The Intimacy of Prayer

When Jesus responded to the enquiry, "Lord, teach us to pray", His teaching would have caused alarm and religious affront to the spiritual teachers and elders of His day. Why?

Jesus is audacious enough to address Yahweh, Jehovah, the One Living God as "Our Father".

If you examine Yahweh/Jehovah/Elohim in the Old Testament, you will see a God surrounded by lightening and fire. His holiness is so pure and perfect, that only certain people, under certain very strict conditions could even touch the ark of the covenant. Moses was not permitted to look on the face of God. We see Heavenly visions of seraphim, cherubim, smoke filling Heaven, and God being revealed in a long gown on a throne. These images make us step back in reverence, awe and fear. He is God - submit and obey.

We can never dispense with these revelations of God - He is Holy, perfect, and we cannot look Him in the aye as an equal. There is a natural response of humility and awe even when we pray as we bow our head and approach cautiously.

Yet Jesus addresses God as Father, implying an intimacy and personal relationship. We see him demonstrating this beautiful, intimate relationship time and time again in the Gospels as He abides in God with child-like trust, passionate intimacy, and a confidence that is unwavering.

We see no cathedrals where the altar is up the very front, and the only person who can approach is the priest. Rather, we see the veil in the temple torn, inviting us into the very holy of holies to have a personal intimacy with God, made available by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus' body and blood. And because of Pentecost, you do not have to go anywhere special, or be any one special to have this intimacy. The Holy Spirit makes His dwelling among us, we are His temple, so just pray to Him where you are in the intimacy of His Spirit in you.

Yes, fear God and obey Him. Respect Him as higher, better, smarter, stronger and wiser than you. Praise Him as the One who was, is, and is to come. But come to Him as your Father. Approach with humble confidence and trust, believing that He desires this of you and loves it when you approach Him as Father.

Un-natural Prayer

I have always found it interesting that on one occasion, after observing Jesus praying, one of His disciples approached Him and asked, "teach us to pray." It implies that although this disciple had been praying, that upon observing the manner of Jesus communicating with His heavenly Father, he (or she) realised that their prayer life was limited and they needed teaching. Read Luke 11:1 - 13

There is the basic part of prayer, the foundational heart-cry of the person who recognises their need of God's activity in their daily life, and so they call upon God regarding circumstance, needs, emotions, joys, triumphs and the daily cares. The Holy Spirit causes a desire for ongoing communication with our God, so close and imminent now because of the New Covenant made in Jesus' blood. And on impulse, we cry out to God.

In this Luke 11 reading, Jesus of course accepts this basic, heart-cry of prayer to His Father, and then also opens up a whole new realm of opportunity and possibility in prayer.

He uses phrases such as: -
Hallowed - implying praise, adoration, holiness
God's Kingdom - that we place God's influence and will as the foundation stone of all things in our life
Daily bread - our daily needs to sustain life or to fulfill God's purpose for our life
Forgiveness of sins - asking God to forgive ours, and empowering us with holy love as a basis from which to forgive others
Temptations - distractions and wicked things to be denied a place of strength in our life
Boldness - don't pray too small
Asking, seeking, knocking - persevering in prayer

And He promises that God will give you what you need, over and above what you want. The phrases "how much more" is a declaration of confidence in God's ability and desire to provide everything we can need, ask or imagine.

Delia Smith once wrote, "Prayer is a whole lifetime's journey into God".

If you are struggling with a meaningful prayer life, ask you minister, pastor or Christian mentor to "teach me to pray", but more importantly, ask Jesus yourself.

But perhaps the most un-natural part of prayer, and therefore the most difficult part to learn, is to wait on God. As you pray or after you have poured out your heart in adoration, confession, thanksgiving and requests, learning to be still and wait for God to reply, or challenge, or discipline, or even rebuke. This stillness is so hard, especially when we are busy or our need for answered prayer is so urgent.

If a salesman is to come to your home, you will only allow him to be late by 15 min or so and then you will wait no longer. But if a long lost son or daughter is to come, you will probably be willing to wait days or even weeks for them to arrive. The principle is this: the more we love a person, the longer we are prepared to wait. Our love of God needs to be strong and overwhelming, and so we need to learn to wait for God, wait on God, being still in His presence and letting Him work in the silence.

So be still, and learn to pray

So much of religion and spirituality over the centuries has really only projected a God "in our own image". We place our hopes and dreams, fears and failings, guilts and joys into animal images, or gods like the Greek Gods who were just powerful, overbearing divine humans.

Yahweh, the God of Israel, who fully revealed Himself in Jesus of Nazareth asks that we do not make up ideas and notions about him, nor does He ask us to blindly reach out to Him in blind hope. The entire Christian faith is based on God revealing Himself, disclosing His nature and purposes to us so we do not have to make things up, pretend, or speak to the wind in blind hope.

He reveals Himself in nature. Soaring, majestic mountains. Mighty rivers and lakes. Thundering storms, cyclones, with lightening.
He reveals Himself in the cycle of life. The lion eats the deer. But when the lion dies, it rots into the ground and becomes fertiliser, that in turns helps the grass grow, that feeds the deer.
He reveals Himself in the cosmos. Planets continually moving, spinning. Stars being made and unmade. Black holes, satellite moons, rings of gas and rock.
He reveals Himself in the amazing human being. Our capacity to step back, observe, reflect and plan. Our emotions, laughter, music

But if we leave our revelation of God there, He remains distant, too much for us, inapproachable, and detached from human affairs.

So we come to the idea of revelation - God showing Himself to us. The bible shows God in the burning bush with Moses

• on Mt. Sinai in fire and smoke presenting His Law
• in the desert in columns of fire and smoke
• in the Ark of the Covenant

Then He begins to really disclose Himself to the prophets. Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel receive incredible images of God in Heaven in His power, authority and presence. Images of angels, smoke and fire, spinning wheels of confusion, white light and glowing presence.

But it is in Jesus that God is disclosed to us. In the prophecies relating to Him, His birth, His life, His teaching, His suffering, His death, His descent into Hell, His resurrection, His ascension and return to Heaven, and finally in His promised return.

If you are seeking God, or needing His influence in your life, it is to Jesus you must first go. He is the "way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the father, except through Him".

Church Governance at Brighton Church of Christ

Sometimes we are asked how a church is run, within what is known as Churches of Christ. Broadly, it can be described as “congregational” in style. This means that decisions are made, primarily democratically, based on the voting of the congregation.

 

As a result, the congregation elects its elders, who are responsible for the spiritual decisions of the church. Similarly, the congregation elects its Board, of which, all the elders are automatically members. The Board makes the administrative decisions of the church.

 

Within these two groups, decisions are made democratically also, with “majority” decisions being the constitutional requirement. In practice, almost all decisions are made unanimously.

 

It should be understood that all votes are technically equal. However, the minister, who is considered to be a “teaching elder”, naturally is more influential in both these groups: there is a bias to adopt the views of the minister, noting that the minister is always accountable to the elders, the board, and ultimately the congregation. These are the checks and balances that ensure the church is well governed.

 

The church also benefits from the advice and input of the central body, which is known as Conference of Churches of Christ – Vic/Tas, in our case. This is the source of expert advice when required. However, “Conference” does not interfere with decision making within the church and waits to be invited to assist.

 

The church has a constitution which is reviewed as necessary. Changes to the Constitution also require the approval of the congregation.

 

David Millar

Future Perfect

Training & Project Management Pty Ltd

ABN 27 093 330 959

www.future-perfect.com.au

Phone 03 9696 7933 ext 200
Facsimile 03 9696 9833

Mobile 0408 598 043

Healing prayer is available at Brighton Church of Christ every Sunday from 11am www.brightoncc.com.au
This email is for the use of the intended recipient(s) only. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and then delete it. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not keep, use, disclose, copy or distribute this email without the author's prior permission. We have taken precautions to minimize the risk of transmitting software viruses, but we advise you to carry out your own virus checks on any attachment to this message. We cannot accept liability for any loss or damage caused by software viruses. The information contained in this communication might be confidential. If you are the intended recipient and you do not wish to receive similar electronic messages from us in future then please respond to the sender to this effect.

 

Welcome Note

Hello and welcome to Brighton Church of Christ Blog.

Over the next few weeks and months, we will be posting more information about our church and what is going on.