I’d been doing it for a while. Working down my prayer list. Asking God to do something. Heal my friend, help my kids find the right job, bring peace to warring nations. There’s always plenty to pray about.
I knew that prayer was more than making a “Santa” list and dispatching it to my Heavenly Father. But it was hard to get past my hurt and worry. I wanted God to “make things better.”
The problem?
When I pray for God’s will, I find myself assuming his will is my will. But if I examine this assumption in hindsight, I am reminded of times that I asked God for the very things I now give thanks that he never granted. Santa prayers assume that my judgment is greater than his.
What do I really want God to do? Ensure a world free of illness, unemployment, and disagreement? Well, yes. But that kind of pervasive eutopia is reserved for a coming kingdom, a new creation. In the meanwhile, on my best days I understand that my prayers are intimate conversations. Just me and the one I love. I am drawn to this time by the one who loves me.
It’s his presence, and not his gifts that heal. It’s his love that breaks down conflict. He invites me to make my requests. To share my sorrows and to open my heart plainly. Because I know him, I trust that this simple expression of my longings will give way to his peace and protection no matter what outcome. Things get “all better” not when God complies with my demands, but when I am with God, healed by his compassion and sustained by the knowledge of his wisdom and ultimate grace.
It’s not exactly easy, but it is a simple step to turn a “Santa Claus prayer” into a shared conversation. Because of God’s love, I find the faith to leave what’s outside my control in God’s hands. As we talk, he gives light to illumine my next steps, no matter the difficulty.
Finding the pathway, Lighting the way is a homepage for the conversations I’ve had with mentors, colleagues, friends, and most of all with my heavenly Father.
In the broadest sense, the themes I bring to this page are about leadership. Especially leadership in the fellowship of Christ’s church. But this is not a page exclusively for pastors and staff. The invitation to join the conversation extends to anyone who seeks to journey with Jesus and to shine light on the pathway so others can find the way.
This journey progresses day by day. It enriches ordinary activity and captivates all our senses. Its disciplines and rewards fashion us into the image of our creator, to live out our faith, fully expressed in the love we receive and in the love we give.
I believe that Finding the Pathway and Lighting the Way is an “inside job.” Long before I apply the skills of leadership or encourage others to join me on a journey, I choose to focus my attention on Christ and ask him for the grace to live my faith, fully formed by his mercy.