Read pgs 88-91 30 DCC guidebook
Then he said, "Imagine what would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. An old friend traveling through just showed up, and I don't have a thing on hand.'
"The friend answers from his bed, 'Don't bother me. The door's locked; my children are all down for the night; I can't get up to give you anything.'
"But let me tell you, even if he won't get up because he's a friend, if you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbors, he'll finally get up and get you whatever you need.
"Here's what I'm saying:
Ask and you'll get;
Seek and you'll find;
Knock and the door will open.
Ask and you'll get;
Seek and you'll find;
Knock and the door will open.
"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider?
As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing—you're at least decent to your own children. And don't you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask him?"
Jesus, Luke 11:5-10 The Message
That is quite an amazing passage of scripture. I can only take it to mean that Jesus believes there is a very real and tangible power in prayer.
What do we think?
I think our beliefs about prayer are made known by the way we practice it.
Why don't we pray more?
Maybe we are afraid we won't say the right words. Maybe it feels like an exercise in talking to an imaginary friend. Maybe we're kind of afraid it will work. Maybe we're absolutely sure it won't.
But what did Jesus say about it, and what did he do?
He prayed. A lot.
The one who we believe by faith was no less than God among us, God with us --- prayed. He had a habit of sneaking off and being by himself to be present with God.
We don't know what he said during those times. The closest windows we have to the prayers of Jesus are his prayers for the unity of the church in John, his prayer in Gethsemane, and what we know as The Lord's Prayer.
They're all amazingly simple. They're all deeply beautiful, and timeless, and they all seem anchored in a deep kind of submission to God's love and authority.
Which might be closer to the reason we struggle with our prayers.
Jesus tells us to ask with boldness and clarity. And then by example, he asks for things like a single day's bread, forgiveness and the ability to forgive, protection, submission to God's will, even if it means a cross.
The results were incredible. This man prayed for the forgiveness of others...while they were crucifying him.
To me, this might be the greatest prayer miracle of them all. Our hearts are transformed when we sit in communion with the presence of God. We cannot help but be changed.
May it be truly so for me, and for all of us.
Grace, Peace, and Transformation through Prayer --
Adam
Today's Small Step: Commit to writing down one prayer per day for the rest of this 30 Day Challenge. Even if it's one sentence, that is more than enough.
Today's Big Idea: What prayers would we pray right now if we truly thought that God would answer them? Write those down.
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