Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?
Posted by tom | May 10, 2007On Wednesday morning I participate in a prayer gathering with youth ministry leaders at the Center for Parent & Youth Understanding (CPYU) coordinated by Derek (one of the staff members). This week, he shared some quotes from the first chapter of Philip Yancey's Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? The focus was on the prayer warriors of the past and where are we at w/prayer in our own lives and ministries? I've already been digging into this book, as Theresa and I will be co-leading a Fellowship Group/Adult Elective time of Yancey's book with another couple from our local congregation. Nate, our local congregation's youth minister, shared a quote from Mother Teresa regarding prayer which he heard on a talk show (p.65 in Yancey's book)
My secret is a very simple one: I pray," wrote Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a modern master of the skill:
Prayer is simply talking to God.
He speaks to us: we listen.
We speak to him: he listens.
A two-way process:
speaking and listening."
--Mother Teresa, Everything Starts from Prayer (Ashland, Ore." White Cloud Press, 1998), 35.
As one participant pointed out, it is hard to picture Mother Teresa on a talk show. Yes, nothing like members of the popular press/media placing the religious on stage and trying to expose their secrets. It takes a strong relationship with God to humbly testify to the power of God in such an arena. AND there is something so countercultural about the unvarnished, real Gospel which exposes the charade and brings the true Light in an uncomfortable manner for those seeking to consume a product.
But she was first in the Presence of God
Second on the talk show
But she was first in the Presence of God the Father, by the work of the Son, and the continuing power of the Spirit.
Second on the talk show reproducing the likeness of Jesus in our world, letting the Spirit transform lives as the Light of the Gospel is spoken in word, life, and deed to the glory of God the Father.
Correction: Nate emailed to correct me w/regard to the Mother Theresa quote he was thinking of (I found the above one in Yancey's book and assumed it was the one he was referring to). So here's the words Mother Teresa shared w/CBS Newsman Dan Rather:
“When you pray,” Dan asked, “what do you say to God?
“When I pray,” she responded, “I don’t say anything; I listen.”
This caught Dan off guard; but he came again: “Well, when you pray, what does God say?”
“God doesn’t say anything,” the good nun replied, “God listens, and if you don’t know what that means, I cannot explain it.”
Awesome words... (Nate's comment)
Posted by Tom Grosh, May 27 2007, 16:20