Dear one,
Presently I am feeling buoyant; however, typically at this time of year I find “the sledding” (no pun intended) rather difficult. After the anticipation and excitement of the holidays (they are that, even if one approaches them with Scrooge’s “Bah-humbug!”), January seems to promise an unending slogging. In northern climes the skies are grey and drear, often promising the cold of wet and/or snow, and most often complicating life. In southern climes—hard to image for those of us in northern latitudes—the days stretch forth with a regularity that promises nothing more than the same-old-same-old boredom. Now admittedly, our perspective and attitudes do much to literally and figuratively color our world: Is the white of snow fresh and fanciful, or is it treacherous and terrifying? Is the brilliance of sunshine warm and welcoming, or is it searing and suffocating?
With January in mind, I found myself looking to Jesus' encouragement of His disciples, lest they become “disheartened.” For their encouragement, He once told a parable regarding a widow unjustly wronged (Luke 18:1-8). Certain of her cause, repeatedly she stood before an unjust judge, who denied her justice, until, when wearied by her persistent pleas, granted her the justice she deserved. Given this parable, Jesus then essentially asked: If an unjust judge can render justice, how much more so will our Heavenly Father, with patience, quickly care for His own?
Thus, Jesus first prodded His disciples to persist in prayer, only next to raise that very haunting question: “When the Son of Man comes (returns?), will He find faith upon the earth?” Will He? Will He find those who persist in prayer, irrespective the temperatures within or without?
Sometimes … “In the bleak midwinter” when “water like a stone” … sometimes, having viewed the new year through my narrow little window, I then plan, but I do not always faithfully pray. Tickets have been purchased for Uganda; today I will purchase tickets for Romania; and I’m seeking to finalize dates for Malawi in July and a return to Romania in October. Ah … but have I prayed, and if so, have I prayed faithfully? Admittedly, I find power in purchasing, but that power can deceive: it is not the power of prayer.
In keeping with Jesus’ parable, I think, Kierkegaard once observed: “Prayer does not change God, but it changes [the one] who prays.”[1]
Prayer is not manipulation but relationship; persistent prayer allows me to know the One who is unseasonably faithful.
Praying,
Stan
[1]C.S. Lewis made a very similar observation.