Pray This Way. With Dr. Hal Green

Whenever you pray, you enter into what has been called “the cloud of God”, as God’s unseen Spirit silently descends upon you. You secretly enter heaven’s eternal time and space, where you may come to know God directly with your soul, but not with your mind; where you may see God with your heart, but not with your eyes; where you may hear God with your soul, but not with your ears. In that mysterious cloud, you may also join and be joined by all the generations of Christians who have preceded you in the fulfillment of their faith, and who seek to encourage you to fight the good fight all the way to the end, when you will share with them a destiny in heaven. This renders prayer all the richer with meaning. The truth is, Prayer and worship are going on in heaven and on earth at one and the same time, concurrently. That means we are not alone. The souls of dearly departed family members and friends are spiritually with us, as we are with them. That means our communion with God somehow includes our communion with them. We may sense, but cannot prove this great commonality between the living and the dead, but it is there nevertheless. Our common prayer and worship transcend time and space. We are sharing in a unity to be ours forever in heaven.

      Among the most comforting words Jesus Christ ever spoke, were those uttered shortly before he was arrested and crucified. During my years as a pastor, I said these words at nearly every funeral I conducted. Thinking of us rather than Himself, Jesus sensitively said:            “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).            I have mostly considered these words as referring to Christ coming to meet us after we pass over to the other side. But I recently suggested to a spiritual woman that she meditate on these words in effort to sense Christ’s presence right now. As I said this, the Spirit informed me that these words also mean, “Christ is coming for you now, so that you and Christ can become one in Spirit in this life; and after that, in the life to come.”

      In varying degrees, we all seek the truth. Though we may at times fear the truth, Jesus says that, “you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free . . . So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:32,36). The Apostle Paul echoes Christ’s words, when he says, “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal 5:1).            At the heart of Jesus’ mission was his passion to set us free from every manner of bondage, physical, psychic, or spiritual. In his very first message to humanity, delivered to his own people in Nazareth, Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah (61:1-2):            “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:18-21). 

      When Paul wrote his most positive letter, he did so while in prison, either in Rome or Ephesus around 62 CE. Paul succinctly tells us what to focus on for the sake of our well-being, as well as that of those around us. More than merely read, this passage should also be prayed:            “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9).            To pray Paul’s words, focus on these four questions: What does this passage say? What does it say to you? What do you want to say to God? What does God want to say to you?

           Though it is not certain where Paul was when he wrote his most positive letter, he did so while in prison, either in Rome or Ephesus around 62 CE. Paul succinctly tells us what to focus on for the sake of our well-being, as well as those around us. This passage should not only be read, but also prayed:            “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9).            What does this passage say? What does it say to you? What do you want to say to God? And what does God want to say to you?

THE CIRCLE OF PRAYER             Prayer moves in a continuous circle, from God to you; then from you to God. You will never know for sure who actually began a specific period of prayer. What you feel in your heart that impelled you to pray may have been proceeded by the secret prompting of God.            Yet prayer, like language itself, truly begins in God, streams from the word, which flows eternally between the beloved and the lover, right along with the love itself. Prayers, like love songs, are generated in the unseen, gravity-like field of Spirit between you and the beloved, God. Thus, melodies and prayers represent mutual life, the holy “rubbing” of your soul over against God’s Spirit. Prayer like music does not merely flow through us: it also arouses us, plays with us, interacts with us such that the prayer event itself can change us, as well as the prayer content. The Psalms are replete with examples of the psalmist starting at one place in the opening verses of the psalm, and ending in an entirely different, typically better place by the end.

           As there are different kinds of communication, so also are there different kinds of prayer, moving in differing directions. Here I offer ten interwoven kinds of prayer. In the actual practice of prayer, however, one mode easily extends into another. Truly, during a single prayer period, you can interweave all ten forms. We see this operative in the biblical book of Psalms, where the psalmist may move rapidly from thanksgiving to lament, from intercession to praise. Some types of prayer are soliloquies, without expecting or anticipating a response from God other than listening. The hope here is on the aftermath of the prayer, that the action prayed for from God will come about.            Other modes of prayer seek above all the presence of God. That means, they desire dialogue, direct connection with God, like Elijah seeking God on Mt. Carmel (1 Kgs 19:9-18). The intensity of desire here is for God, which no one other than God can satisfy. Such desire is one of God’s greatest gifts, which will ultimately lead to union with God.

      Let the first step on your path to God be that of faith. Take the proverbial leap of faith that by your faith, you have obtained peace and right standing with God through Jesus Christ. Take hold of that faith, and let it take hold of you.            Once that faith is in place, strengthened by the surrounding grace of God, you will be ready to face unshaken, whatever may come in your service to God and love. Paul puts forward what to expect, in one of the most important promise passages in the Bible:            “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rom 5:1-5). 

      When asked the question about where God is, an ancient sage said simply, “God is wherever we let God in.” There is great truth here. We actually have to invite God in, rather than expect that God will do what we want without our asking or awareness. Who among us would enter into the home of a friend without first knocking and waiting for them to open the door?            When Jesus sent seventy disciples into the countryside to prepare the people for his coming, he said, “Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house” (Luke 10:5-7). 

      It is important to be aware of your expectations about prayer. It is also important to beware of them. We all have expectations about a many things, from the weather to the behavior of loved ones. Much of our daily life is preceded by and lived through the prism of, and silently evaluated by, our expectations. It has been said that, “Relationships go awry when you either don’t get what you expected, or what you get, you did not expect.”            This is certainly the case regarding your relationship with God, including your prayer-life. As you have developed an attitude toward God over time, so also have you developed expectations regarding what might happen during and as a consequence of prayer. 

      A single verse from Isaiah has touched my life deeply over the years. Whenever I pray through it, these anointed words have not failed to quiet and strengthen my soul:            “For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Isa 30:15).             It is never too late to return to God. I have witnessed persons returning to God after years of seeming alienation, for whatever reason. Perhaps it was due to suffering, and not believing that God was there, that God could or would save them from their painful state of helplessness and aloneness. Yet this single verse offers an extraordinary promise from the God of Israel, which God alone can fulfill.

Among the most profound teaching of Jesus occurs in John 3:1-8:            Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." Perhaps the best analogy for being born from above or again is that of falling in love. Falling in love is a life-changing experience, built on the addition of the “other” and what that relationship brings to your life. All that you are falls in love with all that your partner is. Like the John Legend song says, “All of me, loves all of you.” The difference between reading a romance novel and actually meeting and falling in love is analogous to the difference between being “once born” and “born from above.” Yet how can you fall in love with someone you have never met? And how can the once born understand the twice born?

      Without forgiveness and its power to restore us and our relationships, we are destined to become hard of heart. And hardness of heart is anathema to God. The Good News is that Jesus Christ brought God’s forgiveness with Him. Yet there is an important catch to receiving God’s forgiveness: in response to God’s forgiveness, we must become forgivers ourselves. Remaining unforgiving means refusing God’s priceless gift of forgiveness. When you let in God’s blanket forgiveness, you cannot help but forgive yourself and others, because of the freedom of heart and soul forgiveness brings. You do not want to hold onto unforgiveness any longer. 

      Love is the greatest of all the gifts of the Spirit of God. In truth, love is more than a gift; it is God, for “God is love” (1 John 4:8,16). God’s love for us makes possible our love for God in response, as well as our love for humanity. The words of the Apostle John make this quite clear:            “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love . . . So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. In this is love perfected with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:7-8, 17-19).

      You may not laugh as you pray, or pray while you laugh, but prayer and laughter have some crucial elements in common. Both help to lift you out of a situation, or the feeling of being trapped by the circumstances of your life. That is, they offer you an immediate way of stepping back from, if not transcending your current conditions. Prayer and laughter free your inner being, even if it is only for a time.            Some of the best laughter I have been fortunate to share, has been with families at hospitals while awaiting the results of surgery, or worse, an expected approaching end of life for a loved one. It is not of course as if the circumstances were anything less than grave, or that they were laughing at its seriousness. Rather, the humor, just like prayer, gave them temporary relief, a brief lifting of burdens, a short forgetfulness, helping to re-balance their listing souls. 

      Augustine of Hippo (354-430), famously said: “Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.” And Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) added, “I do not seek to understand so that I can believe, but I believe so that I may understand; and what is more, I believe that unless I do believe, I shall not understand.”  It is as if belief opens up an inner treasure-trove of understanding impossible to attain without prior faith. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews said, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV). And the Christian philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), wrote about the necessity of taking a “leap of faith,” with understanding coming after the faith-risk of leaping. 

      In the middle of his setting forth the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Paul turns to the highest gift of all: love. But not just any form of love; rather, the love which comes down from heaven. The Greek term for this love is “agape.” It appears almost exclusively in the New Testament in the Greek speaking world of this time. It refers to God’s own love, which we are first to seek receiving, and then to share it with others.            Perhaps the best analogy of agape love is that of pouring water from a large pitcher into an empty glass. If you do not stop pouring, the water will eventually overflow the glass. That is the point at which love becomes agape love: when you have received more love than you can take it, when your heart is overflowing. Like the best of all possible news, you will simply have to give it to and share it with others. 

      Many persons think that being a Christian is about what you have to give up, rather than what treasure you might receive. Yet the truth is, what may appear as a sacrifice from the outside, will in fact be anything but a sacrifice from the inside, for the persons making it. Does God seek sacrifice from us? Are we supposed to get rid of all our possessions, so that we may possess the kingdom of heaven, whatever and whenever that is? God says through the prophet Hosea that God desires “steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hos 6:6). Jesus slightly amends this, telling His listeners, “Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice’” (Matt 9:13).  

God is not only our Father. God is also our Mother. God is in truth, our Single Parent. And we learn right away in Genesis 1:27 that both male and female are made equally in God’s image: “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” That means the one God functions as both our Mother and Father. Through Isaiah, God says:            “Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his suffering ones. But Zion said, ‘The LORD has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me . . . As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem” (Isa 49:13-16; 66:13). 

      A great spiritual issue, right after “Where is God?”, is “Where is the kingdom of God?” This exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees addresses that question:            “Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’' or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you’” (Luke 17:20-21).            It is significant that the Greek preposition Jesus used to indicate the place of God’s kingdom, (entos), means both “within” and also “among” or “between.” Both. Not one without the other. God’s kingdom, which includes heaven itself, is not only “there” and “then”; but it is also “here” and somehow, “now.”