Wholeness: Prayer

I dare say prayer is one of the most written about subjects in all of Christian education. Yet it is likely one of the most neglected concepts in all of Christianity as well. I’m hardly the first to point this out either. While I won’t be summarizing the entirety of this important concept here, there are a few points I would like to add to the discussion to hopefully help with said neglect. As well as how it pertains to our wholeness.

Many teachers tell you to pray specifically. While there is nothing wrong with this, keep in mind there is nothing wrong with not being very specific either when we just can’t put our finger on the issue. Hence this verse.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. -Romans 8:26

Those same teachers often tell you to expect specifically as well. In their mind, this is an act of faith, but then again maybe it’s just arrogant. What I have learned, is to expect anything and everything. We can only pray based off of what we know after all. Which is very limited compared to God. Why presume to know better than God or how he will respond? While we may pray for what we want, God will always answer according to our needs. Again if we lack wholeness, our wants will likely be less than mature. So the answer may actually address our brokenness behind the want more than the actual longings. Sometimes what we need is the rest of the story in a given situation. If we are imposing tunnel vision on our expectations, we can very easily miss God’s actual answer.

James also talks about praying with wrong motives. (4:3) For example, we may pray for an abundant harvest for our church. While that may sound noble on the surface. Yet, if we only ask so that we may feed off the harvest without actually tending to the crop, our motives are more selfish than selfless. If you are going to pray for something, be prepared to get involved and be part of the solution. A whole person and devout disciple wouldn’t object to this. Like when Nehemiah prayed for the restoration of Jerusalem, the answer came in the form of an opportunity. An opportunity that Nehemiah had an active hand in. 

It's not much different when we pray for our wholeness. Yet when we actually pray about our shortcomings, do we do so in hopes that the issue would just go away so we don’t have to face them. This isn’t necessarily realistic. While deliverance is sometimes an option, but not if it's going to leave an open wound in our spirit. Like I said in an earlier post, the woman at the well had to face herself, and her choices. Even Peter had to face his denial. (John 21:15-25) What issues are you trying to avoid via prayer?

It’s been said, prayer often changes the individual more than the situation. Now you should have a better idea of why that is. So I repeat, when you pray, keep your spiritual eyes open to all possibilities. Anything is possible when it comes to an all-knowing God after all. Your wholeness will surely benefit if you do. Which means your holiness depends on it as well. Which is of immense importance to God. So your spiritual ears will be the most open when we value all three dimensions of holiness as well.

The Visual PARABLEist

Wholeness: life?

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. -John 12:25

This is one of those hard sayings of Jesus. One where people try to dismiss the "hate life" part with rather vague arguments based more on feelings than logic. However, let me offer another perspective.

If we engage in reckless self-indulgence and it leads only to emptiness, which it often does. We will likely start to hate life.

If we devout our life to acquiring wealth yet we live in constant fear of losing it. So much so that we are in a constant state of guarding and adding to said wealth that we have no time to enjoy it, we will likely begin to hate life.

If we devote our life to acquiring acceptance, approval, validation, and inclusion we will soon discover trying to control how people feel about us is futile. Not to mention all the ways we inevitably compromise ourselves in doing so. Again, we will likely hate life because of it.

If we look to people and relationships to feel complete, and the people we look to will likely be doing the same right back at us. Yet, we find their expectations unrealistic and overwhelming. So this incongruence often leaves people disillusioned and hating life.

If none of that works for us, we may look to drugs and alcohol to cope, but such people always end up hating life. Just look at how many celebrities end up on this path, despite the fact they seem to have everything this "life" has to offer.

But sometimes, through it all, we realize this life is but a drop in the ocean of eternity. That in the end, this moral life separates us from God. That all these treasures and creature comforts we value in this world mean nothing in God’s kingdom. That what we really need to focus on is our mission in this life that builds for us treasures in heaven, and ultimately closer to God. Treasures we cannot possibly begin to comprehend. (1st Corinthians 2:9)

Yes, we need a place to live, clothes on our back, food on the table, and a time to rest our mortal bodies. However, those are all means to the end. Not the goal. When we get the means confused for the goal, and fixate on the drop, instead of the ocean. Our wholeness and peace of mind inevitably suffer for it. When our wholeness suffers, so does our mission. When our mission suffers, so does our real treasure. Through it all, we can end up hating life while we are still in it.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. -Matthew 6:19-21

You may notice a very Ecclesiastes vibe to this post. A book many people have a hard time with as well. However, I suggest you try reading through it again with Jesus' opening words in mind. May I suggest The Message translation. Most other translations, even the very literal word-for-word ones go too far and try to interrupt the very poetic words for you. In this case, The Message is far more accurate.

The Visual PARABLEist

Wholeness: self worth

As I indicated in my video warning lights, there is often a strong element of self-hatred in depression. When this ultimately leads to suicide, obviously the victims held zero worth for self.

Which leads to the question, what is our self-worth based upon? People put their self-worth in a wide variety of things, many of which I have mentioned over the course of this series. What we as individuals look to are often established very early in life, latching onto whatever gratifies our feelings. If not from family norms, it's frequently found within the public school social structure. Sometimes we never bother to question or, mature beyond our initial childish inklings that fall short of true wholeness. Sometimes our perception of self-worth is so deeply rooted in us that we try to project it onto others. Sometimes there are just so many voices competing for our attention, it's hard to hear the truth even when we do question it.

As disciples of Christ, we need to consider this question very carefully and dare to question our preconceived notions. Since even church people can get caught up in putting their hope in the created instead of the creator. When we value the gift over the giver, we run the risk of crossing the line into idolatry. This American cultural bias is so strong that we often confuse it for virtue and encourage others to do the same. Yet consider where it has led us all by putting our self-worth into such fragile and temporal things.

Take the rich man from Mark 10 and Luke 18, Jesus made him face his misguided notions of self-worth. Yet, by all indications, he refused to reconsider said beliefs. The woman at the well in John 4 had a similar experience. Yet, she was far more willing to reconsider. I dare say having five ex-husbands; she had her fair share of fall flat on her face moments. It's often those fallen moments that cause us to reconsider. Yet, if we don't go deep enough, and only try to provoke the same feelings in a different way, this can lead to addictive behavior or impulse control disorders.

It's really easy to say our worth is in God alone, people do it continually. While that means something to those who already believe, but for those who don't, it's just a vague platitude. Our reason for this hope we have must go deeper and be expressed more distinctly. (1st Peter 3:15) The outside world simply sees Christianity as a standard of morality; many do little to counter this one-dimensional view. So everyone assumes that their worth by that standard is conditional upon living up to it in an instant. As heirs to the kingdom we must do a better job of educating people about the gospel. That salvation is a gateway to the path to wholeness. That nothing else can absolve us from our past traumas, and the mistakes that haunt us. That through it all you will find a mission that touches the lives of others, which leads to true fulfillment and makes you part of something much bigger. Not an instant gratification path to self-worth, but a more effective one in the long run if we embrace it.

In an age where people are falling on their face left and right, from following their feelings blindly; the opportunities for outreach are there. Yet so many are only using these opportunities to kick people while they are down. Yet, we wonder why they are looking everywhere but Jesus for self-worth.

The Visual PARABLEist