It is always amazing to me how quickly I grab hold of my life and tell God, "nah I'm good I got it, thanks though". So when Foster said on page 33, " How often we fashion cloaks of evasion - beam-proof shelters -- in order to elude our Eternal Lover. But when we pray, God slowly and graciously reveals to us our evasive actions and sets us free from them." That so often my desire to not meet God in prayer is in order to "evade" what God may have for me, fearing the unknown only to pray and connect with God and get disarmed of that fear.
A couple of weeks ago we did a prayer and worship night at ROCK where students and staff were encouraged to go to stations to pray and worship in different and specific ways. It was a fresh reminder of how vast God is and how we can connect with him in so many unique ways and allowing ourselves to be open to connecting with God in new and unique ways. Bill spoke on being in relationship with God and said, " Often instead of us looking like Christ we often try to make Christ look like us", we can be guilty at times of desiring to have Christ fit into our lives, and connect with us on our terms and I was struck again by what Foster said on page 37, "I determined to learn to pray so that my experience conformed to the word of Jesus rather than try to make his words conform to my impoverished experience." This is how I desire to pray that in all my prayers I am conforming to be more like Christ and meeting him instead of pulling him to me but it is a movement towards Christ.
I am going to pray just to make it today, wise words from MC Hammer and so true if we get to the basics of it.
I've been asking myself all day, "why is 'pray just to make it today' stuck in my brain?!?!?". Then I re-read your post. Steph - you've hammered me with Hammer. You know with hammers and tools they built the temple. With a hammer though I still pound wounds into Christ's flesh. Instead of allowing Him to lead like you encourage me to do in your post it's far easier to "nail him down" (pun definitely intended) so he fits my whim of the day. Astoundingly through mercy my desecration of Christ is His glorious re-creation. Magically His temple is destroyed and recreated with same hammer. How does He do it?? He really is Jesus Chrisf Super Star. Reid Is this what you had in mind when we had the pajama top super hero staff shirts years ago?
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