Does Prayer Make a Difference?

The continuing tragedy in Japan gives me great sorrow. It is hard to comprehend. It is hard to know what one should do. It is difficult to know what one can do. Human tragedy and sorrow brings us back to a question that many have asked. Does praying really make a difference?

The cynic will shout a resounding 'No". They see it as a just a mental exercise to soothe the guilt pangs of life. Or it is a projection of inner wishes longing to have power over the universe. It is a waste of human time and effort in a cultural myth that is no longer relevant. Strange how strong the argument can sound until something in life happens and then the first words out of their mouth are "O God!"

There is something within humanity that seeks God during life's joys or sorrows. God has been called many names but God seems to answer all of God's children when they call. The answer is to be in relationship. The solution is relationship. The relationship with God is the strength or answer that God gives. God says " I am with you. You are not alone."

During the great tragedies of life, prayer is one answer for us. As we hold these children of God in prayer, we are asked to open ourselves to their pain, their sorrow, their loss and be affected by it. Our hearts are made tender towards the loss of life. Our hearts are filled with compassion as they wonder about what tomorrow holds. Our words in prayer are to remind the world that we are not alone.

Each Sunday during our worship service, we have a time of intercessory prayers. We hold particular situations of life before the throne of the Almighty. I ask the congregation to say the name of a person. I remind myself and others that I do not have to understand how intercessory prayer works in order to practice it. I just need to practice it. God will do the rest.

One of the problems we have in this is that we want the answer. No, usually we want OUR answer. Human beings do not do well with problems that remain unresolved. The tendency is to view something that is unresolved as our failure to do the right thing. God answers life's problems differently that we do. The answer God give is presence.

One of the most powerful scriptures for me is found in John 14 where God assures us that God will not leave us as an orphan. We always have a loving parent. We always have a home to go home to no matter what life does to us. What peace this can give us if we believe it!

During this time of great sufferings, practice praying for those you hear about or see. If you are not sure what to say, ask God to be present with those who are hurting. Just say the words, "God be present" or "Lord Jesus, come!" Open yourself to their world. Make a monetary offering to help through your church.

Prayer does make a difference. Believe me, it does.

Make the Journey.

"From ashes you came, to ashes you will return" are the words many heard as the cross was made on their forehead. Not very good news. In fact, if you just leave it there, it is downright despondent.

I remember a well meaning mom greeting her son's new friend with the words, "Come here and let me clean off your forehead. You have dirt on it." If it had been her son, she would have just wet her fingers and wiped it off. It would have been bad news if the little boy had not been so agile. The good news was he escaped her hands quickly and quietly.

In seminary there was a preacher with us that we used to call "Good news" followed by his last name. It was not an appropriate title for him because he was always the bearer of bad news. If there was a dark side to be seen, he saw it. He claimed that he just did not have a sense of humor. We were going to see Animal House and one of the guys made a bet with him. If he could go through the whole movie without laughing, he would be treated to a steak dinner. "Good news" was already ordering the steak. He did well until the horse had the heart attack in the dean's office. He lost the bet when the chain saw was cranked up. (Sorry if you missed the movie--it was funny!)

Lent is not one of the favorite seasons for many. You have to give up something you like. You have all these "extra" services to attend. As one of my heathen friend said, "it just seems like a whole lotta work getting ready for the big show--Easter. Just have the big show and be done with it." I think he missed the point of the journey.

Journeys teach us much about life as well as about who we are. We become who we are as we make the journey. Show me a person without a journey and I will show you someone waiting to be discovered. If you do not believe me, take a journey with some good friends. You will discover how good a friend they really are.

The season of Lent (the forty days before Easter not counting Sundays) is a journey. It is a journey for Jesus of Nazareth to the cross. Through the cross and through the tomb, Jesus shows us the joy of Easter. Easter comes only after Good Friday.

The world will tell you to take the short cut. The world will tell you do not worry about the ashes. Some well meaning Christians will tell you not to worry about the journey. I want to encourage you to seriously consider the time of preparation. Seriously consider the time of soul searching and sacrifice. Spend the time necessary in the disciplines of faith. Easter will take on new meaning.

And for goodness sake, I hope you did not try to wipe the dirty foreheads of those you met this week. Geez--you ought to know better or maybe you do not because you have not made the journey.

The journey of Lent can change your life. Make the journey.

Spend time in the Waiting Room of Your Soul

I have a difficult time in waiting rooms. My Kindle has made it easier.

They have even changed the name from waiting room to waiting areas. I guess it to relieve the anxiety of being "roomed". Technology has made waiting bearable. Now if you look around as people wait, they are teching. As a little boy, I remember that the waiting rooms had the children's magazines that my family could never afford.

It seems that there are longer waiting times in certain areas of life. At one point in my life, there was a doctor that I visited that each office visit required a minimum of an hour waiting. It really bothered me. It bothered me so much that one time when the doctor came to my office to visit, he waited for 30 minutes. I know it was a mean thing to do. But when he finally came in to speak to me, he said something about having to wait. When I told him of my experience at his office, he laughed. It seemed that the waiting time at his office was shorter after that.

I have never been a camp out kind of waiter. You see these folks during the holidays camping outside a store to be able to buy a certain product. Or when a celebrity is coming to town, to buy the front row seats, they camp out. The computer has pretty much trumped out these guys. Don't tell them though. I think they want to camp out and wait.

Ruth Haley Barton in her book, Sacred Rhythms, has a phrase that captured my attention. She speaks of "the waiting room of the soul". As I read those words, I stopped to think. Does my soul have a waiting room? And if my soul does have a waiting room, am I hurrying through it or even spending any time in it?

Fast track faith is what we want--or at least what I want. Okay God, what ever you are going to do--get her done! I need to move on to the next phase or next project. I laugh when I think of the "list to do" that I have recited to God as if God would be hurried by my list. You might say that I want to have the baby without the time of pregnancy. My motto to those living through pregnancy is "life will eventually arrive!" The waiting is so inconvenient and hard to do.

I think God has intent about waiting. The waiting room of the soul is where transformation happens. It is where we put aside the hurried life and all its trappings. In the waiting room of the soul, God invites us to create an intimacy. In the waiting room of the soul, each individual yields to God's purpose and God's plan. It is the holy space where we become holy.

Maybe there is a waiting room where we need to spend more time, not less. Be still. Wait for the Lord.

Keep the Sabbath

There used to be a day when most everything closed. The stores closed. The movie theaters closed. I think the only thing that stayed open was Mother Nature and the places to eat Sunday dinner. Life seemed simpler, at least to many.

One day the business culture realized that there was a whole lotta money to be made on Sunday. But even then it was a gradual thing. The stores and theaters opened on the afternoon of Sunday. It did not seem to be that big a deal. The morning was left for resting and worship.

Finally all the bets were gone. Everything opened on every day except there are a few stores that still say, "We close on Sunday to allow our employees to worship with their families." Strangely enough, those businesses are doing well.

The keeping of the Sabbath is one of the "Big Ten" in God's list. Some of us know it as the Ten Commandments. They have been around as long as Moses. In fact, Moses was the one that gave the "Big Ten" to the world. It came after a time when God was convinced that the people of God needed clear directions in the basics of faithful living.

There are some that do nothing on the Sabbath except Sabbath stuff. Food is prepared before hand. Sabbath stuff is spending time with God, family, and resting. It is making sure that the big ticket items remain the big ticket items. There is a part of the Jewish faith that gives special recognition (God points?) to married couples that make love on Sabbath. It is also about going to worship with God's people---do not forget that!

Sabbath is God's way of saying, "All that other stuff will keep...."

Now as a preacher, I have always found myself working on Sundays. If you are about to say that old joke about preachers only working one day a week, I have one piece of advice for you: "Don't go there!" If it is only one day why does it take up the other six days as well. Most preachers have a hard time going through a single day without having to do some work.

So Sabbath is about resting. It is about meditating. It is about family time. It is the intentional act of letting God in care for your soul. For some of us it is Sabbath hours---which add up during the week if we are lucky to a day. For others it is the day that we disconnect from the computers, cell phones, and everything else just to be with God.

Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. We need that part of life that is holy--set apart. It is the holy that will claim us when all the rest of life is through with us. It is the holy that will give us directions when all the rest of life confuses us.

The loss of Sunday to the busy ness of the world can cost us more than we realize. It can confuse us into thinking that life is about doing. The truth of the matter is that life--real life--holy life--is more about being. Take time to be with God, your family, your friends. Worship. Rest.

Keep the Sabbath.

Do the Right Thing

Miss Peggy was pretty plain spoken. She was from Kansas--a farm girl. She also did not like change very much. When someone would change something in the church, she would say, "We are Methodists! Things are not supposed to change! These words would likely be accompanied by her classic headthrow. You have seen it--when someone in total disgust throws their head back. Then came the classic eyes roll. It is when the eyes look up the sky with the "Why, O Why? Lord" look.

As pastor of her church I came to appreciate her in so many ways. Peggy kept the membership rolls of the church. She knew most of what needed to be known about a family and then some. Peggy also loved the UMW--the women's group. It provided her mission and friendship. There is not much she would not do for her mission group and her friends.

As membership secretary, she sat in our staff meeting. Peggy was unpaid staff. She would listen to the changes that were being initiated, throw her head back, roll her eyes, and proceed to make sure everyone knew her position on the matter. There were times when I would look at her and simply say, "Now come on Miss Peggy! Quit holding back. Tell us how you really feel!" Peggy would smile. She could take a joke even if it was on her.

There was a particular time in the church where there were several folks upset with me. I am sure this never happens in your church. However, it happened in this one that I served. The small group of folks was making my life miserable. I shared my pain with the staff. After the meeting everyone left except Miss Peggy. She waited until it was just the two of us. Then she said, "Jack, you are a gifted preacher with great passion about what you believe God is leading you to do in this church. Do the right thing as God has put in your heart. Just do the right thing and let the chips fall where they may!"

I thanked Miss Peggy. Before we could leave the room she added, "And I ain't talkin' about no poker chips either! Remember I am a farm girl from Kansas!" And with that, we both laughed for a long time.

I preached Miss Peggy's funeral this week. As I remembered this story and others in her life, I came to realize the gift people like Miss Peggy give to my world. I do not think she ever knew how important her words, "Do The Right Thing!" were to me on that day.

Maybe someone in your world today needs to hear the words, "Do the Right Thing!" Don't forget the headthrow and the roll of the eyes!

Take the Faith With You!

The old timers did not know what to make of Jesus. I imagine their conversations went like this.

"That new rabbi in town--have you heard him speak? He talks of a new law while reciting the Shema with the Leviticus passage added on. There is nothing new about that. What is all the excitement about? The people have forgotten that the faith never changes. God is the same!"

We live in a changing world. I am amazed to think of how many changes my parents have seen in their life time. Then I think about how many changes I have lived through. My grandchildren will live through changes that I cannot even imagine.

I have just become aware of a change that I have to admit I really like. It enables me to travel lighter and read more.

One of the heaviest things in a preacher's life is our personal library. I cannot tell you how many books I have packed and unpacked. How many books have I carried around? And it is true in our world today. Just look at a backpack that is being carried by our high school students. They need a back brace and a mule.

Recently I have published two of my books as Ebooks on Amazon.com. It is amazing! With my new electronic reader I got for Christmas from my darling wife, I am able to download my new books and add them to my library. I am able to highlight and bookmark as I read. I am able to transfer highlights and bookmarks to my computer to print out. When I go somewhere today, I carry my entire library with me. I cannot lose it. It is always accessible. How light it that!

Now I can already hear some of you saying, "I just want the book. It is just not the same!" So you will miss out on the joy of more reading as you ride your horse and buggy to the store. You can reach me on your dial up telephone as you come in from the outhouse in the back yard.

The religious leaders did not get what Jesus was making new. Jesus wanted the faith to be carried with people where ever they went! Jesus wanted the faith to be incarnate--fleshy. Jesus wanted to free the world from the weight of carrying religion to the pursuit of the kingdom of God filled with love and grace.

Maybe it is time to consider joining the new age of accessibility! Maybe God is at working doing new things in our world to share the Good News!

Join Me in Praying for Peace

I am praying for peace. Will you join me?

It is easy to just watch the news reports or read about the violence in the world that is far away. Maybe it is too easy. As long as it is not in "my backyard", I can just turn it off. Or can I?

If we watch too much or read too much, we can become indifferent to the pain of others. It becomes just another war or just another killing. Maybe that is why our reports have to be so graphic, they have to "catch our attention" with the gore and detail.

When movies were silent and just beginning to be produced, you would see the victim approaching on one side of the building maybe carrying a balloon. On the other side of the wall, there would be the villain waiting. The music would play that gave the sense of tragedy. Then, the next scene was the balloon floating up in the air. No blood. No guts. No gore. The imagination was vivid enough to feel the pain.

Compare that with today's reports. We see the young man being bullied crying out in pain as other kids hit him. We see in vivid detail the replay of blood and guts. The autopsy reports give us way too much detail but for some not enough.

What changes our feelings and our perspectives--when it hits home. It is all together different when the person is a brother, sister, neighbor, or someone we know. When it begins to happen in our country, then it is of epic proportion.

So what does God have to say about all of this? Some of us remember singing a song about the world as children. It reminded us that this is God's world that God holds in God's hands---the whole world in His Hands.

It is time for God's children to awaken their senses to the suffering of God's world. It is time for us to be moved by the pain of others in the world who seek to live in a just society. It is time for us to extend our prayers--yes our personal prayers--for peace on earth and good will.

May our hearts be touched by the suffering of others. May our hands be moved to do all we can wherever we can. May our knees bow in humble prayers--knowing that prayer does indeed bring peace.

Join me in praying for peace.