Prayer Challenge 2.07

It’s hard in this life to keep a schedule, or to incorporate new things like this challenge! But, it is so worth it. I learned, despite my setbacks, that a deeper relationship with God, a more thorough change in the way I think and act, can occur if God is allowed to work through the time given to Him in prayer. I can’t wait until the next challenge, 2.07 that starts next week!

Come join me for 15 minutes daily with God. The first 5 are in prayer, thanksgiving, and prayer requests. The last 10 are in waiting upon Him.

Prayer Challenge 2.06 Announced

Starting this Monday, thru Friday, a Prayer Challenge 2.06 is being run. Come join us as we look to God in a new/old way:

1. The first 5 minutes is spent in praise and thanksgiving, making prayer requests as needed (meditatively).
2. The last 10 minutes are spent waiting upon God and letting Him do His work in us (contemplatively).

Be Still, and Know God

In the Dark Night of the Soul, Book 1, Chapter X, St. John of the Cross says,

“What they must do is merely to leave the soul free and disencumbered and at rest from all knowledge and thought, troubling not themselves, in that state, about what they shall think or meditate upon, but contenting themselves with merely a peaceful and loving attentiveness toward God, and in being without anxiety, without the ability and without desire to have experience of Him or to perceive Him.”

To move forward, to the level of proficient, capableness, the child of God must do a number of things.

1. Don’t try to understand God or work out issues with your own understanding “rest from all knowledge and thought.”
2. Don’t worry about what you should think or meditate on either spiritually or personally.
3. Don’t try with your ability, or desire to “experience” God or “understand-perceive” Him.
4. Do content yourself with a quiet, peaceful, and loving attentiveness (waiting-Prayer 2.0 challenge) towards God.

When you get closer to God, you realize how little and insignificant you are. Your works and projects, dreams and doings are all nonsense and of so little value. No, we shouldn’t shrink from any thought of doing, but who is to say that we should be “doing” anything? Our leaders that Christ put over us? Is not this the reason for the Protestant Reformation in that the religious leaders of the day were so intent on dogma and tradition and their way of thinking that they missed out on God and became corrupt in their writing, teaching, doings?

This isn’t to say that everyone is doing this now, but it seems very likely. Do we really think that the world is getting better or is kinder because we haven’t had any world wars lately? because we haven’t faced horrible plagues lately? that we aren’t faced with evil men on a daily basis in all walks of life?

No, the enemy has become smarter and has learned deep, complex subterfuge, and in the modern world, provides us with all of our dainties and possessions so that we become nothing more than a follower of tradition and our authority leaders just because they are who they are.

And so were the religious leaders of Jesus’ day.

Let God Work Beyond your Prayers

In Book I, chapter IX, St. John of the Cross says,

“if the soul desires to work with its faculties, it hinders the work which God is doing in it rather than aids it…The reason is that, in this state of contemplation, which the soul enters when it forsakes meditation for the state of the proficient, it is God Who is now working in the soul…”

As soon as we begin to work, to do things, to help, we hinder.

On the surface, any work done in His name is a good work. But as we try to do things in our own ways, in our own strength, in our own understanding, even with the church’s oversight-permission-encouragement, we have to face the fact that it is being accomplished by a human with their current set of skills and abilities as currently being transformed and used by God.

But what if God wants us to go deeper? To be more prepared? To continuously  be closer to Him? more refined? more transformed?

But wait! (someone may say) God wants us to help others, to serve Him through good works and through His church.

Correct, as spoken and directed by our understanding and our church leaders’ understanding which is good and correct.

But are we so involved in doing things that we aren’t listening to Him? really listening to Him? This is what makes mystical teachings so difficult because the answers are usually yes by “church-going” members who are involved in good works. And yes, mystical teachings promote and provide for this.

But what if in God’s eyes He allows for this because we are so immature in the faith and we refuse to grow? Then we have blinded ourselves because of ourselves. A paradox of faith and works that can only be severed(or combined) if we really get closer to Him.

And this is what St. John of the Cross is saying when he says that we need to forsake purely meditation (asking God,verbal prayer, active thinking=human understanding) for contemplation (allowing God to move, quietness and waiting upon, passive acceptance=God’s understanding allowed to move).  Instead of thinking of what God may want us to be or do, we just allow Him to do His good work in us.

Why God doesn’t Answer Prayer

In Book 1, Chapter IX, St. John of the Cross mentions a number of ways to know whether you are entering the dark night of the soul. When you enter these times, you will find that some prayers are not meant to be answered. In short, Let Your Will be done, not mine. But if you would, please remove this cup (of suffering) from me.

The “first is whether, when a soul finds no pleasure or consolation in the things of God, it also fails to find it in any thing created; for, as God sets the soul in this dark night to the end that He may quench and purge its sensual desire. He allows it not to find attraction or sweetness in anything whatever.” Going to church, meeting with Christian friends, singing, praising, using your spiritual gifts, being recognized for godly works are all useless. This is truly a paradox because in God’s sight they are worth something, if done in Jesus’ name and for His glory, but when you are drawn to a closer walk with Him, and begin this journey, those things will appear worthless and of little value. The attraction, feeling, desire, will die. Our faults lay in believing that we are losing God’s favor, or that since we don’t “feel” God or His presence anymore, that we are not worthy or on the right track; maybe even that we are losing our faith. We couldn’t be more wrong. After partaking in the firstfruits of His Goodness, we are now being drawn out of this world and its emphasis on the senses and man’s accolades, and into the world of faith. Faith does not need the senses. Unlike heaven, we live in a bipolar universe where extremes are what we seek or try to avoid. God seems to use this to show us the soundness, or lack thereof, of our faith. Because, during these darker times, it may take a while before we begin to fathom that He is drawing us nearer to Him, and away from religion’s and man’s emphasis on “feeling” God’s presence, “understanding” God’s will for us, and “moving” to do His works in what we see around us. Yes, they are there, but to draw nearer to Him, do we focus on service and neglect the faith, neglect the One who desires a more meaningful relationship with us? Is there a medium between the two extremes?

“The second sign whereby a man may believe himself to be experiencing the said purgation is that the memory is ordinarily centered upon God…thinking that it is not serving God, but is backsliding…”Moment by moment we think of Him, long for Him. It’s almost as if your favorite music is just barely heard in the background, all day long. You long for it but you don’t hear it blaring in your ears. Our fallible earthly knowledge says that since we are not “serving” God or sensing Him, we must be wicked and backslidden. But if God is using this to purge us, the fact that we are constantly remorseful and thinking upon Him would disprove this. Yes, we may fall further into sins then we did in other times, but the depths of our sinner’s souls are being exposed and worked with by Him. It’s so much easier to just pretend it isn’t there, avoid it, or cover it up. That’s safe. That’s easy as a human. But as a new spirit which is growing and learning, it will be the wrong way.

“…it finds itself without sweetness in the things of God.”Do you feel God’s presence? Do you seek Him in His Glory? Do you seek a feeling that He is there? We all do, we all want to be with Him, but it is a sign that we are still seeking a sign, a miracle, an act by a wicked people who still live by sight and not by faith. Man cannot serve two masters. Faith is believing without seeing, feeling, understanding, etc. Why do we still seek a sign? Are we still like Gideon who needs it proved 3 times over?

“For the cause of this aridity is that God transfers to the spirit the good things…For the sensual part of a man has no capacity for that which is pure spirit, and thus, when it is the spirit that receives the pleasure, the flesh is left without savour and is too weak to perform any action.What this means is that when God strengthens and develops our spiritual man, the connections to the fleshy and sensual parts become corrupted. We expect still to receive feelings and emotions and miracles: all earthly and rational. Yet, the flesh is weak and cannot use these anymore; and the spirit is too strong and can’t use them to grow anymore. Thus, the arid or dry times come where all feels dark in the soul. This is a time to be thankful!

“The third sign…the soul can no longer meditate or reflect in the imaginative sphere of sense…for God now begins to communicate Himself to it, no longer through sense…but by pure spirit…”

This is so far removed from our traditional image or teachings that we must make a list and pray every day and be persistent so God will answer our prayers. As if He wants to teach us to beg! or be like naughty children! He already knows what we need and He will take care of us. The hopes and dreams that we have for our life, but personal-human, and spiritual, are no longer needed or wanted. They are human machinations. God wants to commune Himself to us through contemplation, and not with the senses.

The reason mystical theology is called such, is because it’s a living, real experiential belief in God that uses experience and Scripture to help us understand and come closer to God regardless of what the current culture says, and to peer with our noses up to the dark glass, until we shall know clearly, and not just as children of God.

Prayer is not meant to get things. Prayer is meant to change us and allow God to work through us to form a more perfect creation.

 

A Prayer for You

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your love to us, for your mercies, and your patience.

So many times we get bogged down on our little problems, small busy life, and we think we need something from you, we expect a feeling, or want a sign. Please reveal to us your true wisdom. Show us how it is to live by faith, and not by senses or sight, not to seek a sign. Yet Father, we need your guidance because we are so young, so self-centered, so focused on our own issues. Please form in us Your Spirit. Create in us a new spirit of wisdom, peace, and patience. Guide us as we work, close our eyes at night, and open our lids each morning. Draw us to Yourself because in our own works, we will fail: we will forget and not bring You glory. We love you and need you every day especially in these days of technology, information, and business that takes our focus off you; yet, this world needs You everyday. Walk us along the cliffs, through the shadow of darkness, and among the world without getting burned, hurt, or lost. Let us be your Christians as we make our pilgrims’ progress each day.

Thank you,

Your loving and faithful servant

Prayer Challenge Update

The week is still roughly half over, but I have some updates to share.

The “time” to contemplate is spreading. While sick from bronchitis, taking my son to a band concert, and taking care of a sick family member, I have spent some of the day’s “time” in contemplation in odd spots or situations. One day it was in my truck outside of the concert hall. Another it was 1/2 when I got home from work, and then after a long interruption, 1/2 as I prepared for bed. Like Brother Lawrence once said, you can experience God’s presence anywhere. And even though I’m not looking for His presence; understanding that contemplation is about the purging of the senses, and waiting upon God, I am finding that I sense His presence more often than before. Yet, I don’t think or believe that this is what I’m after. I’m not after a “feeling,” that’s not what faith is based on, I’m after the relationship and person Himself.

I also catch myself moving towards contemplation at different times during the day for a few seconds here and there.

I hope the same happens for you!

Benefits from Seeking God

The benefits of contemplation and prayer:

1. the knowledge of oneself and of one’s misery
2. the soul learns to commune with God with more respect and courtesy
3. the soul will be enlightened of the greatness and excellence of God

When one waits on God, is everything made known? Of course not. So is the spiritual knowledge that comes from our Lord. In contemplation we wait upon Him as if we are His servant; which in fact we are! Our God lets the darkness of nothing engulf us as our senses are made useless (thank goodness!) and we come to understand how all of our feelings, both physical and emotional, are vastly human. While important to our existence, they are not of what awaits us, they are not solely God. Yes we were made to be on this earth and use our physical feelings and emotions, but, God intended to walk and talk with us. To commune with us. That is what we should seek. Some divine co-mingling or communing here on earth. So instead of looking and asking for things (materialism) or events to happen (self-interest), or wanting miracles, healings, or God’s presence (feelings), we should seek the divine in the here-and-now. Incredible. Just like someone I knew that walked the shores of Galilee…

But what do we find as we wait upon Him? as we seek this divine love? We find that He purges our soul of its dependence on the senses; hence the name purgation or contemplation of the dark night of the soul. And in this, we find that we are miserable, weak, and to be pitied.

The soul as it begins to commune with God in its initial parts and stages, becomes aware and trains itself to subservience. We lose the fashions and imaginations of our mind and respect the Maker of all. We understand how great He is and how much we lose our way each day, creating a need for a Savior to pull us out of the mess that we have created here on earth.

And as is common here on our earthly journey, we experience both sides of this life. The one we are in: dark, arid contemplation; and the one we are being transformed into: divine Love.

(from Book I chapter 12 of the Dark Night of the Soul)

Infusion from God

“For contemplation is naught else than a secret, peaceful and loving infusion from God, which, if it be permitted, enkindles the soul with the spirit of love…” St. John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul Chapter X.

Does God work miracles anymore? spread His power through His people to touch a starving world; yearning for spiritual food as much as food for the body? Does He talk to His people anymore? Where is God? Why do we have such suffering? Why the pain of heartaches from those closest to us?

The aforementioned deals with the soul: the seat of our emotions according to Greek philosophy, yet intricately tied to our spirit in ways that we cannot comprehend.

This is what Christians as humans may ask of God, let alone the world as they scoff at His ways.

But it’s still essentially human. It’s still wrapped up in our problems and troubles. Will heaven be this way? Partially. But that’s what separates us from Eternity: we do not know or understand but see through a glass darkly.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
Faith does not rest in our senses, because if it did, anyone could believe by what they see, hear, or feel. Yes, we respond to God with our emotions and He does connect to our humanity through our feelings, but that isn’t faith, that’s sensing God. If God wants us to believe in His Son through faith and live a life of faith, the senses cannot be trusted or relied on for complete faith. That faith will end when we are with Him and our spirits commune with Him in Heaven for Eternity.

So how should we live?  In secret, in peace, and with a loving infusion from God.

in faith

in secret

in contemplation?

Prayer Challenge 2.05 Announced!

Prayer Challenge 2.05 is set for all of next week.  The challenge is set for Monday-Friday. 15 minutes each day. One of the key elements to this prayer challenge is to spend at least 10 minutes of the time in contemplation: waiting on God. This isn’t “meditation” whereby we purposely ask of God or praise Him, but of waiting (serving) on God for His good will. The first 5 minutes is spent in the normal prayer and praise that we are used to.