If prayer moves the hand that moves the world, then why do cancer, Parkinson's, cystic fibrosis, and divorce exist and win so many times, even though so many people are praying?
Word games are manipulative; they're controlling. They're a subtle grab for power over the other. When we add words to our simple yes or no, we're trying to strengthen what we're saying to convince our audience, so they think or do what we want.
The point is that even in the midst of the hard, difficult, uncomfortable situations where we are having to wait through, we still have a job to do. We can still live true to our calling to be children of light no matter what the situations. Knowing that the time of waiting, this time of enduring discomfort is not just a meaningless waste, but that it will be redeemed.
If we don't acknowledge our privilege and wealth, we will forever be pursuing it. Because you see, there's never a number. There's never an amount where we say that's enough. And so, our lives become concerned with two main things, getting rich and staying rich. And neither of those two concerns have anything to do with the reality of the kingdom of God.
How much of this precious life, of what God is about in the here and now, do we miss because we plan and strive and worry and focus on the future?
Humility waits for God to notice, for God to reward, for God to lift up. So it is not concerned with self-lifting up, with self-promotion, and it is definitely not concerned with putting others down, especially not behind their backs.
The people of God, the church, every person who calls them self a Christian, needs desperately more than patriotism, more than social criticisms, more than political partisanship, and more than national fervor. We need to remember our first love, our first loyalty, our first priority. We need to remember that the way of Christ is a way of surrender.
To live well in today's world as Kingdom citizens we desperately need Gods wisdom. We need his heart. Think of all the issues that are just sitting at the tip of the tongue when we start talking about what's going on in the culture, what’s going on in the world. Think of all those issues probably racing through your mind right now, and here’s the thing, we desperately need Gods wisdom. We need his heart, his mind, his perspective, his priorities, as we navigate life and the issues in our world.
I want to talk about sacred silence in a real life situation. When conflict is on the rise, the moment is getting tense. Anger and defensiveness are rising. Hurtful words are loaded in the chamber. When the other is talking, they simply sound like Charlie Brown's teacher; wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, we hear sounds, but we're really not listening to them anymore. Right then, at that moment, a sacred silence is needed. A moment to pause, slow down, wait, be silent, even for just a few seconds. This moment is sacred. Why?
You are a teacher to someone. If God is just sort of an attachment to our lives, then let the free-for-all begin. But if he's our king, then he's our rabbi. He's our teacher and we're his student. So, our primary occupation, your primary occupation, if he's your king, our primary vocation, our primary career, if you will, regardless of what our job or career is, is to be a teacher of the kingdom through our example and our words in that order.