Praying, Centering on I AM

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Praying, Centering on I AM

Today I was pleased to consider one of the most significant Names of God I know of, in either the New Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures. My word—Name of God for today is I AM.

This Name comes from Exodus 3, where Moses is herding sheep on the mountain in the Sinai Peninsula. He sees a burning bush, burning without being consumed. God speaks to Moses out of the bush. During the conversation, Moses asks God for God’s name. “I AM” is the response.

The Name of God is more than a static “I am,” one time only. Instead, it encompasses a whole lot more. “I AM” goes beyond time. Translated and amplified, Exodus 3:14 states “And God said to Moses, I Am Who I Am and What I Am, and I Will Be What I Will Be; and He said, You shall say this to the Israelites: I Am has sent me to you!”

When I was praying earlier, I had one of my occasional mind-pictures. Sort of like on a video screen in my head. I saw the hillside in the mountains. I saw the burning bush. And, I saw the back of Moses (not his face), sinking to his knees. He had already taken off his sandals and tossed them aside. Moses’ herd was forgotten, for the moment. He was totally focused on this Burning Bush and the Voice that came from it.

This concept of “I AM” transcends time, and space, and enters eternity itself.

Isn’t that what God does? Transcend time and space, breaking through into eternity? Just as God is more than just male, more than just female, God transcends those human constructs. God is more than. God is both/and. God is the All in All. God was, and is, and is to come. My puny human brain cannot even comprehend or even conceptualize such a thing. All that comes to me is a feeble “wow!” That just about covers it. Wow.

Dear God, awesome and great I AM, as I consider this particular Name of Yours, I feel absolutely inadequate. Almost like Isaiah when he had his vision of the Temple. Dear God, thank You for revealing Yourself in this way. Almost coming down to humans’ level. Help me to keep on learning about You, and praying to You. In Jesus’ mighty and powerful Name I pray, amen.

@chaplaineliza

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Why not visit my sister blogs, “the best of” A Year of Being Kind.   @chaplaineliza And, read my sermons from Pastor, Preacher Pray-er

Day #29 – Bless My Boss? Pray for Him, Too!

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Saturday, March 21, 2015

Day #29 – Bless My Boss? Pray for Him, Too!

Ever have a wonderful boss? I have! Several, in fact. (Then, too, I’ve had several who were not particularly wonderful. But I am not going to even think about them, today.)

Today’s suggestion from #40acts is to be a blessing to your bosses. Or, church leaders, or authority figures. So many people act or speak in a negative way, even about their bosses or supervisors, or leaders. Why not speak positively? Compliment them? Give them “a heavy dose of blessing” right back. (As Ewen McAlpine mentions in today’s 40acts blog post.)

I have two bosses in mind today. Neither of them is my boss any longer. However, while I was under their supervision, I considered myself fortunate to have them in authority over me.

The first is the Rev. Dr. Frank Baldwin, Director of Chaplaincy at the Presbyterian Homes. Frank was awesome! He retired from his long-time position as Director of Chaplaincy for all the sites in the Pres Homes network late last year.  I consider myself blessed to have had him as a supervisor some years ago while I spent a year at the Pres Homes as a chaplain intern.

Frank is kind, intuitive, clear-headed, marvelous at administration, and caring and insightful as a chaplain and pastor. He has such a head for details, and for names! One of the best at remembering facts about people—and their loved ones—that I have ever seen. He is a careful communicator, insightful and patient with me as an intern, and encouraging to me when I had questions and could have done better. When I grow up, I want to be like Frank!

The second boss is Rev. Gordon Smith. I worked with Gordon at two locations. In any situation where I saw him operate, Gordon made use of his superb communication abilities. His interpersonal and preaching skills are phenomenal!

While at our first site together, Gordon showed how competent and innovative he could be. He has spent most of the past ten years in interim church work in the Chicago area, serving as interim pastor until the churches could call a permanent pastor. He is wonderful at this specialized work. And—at supervising his co-workers. Always collegial, encouraging, affirming, and positive, he also is wonderful at painting a vision of where churches and congregations would like to go, and how they might best get there. A wonderful interim minister! And an awesome colleague, as well.

Thank you, thank you, to both Frank and Gordon. You helped me to do my job more fully, more richly than I ever thought I could. I always wanted to do my very best for you, in these positions. I pray for you both, and your families. May God richly bless you, and give you enjoyable and interesting things to do in the future. God’s peace be yours in abundance, too!

@chaplaineliza

Like what you read? Disagree? Share your thoughts with your loved ones and continue the conversation.

(Check out #40acts; doing Lent generously at www.40acts.org.uk )

Why not visit my sister blogs, “the best of” A Year of Being Kind.   @chaplaineliza And read #40acts sermons from Pastor, Preacher Pray-er .

To Feel, or Not To Feel? In Prayer.

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – January 26, 2015

To Feel, or Not To Feel? In Prayer.

It’s just Jesus and me, on the mountaintop! Together, praying and meditating, walking, and sitting in silence together. I feel so close to the Lord, it’s just amazing!

Well . . . not always. Even, not often. But, yes, sometimes.

It’s true, I don’t feel the awesome, mighty, yet intimate presence of God quite all the time. I would be lying if I said that I did. It’s only been recently—and I mean less than two hundred years—that feelings in prayer have been trusted. In selected writings of the Pietists and in the First and Second Great Awakenings of the Church (in certain parts of the world), scattered people reported deep feelings in prayer and in the relationship with God. But not many.

As Rev. Howell tells his readers, Martin Luther warned that deep feeling in prayer might well be a trap, that the devil might be seducing us into something not of God. [1] This was a common statement or concern, for many centuries. On my part, I am heartily glad that feelings are not suspected to be temptations or traps any longer!

Looking at the whole subject of feelings from the other side, however, I can understand how being too dependent on feelings and intuition can get me into trouble. Too much emphasis on feelings can cloud logic and common sense. And, when feelings go too far into states of mind that are negative or harmful in any way (like chronic depression, severe anxiety, and the like), that’s when other believers in God can be helpful.

Isolation, deprivation or fasting, except for brief and measured periods of time, is not positive. What comes to mind is an acronym used in the addiction, substance abuse, and recovery fields: H-A-L-T. Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tired. Any one of these states can be a concern. And two at once? An even bigger concern. These states can also trigger or heighten negative emotion, exacerbating a bad feeling (or situation) into something much worse. Suggestion: if and when you feel this way? Seek out mature believers, ministers, or others you can trust, and open up to them. And, if this negative feeling continues? Please, seek out professional help, even call 911.

So, yes, having deep feeling in prayer and in our relationship with God can be great! But, as Rev. Howell so perceptively said, “Jesus did not come so we could feel different, Jesus came so we could be different.” [2] Amen! Help me—help us—to stick close to You, God, no matter how we feel. No matter what our situation is. Amen, and amen!

Like what you read? Disagree? Share your thoughts with your loved ones and continue the conversation.

Why not visit my sister blog, “the best of” A Year of Being Kind.

[1] James C. Howell, The Beautiful Work of Learning to Pray, (Nashville, TN, Abingdon Press: 2003), 82.

[2] Ibid, 83.

Praying for Myself? Praying for Others, Too.

matterofprayer blog post for Monday, April 28, 2014

Praying for Myself? Praying for Others, Too.

I had a good deal to do today. A brief article, finished in less than an hour, I am proud and glad to say. I had several meetings, did some computer work, and then some more research. And finally, yoga! (Boy, did I need my gentle yoga class! The best. Especially my teacher! But I won’t fangirl overmuch now.)

I did not take my usual time in the morning to pray, though. I tossed and turned last night, and so got only about four hours of sleep—all told. With the little naps in between times, and everything. Yup. About four hours. However, I did snatch a few minutes her and a few moments there, in the midst of everything that happened today.

How I missed my time of prayer this morning!

I find myself agreeing with Martin Luther, with the principle about prayer. Such a marvelous quote! Except, I cannot spend three hours in prayer, straight, at one time. Forgive me, Martin! And especially, forgive me, God! Sure, I can do a half hour now, fairly easily. But I’m not in the major leagues yet, nor do I expect to be any time soon. However, I am grateful that I am able to spend a half hour at a time with God now, on a regular basis. And I suspect God is happy, too!

Let’s pray. Dear God, I stand in awe at people like Martin Luther. His capacity for and practice of prayer? Awesome! Dear God, help me to learn to pray more, better, and more faithfully. Encourage our hearts and help us as we are all on this road to a closer walk with You. In the name of Your risen Son, we pray all of these things. Alleluia, amen!

@chaplaineliza

(also published at www.matterofprayer.net Shortlink: