A Simple Way to Pray

If you don't know how to do something, simply read the instructions. We've all been told that many. Probably too many times. Yet for some reason we never do. The same is true of our prayer lives. A friend of mind who worked in a Christian themed retail store once told me of her distress over the fact that more people bought commentaries on the bible than actually read the bible itself. As a writer, that's good for business. But as a ministry leader, that is disheartening. We do not take advantage of the fact that we have God's Word accessible to us. It is available in several different mediums and versions. Perhaps it is appropriate for me to write this on Reformation Day as I reflect on the fact that not so long ago only clergy had access to the Word. It could not be challenged because they were the authority, they were the learn-ed ones! Take a moment and thank God for those like John Hus and Martin Luther who fought to give us a Bible we could understand in our own language. And it is on the anniversary of Luther nailing his famous debate (95 Theses) to the door at the church in Wittenburg, that I am reflecting on his same letter to his barber. From the pulpit Luther had stressed the importance of prayer. Jesus commanded, and Paul echoed for us to never cease when praying.

Luther's barber accepted his challenge but admitted that he did not know how to pray. Luther's famous reply (letter) to him is the book we now know as A Simple Way to Pray. It is a very light read, and a strong weapon for arming ourselves with Prayer. Luther's approach to prayer is quite simple. The four steps include Instruction, Thanksgiving, Confession, and Prayer. Luther takes the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed (which admittedly is not Scripture but still good for meditating on God's Word), meditating on one line then following his four step form.

The small volume is very Luther rich. BY that  mean it can be a bit wordy, crass in a spot or two, and emphasizes above all justification (or made right in the eyes of God) by faith. Prayer, like salvation, is a gift bestowed on us by God. To not accept it is to turn our backs on God. Like Luther's barber, if we object by saying we don't know how, then Luther notes just spend time with Him. As he finishes one section, Luther lets on, if you have time or feel the need to go on, then go on. I am not sure if Luther sees talking to the Father in the relationship style that is so common in today's liturgy, but he definitely believes that the more you practice, the more comfortable you will be in prayer. Prayer, according to Luther, need not be long but rather "fervent and often."

Babylonian Vegans

Daniel 1 New International Version (NIV)

Daniel’s Training in Babylon

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia[a] and put in the treasure house of his god.

3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.[b] 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.

6 Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your[c] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”

11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

The first story in Daniel is actually a few chapters later, The fiery furnace in Chapter 3. But here we lear, not only where Daniel and his 3 friends got their surnames. Daniel and his friends were taken from their land and put into the babylonian academy as slaves. The thinking was that if prominent Israelites took on the customs of the Babylonians that the rest would and there would be fewer uprisings. This is how Daniel and his friends found themselves in such position. 

God gives us many rules. Some lay a heavier burden on us that others. They all have the same goal, to maintain and further our relationship. Tithing, honoring our parents, praying, fasting, baptism, all of these are modern ways of adding to our relationship with God. For Daniel and his friends, it was to continue observing God's rule to not eat food sacrificed to idols. To do so would be to not set his nourishment apart for God. Daniel would rather not eat than to eat savory meat seasoned with guilt. He knew that God would supply any nourishment he would be missing out on. In fact we find (and many of my vegan friends enjoy arguing this point) that they looked better than the captives who ate the forbidden fruit (meat.) For being the first vegans since Adam and Eve, God rewarded them with spiritual gifts. Daniel's gift, the interpretation of dreams, would continually bless him the rest of his life.

BY observing God's laws and keeping His commandments we show Him our love for Him. In return, he shows us evidence of His love, which He initiated first. Take a moment and consider your spiritual gifts. How did you come across this gift? What have you used it for?

Theologians

Martin Luther: The person does not deserve to be called a theologian who looms upon the invisible things of God as though they were clearly perceptible in those things which have actually happened... He deserves to be a theologian, however, who comprehends the visible and manifest things of God seen through suffering and the cross.

Karl Barth: A theologian who does not enjoy his work is no theologian at all.

Merriam-Webster: : a person who is an expert on theology


When you think of theology what do you think? I am finding an increasing number of people who when I ask them about their personal theology I am getting two common answers. "That's just the way I was raised" and "well my pastor says." You may not realize it, but you are a theologian. You are an expert on your own theology, on your own understanding about the nature of God.

Read the stories. Read a story. Think for yourself about the meaning and the implication. If you feel a desire to understand it more then ask questions. Do research on the time period.  Ask experts. But evaluate what you hear. Take nothing at a deep level. Evaluate what you hear and with a lot of prayer take up the meaning for yourself.

Don't know how to pray? Start with Jesus' instruction on prayer, commonly referred to as the Lord's Prayer:

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, 

The power, and the glory, 

For ever and ever. 

Amen.

Follow Me

In the Book of Matthew there are two noticeable instances where Jesus gives the command. "Follow Me." Sure here was a lot more to it but He put it simply. Follow Me.

In Matthew 4 He calls his disciples with this simple command. Follow Me. Drop what you are doing. It doesn't matter. I have something more important. Follow me and see your entire life change. Follow me and see the life you always wanted to live. Follow me and see. The disciples exhibit an excellent quality (and quantity) of faith. They did not know what they were getting into but they dropped every and followed Him anyway.

In Matthew 16, He lets them know in more detail. They have experienced it firsthand for the last 12 chapters. Perhaps there is some significance to that number. They have walked in His shadow. They know better than anyone what Jesus meant  in Matthew 4:17 when He said, "The Kingdom of God is at Hand." It is the Here and Now, yes for us too, for especially for them. But, nearer to His death and resurrection, Jesus gives them a better idea what will be asked of them. To lay aside everything they have come to know. Every comfort but be put aside. Every necessity is to be put aside as well. He tells them that to follow him means casting their homes, jobs, and yes even their families aside.

In Church Dogmatics (Volume 4, part 2), Karl Barth comments on the call. He says, "Follow me is the substance of the call in the power of which Jesus makes people his saints... the call issued by Jesus is a call to discipleship...the call to discipleship is the particular form of the summons by which Jesus discloses and reveals himself to the individuals in order to claim and sanctify them as his own, and as his witness in the world... and what Jesus demands is trust in himself and therefore, in the concrete form that this involves, trust in God He demands faith in the form of obedience; obedience to himself."

God has already called you for great work. You would not be a disciple of His if He had not. He has bestowed on you a great gift, designed for a particular work. Do you know what that is? Is oration? Are you a speaker? Or is it within you to spread His message with your hands? St Francis is often credited with the axiom, "Spread the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary." What are you doing to spread the news that Jesus is King?