When I was in my late teens, I was really really passionate about seeking the Lord. So passionate, in fact, that after reading a few books on revival and the “godly habits of godly people,” I pretty much burned myself out in prayer. And ever since, I’ve been a bit gun shy when it comes to my prayer life.
Recently God has been calling me to live with far more emphasis on prayer and daily seeking him, so I have to get over my qualms. I’ve been reading Prayer by Richard J. Foster, and yesterday this paragraph, advice given to a young man who was desperately trying to hear from God through a passage of Scripture, spoke to me:
“You’re trying too hard . . . You’re trying to control God. Go back to this passage and this time be open to receive whatever God has for you. Don’t manipulate God; just receive. Communion with him isn’t something you institute. It’s like sleep. You can’t make yourself sleep, but you can create the conditions that allow sleep to happen. All I want you to do is to create the conditions: open your Bible, read it slowly, listen to it, and reflect on it.”
It seems to me this advice holds true for all of spiritual life, not just lectio divina or specific types of prayer. In Luke 11 Jesus tells us to ask (not demand), seek (not create), and knock (not grab a crowbar and force the door). Any approach to God means coming empty handed and waiting humbly for him to give, reveal, and open the door.
If he decides to remain silent, that’s fine. We can still come, being faithful to create conditions. It’s sort of like being a servant and setting the table every morning, laying out a beautiful breakfast and fine china, even though it’s possible the master will decide to show up late or eat somewhere else. Laying out the table, with love and reverence, is still an act of service and love. It’s up to the master to decide how to accept that act.
I think prayer is a little like this as well. Creating the conditions can be, in itself, an act of worship. We do not decide how God will respond to that worship. But we know that he will respond–ask, seek, knock; receive, find, come through the door.
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