60-60 Post 3

Well, this week has been a bit better than last week with being faithful to recognize the beeps. I am trying to make sure I am following through with the prodding to call or email people. I really do want to be obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit. I have seen God bless me through my obedience.

In our Running Partners group on Sunday, one of the questions we ask is how we can encourage one another throughout the week. I said that I would benefit from being held accountable to actually taking time with God when I heard my watch beep rather than hearing the beep and continuing on with whatever I was doing. On Monday, one of the women called me to see how I was doing that day. I was very encouraged that she cared enough to follow up with me. I am really enjoying our women's Running Partner meetings.

Yesterday was a really good day. I had to wait on some guys to come finish our floors which gave me plenty of time for reading, prayer, and connecting with others. I called my friend Jill as she was on a road trip up to Kentucky. We had such an awesome and encouraging conversation. I shared with her that sometimes I would sort of feel like I can't communicate with God until my watch beeps, but that's silly and somewhat legalistic. The whole purpose of this exercise is to spend more time with God throughout the day. He's perfectly fine with hearing from me at the top of the hour, fifteen minutes after the hour, thirty minutes after the hour, etc (or at all of those times). The point is that I am supposed to be seeking God for all things at all times in all areas of my life. So I was sort of excited that I was seeking God at random times and not just those that are already scheduled.

So that's a bit of how this week has gone. I feel like I've done better at trying to reach out to people in the ways I am being led to do so. I know that I have missed some opportunities, but I know that God values relationships so I want to work harder at connecting whenever the opportunity arises.

If you're doing the 60-60, how has your week been? Feel like you're floundering or making progress?

60-60 Post 2

I don't feel like this week has been as good as the first week as far as being aware of God's presence and seeking his will moment by moment. I have missed a number of beeps - hearing them but allowing them to pass without any sort of pause or thought. I don't feel like I have received much direction or prompting, but perhaps I haven't really been seeking it either. I feel like I've pretty much sucked this week.

I knew that this challenge was going to be difficult. I didn't think it'd only take a week to fall back into normal patterns. It is somewhat discouraging. However, I will not give up. I will try to pause at each beep to see whether I am honoring God or seeking his guidance or if I'm simply doing my own thing without thought for what he may desire for me.

I think that it helps that the desire is there. I just need action to follow. I mean, I loved all of the encouragement I received last week through the experiment. I want more of that so hopefully that will help me to be more actively engaged when the beeps come.

I tried twice to sit quietly (be still) and invite God to speak. Usually it ended with me thinking about what needed to be done that day. That is still a work in progress. I should continue to try though, because only through practice do I have any hope of successfully quieting my mind to a state where I can clearly receive a word from God. Is anyone good at doing this? I'm always open to pointers and suggestions.

One cool thing from the second half of last week. On Friday, a married couple was brought to my mind. I have had more interaction with the woman and had prayed previously for a potential endeavor they were considering. I hadn't heard anything in a while. Sunday morning, I saw a woman who is good friends with the couple and asked her if anything had happened in that regard. She informed me that it was not going to happen because it looked like the couple was going to be getting a divorce. That was quite a surprise, and apparently a development only occurring last week. I let my friend know that I would be praying for them. I know that that was a God prompting. What are the odds of a random thought about people I don't know very well who are going through a difficult time right now? Definitely a "God coincidence." I'm not really sure what exactly I should be praying, but I know that God knows what is needed. All I know is that I'm supposed to be praying over this situation.

I have been trying to respond to thoughts to call or write people. They don't seem like very big things, but I know that God knows what others need and can use anything for his purposes. So we will see what happens this coming week with the 60-60 experiment. If you are going through it (or have gone through it), I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Effective Prayer

Last Wednesday, I went to CCC's monthly prayer group. We started meeting in January of this year, I believe. There are usually about five of us who meet, the core four and then a rotation of several. I have enjoyed the intimacy of the group. We are definitely open to more coming, but we haven't made a church announcement because we want it to be composed of people who truly want to pray for our church and one another and not those who think that it may be something "cool" to do, or whatever.



Neal has been leading the meetings since the beginning, but last meeting he invited us to each lead a meeting as well. I volunteered to be the first to lead and had that privilege on Wednesday. Thankfully, I know the group is quite accepting and understanding so I wasn't too worried about what to say. However, I did still want to share something meaningful and relevant to all of us.



While planning, I thought it would be good to talk about my interest in prayer (sort of what has been my desire for seeking opportunities to pray like our prayer group). I have two major desires in prayer. One is to develop a deeper, more intimate relationship with God and the other is to be effective in my prayer life. I reasoned that most people would like to know that their prayers are being heard and answered, so I focused on the second desire.



My first action was to do a Google search on what makes prayer effective. It was interesting to look at the search results, because most of what came back were hindrances to prayer. Obviously, eliminating hindrances would increase effectiveness, but it was interesting that it was more about removing obstacles than building blocks toward effectiveness.



I then thought about James 5:16, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." I then thought, Okay, so then perhaps I should figure out what it means to be righteous. I thought that perhaps I was missing out on some key ingredient to effective prayer and that if I could just research every word connected to it, perhaps I could find the answer. This was when it hit me: I'm trying to find the ultimate prayer formula to unlocking God's power. That is obviously not going to happen because it's a relationships, not a math problem.



Relationships develop through sharing, honesty, and vulnerability. Perhaps my focus should be not on saying or doing the right thing, but on opening myself up more to God.



Now, I do want to stop and say that I don't think it's bad or wrong to learn about and try different ways of praying. It can certainly be a great way to improve your prayer life and get out of any rut you may be in. I'm just saying you can't rely on one particular method to be the magic key to unlock powerful prayer.



I have been reading Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller and there was a quote in his book that related to my search for effective prayer:



I know it's tempting to believe if we will walk through ten steps or listen to only a certain kind of music or pray in a certain way and for a certain number of days then we will find favor with God, but we won't. The formulas, I understand, were created by their authors to help us, but they do more hindering than helping. If we trust in a formula, if we trust in steps, we are not trusting in God. Formulas, while helping us organize our faith, also tempt us to trust in them rather than in God. p.206



After reading and thinking about all of this, I was satisfied that I'm probably not missing out on the be-all end-all prayer style. So then, was that really my true concern? I think my question of ineffectivity is actually about seeing God's answers to my prayers. I can tell the difference between daily prayer/quiet times and the lack of them so there obviously is some personal benefit/aid in it. But what about all of those requests that I make for myself and others regarding circumstances and hopes and dreams? I feel like I really struggle with looking for/seeking God's response. Part of it is that I, like many others, tend to believe that if I don't see an affirmative response right away then that means my prayer had no power. But that's not true, and I was reminded of this while seeking wisdom about effective prayer.



I was reminded that there is no such thing as an unanswered prayer. God hears and responds to each request. However, sometimes his answer is "no" and we tend to interpret that as God not answering our prayers. Just because you don't get what you ask for doesn't mean it wasn't heard. Your parents said "no" to requests from you. I guess it's harder because we don't necessarily "hear" a "no" from God. We see no action and so God must not have heard us. But "yes" and "no" aren't the only answers. Sometimes there's "not yet" which may be just as discouraging as "no" because it tends to "sound" the same. But for me, the reminder that "not yet" is an option really encouraged me. There are multiple prayers that I know God could answer immediately, but doesn't. It's not because he can't or won't, it's just because I don't know his timing. I was reading somewhere that said that sometimes God waits for the moment in which he will receive the most glory.



I hear many stories of people praying for years for a wayward child, spouse, or parent without much result. And then one day, it happens. The reminder that God can do anything, and that he wants no one to perish but all to come to him encourages me to continue to pray for situations such as these because it is God's desire as well. I know he can't force people to choose him, but he can place people in their path and reveal himself to them in unique ways. Knowing that God hears, gives me determination to be like the widow that continues to go to the judge until he finally issues her justice because he is weary of being hounded by her. And I know that God delights to hear from me. So this, along with the realization that I may have been misinterpreting God's responses, helps me with my struggle.



It was really good to talk about all this among the group to hear other perspectives on seeing answers to prayer and feeling close to God in and through prayer. At one point, I managed to see how my two initial desires connect. If I am drawing nearer to God and deepening my relationship with him, then I will desire his will. If I am desiring his will, then I will seek his heart. Seeking his heart should lead me to pray for his will to be done. If I am praying within his will, then my prayers will most certainly be effective and I ought to see God's action within those prayers. Sort of like a six degrees of separation thing, huh?



So, to sum all of this up, my true goal is and should be to increase my intimacy with God and deepen my relationship with him. I haven't really been sure how to do this because I realize that, generally, between my morning prayer time and the small window before I'm asleep at night I don't really think about God a whole lot. There will be instances here and there where I do, but it's more an exception than the rule.



However, our church is beginning a new series called Soul Revolution which includes a book as well as small group discussion and running partners (even smaller groups which allow for greater honesty and openness). This book has an experiment that everyone is invited to participate in. It's called the 60-60 experiment where, for sixty days, you are to set a watch, timer, or alarm to beep every sixty minutes. At each beep that you hear, you are supposed to reflect on what's going on, remember that God loves you and has great things for you, and recommit yourself to seeking God's will for that, and each subsequent moment. It sounds very challenging, but I think it will really help me to work towards establishing the branch/vine relationship mentioned in Luke 15 that invites us to abide in Jesus. The experiment starts this coming Sunday, October 11th. I am quite excited. I hope to blog some about it as we move through it. I invite you to try the experiment as well if you'd like. Join me as we see what happens when we try to seek God's will in every moment of our lives.