Prayer = Joyful Helplessness

Duke — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:44:29 +0000

In preparation for tonight’s “Prayer Party” in Mt. Pleasant — just a goofy name trying to express the blend of prayer, singing, relationships, and fun we hope to have – I revisited some notes from Sept. 27, 2009, the date of our first prayer meeting for this new congregation. That was seven months ago in the Kendall classroom at Calvary Baptist Church. (Were any of you there?). Looking over some of the quotations I printed on that afternoon’s handout, I’m reminded how, in starting this project via prayer meetings, it was our goal to build a praying community from the outset — creating a culture of joyful helplessness (radically dependent on God through prayer and expecting him to respond) and a culture of celebration (always noticing God at work in our midst). Here are those quotes:

“Prayer is bringing your helplessness to Jesus. … The gospel, God’s free gift of grace in Jesus, only works when we realize we don’t have it all together. The same is true for prayer. The very thing we are allergic to—our helplessness—is what makes prayer work. … You don’t need self-discipline to pray continuously; you just need to be poor in spirit.” –Paul Miller, A Praying Life

“This is way over our heads. We don’t have the resources to meet our needs. But that’s kingdom work—you can’t control all the pain and suffering you see. You just have to trust God.” -Hal Farnsworth, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (Athens, GA), in ByFaith Magazine

Luke 18:27: “But he said, ‘What is impossible with men is possible with God.’”

Zechariah 4:6: “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”

What could it look like for us to renew this commitment to be a praying community? Nurture a culture of joyful helplessness and celebration?

Grace Meridian Hill » prayer

Prayer = Joyful Helplessness