Tag: prayer

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Simplicity in Prayer

There is a fine example of prayer given to us by Mary, the mother of Jesus. She, along with Jesus and his disciples, had been invited to a wedding celebration (John 2:1-11). In all likelihood the wedding party included relatives or friends of Mary’s. An embarrassing situation arose when the hosts ran short of wine for the wedding feast. This is where Mary gives us a valuable lesson on prayer.

She went straight to Jesus. Had she tried to do this before? Is that why she felt free to come to him with this need? We cannot know what went on during the silent years of Jesus’ earlier human life with his family. The Bible does not tell us. But this incident reveals that she knew enough about Jesus’ identity and power to bring the problem to him.

Notice what she said to Jesus. In a few simple words she stated the need. “They have no more wine,” she said. That’s it. That’s all she said. Mary knew that she did not need to cajole or nag him with her proposed solutions to the problem. She simply stated the problem and left the solution with Jesus. When we pray for ourselves we tell the Lord what we need. When we intercede for others, we tell Jesus what we see that others need.

Mary left the matter with him. She relied upon his compassion and understanding. Someone has said that prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. It is, rather, laying hold of his highest willingness. She had never seen him turn water into wine and she probably had no idea how he would solve this problem. But she knew that Jesus would know what to do. It was up to him. She had fulfilled her responsibility.

I am aware of what the Bible teaches about importunity and persistence in prayer. This lesson is not about that. Nor is this about spiritual warfare. That is a subject for another article.

This is about prayer in its most basic and simplest form. She knew Jesus. She trusted Jesus. She presented the problem to Jesus. One of the ways the Holy Spirit helps us in our praying (Romans 8:26), is to help us to know Jesus better (John 16:14) and to feel safe when we have left our troubles with him.

Ole Hallesby, in his famous book on prayer, wrote, “As we learn to know Jesus in this way better and better, our prayers become quiet, confidential and blessed conversations with Him, our Best Friend, about the things which are on our minds, whether it be our own needs, or the needs of others. We experience wonderful peace and security by leaving our difficulties, both great and small, with Him . . . who understands what is best for us.

“And especially will our prayer life become restful when it really dawns upon us that we have done all we are supposed to do when we have spoken to him about it. From that moment we have left it with Him. It is His responsibility then, if we dare to use such a childlike expression. And that we dare to do!

“When the Spirit of God has succeeded in teaching us this secret, our prayer life will be freed from a great deal of that inner anxiety and worry which we formerly had when we prayed. After we have prayed, too, we experience a new peace. We have left the matter in the hands of Jesus.”

That is what Mary did. Her confidence in Jesus was not shaken by his abrupt and ironic reply to her. She was so sure of a positive outcome that she went right to the servants at the feast and told them, “Do whatever he tells you.” They did what Jesus directed them to do, and the result was a miracle, or sign by which God was glorified. Jesus turned water into wine, the best they had ever tasted!

There are many valuable lessons in this story. The one that stands out to me today is Mary’s example of simplicity in prayer. She presented the need to Jesus, and she left the solution to him.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Responding to Unpleasant Realities

I have been experiencing some health-related complications. I’m having to adjust to some new and unpleasant realities and the adjustments are not easy. As one who has been blessed with good health for most of my 77 years, I admit I am spoiled. I am strongly “tempted to complain, to murmur, and despair,” as the old song says.

But then, I read about the sufferings of the apostle Paul, as I did the other day. My momentary, light afflictions are minuscule compared to his. He described  being repeatedly threatened, beaten, starved, shipwrecked, and imprisoned (2 Corinthians 11:23-29). In these verses you can read about the multiplied dangers to which he was subjected in his missionary labors. By comparison, my troubles are but minor inconveniences.

Yet they are my troubles and I must learn how to cope with them. I want to do that in a way that pleases God and does not diminish my testimony as a Christian. I have been learning to do a few things to help me respond Christianly to life’s difficulties.

I have found myself reviewing and reciting promises God has given his people for times such as I am facing. One such promise is 1 Peter 5:7 — “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” It is a comfort to remember that God cares for me, he really does. In praying this promise back to the Lord I remember his faithful provision  and guidance in the past. He has cared for me in the past. He will be faithful to do so in the future.

Another response is to recall the attributes of God. Naming the characteristics of God in prayers of praise and thanksgiving deflects my attention away from my problems. This trains my mind to concentrate on God’s goodness, whether or not I understand his ultimate purposes. Often the scripture I am reading on a given day will show me some aspect of God’s nature. As I am reading, I pray that scripture back to him in praise. Sometimes I write those verses in my journal and refer to them again and again in my praying.

One example is Isaiah 57:15 — “For this is what the high and lofty One says — he who lives forever, whose name is holy: I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” I love that verse because it magnifies God’s transcendent majesty, coupled with his willingness to be near to humble people who seek him. He is holy, he is eternal, yet he is also open to a relationship with folks like us.

Another thing, I want to resist the temptation to complain. If it is true (and it is) “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28), then complaining is an insult to God. If he has a purpose in my suffering, then I must accept that and “do everything without complaining or arguing” (Philippians 2:14). The context of that verse says that “God works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). It may be hard to see God’s good purpose in my circumstances, but I am given this promise so that I will know that he is at work in my life, even when life is hard.

These practices, remembering God’s promises, meditating on his character, and avoiding complaining, do not make our problems disappear. But they represent attitudes that contribute to our peace of mind and that meet God’s approval.

The Lord willing, I will undergo an operation in a few weeks. I fervently hope that it will provide some relief and improve my health. Whatever the outcome, I want to respond to life in a way that glorifies God and honors Jesus Christ.

If you have read this far, I assume that means you care enough to pray. Please pray for Connie and me, that we may “enjoy good health and that all may go well with” us (3 John 2). We appreciate your prayers.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Praying for Guidance

At a family mealtime the father offered a prayer of blessing for the food as usual. In pious language he thanked the Lord for all his bountiful provisions. But when he started eating he grumbled and complained about the food and the way it was prepared.

His teenage daughter interrupted. “Dad,” she began, “Do you think God heard your prayer?”

“Certainly,” he replied confidently.

“And did he hear it when you complained about the food just now?” She asked.

“Why of course!” he bellowed.

“Then which of the two statements did God believe?” The embarrassed flush on his cheeks revealed that her discerning questions hit a nerve. Too often our prayers are empty rhetoric, mere religious platitudes, off the tops of our heads not from the bottom of our hearts.

Do we pray beyond our own personal concerns and interests? I heard of a young lady who said to herself, “Today, I am not going to pray for myself. I am just going to pray for others.”

So she prayed, “Please, Lord, give my mother a handsome son-in-law!”

Then there were the two Sunday school boys who somehow got to talking about their families’ prayers. “Do your parents have a morning prayer with you?” one asked the other.

“No. We have prayers before bed. We’re not afraid in the daytime.”

Whatever the prompting, our heavenly Father invites us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) in all circumstances. This assumes that God is always listening and wants to hear from us. President Abraham Lincoln is reported to have said, “I have often been driven to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.”

I think that is how the chief servant of Abraham felt when he was given the assignment of going to Mesopotamia to find a bride for Isaac. The story is recorded in Genesis 24. He must have felt the weight of the responsibility that was being laid on him. So he prayed. He prayed with sincere faith in God. He prayed with humble dependence and desperate urgency.

May we pray for the success of our ventures and responsibilities? The Bible says we can, and we should. “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (Proverbs 16:3).

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

That is what Abraham’s servant did. When he arrived at the town of Nahor in the north country, he parked his ten-camel caravan near the town well and prayed, “Lord God of my master Abraham, make me successful today and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’ — let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master” (Genesis 24:12-14).

You have probably noticed the same things I see in this prayer. He believed God saw him in his present circumstances. God sees you and me, too. He knows all about the problems we are facing.

He prayed specifically and boldly. We may do the same thing. James 4:2 reminds us, “You do not have because you do not ask God.” So ask!

The servant asked God for a sign that would be clear and unmistakable. Any young woman who would volunteer to provide enough water for ten thirsty camels to drink would be unusually helpful and kind-hearted, not to mention hard-working!

Then the text says, “Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar upon her shoulder” (Genesis 24:15). Here is another principle to guide us in our praying. “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him,” Jesus said (Matthew 6:8). The prophet Isaiah tells us the Lord says, “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24).

The servant’s prayer was artless and unadorned. It was from the heart. It acknowledged God’s special purpose for Abraham and Isaac. It was a prayer for guidance in carrying out a responsibility that the servant knew would be consequential. He knew that all of this was to accomplish the plan of God.

God heard. God answered. Rebekah’s actions matched exactly his request for a sign. It is no wonder that with gratitude he “bowed down and worshipped the Lord,” and praised the God of Abraham (Genesis 24:48)!

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Peace and Contentment

The New Testament offers certainty for uncertain times. I spoke recently with a friend who has received a diagnosis from his physician that he has a dangerous, life-threatening disease. For most of us, news like this might be a source of anxiety, but he spoke about it with composure and trust in God. How could he respond this way? I believe it was the peace of God.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul reported that he had been disappointed by the recent events of his life. He had been unjustly imprisoned for his faith. He had been disappointed by people who had caused him trouble. He also knew what it felt like to be in need of material necessities. Yet he wrote to his friends in Philippi with a sense of peace and contentment.

If there is anything we need in these uncertain times it is peace and contentment, a peace and contentment that come from God. “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). “The God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9). “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” (Philippians 4:12).

The peace of God is not a spiritual marshmallow pillow. It is the New Testament equivalent of the strong Hebrew word shalom, which means emotional wholeness, security and maturity. The “peace of God” (v.7) is linked to a relationship with the “God of peace” (v. 9). It is a result of the Lord’s presence with his people: “The Lord is near” (v.5).

Peace is an outcome of prayer, honest and thankful prayer. In a time of trouble and stress we may be tempted to curl up in a corner complaining about our circumstances, full of anxiety and self-pity. Paul offers an alternative. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). The promise of scripture is that if we make prayer an habitual response, God’s peace will stand guard over our emotions and our minds (v. 7).

The same is true of contentment. Paul said this is a learned response. “I have learned the secret of being content,” he said in verse 11. He said he had experienced both prosperity and poverty. He had learned to overcome anxiety about material things. “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (v. 13).

Some people never learn contentment. Never satisfied, they have an abundance of everything and still they complain. They seem always to look for  bigger and better toys. They pay rent on storage sheds that are larger than the houses of the poor in the developing world. Of course the advertising and marketing industries fuel this dissatisfaction.

Paul said he had more than enough and he was content with what the Lord had provided. “I am amply supplied,” he wrote (v. 18). He could say this because he had entrusted every part of his life — including his daily need for food, shelter, clothing and health — to Christ. In every situation the Lord helped him maintain a contented frame of mind.

What do we learn from this? How can we enjoy peace and contentment? First, like Paul, we must make a decision not to be greedy or selfish. In Acts 20:33 Paul reviewed the example of his ministry: “I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.” He had made a decision to be “free from the love of money” or material things (Hebrews 13:5). So should we.

Second, Paul’s initial decision was followed by a disciplined mind. Like him, we may train our minds to think correctly about what is excellent and constructive, not what is doubtful and destructive. “Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

One of the dangers of our addiction to the entertainment media is that we become passive receptors, not active thinkers. The Lord wants us to use our minds the right way. When we ponder, analyze and carefully reflect on God’s truth, we are promised God’s peace and the assurance of his presence. In my years of pastoral ministry, I have seen this demonstrated over and over again in the lives of the Lord’s people as they have faced the troubles of life.

Third, we must learn to trust God in prayer for our daily needs. Jesus meant it when he gave us permission to ask our Heavenly Father, “Give us this day our daily bread.” That was the prayerful lifestyle the apostle Paul had cultivated. The result for him was peace and contentment. It can be the same for you and me as we talk to God about our problems and needs.

This is a certainty for an uncertain time.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

 

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Prayer and Providence

The twenty-fourth chapter of Genesis is the beautiful story of Abraham sending his servant to his homeland to find a bride for his son Isaac. It is full of fascinating cultural allusions, unique to the ancient near east, such features as a solemn vow, a caravan of camels, a town well, gifts of gold and a beautiful maiden.

The story is rich in spiritual symbolism. For a long time preachers have noticed the similarity of the events described here with the ministry of the Holy Spirit, whom God the Father sends forth to find a bride (the church) for his Son.

There are also practical lessons for Christian young people about the sanctity of marriage. It is a holy institution, important to God. There is much here to inform our understanding about preparation for marriage. But I am not writing today about marriage, or the church, or ancient history. I want to focus on the theme of Divine Providence and the believer’s dependence on the guidance of God.

I encourage you to pause now and read Genesis 24 in its entirety. Read it slowly and prayerfully because “everything that was written in the past (the Old Testament) was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope” (Romans 15;4).

Abraham had prospered in his new land but he did not want his son to take a bride from the among the Canaanites. They did not worship the living “God of heaven and earth” (v.3). So he appointed his trusted servant to go to the Aramean town of Nahor where Abraham’s relatives lived. When the servant arrived, with his caravan of ten camels, he stopped at the town well.

He boldly prayed for a sign from God. There were several young women from the town coming to draw water from the well. How was he to know which of them might be the one God had singled out for Isaac? If you read the passage you know the answer. He prayed that when he asked a maiden for a drink of water, she would volunteer to water his camels also! That would be the sign that she was the one God had chosen.

Throughout the journey, the servant had been praying (v.12). He had surely embraced the faith of Abraham who had promised that God’s angel would guide him on his journey (v.7). May we pray for success and guidance from God? Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

Before he finished praying (v.45), Rebekah appeared. Her actions and responses matched exactly his requests for a sign. He told her his story and the purpose of his journey. He gave her gifts of gold and asked for hospitality at her father’s home, the very family home he was seeking. This is Providence, not coincidence. There he received elaborate eastern hospitality.

The servant would not join the feast until he had explained everything to Rebekah’s family. He quoted Abraham’s promise to him: “The Lord, before whom I have walked . . . will make your journey a success” (v.40). He told how God had led him “on the right road” (v.48), to the right family, at exactly the right time. Rebekah’s father and brother could not deny that “this is from the Lord” and “the Lord has directed” (vv. 50-51). Abraham’s servant bowed prostrate before the Lord in worship, grateful for answered prayer.

After receiving more gifts from the servant, the family asked Rebekah if she was willing to go and marry Isaac. “I will go,” she said (v. 58). She evidently recognized the leading of God in this matter, as her family had done. Here is one more attractive characteristic of the young woman. In addition to her courtesy and energetic work for the stranger, she gave evidence of faith in God. If God was in this, she was prepared to agree with his will. It has been said that this response to God’s leading puts her directly in the line of Abraham, the father of the faithful.

This story speaks to me about trusting God for daily guidance. I need to “commit to the Lord whatever I do” and trust him for the right outcomes. It speaks to me about prayer. I may pray silently (v. 45) and privately, or in the presence of others (v.52). But for sure, my days should be punctuated by prayer, just as each step of the servant’s journey was saturated in prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer brings our plans in line with God’s Providence.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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It’s Time to Pray

The word to Christians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), assumes that God wants to hear from us. Any time is a good time to pray.

Perhaps we can identify with the sentiment of President Abraham Lincoln who famously said, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” We know we need to pray to God, especially now, at this consequential time in history.

The Jewish holy day, Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement, is on Monday, September 28. It concludes the ten days of repentance that began with the Jewish new year (Rosh Hashana). Yom Kippur is a day dedicated to prayer, meditation, and confession of sin.

Before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians, the  anointed priest would bring the blood of a sacrificial animal into the Holy of Holies. He would sprinkle the blood on the atonement cover (mercy seat) that rested atop the Ark of the Covenant, thereby making atonement for his sins and for the sins of the nation.

This was followed by another sacrifice. Two goats were selected, one for sacrifice, and one to be a scapegoat. The blood from this sacrifice was spattered on the atonement cover in the Holy of Holies, and also upon the altar in the outer portion of the sanctuary. This was to make atonement for the sins of the people.

The priest then laid his hands on the head of the second goat, thereby ceremonially transferring the people’s sins to the innocent animal. That goat was taken out into the wilderness and released. This pictured God’s willingness to forgive and release us from our sins (Leviticus 16:1-34).

These and other preparations, ritual washings, and additional sacrifices are explained in the New Testament book of Hebrews. There we learn that now, because of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, believers may come “with the full assurance that faith brings” into the very presence of God. Those who trust in Jesus Christ for salvation are invited to “draw near to God” (Hebrews 9:19-22).

The author of Hebrews contrasts the obsolete ritual baths, special clothing, and animal sacrifices of the Day of Atonement with the freedom and confidence we enjoy through our Lord Jesus Christ. “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Our observant Jewish neighbors will observe Yom Kippur on Monday. But they will celebrate this holy day without  the necessary sacrifices for their sins, as required by the law of Moses. They have no Temple, Holy of Holies, Ark of the Covenant, or altar of sacrifice. Oh, that they would recognize the complete sufficiency of the sacrificial death of Jesus the Messiah. He is our High Priest, Passover lamb, and “the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1John 2:2).

I am glad for the reminder the Day of Atonement gives us of the need to confess our sins and meditate on God’s gracious willingness to forgive. I want to follow the example of President Lincoln and to pray. Any time is a good time to pray, but I intend to let Monday be a reminder to pray for our nation.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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Que Sera,Sera…So Why Pray?

The question is sometimes framed like this: “If God already knows what will happen, if he has a plan and he is in charge, then why pray at all? Whatever will be, will be.” This expresses the age-old tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Thinking about this for too long makes my brain tired.

Tired, or just plain lazy? Is my sinful self just looking for an excuse not to pray? In a startling confession, C.S. Lewis admitted, “Well, let’s now at least come clean. Prayer is irksome. An excuse to omit it is never unwelcome. When it is over, this casts a feeling of relief and holiday over the rest of the day. We are reluctant to begin. We are delighted to finish. While we are at prayer, but not while reading a novel or solving a crossword puzzle, any trifle is enough to distract us” (Letters to Malcomb: Chiefly on Prayer).

He wrote these words while contemplating human selfishness and spiritual weakness. He said, “The truth is, I haven’t any language weak enough to depict the weakness of my spiritual life.” This brazen acknowledgment of his sinfulness seemed shocking until I came around to admitting my own sinful inadequacy in prayer.

The stark truth is that prayer is a battleground and the enemy doesn’t readily yield territory to us mortals. This gets me back to my opening question: why pray? One reason is, in the words of Timothy Keller, prayer is “rebellion against the world’s status quo. Indeed, it is listed as a weapon in spiritual warfare against the forces of darkness (Ephesians 6:12).” We live in a world that is organized against the will of God. Prayer, then, brings our orientation back where it belongs: to God himself.

We pray because of who God is. Prayer forces our minds, and yes, even the posture of our bodies, to come before our Creator in praise, humble confession, thanks and asking for what we need. E.P. Clowney put it this way, “The Bible does not present an art of prayer, it presents the God of prayer.” The more we see and know God for who he is, the more prayer will follow. Our understanding of God shapes our praying.

Then there is the way prayer changes us. Prayer positions us as persons who act as those who are known by and have value to God. Lewis wrote, “The passive changes to active. Instead of merely being known, we show, we tell, we offer ourselves to view. To thus put ourselves on a personal footing with God … we assume the high rank of persons before him.” And by the agency of the Holy Spirit, we are permitted to call God “Abba, Father,” in the most intimate way.

Such awareness, of God, of ourselves, of the world, of the powers of evil and of the nature of prayer itself, all prompt us to pray, and to pray boldly. Jesus illustrated this in a parable. He asked his hearers to imagine a man banging on the door of his neighbor at midnight. He has unexpected guests and no food to offer them.

The neighbor tells him to stop bothering him or he’ll wake up the whole household. He tells him to go away. Then Jesus asks, “Is that really how the neighbor is going to react?” His implied answer is no.

Because the man at the door is bold and persistent, he will indeed get up and give him the bread that he asked for, as much as he needs (Luke 11:5-10). Jesus says this illustrates how we should pray with “shameless audacity.” It is not that God is reluctant to hear and to help. It is that he values the kind of bold desperation described in the story. That is a lesson for me when my prayers are tentative and my faith is weak.

“Ask,” Jesus said. Asking implies a need and a recognition of God’s willingness to meet the need. Ask with audacious persistence. Ask, expecting an answer.

“Seek,” Jesus went on to say. Seek the Father’s will above all else, as Jesus taught us to pray. “Your will be done on earth” is a way of praying as the Lord Jesus prayed. Seeking also means pursuing the will of God in everything else we do.

“Knock,” implies persistence. It is not wrong to keep knocking on the door of heaven. In the language of the New Testament, the present tense of these three verbs implies continuous asking, seeking and knocking. The first verse of Luke 18 says, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

Why pray? If we pray for no other reason, the fact that Jesus said it is normal behavior for his followers, makes it a priority. We may not understand fully how our praying fits into the accomplishment of the sovereign will of God. But the fact that he commands us to pray says that it does. Reason enough.

    –  Pastor Randy Faulkner

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It’s a Beautiful Thing

It’s a beautiful thing when men meet together to pray. For many years I have participated in a monthly gathering of local pastors who get together to pray for each other, for our churches, and for our city and nation. We have supported each other when times have been hard, and we have shared each others’ happiness when life has been easier.

We represent different faith traditions, but we are united in our reverence for Christ and the gospel. Each month we meet in one of the churches and pray as expressed in the familiar hymn: Before the Father’s throne we pour our ardent prayers; our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares (“Blest Be The Tie That Binds” by John Fawcett, 1782).

The benefits are real. Praying together builds trust and respect among the ministers. It lessens the possibility of professional jealousy and undermines the unholy tendency toward competition between churches. We know and love each other. We really do. It’s a beautiful thing.

It’s a beautiful thing when friends get together to read books and discuss what they are reading. I belong to a readers’ group inspired by the men in the circle of friends that included C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. They called themselves the Inklings and they met regularly in the Eagle and Child Pub in St Giles’ Street in Oxford, England, from 1933-1949.

At our meetings, a member brings a book for each of the other participants to read during the coming month. We come to the next meeting prepared to discuss the book, and related topics suggested by the theme of the book. There is food, banter, laughter, and deep friendship.

Our group is called the Penlights. We have been meeting for over thirty years. Our leader solicits personal letters to the group from the authors whose books we have read. These are shared at the midsummer meeting. These letters, often from well-known writers, usually express delight in knowing we have read his or her book in this context of friendship.

John Eldredge wrote, “A boy has a lot to learn in his journey to become a man, and he becomes a man only through the active intervention of his father and the fellowship of men.” Many men today live their lives in isolation. They do not know how lonely they are. It was for good reason that Jesus and Paul joined their disciples into teams of men and taught them to pray together, to learn together and to encourage each other in living for God. It is a beautiful thing to share life with men who do this.

    –  Pastor Randy Faulkner

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What Do Pastors Do All Week?

What Do Pastors Do All Week?

Eugene Peterson, in his delightful memoir The Pastor, wrote that when he started out in local church ministry he wasn’t entirely sure what it was a pastor was supposed to do. He said it was not obvious to the people of his congregation or community, either.

He went to a seminar led by a nationally-recognized authority on pastoral theology. The young Peterson was impressed by the brilliant man’s erudition and theological vocabulary. “For an hour or so I was under his spell. And then I began feeling that something was not quite right. What I was doing, working in a congregation characterized by interruptions, false starts, and unfinished work, seemed like a far cry from anything he was presenting.”

He pressed the man with questions about his experience in pastoral work. He was evasive. It turned out that he had been an associate pastor for only one year in a small town! Peterson checked the indices in the books the man had written. There was not a single reference to prayer in any of them. There were few if any, references to congregation, worship, preaching, and scripture.

“I still had a great deal to learn about the vocation of pastor, but I knew one thing for sure: the work of prayer was at the heart of everything. Personal conversation with God had to intersect with everything I thought or said, whether in the sanctuary or on the street corner.” He went on to say that “the vocation of pastor had to be understood entirely under the shaping influence of the biblical text.”

Hmmm. Prayer and the biblical text. Not exactly innovations or contemporary novelties. Prayer and the biblical text. Remind you of anything? Do you remember the priorities of the first church leaders who said, “We… will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4)?

I am reminded of the provocative words of Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse who said, “If I had only three years to serve the Lord, I would spend two of them studying and preparing.”

The famous evangelist Billy Graham was speaking to a large gathering of London clergymen. He said if he could repeat his ministry, he would make two changes. The people looked startled. What could he mean?

First, he continued, he would study three times as much as he had done. “I’ve preached too much and studied too little,” he said. The second change was that he would give more time to prayer. Surely this thinking was shaped by the priorities in the biblical text!

Every conscientious pastor gives a certain amount of time each week to pastoral care and counseling, to visitation, to evangelism and discipleship. Administrative work takes time: planning, decision-making, committee meetings, staff meetings. Important work to be sure.

But nothing, absolutely nothing, should take the place of prayer and Bible study. This is what produces, in the life of a pastor, clarity of vocation, depth of conviction, maturity of judgment, integrity of character, and sanctity of ministry — on Sunday, and throughout the week.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Jesus’ Prayer Partners

Jesus' Prayer Partners

“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him and he began to be sorrowful and troubled” (Matthew 26:36-37).

During this season, Christians all over the world meditate on our Lord’s suffering, death, and resurrection. It is customary to spend the weeks before Holy Week in contemplation and surrender of ourselves to the will of God. As I try to do that I am thinking about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. It was there that he cried out to God in terrible anguish, revolted by the horrors that were about to come upon him.

Prayer partners

It is noteworthy that he desired the companionship of his friends. So as he withdrew to pray, he invited Peter, James and John to stay alert and join him. This shows us the humanity of Jesus. He needed the encouragement of their prayerful presence. “Stay here and keep watch with me,” he said in Matthew 26:38. “With me!” What is implied by those words repeated twice in Matthew’s account?

As we pray, we often think of the promise of Christ’s presence with us. But our coming to the Lord in prayer is also a response to his kind invitation to fellowship with him. “God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9). Does it surprise you to be reminded that Jesus desires to have fellowship with you? Is this not an incentive to be more faithful in meeting with him in prayer?

Two or three

When we face circumstances that seem intolerable, it is good to have the prayer support of friends. Jesus asked his friends to stay close and stay awake. Unfortunately, sleep overtook them. He told them earlier that “where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). But now in his time of need, those two or three were spiritually and emotionally absent.

Jesus is inviting us to spend time with him. Think about those two words today: “With me.”

Pastor Randy Faulkner