Increasing is the number of people who don't "believe" in organized religion. They may believe that organizations limit their freedom to practice religion according to their individual interpretation, or that religion should be a private practice and not a public one.
I have some sentiment with this approach; I too believe that religion is intensely personal because at the most basic level, it is about an individual's relationship with God. Salvation is an individual thing. However, limiting the scope of our own religiosity to only our private life is like living two separate lives. It means putting on a secular face in public and a religious one in private as if shamed by our own feelings of piety. Furthermore, we may feel that keeping our religion to ourselves is best because then we don't "infringe" upon the rights of others, as if talking about your beliefs limits the other person's freedom in some way.??? Or maybe we fear being judged. There are a lot of reasons I suppose.
The first great commandment is to love God with all our heart might mind and strength. This means to stand as a witness at all times and in all places, ... in public and in private.
If we believe in God, we need to act like it. No more of this living two separate lives. If someone asks you what you did over the weekend, tell 'em - I prayed, I read my bible, I went to church, and I liked it. If its who you are, then don't hide it. There's One person paying particular attention and he is always keeping score.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
The Paradox of Prayer
Consider these two statements by the master: "Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you."; "...take this cup from me, nevertheless thy will be done."
There's a problem with these two statements that I have been thinking about for some time. If we ask in faith, we are told that we shall receive. However, even the Master asked, and yet submitted to the will of the Father - not receiving the thing that he had asked for. Well, sort of, he also asked that the will of the Father be done upon him, - that part of the prayer was answered.
So does asking mean that we shall receive the thing we asked for? I think the answer is based on the context.
My son asked me for a toy, but instead of simply buying it for him, I told him that he would have to earn it. When he complained, I redirected his thoughts to the things he could do to earn it, and though it would take time and effort, he could earn enough money to buy the toy he wanted. So he did various chores that I wanted done and earned a little money at a time over the course of a few weeks. When he had earned enough, we went to the store and he picked out the toy he wanted, which turned out to be a different one than he wanted in the beginning, after that, he approached the counter and paid for the toy himself. I noticed later that for awhile at least, he seemed to take care of this toy more than the others.
Had I simply given him the toy, he may have rejoiced and played with it much the same, but I think because he earned it, he had more satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. Since then, he has realized that some toys are cheap and break easily, and some cost more and are more durable. But would he care about that fact if he didn't have to earn them for himself?
There's a problem with these two statements that I have been thinking about for some time. If we ask in faith, we are told that we shall receive. However, even the Master asked, and yet submitted to the will of the Father - not receiving the thing that he had asked for. Well, sort of, he also asked that the will of the Father be done upon him, - that part of the prayer was answered.
So does asking mean that we shall receive the thing we asked for? I think the answer is based on the context.
Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee...Perhaps the key to the question is that we must distill the will of God and ask for it. It may be that the bestowal of the blessing is only contingent on our asking for it. The important part (and the most difficult), I think, is finding out the will of God so that we can ask for the right blessings.
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
My son asked me for a toy, but instead of simply buying it for him, I told him that he would have to earn it. When he complained, I redirected his thoughts to the things he could do to earn it, and though it would take time and effort, he could earn enough money to buy the toy he wanted. So he did various chores that I wanted done and earned a little money at a time over the course of a few weeks. When he had earned enough, we went to the store and he picked out the toy he wanted, which turned out to be a different one than he wanted in the beginning, after that, he approached the counter and paid for the toy himself. I noticed later that for awhile at least, he seemed to take care of this toy more than the others.
Had I simply given him the toy, he may have rejoiced and played with it much the same, but I think because he earned it, he had more satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. Since then, he has realized that some toys are cheap and break easily, and some cost more and are more durable. But would he care about that fact if he didn't have to earn them for himself?
If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
A good father gives what is best for his children. To me this means that God won't necessarily give us what we ask for, nor in the time frame in which we want it. Rather, he is more likely to give us something better than we asked for, but it will be on his own timetable, and more likely than not, we're going to have to earn it.
So if you've ever prayed for something that you think you didn't get. Think again. What were your motives? Were you willing to work for it? Did you really need it in order to become what He wants you to become? Chances are, you got something better than you asked for, but you just couldn't see it at the time. Jesus asked to be let off the hook, but instead, submitted to the will of the Father received something far greater.
So if you've ever prayed for something that you think you didn't get. Think again. What were your motives? Were you willing to work for it? Did you really need it in order to become what He wants you to become? Chances are, you got something better than you asked for, but you just couldn't see it at the time. Jesus asked to be let off the hook, but instead, submitted to the will of the Father received something far greater.
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