prayer like gravel / letting go
Ray Anderson:
Prayer is not a means of removing the unknown & unpredictable elements in life, but rather
a way of including the unknown & unpredictable
in the outworkings of the grace of God in our lives.
One of the things I love about “God-Lit”(books, devotionals, sermons, study series) is how excerpts from the Word are highlighted & magnified; taken from their place & brought to life to equip us for life as Christians. Yancey is particularly gifted in drawing examples from life & coupling them with the Word to help his reader get a grasp on the situation, to look again & gain more understanding of our God.
When I was first reading through “Why Pray?” I was struck by Yancey’s commentary of Jesus’ relationship with Simon Peter. I’ve said before how easy it is to forget Paul’s background as Saul & elevate his teaching to perceive him simply as a great speaker.
Similarly Yancey’s words reminded me again as to whom Simon Peter became through knowing God.
The Gospels show Peter urging Jesus to avoid the cross, cowering in the darkness the night of Jesus’ trial & denying with an oath that he knows him. In the book of 1 Peter, the transformed apostle uses words like ‘humble’ & ‘submit’ & welcomes suffering as a badge of honour.
As Yancey says so rightly says:
“When I betray the love & grace God has shown me, I fall back on the promise that Jesus prays for me, as he did for Peter … that in the end I will allow God to use the testing.. to mould me into someone more useful to the kingdom, someone more like Jesus.”
We fall so short of whom God intends us to be …
God’s mercy & grace enables us to get up & start afresh again after every time we fall down; truly amazing.
Further to the concept of surrender:
To let go doesn’t mean to stop caring,
it just doesn’t mean I can’t do it for someone else.
To let go is not to cut myself off,
it’s the realisation that I don’t control others.
To let go is to admit my powerlessness,
which means the outcome is not in my hands.
To let go is not to try & change or blame another,
I can only change myself.
To let go is not to care for, but to care about;
not to fix, but to be supportive;
not to judge, but to allow another to be human.
To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes,
but to allow others to affect their own outcomes.
To let go is not to argue or scold,
but to search out my own shortcomings & correct them.
To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires,
but to take each day as it comes.
To let go is not to criticise & regulate anyone,
but to try to become what I dream I can be.
To let go is not to regret the past,
but to grow & live for the future.
To let go is not to deny, but to accept.
To let go is to fear less & love more.