GREENE STREET LETTERS: Teach Us To Pray

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Teach Us To Pray

In his book, Spiritual Man, Watchman Nee writes, "Nowadays Christians appear to treat prayer as a means to accomplish their aims and ideas. If they possessed just a little deeper understanding, they would recognize that prayer is but man uttering to God what is God's will."

One of the strongest statements I ever heard someone say was on a teaching tape from a series by John Wimber. He stated, "The flesh or sin nature is not permitted in prayer. No mixing of man's will in God's work is possible."
What does this mean?
God does not will himself to follow what man initiates. He is not bound by some mystical, eternal code of ethics that forces Him to follow man's petty petitions.
As His creation, it is our duty to seek out the heart of God and then breathe back to Him in our prayers what His will is.

Why would we think that Jesus' command to FOLLOW HIM would end with our prayers and that our prayers could become a vehicle for our own human desires and will? We have somehow not grasped the idea that we truly were bought with a price and we truly do belong to Jesus.
Every day I am made painfully aware that my life is no longer mine to do with as I please. The pain comes from my old nature wanting to have it's way. Screaming at me, "Go ahead and follow this Jesus but don't surrender everything!"

I have given my life once to Jesus.
I give my will every day.
Some days are easy.
Some days are a struggle.
Many believer's don't want to hear this. They want a pseudo-feel-good-theology.
My prayers are covered in tears a lot of the time.
My prayers are sometimes without words. Just groaning and weeping.
This is the school we are called to.
Each day is a teaching lesson.
I learn the shallowness of my own life in relation to the fullness of God.
That is what brings Joy to my heart.
That is the hope that causes me to rise up every morning.
That in communion with Christ, As I find His heart and will, I can truly breathe back to Him, in prayer, his plans for me. Then, as it says in Psalm 5....I wait expecting!

God on you......

mb

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Looking At The World Through Cracked Lens

As ol' Paul wrote in his Corinthian letters.."We see in part and we know in part." Now what piece of this bit of wisdom do we not get? I wish to not run around acting and trying to be some sort of Biblical G00-Ru (I meant to spell it wrong). Or a sage of sages.

I simply want to be able to communicate some of what God has given to me. Why? Do I think what I get is better than what you may have received from Him? Nope. But I do think encouragement comes when we share our daily story of struggle and victory in an effort to encourage each other.

Thanks for letting me share.

Time to soldier on..

mbb

Our Statement of Faith

We believe that God is the eternal king. He is an infinite, unchangeable Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, power and love. From all eternity He exists as the One Living and True God in three persons of one substance, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit equal in power and glory. we believe that God created mankind in His image, male and female, for relationship with Himself and to govern the earth. Under the temptation of Satan, our original parents fell from grace, bringing sin, sickness and God's judgment of death to the earth. Through the fall, Satan and his demonic hosts gained access to God's good creation. Creation now experiences the consequences and effects of Adam's original sin. Human beings are born into sin, subject to God's judgment of death and captive to Satan's kingdom of darkness. We believe that Jesus, God's Son, was sent to this world, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, Mary, fully God and fully man in one person. He is humanity as God intended us to be. Jesus was anointed as God's Messiah and empowered by the Holy Spirit, ushering in God's kingdom reign on earth, overpowering the reign of Satan by resisting temptation, preaching the good news of salvation, healing the sick, casting out demons and raising the dead. Jesus' atoning death on the cross took God's judgment for sin which we deserved as law-breakers. Jesus' resurrection and ascent back to heaven opened the door for those who received salvation to begin a relationship with God.

Little Nets Into Deep Waters

Fishing nets were designed for one purpose only. To catch fish. Nets are no good if they stay on the boat. Nets serve no purpose if they are never used. I think maybe God sees us this way. We are all created for a purpose (by the way, the creator gets to define what our purpose is). Any other use besides the one we were created for does us no good. But when the creator places His hands upon us, casting us out into those scary, dark places with deep waters, it is then we can see the reality of our purpose. He knew there would be a catch waiting for us. I think I will be the net God has called me to be.

The Twelve Steps

As a community of people in recovery, we affirm that our higher power is Jesus Christ. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Just as God told the children of Israel He was going to give them a promised land, He has revealed to us that He desires to give us a "Promised Life." When Israel got to the promised land, God instructed them to go and in a possess it, fight for it and claim it. In recovery, the 12 Steps are the directions given to us on how to fight, possess and claim this promised life.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Teach Us To Pray

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD