Could Prayer Unite Us?

Today I have been reading some prayers written by a theologian who has been the subject of many a controversy. As I've read these offerings of his heart to God, I have been moved by their spirit and their theological majesty.

I don't always agree with Karl Barth, though I recognize him as one of the greatest thinkers of all time. I also have great admiration and respect for some of those theologians who have questioned and differed with him. Sometimes I've agreed more with Barth's opponents than with Barth. Sometimes vice-versa. But what I have not always appreciated is the mean spirit I've witnessed in attacks on Barth by otherwise respectable scholars. And what really saddens me are those times when I too have allowed myself to become mean-spirited in similar theological debates with others.

Sometimes the tumult of words that both sides pour out are riddled with misunderstandings of each other's positions. Sometimes they are infected with sentiments on the brink of hatefulness. And it really is appalling, when you step back to look at it, to see what respectable leaders and we ourselves are capable of when it comes to spreading misunderstanding and ill will toward others.

And so I wonder, as I sit here reading and even praying these marvelous prayers by Barth: How might the church be different if her factions would simply pray more together? How differently would we feel about
 each other if we could hear each other's hearts being poured out passionately with love for our common Savior and Lord? How much more watchful would we be of each other's wellbeing, and for fairness toward each other, if we were sincerely praying for and with each other? If we could hear each other's most private conversations with God, the intimate lover of our souls?

What Does God Want For You?

If God gave you a list of things you could ask of him, would you ask thinking you'd be declined? Or would you have confidence that he would give you those things because he has given you permission to request them?

I work in an office where many things are supplied by the business owner. When I took the job, the manager said, “Go see Holly to get your business cards. See Adrian at the front desk for envelopes and stationary. The copier is over there; use it any time—copies are free.” And so it went with many other aspects of the job. “Call Marcia for signs; she'll also help you set up your web site.” “We're having a meeting about lead generation on Monday. Come to that so you can get sales leads.” I did all these things without doubting my requests would be honored. And in every case I got what I asked for because I'd been authorized to make those requests.

Now Jesus, God in the flesh, has given us a list of things to ask for in The Lord's Prayer. He has introduced us to our Father in Heaven and assured us of his loving response to our needs. Go and ask him, Jesus says, for his Kingdom and his perfect will to come into your life! Ask him for your basic needs, both physical and spiritual. You need bread? Ask. You need forgiveness because you've screwed up again and again? Ask! You need help with temptation and freedom from enslavements to the evil one? Of course you do! So go and ask him! This is what God wants you to do.

You are authorized to make these requests and he has told you to ask because HE WANTS TO GIVE YOU ALL THESE THINGS!

So what is stopping you? I know what stops me: My own inner walls; my own self-defeating, faith-defeating thought patterns that lie to my soul and tell me God has no power or care for my life or my situation. They tell me I can't do it, or I'm not good enough, or they find every reason why something won't work instead of finding a way to make things work.

But Jesus is as serious about giving me permission to ask these things in The Lord's Prayer as the manager at my office was serious about me getting the things from his assistants that I needed to do my job. And both had the same reason: They want and expect me to be successful.

It would be useless for my manager to grant me all those things if I am not going to apply them for his purposes. And God sees it the same way. There is a divine purpose to our lives and God wants us to accomplish it more than we do!

This means he wants us to have the things outlined in The Lord's Prayer more than we could ever hunger for them ourselves! When you think about how hungry it is possible to get, how needy one can be for forgiveness, how desperately one can long for freedom from the evil one's addictions and enslavements—well, it's just amazing to have this God as our Father in Heaven, wanting us to have his best. But it is oh, so true!

So go! Pray! And ask in faith! Your Father loves you!

Praying "Thy Kingdom Come"

I've been mulling over this quotation of Karl Barth:

"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world."

It puts me in mind of Eugene Peterson's statement:

"Prayer is God's way of giving his people causality in the cosmos."

Any thoughts?