On your knees boy

It’s now the last full day of the Arrow residential. Heading home tomorrow which is always my favorite bit of any trip.

We had a fascinating talk by one of Australia’s leading economists last night, Dr. Ian Harper. Einstein said that you don’t really understand something until you can explain it to a waitress on the back of a napkin. Dr Harper managed to explain the intricacies of the global economy in a way that was interesting and actually made sense. He also talked about what it was like being a Christian in that world. He talked about the challenges of heading the group that sets the minimum wage, knowing that the decisions he made directly affected families ability to buy food. He talked about how prayer made a difference for him.

Which brings me to the final reflection on the Armor in Ephesians 6.

Most people stop with the sword, however the bible doesnt.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [18] And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. [19] Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, [20] for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:17-20)

Notice the word “And” at the start of verse 18? Its like paul has exhausted his metaphor and gets to a place where he just gives it to us straight.

I know that for me at times I can be so busy doing God’s work that I really don’t take the time to be with God. Prayer is the conversation that is the basis of a two way relationship.

There is something about how Henri Nouwen put this that hits my heart. I find myself really wanting to be in that quiet place with God:

Why is it important that you are with God and God alone on the mountain top? It’s important because it’s the place in which you can listen to the voice of the One who calls you the beloved. To pray is to listen to the One who calls you “my beloved daughter,” “my beloved son,” my beloved child.” To pray is to let that voice speak to the centre of your being, to your guts, and let that voice resound in your whole being.

Prayer is the first thing to go when I’m starting to get driven.. It becomes a task to do and not a space to be with Jesus, pretty soon its not even a task to do as I find myself easily distracted.

I am amazed how often I sit down with the full intention to pray and ten minutes later find that my mind has wandered somewhere else entirely.

My guess is the importance of prayer is why Paul stepped out of the metaphor. He gives more words to this than any other element he has mentioned. He makes the direct link between prayer and God working. He knows he needs the Ephesians praying for him. How many people pray for you?

One of the keys to understanding U2′s lyrics is understanding that “on your knees” is code for prayer. It took me a while to cotton on to the fact that Mysterious Ways is about the Spirit, which is fairly obvious when you look at the line “The spirit moves in mysterious ways”. God has used the following verse on a number of occasions to remind me to pray:

Johnny take a dive
With your sister in the rain
Let her talk about the things
You can’t explain
To touch is to heal
To hurt is to steal
If you want to kiss the sky
Better learn how to kneel
On your knees boy

I know I need to grow in the direction Mother Theresa outlines when she said:

“Love to pray. Feel often during the day the need for prayer, and take trouble to pray. Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift of himself. Ask and seek, and your heart will grow big enough to receive him and keep him as your own.”