Prayer - The art of falling in love

Prayer is such a funny thing. Throughout my life I have watched people be passionate, swaying and give many words on one spectrum and solemn, still, and monotone on the other. I always believed the one that was most passionate were more spiritual. Boy was I ever wrong.

I still love the passionate and love being passionate. And nor do I think that the solemn man has it figured out either. Here's what I have discovered: Prayer is being in love.

Matt 6 tells us that babbling is no way of being heard by God. Nor is standing on street corners for people to hear your "righteous" prayers.

I also used to believe that you got what you wanted when you prayed. Jesus did teach that after all, didn't he? There are several times in the Gospel of John where Jesus says "I will give you whatever you want if you have faith" (my paraphrase John 14-16). Honestly, I still struggle with unanswered prayer. But I always have to come back to the reason we pray: Why do we pray anyway?

The answer is easy: Because we are in love. If we look at those passages in John a bit closer and add that with Matt 6, we see that surrounding them are passages that say things like this: "If you remain in me and my words remain in you whatever you ask I will give to you" (John 15:7). The purpose of prayer is not to use God to get what I want, but to fall in love with him to pray what he wants. "Your kingdom come. Your will be done." Our hearts become God's heart.

Why do you think we pray "in Jesus' name?" We are praying in the authority and power of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. He has given us that authority and we are now Christ's ambassadors, carrying his Spirit and his authority (2 Cor 5:20). When we pray in Jesus' name, we surrender our feeble will and take up the powerful will of God. When we pray in Jesus' name we begin to see what it looks like for His kingdom to come and His will to be done.

That's why we pray.

Youth Quake Link

Here is the link for the messages given at Youth Quake. http://www.briercrest.ca/bcast/

Check it out!

YQ Review: Identity

Thanks to all who came to YQ!!! Most of us are sick or have been from this weekend. I want to review a bit of the happenings on the weekend with everyone who came and to update those who didn't.

Let's start with AJ's beautiful Outfit

Joking. But, in honesty it was pretty cool to see him cry over the work God had done over the weekend.

Let's talk Grant Fishbook and the amazing messages that were uttered speedily.

Honestly, he was a fast talker and at times difficult to keep up with. Besides criticizing his form, let's look at the message. First, know that all his messages will be on Briercrest's website, under podcasts, very soon!

The first two message had everything to do with Identity. The idea that, in Christ we have a new identity. Just like God changed Jacob's name from the trickster to wrestles with God and overcomes! God names him Israel! That man, a man who was so corrupt and sick with sin was transformed by God to give birth to the great nation of Isreal. His name bore the name of an entire nation. When we come to God, repenting of our sin, God gives us a new identity. He makes us new beings. God names us (here I can picture Grant's thumbs up as he numbers them) "My Child," and a few others that slip my mind. Can you help me out? What are some names God gives us?

In finding this new identity we have to throw our current identity to God and pick up the new one, like Moses threw his identity in his staff to the ground and picked up his new one, trusting in God that the snake would not bite him. What are the implications of this you may ask?

YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN. We try to rule our lives the best we can but in reality we belong to God. His blood has paid for us and he gives us our new identity and life (1 Cor 6). I dare you to read that chapter and see for yourselves. And see how good it is that we are not our own. This is not a tragedy, but a blessing. Check it out.

As scared as the Groundhog

Feb 2nd was a grand day. The sun was shining, the snow was glistening. Then, in a moment, chaos broke out. The groundhog saw his shadow. Terrified as he was, he leaped back into his whole in fright of the darkness cast by himself. Thus, he predicted 6 more weeks of winter.

The issue is this: The Historic Foundation of Canada did a test within 13 cities from the past 30-40 years and found that the groundhog is only successful 37% of the time. If only he realized the sun caused his shadow then he may be more credible. Huh...

Ephesians 5 talks about a load of rules we are to follow. Though not as ridiculous as the groundhog rule, the passage can sound like our mom is down our throats telling us not to have sex and stop swearing or I'll wash your mouth out with soap. Feel my wrath!!!!! The problem isn't the rules or discipline, its the fact that we have no idea why there are rules.

Verses 8-9 begin to tell us the answer. It's because "you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as Children of light." The darkness once filled our lives, but when we come to God and find ourselves in His grace, he fills us with his light and we become light's for God and we must not put it under a bowl (Matt 5).

The Ephesians passage has a dilemma: It says we are light, but yet calls us to be light. If we are light why are we not being light? That is exactly Paul's and God's question to us. God says, I have purified you and have called you my child. I make you holy and your name is now written in the lambs book of life. And you still live as the child of darkness I redeemed you from.

Here's the issue we face: We get scared of our own shadow, just like the groundhog. And are wrong 37% or more of the time. If only it were the opposite. We get scared that there is still darkness in our lives and we hide from it instead of facing it. If only we realized that the only way we see sin and darkness in our lives is because God reveals it to us (1 John 3:20). If only we saw that The Shadow Proves the Sunshine, as Relient K reminds us, then we could face our sin head on realizing its God who is shining behind us. He causes us to be light, but all we see is our own darkness!

So turn around little groundhogs, see that the Shadow proves the sunshine and let the Lord's brilliance illuminate us.

God's Will (What will you be when you grow up?)

Psalm 19 ends with a powerful prayer that admits the defeat of the self and the power of God. It is a prayer of confession that takes honour from the self and places honour where it belongs, with God.

The psalm begins with creation proclaiming the glory of God and then turns to the laws of the Lord being perfect, "reviving the soul." Next, David confesses his hidden faults and willful sins as well. Then this verse blows everything out of the water, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Oh Lord, my rock, and my redeemer."

As I attempt to wake up each morning I also make a second attempt: to get focused. Our society pushes us to success and to "advance" in life. We are asked from a young age "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Of course this is an innocent question . . . until it becomes our obsession. I would like to answer this question, though, for all to hear. My answer is this:

PERFECT! That's right. I want to be perfect when I grow up. In Thessalonians 4 and 5 Paul redefines what God's will is for our lives or what our destiny or desires may be. Not once does it mention a where or a what, but a How. Its not where you live or what you become that is ultimately God's will for our lives, it is How we live it out. Being holy and sanctified is what matters. God's Spirit gives us this gift of holiness and sanctification. In other words, God makes us perfect in Him. Not perfect in our terms, but his. Complete in unity with God. So, one can be a plumber and still glorify God with his life, maybe better.

How can we let the Spirit do this in our lives???? Its really hard some may say. Here is some help from Colossians 4:2-6:

1) Be in Prayer

2)Be Watchful

3) Be Thankful

1) Be in Prayer because this is our direct connection with God. We must spent time with Him to be immersed in His Spirit.

2)Be Watchful in how to be God's light in a dark world. Serving others in Christ removes selfishness.

3) Be Thankful because a thankful heart is a soft heart, and God molds soft hearts. God can purify soft hearts but hard hearts He leaves alone.

So I end with this focus and Prayer as I enter this New Year: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Oh Lord, my rock, and my redeemer!"