Can You Pray As You Take the Plunge?
I came across this quotation from O. Hallesby:
Wherever we go, we meet people who are in need of something. If the Spirit could give us that open eye of love which sees both visible and invisible needs, everything we saw would give rise to prayer.
Obviously, I like Hallesby’s statement because he mentions the “visible” and “invisible” in the same breath, which is music to the ears of someone who likes to write about ultimate reality. But the quote also made me feel uncomfortable, because, honestly, I don’t think this way. Or maybe I do think this way, but that’s just the problem. Thought has to be united with action to have any real solvency. I suspect that in the realm of thought-action, where reflexes crackle and decisions are made in an instant, Hallesby’s argument is somewhat alien to the way I usually work.
I consider, for example, a typical substitute teaching scenario, where I have my eye on a trouble student who is doing everything he can to change the classroom into a kind of personal Comedy Central. When the joker cues up his latest attempt at improvisation, several options spring to mind.
- Freeze him with a cold stare.
- Hand him a detention slip and rasp, “Start filling this out.”
- Yell out his name with a threatening inflection.
- Walk slowly over and “tower” over him (more of a metaphysical towering, given my average height)…
God, help me live in the light of heaven, where the only really effective action is suffused with life-giving prayer.
2 comments:
I'm surprised no one has complimented you on this post. So . . .
I was reminded here of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount--specifically his counterintuitive advice to love our enemies and bless those who curse us--and that we should forgive "seventy times seven times." The effect is to make us stop and think, perhaps reassess our priorities, perhaps realize that what initially angers us isn't worth our anger after all--or that that anger may be a sign of sin or weakness in ourselves (as I myself recently learned to my chagrin in some dealings with students).
So--nice post.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post. It hits home with what God has been teaching me lately.
When I meet people who get under my skin, I tend to grit my teeth and fight thinking very critically of them... and stop there. I make no forward-moving offensive effort on their behalf. I merely go into "keep myself from thinking sinful thoughts" defense-mode.
I think praying for visible/invisible needs gets my heart/mind/spirit readjusted to a gospel, a real-reality, focus. Prayer becomes the catalyst not only for seeing others clearly, but myself as well. As I pray, I am humbled before God and am able to see that we're all flawed and in need of Christ's redemptive work in our lives. No one has arrived. This becomes a spring-board for praise. I see my own failings and needs and am amazed and grateful for Christ's power that is effecting real, lasting, loving change in my life. This mind-set shift changes my view/prayers for the other person. My primary concern becomes the glory of Christ and the joy/fulfillment of each person in him, rather than the self-serving-holier-than-thou thinking that says, "Stop annoying me, you make me uncomfortable."
Of course, when dealing with a saucy student in a classroom setting (which I happen to have experience with), there is not enough time to contemplate so many things, but a desperate prayer, from a desperate sinner needing help and clear vision will suffice!
Thank you for the quote and your honest self-assessment.
LEV
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