Thursday at Noon
Every Thursday at noon I go to a prayer meeting. It's a group of guys from all over the area who meet, eat (if they remembered their brown bag), steal (from the other guy's bag of cookies), share what's happening in their lives, and ... pray.
That doesn't look like much of an agenda, maybe, since stopping in the middle of the week seems counterintuitive. Don't we all have enough to get done, without adding one more thing to the mix?
Sure we do. I could be sitting here blogging. Or playing guitar. Or stopping by to see someone who needs help. Or preparing for Sunday's worship. Or writing a letter. Or picking my bellybutton lint. So why pray?
Because it always helps to line things up properly. In last night's national College championship football game, one team's kicker missed an extra point. Chip shot! Who could miss that, from so close? Welll... the kicker for the Texas Longhorns, that's who. And it's not because he can't kick the ball; it's because the ball wasn't lined up right.
Foot -> shoe -> holder -> ball -> goalposts...they've all got to be lined up right. If the muscles and tendons in the leg aren't doing their job, or the guy holding the ball, or the guy who hikes the ball, or whatever else isn't in line, you don't get points; you get groans. Like Charlie Brown used to say, "I could have been the hero. Instead, I'm the goat."
Prayer is a moment when you stop and make sure the world is lining up correctly. No, the world doesn't have to line up with ME. It's not about MY goals and opinions. Prayer is asking God to conform me and my world to His intentions.
For example, I know a couple of men who are on the outs with each other and have been for years. Both will tell you, "Oh, I don't have a problem with him; he's got a problem with me!" But the truth is, they have problems with each other, and neither one will admit it goes both ways. But if they would stop and pray together, really wanting God to have His way on this earth (you know, "THY Kingdom come, THY will be done" etc) it wouldn't be long before they'd each be apologizing and offering to take the other out to lunch.
(You can't hold a grudge and honor God. Jesus said it's impossible, and He ought to know.)
My weekly prayer meeting lets me
* stop
* focus on the Lord
* re-orient my heart
* remember what life is about
* lift up my concerns
* gain His peace and assurance
* get His input on what I'm doing
* get His direction on changes I need to make
* thank Him confidently
* proceed to kick the ball.
If I've done all that well, the ball tends to go straight. Is it because I'm a great kicker? Not at all. It's because everything is lined up. You know, you don't have to be Minnesota Fats to play pool; you just have to hit a round ball with a round stick in the right direction.
If I'm not taking the time to pray, I'm only guessing at what that right direction is, but when I stop and line things up right, the way God says, I can hit the mark. It's something I have to do daily if I want daily success. It just so happens that I do it in a group on Thursdays at noon.
That doesn't look like much of an agenda, maybe, since stopping in the middle of the week seems counterintuitive. Don't we all have enough to get done, without adding one more thing to the mix?
Sure we do. I could be sitting here blogging. Or playing guitar. Or stopping by to see someone who needs help. Or preparing for Sunday's worship. Or writing a letter. Or picking my bellybutton lint. So why pray?
Because it always helps to line things up properly. In last night's national College championship football game, one team's kicker missed an extra point. Chip shot! Who could miss that, from so close? Welll... the kicker for the Texas Longhorns, that's who. And it's not because he can't kick the ball; it's because the ball wasn't lined up right.
Foot -> shoe -> holder -> ball -> goalposts...they've all got to be lined up right. If the muscles and tendons in the leg aren't doing their job, or the guy holding the ball, or the guy who hikes the ball, or whatever else isn't in line, you don't get points; you get groans. Like Charlie Brown used to say, "I could have been the hero. Instead, I'm the goat."
Prayer is a moment when you stop and make sure the world is lining up correctly. No, the world doesn't have to line up with ME. It's not about MY goals and opinions. Prayer is asking God to conform me and my world to His intentions.
For example, I know a couple of men who are on the outs with each other and have been for years. Both will tell you, "Oh, I don't have a problem with him; he's got a problem with me!" But the truth is, they have problems with each other, and neither one will admit it goes both ways. But if they would stop and pray together, really wanting God to have His way on this earth (you know, "THY Kingdom come, THY will be done" etc) it wouldn't be long before they'd each be apologizing and offering to take the other out to lunch.
(You can't hold a grudge and honor God. Jesus said it's impossible, and He ought to know.)
My weekly prayer meeting lets me
* stop
* focus on the Lord
* re-orient my heart
* remember what life is about
* lift up my concerns
* gain His peace and assurance
* get His input on what I'm doing
* get His direction on changes I need to make
* thank Him confidently
* proceed to kick the ball.
If I've done all that well, the ball tends to go straight. Is it because I'm a great kicker? Not at all. It's because everything is lined up. You know, you don't have to be Minnesota Fats to play pool; you just have to hit a round ball with a round stick in the right direction.
If I'm not taking the time to pray, I'm only guessing at what that right direction is, but when I stop and line things up right, the way God says, I can hit the mark. It's something I have to do daily if I want daily success. It just so happens that I do it in a group on Thursdays at noon.
posted by David Hardesty | 2:55 PM
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