Bread

Deuteronomy 8:3

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:3 ESV)

John 6:32,33

Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:32-33 ESV)

John 6:51

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:51 ESV)

Matt 6:11

Give us this day our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11 ESV)

Praying the Kingdom for Your Workplace: the Jesus Prayer as Missional Prayer

The prayer that Jesus taught his disciples, often called the Lord's Prayer, can be found at Matthew 6:7-13 and in a briefer form at Luke 11:2-4. If you've ever been a member of a liturgical church, you probably recited this prayer every Sunday. On the other hand, in typical non-liturgical Evangelical churches of today it is no more emphasized than any other passage of the NT, and the recitation of its words as prayer is somewhat mistrusted as mere rote repetition.

But the bottom line is, when some disciples asked Jesus how to pray, Jesus said, "Like this," and recited this prayer.

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
(Matthew 6:9-13 ESV)

As it stands, the prayer seems a bit lofty and even generic. But it's my opinion that we do well when we get specific, making the prayer uniquely our own. What does "your kingdom come" mean, after all, in my own particular context? What "daily bread" am I or my family or my co-workers, or whomever I'm praying for, in need of? "Forgive us our debts"? What do I owe and to whom? And have I forgiven the debts of other toward me? Perhaps I hadn't been thinking in these terms when I expected an apology from my boss or my friend. You see, I contend that when we begin to take this prayer of Jesus personally, addressing God in the manner and spirit that Jesus suggested, it can change the way we see the world and our place in it, and thus the way we talk to God.

First, understand that this prayer is a missional prayer, in which you the praying disciple take an active part in the missio dei by asking that the Lord's will would be done in the context of your life, your corner of creation. "May your will be done in my workplace as it is in heaven. In my relationship with my son as it is in heaven. In my voting, in my neighborhood, in my driving . . . as it is in heaven." You fill in the blanks.

Now note: when you pray the prayer in this personalized way, the prayer becomes--you can't help but notice--not only a beseeching of God, but also, by His grace, a call upon your life. For example, if I am praying for the kingdom to come in my workplace, the conviction soon dawns upon me that, by the grace of God, I may well be the vessel by which he answers that prayer for my co-workers. I cannot run from this like Jonah, or my prayer is a mere charade.

You can see this same dynamic when you begin to pray the other parts of the prayer with specificity.

"Give us, here at [insert name of workplace], our daily bread. That is, what we need for sustenance this day within this context. What we need to do jobs well and to serve others in love (for that's your kingdom coming)."

Or think about the debts you owe one another in the workplace. The things you expect from one another and begrudge when they are not paid.

Forgive us our debts, here at [insert name of workplace], even as we forgive the debts we owe one another.

If you pray for your workplace in this way, you may be the only one doing so. It may be that some are praying for a debt to be paid ("They owe me. God, make them pay up!") But you, when you pray according to Jesus' instructions, are praying the will of God for creation. What does the Kingdom of God look like? Well, for one thing, every debt has been paid, an no one owes a thing to anyone else except thankfulness to the one who paid it all. That's why praying for an atmosphere of forgiveness in the workplace is praying down the kingdom of God, and praying the very heart of God's purpose for creation (including his purpose for your workplace). It is a radical prayer, a potent prayer, and again, you can't help but notice, it sets up a call on the very heart of the one praying. The forgiving of debt in the workplace might have to begin in your own heart!

And what about temptation? There are temptations associated with your workplace environment that may be quite unique. In a small workplace like my own, and one where none of the other employees really have a kingdom of God mindset, you may be the only one who sees and understands how certain temptations are effecting your workplace environment (beginning with your own). In truth, you are standing in the gap when you pray this prayer for your workplace.

All of this is a kind of test of the sanctified imagination. Perhaps you've never thought much about "daily bread." Use your imagination. Think specifically of what you need, and what co-workers need, not only to get them through the day but to get them a step or two closer to the promised land. If you think about this, and about specific encounters and conversations you've had at work lately, you'll begin to think of daily bread with great insight and precision and pray accordingly. The same goes for forgiveness, and temptation. Your understanding is enlightened as you pray this prayer with your eyes open in your workplace.

Finally, it should be kept in mind that God's ultimate purpose is that his kingdom should come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That should control the way you think of the other parts of the prayer, which indeed are nothing more than sub-headings of "your kingdom come." I would invite you to think of the component parts of this prayer as they apply to the idea of God's kingdom coming in your own workplace, family, relationships, or whatever, and to make this the pattern of your prayers. As praying believers, you are a focal point of God's kingdom expression, and your prayers for the kingdom are in turn a call upon your life. They are central to your mission as believer. The aroma of Christ is all over this work. Go to it.

Maybe I should read this one . . .

I've been seeing a lot of mention of this book lately on one blog after another: The Praying Life, by Paul Miller. I've tended lately to shy away from books on prayer (having read quite a few over the years), but this one really intrigues. Here's a quote, which I found over at Barry Simmons' the journeyman's files.

Imagine that your prayer is a poorly dressed beggar reeking of alcohol and body odor, stumbling toward the palace of the great king. You have become your prayer. As you shuffle toward the barred gate, the guards stiffen. Your smell has preceded you. You stammer out a message for the great king: ‘I want to see the king.’

Your words are barely intelligible, but you whisper one final word, ‘Jesus, I come in the name of Jesus.’ At the name of Jesus, as if by magic, the palace comes alive. The guards snap to attention, bowing low in front of you. Lights come on, and the door flies open. You are ushered into the palace and down a long hallway into the throne room of the great king, who comes running to you and wraps you in his arms.

The name of Jesus gives my prayers royal access. They get through. Jesus isn’t just the Savior of my soul. He’s also the Savior of my prayers. My prayers come before the throne of God as the prayers of Jesus. ‘Asking in Jesus’ name’ isn’t another thing I have to get right so my prayers are perfect. Is it one more gift of God because my prayers are so imperfect.

Also mentioned by Justin Buzzard, among many others.

Ah, this is good!

Mahaney on prayer:

As I make my way from meeting to meeting, decision to decision, and phone call to phone call, I find the counsel of Charles Spurgeon very helpful. “I always feel it well,” he wrote, “to put a few words of prayer between everything I do.” Throughout his busy days, Spurgeon scattered words of prayer between each activity, a model I have sought to emulate over the years.

The content of my “few words of prayer” is not unique and if you overheard them, you wouldn’t be impressed. I am a simple man and when I think of casting all my cares it is a simple acknowledgement of my dependence upon God and my need of grace throughout the day.

But the very act of pausing in a busy day to pray is an act of weakening pride in my life, acknowledging that I am a dependent creature. I am not self-sufficient.

And taking a brief moment to humble myself in prayer makes all the difference in my soul throughout the day.

At its root, weariness is often the result of pride and self-sufficiency in my life. When I neglect casting my cares upon the Lord, the heavy fatigue of weariness will settle into my soul.

Casting our cares upon the Lord and humbling ourselves before him are critical activities, regardless of how busy we are. And this practice cannot be replaced by hours of careful planning and scheduling.

How about you? Do you follow the practice of Spurgeon and “put a few words of prayer” between everything you do throughout each day? Are you casting cares or accumulating burdens? Are you humbling yourself before the Lord or displaying self-sufficiency?

An Encounter

Yesterday I talked to a troubled young man, homeless and mentally ill. We talked about different things, and he gave me his star of David pendant. He wanted me to have it, he said. I'm wearing it now. Toward the end of our conversation he said this to me:

I've lost my wallet seven times. I've broken the necks of seven snakes. It'll probably take me seven years to get to Israel.

His name was Micah. I pray that God will open his way to Israel and to wellness.

Elementary Discipleship

I need to mention something: I'm aware that much of what I've been posting about discipleship lately has the feel of someone groping in the half-light and coming to rather unremarkable and even elementary conclusions. Yes, of course, I can sense a reader muttering, I know that disciples pray. Of course, they pray! Of course they believe in Jesus, for crying out loud! Of course they love him and try to abide in him. No kidding! You're serving up milk when what I really want is red meat!

But then I'm not writing with that reader in mind. Red meat is simply not on the menu. I'm writing, in fact, with me in mind. I'm getting down to basics, to fundamental things, core things. I simply need to do that for myself, and this blog is the place I do it.

And here's one of those fundamentals: disciples pray. I notice that Jesus emphasized prayer as a remarkably powerful component of the disciple's way of life after he leaves them, and I wonder, have I been that kind of disciple? I mean, there is no way that I can be considered a prayer-warrior. Often I have been downright reluctant to pray, who knows why? Often in prayer my mind wanders, and I certainly don't want to answer for every thought I have occasionally entertained while praying with others.

But here are the words of Jesus, spoken to his eleven remaining disciples on his last night with them, even as Judas was receiving his 30 pieces from the hands of a cabal of bloodthirsty Pharisees:

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

I wonder, does this passage trouble you just a little? A pastor once explained to me that Jesus was refering here to the church, to the disciples collectively through the centuries. According to this view, it is the church that will do works greater than Jesus did. Not individuals. Are you buying that?

I'm not. Jesus did say "whomever" and the singular pronoun "he" in this statement. And Jesus was speaking to individuals, eleven of them, who could only have understood the Master's words in their plain sense, as a message to each of them.

But notice this: as soon as Jesus speaks of doing greater works than those he had done, a plainly outlandish thought, he quickly connects such doing with prayer. These "greater works" are accomplished, apparently, through prayer. And he says this: we are able to do them because Jesus has gone to the Father.

Just stop and think about that for a moment. Remember, always remember, what "going to the Father" actually meant to Jesus. Jesus knew when he spoke those words that his going to the Father would be by way of the cross. It was a path chosen among the Trinity before time, and by his traveling that path (a path that no one else could travel) we have the access of sons and daughter's to the Father.

Do you get it? We do not pray as servants beseeching an unpredictable master, but as sons and daughters speaking to their loving Father. That is the spirit of sonship (and daughtership, we might as well add). And whatever we ask in the name of Jesus, the Father will do, for by this means he has chosen to demonstrate his glory.

Because Jesus endured the cross, we can pray in confidence for even "greater works" to be done by the Father through our prayers in Jesus' name. Imagine that!

Disciples Ask

So I'm thinking about believing, because Jesus speaks much of it and highly. He says, "Believe in me," and he explains why. He explains who he is. The content of Christian believing is first and foremost a believing in Jesus--in who he is and what he has done. Sometimes I run into a Tug McGraw kind of Christianity (baseball fans over 50 will know what I'm talking about) which is nothing more than positive thinking. This manifests itself in statements that begin, "I'm trusting God for . . ." You fill in the blank.

Okay, I'm not here to condemn such thinking. Perhaps there's something to it. But I can't help but notice that the Bible is pretty darn specific about just what we are to believe. I've been reading Walter Marshall's The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification, and his purpose therein is to show that our sanctification, our willingness and power to walk in obedience--to put on Christ--flows from our believing, and it is a believing in certain fundamental things about Jesus and about the Father.

Jesus, in his final talk with his disciples, says:

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

I make no claim here to plumbing the depths of these incredible promises, and I've got to admit that I haven't been a model of such believing. Sometimes I ask little because I expect little. In other words, I have not always trusted this partiuclar "truly, truly" of Jesus.

But all of my recent posts have been after an understanding of discipleship. From Jesus' words I must conclude not only that disciples believe in Jesus, but the natural follow-though of that believing is that disciples pray in his name. Disciples ask.

I don't pretend to have the answers to all the questions about prayer. I only say this. Disciples pray. Disciples ask. Disciples intercede. Judging by the prominence that Jesus gives to this particular characteristic, which he enjoins upon the eleven at least three times on that last night with them, I must conclude that it is one of the central actions of the disciple's faith.

The Boys

Nate posts briefly on prayer (here), and his brother Tim at length (here). Two brothers, thinking. Cool.

Are You Ever Discouraged by Christian Encouragers?

Okay, I’m just going to get this off my chest: I get really tired of Christian encouragers. (Ah, I feel better already).

These "encouragers" (quotation marks here indicate a somewhat ironic tone) believe they've been given the "gift of encouragement," so they miss no opportunity to offer you oh so helpful advice about nearly everything. Not to mention their constant stroking of your feathers if they think perhaps you’re being a little too down on yourself or something. They never miss a chance to tell you how wonderful and gifted you are, and then they tell you what you need to do in order to really, you know, live the life God wants you to live (or whatever).

And for crying out loud, don’t let them pray for you. It’s like giving a microphone to a politician. Now they’ve got the floor and can really hold forth. Instead of actually praying for you they tell you the things they think you ought to do in order to deal with the issue for which you sought prayer. Maybe you say, "I’m really having some trouble with my teenage son. I don’t seem to be able to talk to him anymore." Well, the discouraging encourager will "pray" a whole agenda of things that you should do. All these things have been revealed to him/her by God of course. "I believe that God is telling me that you really need to put your foot down as a Dad." Or perhaps, "God wants me to tell you that you need to take your boy out to a ball game and bond with him." You get the idea. This kind of thing can go on for a while, so you might as well settle in.

Either that, or you can just say, "Thanks, man, but I really wasn’t looking for your extended analysis of my situation all gussied up as prayer."

Oh, and then there’s the "spiritual" side of their advice. You know, they lay hands on the poor prayer recipient, who is perhaps suffering through depression or a broken marriage or addiction or who knows what, and they say, "Dear, you just really need to have more faith. You need to believe in your miracle. Are you reading your Bible every day, girl? Maybe you should come to the church prayer meeting on Wednesday night," etc., etc., etc. All this and more they squeeze between the words, "Dear God" and "Amen."

I haven’t done a careful Scriptural study of this, but I suspect that most Biblical prayers are not like this at all. Instead, they’re prayers to God asking Him to move, to intervene, to glorify Himself in the life of the person(s) being prayed for, rather than simply detailing the action-steps that the recipient should take.

Questions about Prayer

Into the Desert is the new blog of Nate (who in his Blogger profile page, rather than listing his favorite books, movies, bands, etc., simply informs us that he is "a peculiar fellow"). Nate, for those of you not in the know, used to hold forth at Eight Strings, and is my eldest lad (heir to the kingdom?).

Of this new blog Nate writes, "This blogger is operating under the notion that the Body of Christ is in need of a robust practice of silence and contemplation. The notion that the Christian life cannot be practically lived unless one travels "into the desert."

In that spirit, his most recent post asks 28 Questions about Prayer. Here, for example, are six of them:

Do I have to use hackneyed language that I hear in church every week in my prayer?

Could action be prayer?

Could I have a very deep, sustaining prayer life and still, for whatever reason, feel uncomfortable praying out loud in a group?

Does prayer have to be theologically sound?

Is more prayer preferable, or is better prayer?

Is prayerlessness actually a prayer, or could it be transformed into one?

BTW, at the end of the post Nate invites readers to ask further questions. Forming questions, positing thoughts in the form of a question, helps us to avoid smug declarations, careless imperatives, and thoughtless bonhomie.