chapter 29 | Listening to God

"When people call their own thoughts or feelings 'God's voice,' it puts them in control of God and ultimately undermines God's Word by elevating human intuition to the status of divine revelation. Unless Scripture guards and directs our intuitions, we an easily run amok and baptize our selfish desires with religious language ('God told me to marry her ... '). ... Word Only people can also separate hearing and obedience by focusing on obedience and ignoring a life of listening and repentance. Listening to an obeying God are so intertwined in biblical thought that in the Hebrew they are one word, shamar. Under the cover of being obedient to the Word, Word Only folks can be rigid. We need to guard against rationalism as much as we need to guard against emotionalism. We need the sharp-edged, absolute character of the Word and the intuitive, personal leading of the Spirit. The Word provides the structure, the vocabulary. The Spirit personalizes it to our life. Keeping the Word and the Spirit together guards us from the danger of God-talk becoming a cover for our own desires and the danger of lives isolated from God." – pgs. 244, 246-247

Chapter 30 | Prayer Journaling: Become Aware of the Interior Journey

"Edward Said, a leading Palestinian scholar, pointed out that 'the novel is a specifically Christian form of writing. It presupposes a world that is incomplete, that is yearning for salvation, and moving toward it. By contrast ... the world of Islam is a closed and complete world.' ... If we see our lives as a pilgrimage, then it becomes an integrated whole. It makes sense. When we understand the story, it quiets our souls. It's okay to have a busy life. It's crazy to have a busy soul." – pg. 251

"Without the Shepherd guiding us to see our true selves in relationship to him, we can lose our way and become obsessed with self. Instead of seeing our bent toward evil, we can become increasingly touchy, supersensitive to self but insensitive to others. We no longer see ourselves clearly. The spiritual pilgrimage is the opposite. The discovery of self in relationship to God leads to a lifestyle of repentance. For example, we are seldom aware of our impatience. What we feel is everyone else's slowness. Because we are naturally the center of our universes, we don't feel irritable. We just notice everyone getting in our way. ... Communion or conversation with God breaks down into two questions:

1. How am I doing? What is coming at me? Am I happy, sad, thankful, discouraged, angry, frustrated?
2. What is God saying to me? What does the Word say?

When I reflect on these two questions in my prayer journal, the Living God removes the fog, and I see my true self. This leads to repentance. Not surprisingly, repentance has a prominent place in the Lord's Prayer. As we've seen, 'Your kingdom come, your will be done' (Matthew 6:10) strikes at the heart of our kingdoms and our self-will; 'lead us not into temptation' (6:13) tries to keep us from sinning; and 'forgive us our debts' (6:12) picks up the pieces." – pg. 252

"When I think I am right, I tend to be quick to defend and slow to incarnate (understand). I can be intense, judgmental, and proud. Jesus, make me quiet, prudent, and humble, and until you do – help me to shut up! ... Even if it doesn't seem true, try to find something I've done wrong. Don't be truth-focused. The truth is that I need to love the other person." – pgs. 253-254

"When we keep our eyes on the Shepherd, we become aware of ourselves. The valley of the shadow of death becomes a valley of vision. ... journaling allows us to discover the story that God is writing in our lives. Instead of rushing through life, it allows us to pause and reflect. ... My inability to wait on you comes from thinking salvation comes from me." – pgs. 254-255

Chapter 31 | Real-Life Praying

"Prayer is where I do my best work as a husband, dad, worker, and friend. I'm aware of the weeds of unbelief in me and the struggles in others' lives. The Holy Spirit puts his finger on issues that only he can solve. I'm actually managing my life through my daily prayer time. I'm shaping my heart, my work, my family. ... I'm not hunting for an experience with God; I'm inviting God into my life experience. He is in me, and I am in him. As I bring to him my real life with my real needs, he acts in amazing ways. He is at work touching my life, doing what I can't do. The result? Thanksgiving. You don't have to work at worship when God is so alive. ... We need time to be with our Father every day because every day our hearts and the hearts of those around us are overgrown with weeds. We need to reflect on our lives and engage God with the condition of our souls and the souls he has entrusted to our care to put in our paths. – in fact, everything that is dear to me – through prayer in fellowship with my heavenly Father. I'm doing that because I don't have control over my heart and life or the hearts and lives of those around me. But God does." – pgs. 257, 260-261 

Chapter 32 | Unfinished Stories

"We live in many overlapping stories, most of which are larger than us. Each of us will die with unfinished stories. We can never forget that God is God. Ultimately it is his story, not ours." – pg. 263

"God's answer to their prayer for the restoration of the temple and Israel is mind-boggling. What happened to the nation of Israel? He created a new Israel, one that included the Gentiles as the people of God. What about the temple? He sent his only Son to be the temple. Look how God used the captivity, this seemingly unfinished story, to prepare for the coming of his Son and the birth of the church: 

1. God used the destruction of the temple and the removal of the Israelites to Babylon to create the synagogue structure, a precursor to the local church. If temple worship had continued uninterrupted, the early church would not have had a model for local congregations. They learned to worship God without a temple.
2. The Old Testament canon was organized during this time. Severed from their land in a virtual spiritual desert, the Israelites clung to their scrolls. That gave the early church the  category of Old Testament, which in turn created the New Testament.
3. God purified Israel of mixing with other religions.
4. The dispersion of the Jewish people provided a base from which Paul and others could easily spread the gospel.
5. Israel was forever purified of outward idolatry. Never again would the Jewish people worship idols. Monotheism became permanently central to Israel. This is the foundation of Christian thought and Western civilization.
6. Because the Jews became devout monotheists, they got upset when Jesus claimed to be God. When Jesus claimed to be the unique Son of God, the high priest tore his robe and delivered Jesus up to be crucified.

God was weaving a spectacular tapestry through the suffering of Israel. Without the Babylonian captivity there would be no Israel, no cross, no Christianity, and no Western civilization. Haggai was right. The glory of the new temple was greater than Solomon's. But the Jewish poet who wept by the rivers of Babylon never saw the end of the story. Like all the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, he lived with the story unfinished in his lifetime. He lived by faith." – pgs. 265-266

"While walking near the Sea of Galilee just after his resurrection, Jesus tells Peter that one day he will die for Jesus. Peter responds by turning to John, who is right behind them, and asking Jesus what will happen to John. Jesus tells Peter, 'If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!' (John 21:22). In effect, Jesus is saying, 'Peter, I will help you with your story but not John's. Frankly, John's story is none of your business.' Jesus' answer had a little snap to it because Peter has moved to a godlike stance. There are times when I can see what God is doing in another person's life, but telling that person would crush his or her spirit. I suspect God is at times silent about stories because we just can't handle it. ... 'through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations? Can we surrender our concern in things that don't matter so that we might devote our remaining days to things that do?'" – pgs. 266-267

Next CN series: CN | Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church Part 1

– Sully
 
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