Bonus Day: "It is Finished" ...and a look back at our six-week prayer program (MK)
Well, you may have noticed, that our 40-Days of Praying Together had more than 40 days. Excluding the first and last Sunday, there were 41 days in between those two Sundays. But "40-Days" has a much nicer sound to it, so I am considering this final post to be a "bonus day." It is also an opportunity to start looking back at the past six weeks and consider what we have learned. To begin with, we will look back at a Scripture reading associated with Good Friday. John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. These closing words of Jesus draw the passion narrative to a close. The proclamation, "It is finished", applies most directly to the crucifixion. The ordeal that Jesus had foreseen and dreaded has come to a close. On the cross, he bore our sin, took our shame, and endured the wrath of God in our place. And now that agony was coming to a close. Death would have been a welcome mercy. But there are other senses in which he could have said, "It is finished." The entirety of his life was part of the work of salvation. Jesus humbled himself in taking on human flesh (Phil 2.) The whole of his life is considered to be a journey of "humiliation." Furthermore, the entire plan of salvation that started to unfold in Genesis chapter 3, had reached its climax. This salvation would still need to be applied, down through the centuries, and to the ends of the earth. But the work of salvation was accomplished. The atonement which had been prefigured in signs and symbols in the Old Testament had now been fully realized. Finally, the ongoing tension between the reality of human sin and God's intention to dwell with his people had now been resolved. Because sin is paid for on the cross, it can be removed and no longer needs to be a barrier to our relationship with God. And because we are shielded in the righteousness of Christ, we can come into the presence of God without fearing our destruction. For this reason, the veil in the temple was torn in two (Matt 27:51), and we can confidently "enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus" (Heb 10:19.) Known as "Silent Saturday", the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is a good day for reflection. It is a day to remember the cost of our salvation and the completed nature of our salvation. In spite of your (and my) ongoing sin, we can boldly come to the throne of grace. Our weakness, and residual sin does not create a barrier to God in prayer. We can pray confidently in spite of our weakness. And we know that God is working through our prayers to establish his kingdom and make his name hallowed to the ends of the earth. Today, is also a good day to reflect back on the last six-weeks. Have you developed new patterns which have been life giving and beneficial. Have you seen answers to prayer? Have you learned new things about God or about being a disciple? Take some time to consider these things. Then, I invite you to share. 1.) Tell people around you about what you are thinking. (Family, small group, etc.) 2.) You are welcome to comment on this blog post. (Normally, posts are turned off, because I don't have an ongoing plan to monitor this part of the blog, but for this post it will be turned "on.") 3.) I will be spending the week after Easter listening to our congregation and reflecting on what I have learned. If you would like to share with me directly (please do), you can reach me at pastormatt@cityreformed.org. I will be looking for ways to incorporate the observations of our entire congregation into the worship service on Sunday, April 7. Finally, I look forward to seeing many of you on Easter Sunday! Thanks for joining us on this exiting prayer journey and I look forward to hearing the ways that God has been at work! -Matt Koerber
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Tomorrow will be our final post in the prayer series. Remember to join us for the Good Friday Service, 7:00 PM at First Baptist Church in Oakland, 159 North Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. (MK)
Day #40: "Jesus Prays in Gethsemane" (Ben Chidester) Mark 14:32-36 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Is it sinful to ask God to remove us from trials? To cry out to Him for relief when they seem too heavy to bear? As the hour of his crucifixion drew near and the weight of the task bore down on him, Jesus for a time became exceedingly sorrowful. So much so, that he prayed for his Father to remove him from this trial. At first glance, that might seem scandalous. How can any trial be too great for God? How can any trial cause God to feel sorrow and anguish? But we forget that Jesus is not only fully God, but he is also fully man. And as a man, he experienced the psychological anguish of the task before him: bearing the punishment of the sins of the world. There are times when our sins are brought before us and we sense acutely their deserved guilt. But can we even imagine facing the punishment of our sins and others? Thanks be to God that we never need face that – not even the punishment due our own sins. But thanks also that our God is a compassionate, heavenly Father who understands our frail human frame. We can tell him when we are sinking beneath the weight of trials, and we can even be so bold, as Jesus was, to pray that God would remove the trial from us. Ultimately, we must be willing to obey God in all things, as Jesus was, and we must not resist what he has clearly revealed. But to bring before him our frailty and our sorrow and to ask him to make another way if possible... is no sin at all – it is our acknowledgment that we are human. Are you walking through a trial right now that feels too great for you? To follow in the steps of Jesus through trials is to express to God the sorrow you may be feeling and even to be so bold as to ask God if another means of accomplishing his will through you might be possible. But ultimately, we must be willing to follow the Lord wherever he would call. When that seems too difficult, remember that the Lord has walked those steps before you. He knows our frame; he remembers that we are but dust. He has even taken our frail, dusty frame upon himself to journey to the Cross. Thanks to him, we never have to endure the burden of the guilt and punishment our sins deserve. Let us follow in his steps, sacrificially laying down our own will, and praying to God: “not my will, but yours be done.” Day #39: "Jesus Prays for Us... and for the Watching World"- John 17 Part 3 (MK)
Following up on Luke's reflections on John 17, I thought that we could squeeze one more reflection out of this important passage. Known as the "High Priestly Prayer", this prayer from the night of Christ's betrayal extends throughout an entire chapter. After looking at the themes of "glory" and "prayer in the name of Jesus", there is one more theme to examine in this passage. That is the theme of "witness." John 17:20-26 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” The first thing that I notice in the passage is that Jesus is praying for us. After praying for the disciples that were gathered with them, Jesus turns his attention to future disciples. He prays, "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word (v.20.)" Now, we can certainly extrapolate prayers for the disciples and apply them to all Christians. That is legitimate, given their representative role. So, the things Jesus had been praying for throughout the beginning of the passage do apply to us. But here, Jesus makes a point of extending his prayer to "all those who will believe." That includes Christians down through the ages, and it includes the church today. Isn't it cool to know that on his last night before the cross... Jesus was thinking of you? The second thing that I notice is what Jesus prays for. He prays for the unity of his Church, "that they may be one even as we are one (v.22.)" Now, there is a lot to be desired when we think about Church unity.* The Christian church is separated by divisions and many local congregations are stratified by sociological markers. Even our existing congregations fall short of ideal unity. But it really is a glass-half-full kind of situation. On one hand, we have a long way to go to display the kind of unity that is prayed for here. On the other hand, there are many visible displays of unity which we can celebrate. Our congregations do include people who would otherwise have very little in common. The churches in our denomination are connected in meaningful ways across our region and our country. We regularly pray for and connect with Christians doing ministry across the world. (We will hear some of those stories at our Easter Sunday breakfast.) Finally, we see regular connections that transcend denominational ties. On Good Friday we will gather with Christians from over a half-dozen churches to remember the sacrifice of Jesus. It is appropriate for us to long for a greater Christian unity, but we don't want to miss celebrating the ways this prayer is already being answered in the course of our ongoing ministry. Given what we know about human nature, it is clearly a mark of God's redeeming grace when we see the (limited) unity that we do have. Third, I notice the intended result of this prayer. The unity of the Church will be something that Jesus uses for a purpose. He prays that, "they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me (v.22b.)" The love that Christians have for one another becomes part of our witness to the mission and message of Jesus.** I think that is an important consideration for this Easter season. The three services that we will hold (Good Friday, Sunrise Service, and Easter Sunday) will be some of our highest attendance events of the year. They are opportunities for visitors to hear the message of the Gospel and see God's people gathering for worship. Good Friday, in particular, will be a display of Christian unity that transcends our denominational boundaries. Jesus prayed that our witness would cause the world to know Him. As our season of intentional prayer draws to a close, let's pause to pray for our friends and neighbors who are not (yet) disciples. Let's prayerfully consider who we might invite to join with us in this season of Gospel celebration. And let's pray that through this witness the world may know that Jesus was sent for salvation. * Editor's Note: I realized this morning while looking over my own post, that I had failed to mention a very obvious and important connection. The Thursday before Easter is historically called "Maundy Thursday." The word Maundy comes from the Latin word "mandate" and refers to the New Commandments (or "mandate") that Jesus gave to his disciples. This commandment was to love one another. It is not completely new information - the OT included ideas about love for neighbors and for others in the family of God - but it places a new emphasis on this important command. Furthermore, this prayer for unity is a natural extension of Christ's concern for our expression of mutual love. Unity is bound up with our calling to love one another. ** There is a theological connection between Christian unity and the Trinity. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinct "persons" within the one substance of God. Within God, there is both unity and distinction. In a similar way, Christians are wonderfully distinct from one another. We have different genders, ages, ethnic backgrounds, life situations, and gifts. (To name a few differences...) And yet, we are all sons of God through faith and we are all part of the one bride of Christ. So, when we are able to maintain relationships across our differences, we become mirrors of the unity and diversity that are within the Triune God. I think that this is why Jesus connects the unity of the church to the revelation of the Father sending the Son (v.22.) Just as the one God contains both a sender and one who was sent, and just as the one God includes God's triune work of salvation (Father plans, Son accomplishes, Spirit applies redemption), so to the Church contains a diversity of people who are united in their common salvation and common purpose. Day #38: God’s Name – John 17 Part 2 (Luke Kephart)
In the Toy Story movies, a prominent theme revolves around the idea that the toys belong to Andy. Even as Buzz Lightyear, convinced he's a real space ranger, proudly shares, “Say there, Lizard and Stretchy Dog, let me show you something. It looks as though I've been accepted into your culture. Your chief, Andy, inscribed his name on me” (The name "ANDY" is written on his boot). Both respond, “Wow! Rex adds, “With permanent ink too!” Having Andy’s name means that they know who they belong to, and that being one of Andy’s toys is somehow special. Using permanent ink implies that this will never change. We also bear God’s name, and today we are going to look at how that happens and what it means. John 17:1–26 (ESV): 17 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. 20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” Earlier in our 40 days of prayer, Joe Stehle explored Jesus’ role as our high priest mediating for us, and that he also offers himself as the sacrifice for us, and in so doing reconciles us to God. In the wilderness, Aaron, as the high priest, was given this familiar form to bless the people of God: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26, ESV). In my former church as an elder I often gave the benediction, and this passage was a favorite. Then one day when preparing, I took particular note of the next verse, 27, which says, “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” Wow! I wasn’t exactly sure what this meant, but somehow this blessing associated the people of God with His Name. I began including it when I used this as a benediction. Praying that God would put His name on us as His people. When I read John 17 in order to write these blogs, I recognized the same name concept is also here in Jesus’ words, He:
Now read vs 27 this way. “So shall [my Son] put my name upon [my people], and I will bless them.” God’s name is on us! But, who are "my people"? Looking again at John 17, we can see the answer. “The people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.” (vs 6-8) That’s us. So, what does having God’s name on us mean? In many ways it is like the idea from Toy Story. As with the toys, the name means that we know who we belong to, and we are set apart as children of God. But the analogy only goes so far. Unlike with the toys, our acceptance is truly permanent. Our God never forgets or neglects us, in fact, He has had a plan for us since the beginning and He has given us to Jesus to do everything necessary to bring about the blessings that He has promised. In yesterday’s post we saw what Jesus has done and is doing on our behalf. One of those things is praying for us. What is He asking for?:
As I wrote and re-wrote the posts for yesterday and today, I realized that Jesus sums up His whole ministry in this prayer.
As you go to prayer consider especially what Jesus asks for us (in bold above), and think about how we participate in them. Day #37: "God’s Glory - John 17 Part 1" (Luke Kephart)
As Jesus approaches the crucifixion, His prayers give us unique insights into His mindset, offering a window into the thoughts that consumed Him as He prepared to fulfill the mission entrusted to Him. John 17 captures this pivotal moment, occurring at the conclusion of the Passover meal, just after Jesus forewarns His disciples of the challenging times ahead. Chapter 16 ends with “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” The prayer in John 17 that follows is intentionally shared with the disciples, and with us. “But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. (John 17:13) Let’s take a look. John 17:1–26 (ESV): 17 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. 20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” A central theme in this profound prayer is God's glory. As Jesus prays, He begins as He taught His people to pray giving glory to God (Matt 6:9). The term "Hallowed" in the ESV, related to "Holy," emphasizes the separateness and set-apart nature of God. Jesus claims this glory as His own (vs 1), grounded in:
Jesus then goes on to pray for “the people whom you gave me out of the world” (vs 6). “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” (vs 9) He prays for:
As we reflect on the prayer in John 17 and the theme of God's glory, it is important to consider specific facets that resonate with our understanding of the Father, the Son, and ourselves. One aspect of the Father's uniqueness lies in His boundless love for us, a love identical to the affection He has for the Son, as highlighted in verse 23: "...so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me." This profound love is manifested in the Father sending His Son to make it possible for us to be given eternal life (vs 3). Jesus' prayer in John 17 exudes confidence in the completion of His divine work, assuring us that God's plan will undoubtedly unfold. Consider these statements of Jesus regarding what he has done and is doing:
Following this prayer, as Jesus enters the garden, the other gospels present a different view, where Jesus, expressing His humanity, faces the trials to come. In that moment, He confirms His obedience to the Father. That obedience was already assured and is reflected in this earlier prayer. and Jesus not only displays obedience but also makes a conscious choice to save us, declaring in verse 19, "And for their sake, I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth." As we engage in prayer today, think about these truths:
As we enter the final week of our reading/prayer program, we will turn our attention to the prayers of Jesus which were made at the end of his life. We know from the Gospel's that Jesus was frequently praying and many of his prayers were recorded. The ones that are associated with the last stage of his life are particularly noteworthy.
Day #36: Jesus Laments Over Jerusalem (MK) The Scripture that we read below occurs during the final week of his life, when Jesus was in Jerusalem. After his triumphal entry, Jesus shook things up in the temple. He kicked out the money changers and disrupted the vital center of religious and economic activity. As you can imagine this really got the attention of the religious leaders! The chief priests, the Sadducees, the Pharisees and the "elders of the people" all took turns trying to challenge him in public arguments, but with no success. Jesus responds with a host of denunciations for them, and then this lament. Matthew 23:37-39 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Now, I have to admit that it is not absolutely clear that this is a prayer. It is not certain that Jesus was saying this to God. However, it has a great deal in common with Old Testament prayers of lament. In fact, most Bibles title this section, "Lament Over Jerusalem." Earlier in our series we discussed many of the types of prayers that are found in the Bible, especially in the Psalms. We discussed prayers of praise, thanksgiving, confession, petition, and even imprecation. Another type of prayer that we did not discuss is the lament. Many of the Psalms are described as Psalms of Lament. In fact, an entire book of the Bible, reflecting on the fall of Jerusalem is called, Lamentations. For modern people, this is one of our least common forms of prayer. Perhaps this is because we are good at shielding ourselves from pain, or at least good at creating the illusions of control. A prayer of lament expresses our sorrow to God and puts it in his presence. Often, we may move on to ask God to do something about the problem. Again, as modern people we tend to skip ahead to this part and just start asking for help. But lament is a significant part of our human experience and an important part of our connection to God. If the main point of prayer, is about deepening our relational connection to God, then lament is an important part of that process. In lament, we connect our pain to God. We acknowledge our disappointment and sorrow and we place these things before our Heavenly Father. We do this knowing that he can work right now to fix our problems. We do this knowing that he will one day fix our whole broken world and renew our broken lives. But we also do this knowing that we have a high priest who can sympathize with our weakness (Heb 4.) Jesus knows what it is like to face disappointment and frustration. In this prayer he acknowledges that he "longed to gather" his people into his care, like a mother hen with her chickens. And yet he knows, that this desire will be left unanswered. He has been shown the path and he knows that it will lead to his rejection and crucifixion and that one day judgment will once again fall on Jerusalem. I have two thoughts about this. First, I am struck by the sorrow that Jesus shows for his enemies. The people who have rejected him and the work of God's Messiah are the very people that Jesus laments. We might have expected him to lash out in anger. Instead, he expresses sorrow for their woeful choice. Are there ways in which it would be helpful for us to lament the enemies of God that we find threatening to the church? Second, I am considering the alternatives that we use in place of lamenting. In other words, what do you do when you fail to lament something that is sorrowful. Do you burry it in a mountain of distractions? Do you lash out in anger? Do you retreat in silent despair? Do you grasp after some way to get even or settle the score of strike back at your enemies? In the shadow of the cross, facing the rejection of his own people, Jesus chose to lament and express sorrow over their disastrous choices. What are the things in your life that you need to bring before God in lament? Day #35: Prayer for Abundant Love
This Sunday we will be looking at Paul's prayer for the Philippian church in which he asks God to cause their love to abound. Have you ever prayed that you would love people more? Or do our prayers to often stop at the edge of our felt needs. To take it a step further, have you prayed that someone else would be a more loving person? In my experience, God seems to act quickly to answer such prayers, even though we don't often think to pray this way. Praying for love can seem a little vague. Thankfully, Paul fleshes out the concept of "love" and also demonstrates what it looks like as he cares for the Philippian church. The worship service is livestreamed on our YouTube channel and is saved afterward: 2024/03/24 CRPC Palm Sunday Worship Service Livestream (youtube.com) Here is the sermon text: Philippians 1:3-11 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. This is our final post in Daniel's series on historic practices of prayer. Next week we will be reading and reflecting on prayers that Jesus said during the last week of his life. On Saturday we will have our final post, which looks back on our prayer program together. (MK)
Day #34: "Singing as Prayer" (Daniel Snoke) The church has been singing since it began. There are many places we could point to biblically and historically about the connection between prayer and singing, but St. Augustine summarized this well when he said, "he who sings prays twice". By this he meant that singing is not just an intellectual ascent to God, but an embodied participation in his grace. Below is an excerpt from my essay on why Christians sing, which will help us understand how singing deepens our prayers. In Reflections on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis talks about how the expression of an emotion is the completion of that emotion. As we experience the emotion of joy when we look at a sunset, our natural response is to turn to our friends and invite them to express with us how beautiful it is, “Wow! Isn't that a great sky!” Lewis argues that until we give voice to our experiences and invite others into them, our emotions are incomplete. In the same way, we might understand thankfulness on an intellectual level, but until we express it to others, our thankfulness is incomplete. In Ephesians 5, when Paul commands us to “be filled with the Spirit” and the actions that accompany it, he is not giving us an impossible task. Rather, he is showing us how to embrace our union with Christ through the actions of worship. When he tells the church to sing, he wants us to not just comprehend God, but to receive his grace and presence through the means of singing. God wants us to express and complete our thoughts and emotions through singing, so much so that there are more than 50 direct commandments to sing in the Bible, and even more discussion of songs. So what is “singing,” and how do we do it? Colossians 3:16 is another famous passage that commands Christians to sing, and it will help us answer these questions. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” First, singing involves our minds. When Paul exhorts us as believers to let Christ’s word dwell in us, he connects teaching to singing. Our songs have lyrics, and they do not just exist to complement the melody, but they guide our thoughts to God’s truth. Some scholars think “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” is referencing different sections of the Psalter, while most interpret it more broadly. Either way, it is clear that our singing is supposed to form our minds and highlight God’s word. Many of us can quote scripture or understand theology because we have learned songs that teach us and help us memorize content. Christianity is a faith built upon evidence and facts, so our singing requires our understanding. Christ is the Word Made Flesh, and so our minds are required when we unite ourselves to him. In Colossians, Paul wants our singing to be specific and to engage the details of our thoughts and beliefs. I know a lot of people who feel manipulated when they are asked to sing in worship. Sometimes it is because of their own hard hearts, but often it is because our songs lack the intellectual depth to give them a reason to sing. We would never ask someone to buy a used car before they knew what kind of car it was and what its history was. We need knowledge before we commit, and the same is true for singing. We cannot ask christians to emotionally commit to a vague idea of religion. Instead, our singing should play a part in telling the story of redemption. This does not mean we can never sing a simple song, but it does mean that the context and content of a song matters. Our worship is not just an attitude or general feeling; it is an expression of specific emotions that are driven by particular truths. Second, singing involves your body. It might seem obvious, but you cannot sing without your body. Your head vibrates, your core muscles tense and relax, your mouth moves, and your limbs keep rhythmic time. Paul wants us to not just understand Christ’s word, but to embody it, letting it “dwell in” us. Songs that stick with you have a special power because when you sing, the words become yours, not just ideas you receive. In Genesis, God made mankind in his image, including the ability to embody ideas and creatively express them. To sing something, you need a rhythm and a melody. This requires you to comprehend lyrics not just on a philosophical level, but in an artistic and interpretive way as well. You are required to ask what “grace” might feel or sound like physically, not just what it means. As the second person of the Trinity, Christ has a physical body, which means he has a literal human voice. As we worship with him, our physical voices echo his. When we worship together as a church, our individual bodies are joined into a corporate body. Earlier in Colossians chapter 1, Paul talks about how we are the body of Christ. This is not just a metaphysical reality, but a tangible, physical one as well. This is perhaps best realized when the church sings. When a multitude of people join their voices together, individual physical sound waves unite and become one. Harmony of music is a physical manifestation of many becoming one. When churches do not sing, or sing songs that are hard for the average person to perform, or create an atmosphere where the corporate voice is diminished, the physical reality of our worship is lost. It is easy to use music to over spiritualize or intellectualize worship in an effort to achieve a sense of personal intimacy with Jesus, but when we do, we lose the manifestation of Christ himself here and now in the presence of his gathered people. Paul wants our singing to embrace the physical reality of the church, both individually and corporately. Third, singing involves your spirit. Paul says our hearts should be engaged in singing, not just our intellects and bodies. It is not enough to make noise and understand ideas, we are also supposed to sing from our hearts. Singing often leads our hearts away from selfish emotions and into ones that we ought to feel instead. This is what Paul is getting at in Colossians when he commands us to have thankful hearts while we sing. We often think or act like we have no control over what we feel, but Paul wants us to be able to choose what we cultivate in our hearts. Singing lets us express and choose the emotion we embody through song. Mr. Fred Rodgers understood this when he wrote the children’s song, What Do You Do With The Mad That You Feel: “[...]It's great to be able to stop When you've planned a thing that's wrong, And be able to do something else instead And think this song: I can stop when I want to Can stop when I wish I can stop, stop, stop any time. And what a good feeling to feel like this And know that the feeling is really mine. Know that there's something deep inside[...]” What Fred Rodgers is getting at is the fact that we can own our emotions through our actions. We do not need to be a slave to our feelings, but through our expression, we can lead our hearts. As we choose to express thankfulness while we sing, we may not always feel very authentic, but we are training our hearts to make room for thankfulness and we grow our capacity for its reality within us. Christ himself sang the Psalms and expressed a wide range of emotion through them. On the cross, he sang Psalm 22, crying out in anguish on our behalf. When Paul says to sing the Psalms, he meant all the Psalms, including the ones Christ sang in agony and despair. The Psalms deeply express a very wide range of emotion, not just joy and thankfulness. They are full of lament, anger, sorrow, despair, pain, joy, love, peace... For our worship to truly involve our spirits and not just our minds and bodies, we must include the full range of emotion in our singing. If Christians only sang happy or victorious songs, we would live skewed emotional lives. I have talked to many Christians who struggle to understand God in the midst of pain and sorrow. In part, this is because they have only sung songs about his glory or majesty. They need songs to sing that also include God’s sorrow over pain and his anger towards injustice. Singing has an amazing way of engaging every aspect of our beings; mind, body, and spirit. It is no wonder then, that both scripture and church tradition have highlighted it as an important means of uniting ourselves to Christ in worship. Day #33: The Sermon on the Mount Part 3: Prayer and the Sovereignty of God (Dave Snoke)
Matthew 6:8 “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” It’s possible to get tied in knots about cause and effect when we think of prayer. If God knows what we need before we ask, why ask? For that matter, if God ordains all things that come to pass (e.g., Romans 11:36), what role can prayer have in anything? We don’t seem to have the same philosophical problems in thinking about other things we do. We cook food for ourselves, and don’t say, “If God ordained for me to have food, it would just appear, and I wouldn’t need to cook!” We put on clothes, and don’t say, “If God ordained for me to not be naked, clothes would just appear on me!” No, we understand that both can be true, that God can ordain something to come about, and also that my actions can be the means that God uses to bring that about. My actions don’t always bring about what I intend, and sometimes things happen without me doing anything, but often and normally, God works through our actions. Prayer is no different. One can say that “Things happen when we pray that don’t happen when we don’t pray.” God is pleased to use our prayers as one of the means of having his goals come about. This doesn’t mean that our prayers work by changing God’s mind, making him do something he didn’t want to do. As C.S. Lewis wrote in The Magician’s Nephew, “Wouldn't he know without being asked?' said Polly. 'I've no doubt he would,' said the Horse... 'But I've a sort of an idea he likes to be asked.” God is very often in the Bible depicted as responding to our prayers. He may wait until we ask before acting. That is not because he does something he doesn’t want to do, but because he is pleased to used our prayers as part of the process. When you pray, ask and call out for what you believe is good, having faith that God can do it, and knowing that he loves to bless and give good things. Don’t view your prayers as just a religious duty or one that makes you more spiritual, but as something that can actually change the course of human history (for example, think of the Israelites calling out to God, and God answering by freeing their whole nation; see Exodus 2:23-25), and as something that can change the lives of the people around you. Day #32: "Sermon on the Mount Part 2: How to Ask" (Dave Snoke)
Matthew 6:5-7 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.…And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words." (also) James 1:6-8 “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (and) James 4:3-4 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?” Yesterday, we discussed how we shouldn’t think that we need to use a special formula to get God to answer our prayers. But the Bible also tells us that certain ways of approaching God can hinder our prayers being answered. That is, God may deem some prayers, even of his children, as unacceptable. The verses above, and others, tell us that the following can hinder our prayers:
This doesn’t mean that we have to be sinless to pray to God! But it does mean that we need to re-orient ourselves toward God when we pray. This is one reason why the Lord’s Prayer taught by Jesus includes confession of sin. |
AuthorThe primary author and coordinator of the blog is Pastor Matt Koerber. ArchivesCategories |