Be Amazed
This is part 2 of a series of an ongoing reflections about intercession. Part 1 - I sat down and wept - can be found here.
Weeping is not where the story ends:
In prayer we need to see the brokenness in the world rightly but we also need to see God rightly.
In prayer we need to engage our hearts with both the brokenness we see and the nature of Jesus.
In prayer we need to weep but we also need to be amazed.
In many ways we know this. We go to the bible and we see example after example of this written for us. The Psalms are full of declarations of God’s character and his goodness, Jesus when teaching the disciples to pray tells them to start “Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be your name”, Nehemiah’s intercession begins “O Lord God of heaven , the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments.” Again and again we are shown how to pray anchored in the character and nature of God...
I don’t know about you, but so often whilst I do start my prayers in this way (reflecting on who God is) there are times when it feels more like I’m checking things off a list of what should be in a good prayer rather than actually engaging my heart and mind with who God is. Rushing to get into the focus of my prayers straight past the ‘introduction’. Saying words that my heart doesn’t really engage with because they are supposed to be there and surely saying them is enough.
When this is true it is me that misses out though.
Many years ago now I was leading an intercession set in a prayer room in Hong Kong. I was running through my check list of things I was supposed to cover. It had been a long day at work and I was tired, so if I’m honest my heart and my mind were a little distracted, but it was ok because I had a plan; I knew what I was supposed to do.
Suddenly though I felt God stop me and say the following:
“Jemma, you have got to look at me and be amazed. I’m not asking you to be amazed by me for my own benefit but because it will bring you freedom. It will help you to trust me. So look at me. Look me in the eye. Stand and be amazed.”
And so I stopped. We stopped. We allowed ourselves to sit and we asked God “Show us what you want us to see of you tonight.” It was so long ago that I can’t remember our topic of the night but I do remember sitting and engaging my heart fully with God. Of seeing Jesus open armed to receive us as we prayed. Of the call he gave to let go of striving and enter into rest and trust. Of the burden that was lifted as we did so.
We don’t declare God’s goodness in intercession because God has forgotten who He is and needs reminding. We don’t declare God’s goodness in intercession because God likes to hear compliments. We don’t even declare God’s goodness in intercession because we’ve been told we should. No, we declare God’s goodness in intercession for our own benefit. We do this so that we are reminded and encouraged that we are praying to an all powerful and loving God. We do this so that we have the faith and hope to believe that He will move as only He can in these situations. We do this so that even as we pray for huge, systemic, global issues we remember that the God to whom we pray and invite into these situations is bigger. We do this so that we are not destroyed by the weight of the burdens that we are bringing to God in our intercession.
We do this because intercession is not designed to be a work that we do apart from Him.
In prayer we need to weep but we also need to be amazed...
Weeping is not where the story ends:
In prayer we need to see the brokenness in the world rightly but we also need to see God rightly.
In prayer we need to engage our hearts with both the brokenness we see and the nature of Jesus.
In prayer we need to weep but we also need to be amazed.
I don’t know about you, but so often whilst I do start my prayers in this way (reflecting on who God is) there are times when it feels more like I’m checking things off a list of what should be in a good prayer rather than actually engaging my heart and mind with who God is. Rushing to get into the focus of my prayers straight past the ‘introduction’. Saying words that my heart doesn’t really engage with because they are supposed to be there and surely saying them is enough.
When this is true it is me that misses out though.
Many years ago now I was leading an intercession set in a prayer room in Hong Kong. I was running through my check list of things I was supposed to cover. It had been a long day at work and I was tired, so if I’m honest my heart and my mind were a little distracted, but it was ok because I had a plan; I knew what I was supposed to do.
Suddenly though I felt God stop me and say the following:
“Jemma, you have got to look at me and be amazed. I’m not asking you to be amazed by me for my own benefit but because it will bring you freedom. It will help you to trust me. So look at me. Look me in the eye. Stand and be amazed.”
And so I stopped. We stopped. We allowed ourselves to sit and we asked God “Show us what you want us to see of you tonight.” It was so long ago that I can’t remember our topic of the night but I do remember sitting and engaging my heart fully with God. Of seeing Jesus open armed to receive us as we prayed. Of the call he gave to let go of striving and enter into rest and trust. Of the burden that was lifted as we did so.
We don’t declare God’s goodness in intercession because God has forgotten who He is and needs reminding. We don’t declare God’s goodness in intercession because God likes to hear compliments. We don’t even declare God’s goodness in intercession because we’ve been told we should. No, we declare God’s goodness in intercession for our own benefit. We do this so that we are reminded and encouraged that we are praying to an all powerful and loving God. We do this so that we have the faith and hope to believe that He will move as only He can in these situations. We do this so that even as we pray for huge, systemic, global issues we remember that the God to whom we pray and invite into these situations is bigger. We do this so that we are not destroyed by the weight of the burdens that we are bringing to God in our intercession.
We do this because intercession is not designed to be a work that we do apart from Him.
In prayer we need to weep but we also need to be amazed...
With all the extra time on my hands that comes from being under lock down every post here comes with a whole slew of questions for me to ponder. In case they are helpful to more people than just me these are the questions I ask myself today:
- How long has it been since I have been amazed by God? Not because of a miracle that He performed but because of who He is.
- How long has it been since I have seen a new facet of God’s character and nature? There is so much of Him that we can never get to the end of Him and yet it is so easy to feel like we have reached a limit.
- How long has it been since I was so keenly aware that intercession was a work I was doing with and alongside God rather than for Him?
- How long has it been since I asked (or was asked): “What is God revealing to you about Himself right now?”
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