Prayer for Orphans

I can think of a hundred reasons why I shouldn't write this post today. All of them have to do with how this could be taken or how I will be seen when you read this. But I have been talking more and more lately about my "mystic" tendencies, so I will risk sharing this publicly. It is a true story about my encounter with God in prayer and an invitation to intercede for orphans in Haiti.

Last night we had a marvelous visit with an American family living temporarily in Prague. We were amazed at how many seemingly random connections we had. One of the biggest ones was that he and his family had served in Haiti after the earthquake. They had been at Operation Love The Children of Haiti, the orphanage where I visited in order to connect a Czech mission agency to short term work in Haiti. Furthermore, they are adopting a child who I remember interacting with (not talking with...I don't speak Creole.) This family has a real burden for this child because he is older, has been an orphan for a long time, and the process of adoption is taking so long. We spent time in intensive prayer for this boy and the speeding of the process of adoption.

So, with this on my mind and my heart, I was shocked to see a Facebook post from TouchGlobal about a different child who just died at the OLTCH orphanage. The story tells of one volunteer's grief and frustration at losing a child. I was very moved and fell quite naturally into intercessory prayer for the children and workers of this orphanage and others in Haiti. I had turned on an Internet radio station when I came into the study that was playing Christian music. I don't know when it cut off but sometime during my prayers, I noticed the overwhelming silence. In the long silence I felt the burden of intercession and what I can only name as God's grief over the orphans of Haiti and the families who will adopt them. After some time, I stood up from where I was sitting on the couch. At that moment, two things happened. First, I stood up into the sunlight streaming through the window and had to close my eyes because it was so bright. Second, the radio kicked on again and Jeremy Camp was singing these lines: "Power in hand speaking the Father's plan. You're sending us out, light in this broken land. We will overcome by the blood of the Lamb. And the word of our testimony, everyone overcome."

And the tears came. And I literally got on my knees to worship the Lord. And I met God in a deep way. And I felt compelled to write this testimony to His greatness, His ability to speak to his children, and His care for the widow and the orphan.

Can I ask you to take a moment and pray for the workers at OLTCH and other orphanages in Haiti, as well as the families going through the long, arduous, unpredictable process of adopting internationally?

asojourningsoul.blogspot.com

www.operationlovethechildrenofhaiti.org

My Life As A Monk

Listening to God in prayer is a topic that obviously resonates with a lot of people! Since I posted my previous blog entry, I have been privileged to interact with dozens of people through Email, Facebook, and blog comments. Many of you shared personal examples of how you listen to God. Many raised great questions. Most have admitted to a daily struggle to take time and listen in prayer. And some have been curious about the year I was classified as a monk in the Czech Labor Office. This has prompted more thinking about "life as a modern day monk".

How does one live a life of solitude, reflection, and prayer as an evangelical Christian living in Western society in the year 2012? What do I write about a "monk's lifestyle" on my iPad, sitting in a room with 10 people, including my kids and their cousins watching the Czech television show "Pat and Mat"? Ask me if I spent an hour in prayer this morning and I will have to admit to "hurrying" so I could catch some of the kids before they woke everyone else in the house up. So how does one live in conversation with God both during intentional quiet times and during regular life activities? And maybe more importantly, is this something that God desires?

A quick survey of Scripture shows us that, yes, it is the norm for God to lead, guide, teach, remind of what Jesus taught, convict, and interact with his children in many ways throughout the day. It is also a good practice to pull away from regular, daily activities to pray. Just look at Jesus' example of spending time in prayer and seeking his Father's guidance Mark 1:35-39. Or how the Holy Spirit leads, speaks, or otherwise interacts with people in the book of Acts Acts 4:8, 4:31, 13:2,9, 21:11.

Many people have gotten inspiration on the topic of communicating with God throughout the day from the writings of Brother Lawrence, especially The Practice of the Presence of God. Brother Lawrence was a French monk who lived in the 1600s and found that he could carry on a conversation with God during his daily duties, such as washing the dishes. As recorded in an updated English version of this book, Practicing His Presence, he talks about this continual conversation with God. "I have found that we can establish ourselves in a sense of the presence of God by continually talking with Him. It is simply a shameful thing to quit conversing with Him to think of trifles nd foolish things. We should feed and nourish our souls with high notions of god which will yeld great joy."

Frank Laubach was a 20th century evangelical Christian missionary who developed a literacy program in the Philippines. He wrote a series of letters to his father which talked about conversing with God during the day. In a pamphlet entitled The Game With Minutes, he challenges Christians to develop the habit of thinking about God one second of every minute of the day. In his letters, it is clear that he struggled with this habit. "This concentration upon God is strenuous, but everything else has ceased to be."

My experience is that I need to work on two distinct but connected disciplines: getting away to be quiet and alone with God and communicating with him throughout my regular days. My times away with God help me refocus so that my conversation during regular days is enriched. And my conversation during regular days keeps me close to God so my times away start off with more of a connection. I have found the same to be true with communication with my wife. We need to get away from the kids and work responsibilities and spend quality time together. But we also need to grab some conversation throughout regular days. Otherwise when wet to "our time" away, we have to spend a lot of time just getting caught up on "business".

Maybe that is the biggest thing to realize. Communication and conversation flow out of a relationship. Just as with a friend, you must both listen and share in order to build your relationship. The more you build your relationship the more you will want to listen and share. God desires to listen to you and hear about your thoughts, dreams, and disappointments. He also want to share his thoughts, dreams, and disappointments.

Please keep the emails, Facebook messages and comments coming! How do you manage to find time to listen to God in prayer during the day?

Quotes from Practicing His Presence, Beaumont, Texas: Seed Sowers, 1973 pages 15,42

Prayer And Solitude

Prayer is talking with God. How complicated can that be? We have conversations with people all day long and feel like we have communicated well. So why do we feel insecurity about whether or not God has heard us or that he cares? Why do we struggle over finding the time to talk with God and what to talk about? If God is so interested in me, why is it so difficult to connect with him?

I am convinced that LISTENING to God is becoming a lost art. Many struggle with their prayer lives because of this. One sided conversations become boring and rote to both the listener and the speaker. It is the same with God as with any human.

During a church talk, I challenged people to find a quiet place during the next week and sit for one hour, praying however they wanted. If one was stuck, one could read a short passage of Scripture to get the conversation going...but reading the Bible should only take a small portion of the time. Six people told me how unrealistic this was because they were too busy. One even said they wouldn't know how to do this for ten minutes! The greatest discouragement for me was that one of these people was the pastor, one was his wife, and one was an elder at the church! As I pried a little deeper, the issue for these people (as it is for most of us) wasn't finding the time. It was not knowing what to do with that time. I have no doubt that you or anybody could find an hour (or more) a day to sit quietly with a Bible and converse with the Lord.

But in our efficient, productivity focused mindset that wears "I'm so busy" as a badge of honor, we have truly lost the art of listening to God. We are afraid of our failures, sinfulness, and the pain that will arise in us if left alone with only ourselves. Which shows us how little we are experiencing the true God. Therefore, our prayer lives are not about connecting anymore. They are about getting the right words out and praying for the right things. If this is all prayer is, then we would do well to re-learn how to listen to God in prayer.

At the risk of sounding like a mystic (I was actually classified as a monk at the labor office for one year--true story), I propose that we MUST re-focus some of our prayer time on listening...not talking. This involves some of the classic spiritual disciplines of quiet, solitude, meditation, Lectio Divina, and reflection as a way to get to know God personally through prayer. These are some ways to help us get beyond the intellectual study of Scripture and the recitation of prayer lists.

If you agree with me and want to make a quick start at this, here is my suggestion. Grab your Bible, find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed or distracted (a park, in the woods, in a locked room at home). Read a passage of Scripture and reflect on it for a while. Don't try to figure out the passage too much or remember the original Greek! Rather try to put yourself in the story. What do you hear? What do you see? What do you feel? Play with the story in your mind a little while. Then tell God what strikes you from the passage. Ask him how he felt about the event or where He was during that time. Remember that prayer is communication with the person of God. Just as we "share from our heart" with another person, we do this with God AND He does it with us.

If you are interested in spending more time re-capturing the art of listening to God, I would suggest the classic "Celebration of Discipline" by Richard J. Foster. The first two disciplines he talks about are meditation and prayer.

Would you consider leaving a comment or emailing me the answer to this question....How do you listen to God in your prayer life or your daily life?