Prayer Requests

I almost didn't answer the phone when it rang. Then I looked and saw that it was her. She's been a dear friend for a few years now. Quite an extraordinary individual actually, I've been privileged to make her acquaintance.

God has apparently used me to confront her sometimes, a truth that she's actually expressed gratitude to me for. To be honest, He's used her to teach me a thing or two as well. Kindred spirits, we live hundreds of miles apart and labor on, trying to be the people that God created us to be.

A little while ago, this dear friend had discovered a rare tumor at the base of her spine - threatening her central nervous system and of course her very life. There being no doctors in her entire state who could properly diagnose or prescribe a treatment for her condition, she was referred to the famed Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/aboutthissite/aboutmayoclinic) in Minnesota. There, she'd been given sobering news, and put on a grueling (and grisly) course of treatment that in itself seemed to threaten her very life.

Recent phone calls have included some tears and some prayer. I've tried my best to encourage my friend. As we've ended those calls, I've always been consciously aware of the fact that it could have been our last conversation. I wasn't sure if she had weeks, months or years to live. But the threat on her life seemed very real.

Nevertheless, I have prayed, many times. "God, if it would please You, please deliver her from this savage cancer. I know she has much to give. If You won't take this cancer from her, would You at least give her peace with this course in her life? I ask these things of you, dear Lord. in Jesus' name. Amen."

Now when the phone rang the other day, and I saw it was her, I frankly expected more of the same. More of her sharing her misery. More of me trying to be supportive. Maybe some tears to be shed. And certainly more prayers. Quite honestly though, I was not prepared for what she said.

"The tumor is gone." She continued. "I was at the Mayo Clinic again last week. They did a PET scan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_scan). That tumor they've been treating? It's somehow disappeared. The doctor said she didn't know how to tell me this, but there is no tumor now. And there is no explanation. They are certain the tumor was there before. But now it's not."

Well, that is remarkable. The tumor is gone. Of course the doctor wants to finish the treatments of chemotherapy, etc. You'll have to finish your submission and surrender in that process. But the tumor is not there now. "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! I'm so happy for you!"

Hang on a minute though. What do they mean "there is no explanation?" Of course there's an explanation! How many people were praying for you? Did none of us really expect God to answer those prayers? Do we really expect that when we pray for terminally ill people they will still die? Didn't we say all along that you've got a powerful testimony being written here? How could our own expectations not line up with our actions (prayer)?

So there it was. The problem with prayer. Many of us pray and pray, and if we're honest, it's usually not a terribly rewarding proposition. Most often, people I've known (including myself), describe an experience where we prayed fervently, but eventually slack off. It's not that we gave up (at least that's what we tell ourselves). It's just that we began to lose sight of any point in the prayer. Worse, we often become a bit callous toward God on the issue we were praying about. He didn't meet our expectations, so He must not care. Right?

The reason many of us leave off praying and become hard towards God is because we have only a sentimental interest in prayer. It sounds right to say that we pray; we read books on prayer which tell us that prayer is beneficial, that our minds are quieted and our souls uplifted when we pray; but Isaiah (in the Old Testament) said that God is amazed at such thoughts of prayer.

Worship and intercession must go together, the one is impossible without the other. Intercession means, if we're successful at it, that we share the mind of Christ about the one for whom we pray. Too often instead of worshipping God, we just make statements as to how (we think) prayer works.

Are we worshipping or are we in dispute with God when we say or think things like, "I don't see how You are going to do it." This is a sure sign that we are not worshipping. When we lose sight of who God is and how He works, we become hard and dogmatic. We hurl our own petitions at God's throne and dictate to Him as to what we wish Him to do. We do not worship God, nor do we seek to share the mind of Christ. And of course, if we are hard towards God, we will become hard towards other people.

Make no mistake, prayer is work. Intercessory prayer (i.e., praying for the benefit of others) is especially hard work. It is also especially important work. Unfortunately, most of us go about it without the right heart. And we go about it without the right expectations. Want proof of this? Think about how surprised we are when someone calls to tell us, "The tumor has just disappeared."

Let's all get on our knees and confess that we've had pretty low expectations of God. We can confess that we haven't been believing in miracles, or the power of God to answer prayer. And we can confess that we've haven't been praying with a worshipful heart, expecting supernatural solutions to life's problems.

He is an all-powerful God. And when I pray with a grateful and worshipful heart, He loves to amaze me.

More Confession

I have blogged before about confession. James 5:16 tells us to, "Confess your sins to one another and be healed." I've come to understand that as one of the key mandates from this God of conditions that we serve.

We confess our sins to God and He forgives them. But if we want His healing, well that requires something more - it requires that we confess them to one another.

I have to say that over the years this has seemed like maybe the best kept secrets of the Bible. It certainly seems to be one of the best kept secrets of Christianity!

We have self-professed Christians who go around pretending to each other that they don't sin. And yet, God asks us to do exactly the opposite. Go figure.

Proverbs 28:13 tells us that, "People who conceal their sins do not prosper ..." What do you think of that? It would seem that prosper and healing are two entirely differently things. I can find healing from my sin patterns. Or I can be prosperous.

Could it be possible for someone to be prosperous without healing? How about having healing without being prosperous? No, these two things sound like they are entirely different. But I suspect we are not to be deceived. While they may seem different, they are more closely linked than we think.

It is hard to learn from a mistake that you don't acknowledge. How exactly does one learn from mistakes (besides acknowledging them)? I think he (or she) would admit it, confess it to God, confess it to another, analyze it and then make adjustments to prevent it from happening again.

It would be those latter three things that require assistance from another human being. Of course I need someone to confess to.

But can I properly analyze my sin on my own? I doubt it. The Bible tells us clearly to "lean not on your own understanding." That would seem to be sage advice when analyzing one's own sin. No, I will need the wisdom of another to assist me.

And what about that making of adjustments? Resisting temptation. Eliminating temptation patterns in my life. How about evaluating my continued sin? Can I do that by myself? Probably not. It seems I would need the assistance of another to do that as well.

King Solomon wrote his wisdom about prosperity being tied to my confession in the Old Testament. James wrote his wisdom about healing being tied to my confession in the New Testament. (Do you think these guys collaborated bit on this?) There is a common theme here.

The older I get, the more I understand the wisdom, the precious value of confession. To be clear, confession can be intimidating. We want to be able to confess to someone that would be trustworthy. I need to confess to someone who won't hurt me, shame me or otherwise wound me. (After all, I'm already guilty!)

But James was writing to the saints when he said to "confess to one another." So we don't just confess to anyone. We confess to someone who is at least as spiritually mature as we are. That would be someone who sees us as Christ see us. It will be someone with the love of Jesus in them. It will be one who can model God's grace with us.

Romans 8:1 tells us that, "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." There is no condemnation from those who are in Christ Jesus either! So if I'm confessing to the right person, I will feel better. He will feel better. God will be in the middle of that conversation. His healing will result from that conversation.

Doesn't this just make you want to go out and get a "black belt in confession!"