I have a few songs that if I never heard again, I would be fine:
"I've Got Friends in Low Places" by Garth - How many hotels have I been in while trying to sleep with this song playing in the bar downstairs?!!
"Pachelbel's Canon in D" - Every wedding and every music station in the doctor's office has used this song. Pachelbel's estate must be worth a zillion dollars with all the royalties.
"My Heart Will Go On" by Celine - I never saw the movie TITANIC and will never see it. So don't start. This song gives me major cringe.
Delete them. To think that those writers are getting royalties for those awful songs. It's a waste of hard-earned money. Okay. I'll stop ranting.
Things Christians say that they need to stop:
"Sending out prayers and wishes to you..."
Or....
"You're in my thoughts and hopes."
Vague. Bland. Unhelpful.
Don't send any prayers to me. I appreciate your wishes. It shows you care and that you think kind thoughts about me. I'm glad you have hopes for me now and then in the middle of your thoughts about what you're having for dinner or how disgusted you are with the weather.
But if you really love me? If you really care?
Tell me you'll get on your knees even for 60 seconds and plead that God will have mercy on me. Pray that He will shower me with grace and enable me to be the man God wants me to be.
Or pray the blessing that Aaron prayed, "Shawn, may the Lord bless and keep you; make His face to shine upon you and give you peace." But don't give me platitudes. Don't flatter me with affection that has no diligence behind it.
I'm not inferring you need to be a pro at prayer.
The apostle Paul is helpful with this very thing when he wrote,
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." (Ephesians 6:18a NIV)
There is room for all kinds of prayers and requests: childlike wonder, simple questions, pleading, cries, intercession, or an emergency "Help!" I also believe this includes praying with spiritual languages we don't comprehend.
What is clarifying is the next directive:
"With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." (Eph 6:18b)
When he says, "keep on praying for all the Lord's people", he is calling for perseverance and passion. Why does he remind us of this? Because of our tendency to give up, to lay it aside, to defer prayer in favor of "thoughts and wishes." Or because it takes faith and effort. Circumstances and the battle in the mind have a way of numbing us to the power of prayer. Voices that say, "It doesn't matter. God is going to do what He's going to do." Or even worse: "Everything happens for a reason."
Yes, God is sovereign. His ultimate purposes will not be derailed. But as followers of Jesus, we are partners in intercession. When we stay alert to this and persevere, we are joining in the work of the Holy Spirit who "prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words." (Romans 8:26 NLT).
4 comments:
I never could understand when people would ask for or say they appreciate prayers or good vibes. Guess they just don’t know the God who hears and answers His children’s prayers
Vibes. That’s another one!
I can't express in words what this post does for me. Not because of who it is from or because I am looking for a "buddy" who will tell me I am right, but because it helps me not to condemn myself as harshly as I do for my feelings sometimes. I know and understand that we who are in Christ are under condemnation no more, but I wouldn't be honest that there are not times that I still get those thoughts and feelings for a fleeting moment until God's Holy Spirit reminds me.
Just like everyone who prays with their whole heart and in a prayer language, I had that "first" where I came to understand it finally in the way my heart yearned to. Being or serving as a prayer intercessor includes getting to know and witness the most intimate prayers and hurts in others lives, and real, fervent prayer comes at a considerable cost to emotions and so much more, but God always, always makes it more than worth it. I often condemn myself for the way I feel when someone makes those statements mentioned. When someone tells me "Praying for you" or "My thoughts and prayers are with you", my first thought to both is always "Are you really?" And "I don't need your prayers to be with me; I need them to be with God...so much!" Please don't send me good vibes...I need real prayer; not a nice earthquake sent to me. So I do the one thing that every mental health practitioner knows is taboo...I have expectations, and expectations are always a recipe to setup for a let down.
I'm always grateful that God never fails to remind me that people who say these things mean well and many times, say them because they don't know anything better to say. There is a guilt that comes with what I am about to say because I am nothing special, other than to my Father, but the greatest gift anyone could ever give me is to pray for me with the same heart that I pray for others. That sounds terrible because it sounds like I am glorifying myself. I'm really not meaning it that way.
Thank you Pastor Shawn. I appreciate this because I know it is honest and it comes from your heart. Thank you for not "affirming" my feelings for the sake of making me feel good, and especially for helping me not to condemn myself so harshly just because I have these feelings sometimes.
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