community of prayer...
As we are getting ready to start our 40 days of 24/7 prayer, it made me think back to some of the richest times I have shared with my friends... times that revolved around prayer.
Times when a group of us spent the whole night bare-footed in our "whispering room" writing poetry, praying for each other, reading, listening, journaling, and just soaking in this beautiful peaceful presence. Times when a friend and I were so worried about a mutual friend who was trapped in depression (and making suicidal comments) that almost all we could do as we prayed for him together was weep... and ask God to hear the ache inside of us that could find no words. (And I'm happy to say that 2 years later, our friend is still alive).
Then I thought about last semester, when we had 24/3 prayer on campus, and a couple of my friends decided to take a 2am shift together. The five of us decided to make an event of it since we were going to have to drive down to Tempe in the wee hours of the morning (we all live up north). So we jumped in the car together, and had a half hour of great conversation and laughter. And when we got to Tempe, we walked onto a campus that was covered in a moon-lit peacefulness that I had never felt before. After we talked with some new friends that were ending their shift in Danforth chapel, we decided the spend the first half hour praying individually. Some of us journaled, and others just whispered in the corner, but we all connected with a very present, living God.
The last half hour we spent praying together, and the one thing that I will never forget, is how much I love listening to my friend, David, pray. When you listen to him, its like he's talking with someone he intimately knows... and loves. It inspires you, and makes you want to know God deeper.
That night is now a memory us five treasure together... the deeper connection we made with each other that night, the time we spent enjoying the presence of a God we barely understand, the conversations and laughter, and the french toast at 3am.
I know getting together to pray (especially in the middle of the night) is something that our culture as a whole isn't familiar with. But you may just experience a connection, that you never have before.
So grab a couple friends.... and sign up for a block.
I'm tellin' ya... you won't regret it.
cindi
posted by cindi at 6:32 AM
4 Comments:
I think the idea of 40 days of 24 hour prayer for a spiritual revival on campus is a great idea, and I find the story in today's State Press very interesting. Part of me is worried, though, for I keep hearing talk about the Christians on campus uniting.
How can we unite? There are Catholics and Baptists and Lutherans and Nondenominationalists who have different points of view on a wide array of theological issues, and false teachings are quite prevalent.
There are those who claim infant baptism is not legitamate. There are those who believe in a milenialist interpretation of the end times. There are those who believe in faith through works. There are also those who believe that the Lord's Supper is a mere "representation" of Christ's sacrifice. These are all false teachings contrary to God's Word, yet we are to think that we are united? Is a protestant expected to pray besides a Catholic who is calling upon their saints in an idolatrous manner?
If we are to pray for the Holy Spirit to bless the ASU campus with faith, then I would support it with my own prayer, but how are we supposed to join in fellowship with each other when false doctrine is prevalent?
"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Eph 4:3-6).
Have we made an effort to unify in our faith? So long as we join in fellowship with those who teach falsely, we will never be united in the Christian faith.
3:48 PM
I completely understand where you are coming from. There are many things that we disagree on, and many points of view on how we should conduct "church," what kind of music we should use for worship, baptism, communion, etc.
Jesus will surely come back to the earth, before every Christian agrees on everything! However, the important thing is that we agree on the essentials of salvation, according to the Bible:
1. Mankind has fallen short of God's glory, and the wages of sin is death - we need a Savior. (Romans 3:23, 6:23).
2. Jesus is the only Son of God, who was born from Mary, who was a virgin. He lived sinlessly on the earth, died for our sins, rose from the dead 3 days later, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father. (John 3:16)
3. God is three yet one: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
4. The only way to heaven is not by good works (Eph. 2:8-9) but to come only to Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5), and believe in Him and ask Him to be the Lord (master, ruler) over our lives! (Romans 10:9-10)
Just to clear up a common misconception, unity doesn't equal conformity. In fact, when we come together, we start to see how distinct each part of the Body is, as well as how distinct our own ministry's calling is! When we come together, it doesn't mean we agree on everything.
This is what it does mean: the message of Jesus is crucial for this dying world. If we all believe in this core gospel message, can we lay aside our own agendas and differences, if it means reaching a much larger part of the campus? Can we lay aside our own preferences, to pray and worship Jesus together?
"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves...Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus..." (it goes on, and it's a great passage...Philippians 2:1-11, NIV).
Hope that helps!
1:56 PM
Just to clear up a common misconception, unity doesn't equal conformity.
This is false. In regards to faith, unity is agreening with a fellow Christian in a confession. Why else do churches make doctrinal confessions? They are in place to unite the members who adhere to that doctrine.
I think there is confusion in separating unity from the idea of a priesthood of all believers. The latter are believers joined together in Christ who are God's elect through faith. The former are Christians united in a confession of faith. Both are based in scripture.
Look at the very passage you quoted. Paul tells his audience to "make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose."--one in spirit and purpose. This very statement stresses unity.
Also, in Paul's letter to the Romans, we are urged "to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them" (16:17). With these words, Paul tells us to stay together with those who share the teachings we have learned. This again stresses the idea of unity, and this can be found all throughout Paul's epistles. Look again at the Ephesians passage noted above.
Again, I want to stress that prayer for ASU is needed, and the gospel needs to spread, so the Holy Spirit can work the gift of faith in nonbelievers.
With that said, though, we can't unify into one body because we aren't one body. There is a reason some of us are Baptists and some of us are Lutherans and some of us are Catholics, etc.
Through theological discourse, such as this, we may be able to unify on more fronts, but its dangerous and contrary to God's Word to think we can simply put differences aside and unite in faith when our faiths are so different.
2:22 AM
eleutherius... I would have to respectfully (but very strongly) disagree. We are one body.
A hand and an ear are very different (look different and have different functions) but they are still a part of the same body. You and I, we may think different about the details of doctrine, but we are still part of the Body of Christ. And even when Paul is talking about this very idea, he follows it by saying "and now I will show you the most excellent way" which is love.
Even Jesus Christ, when asked about the most important things to believe/follow, distilled everything down to Love God, and love the people around us.
Chris, I love that thought in Phillipians you mentioned about having the same love, and being one in spirit and purpose, because even though you and I are very different, and we probably would not agree about every little detail of our beliefs; we have the same love (for a beautiful God) and are one in spirit and purpose (desperately wanting to be close to Him).
Maybe this 40 days of prayer that we feel drawn to is less about God wanting to change nonbelievers, and more about God wanting to change us.... making us more like His Son... (in humility, in love, and in servanthood)... making us one in the Spirit of Christ.
I, for one, want to apologize (to God, as well as to the world around us) for our lack of love....
Seriously...
God, forgive us.
Please change us.
11:00 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home