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Archive for July, 2009

Sermon Prayers

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Many years ago, I noticed a preacher friend get on his knees right before he stepped into the pulpit. We talked about it after the service and he said, “I hope everyone in the pews is praying then too–for me and for themselves. It’s the preparation time for each person to ask God for the ears and heart to receive the words God wants them to hear.”

This has been a helpful suggestion for me. It turns sermon time into a joint effort between the preacher and the congregation. It releases me from the temptation to evaluate or grade the sermon rather than to listen to it with a hungry disciple’s yearning. It also releases me from total dependence on the preacher. I don’t need to hear a Pulitzer prize winning sermon every Sunday. I just need a mustard-seed-sized morsel to chew on for the week.

As I mature as a Christian, I can’t expect the pastor to do it all. My walk with the Lord is my responsibility. It takes time away from the church building to grow spiritually. Sure, I love a great sermon and the preacher needs to study, prepare, and pray to give one. But if I expect my pastor to give a dazzling sermon every week, I’m bound to be be disappointed. Not only do I let myself off the hook with my lofty expectations, but I’m getting a little close to worshiping the preacher.

My preacher friend’s words for himself might have been similar to Paul’s in Ephesians 6:19: “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.” (NIV) And I can pray as Jesus did, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4:9 NIV) Let me hear, O God. When I say this prayer, God always provides me with a mustard seed–and sometimes a whole plant.

Tags: ears to hear, Ephesians 6:19, Mark 4:9, pastor, prayer, preaching, sermons
Posted in Praying in Color | Permalink

Packing

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

When I travel I become a little obsessed about what to pack. I like to have the perfect wardrobe for every eventuality and it has to fit into one small suitcase no matter how long I’m gone from home. Unexpected events occur on a trip–late planes, sketchy hotels, language issues–so I want to make sure as little as possible is left to chance. I want to have exactly the right clothes, toiletries, and books.

While I waste way too many hours and too many brain cells thinking about my travel gear, Jesus’ words cycle through my head, “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;” (Matthew 6:28 NIV). I worry that I’ll feel like an awkward, scared traveler. Clothes are an external mask for my fear.

All this fuss about packing the right clothes is an alert to me about misplaced trust. My stuff may not be Baal, but it is a false god promising only temporary and superficial control.

Traveling provides an opportunity for my spiritual surrender. “ Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2 NRSV). Maybe some day I’ll be brave enough to leave home and ”take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff.” (Matthew 10:10 NIV) Could I ever leave this much to chance? Could I really surrender myself and my journey into God’s hands? Who knows what exciting places God might take me–places I might never go or see with my carefully packed little suitcase.

Photo: Sybil MacBeth

Tags: Isaiah 12:2, Matthew 10:10, Matthew 6:28, packing, travel
Posted in Praying in Color | Permalink

Praying A Word–Surrender

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

I like words. I like what they have to say in and out of context. Words from Scripture and my religious heritage are packed like little spanakopitas with layers of flavors, ingredients, sensations, and meanings. One thing I like to do with words is to sit and listen to what they have to say to me. I like to pray the words.

The word surrender keeps coming to me. It is often the word I use when I introduce myself at a Praying in Color Workshop™ in the Word Introductions. So I write the word surrender in the middle of the page. I doodle around it and color. The doodling helps me to stay focused and to put all of my attention on the word. I treat the word as a guest and listen to it speak. I write down what I hear. I ask God to instruct me and speak to me through the word.

Sometimes when I do this I have a huge “Aha.” It might be a liberating or a convicting moment. Other times, the word gives me a new insight or two–interesting, but not life-changing. But after I’ve spent time sitting with the word (or as my friend Julia says,”marinating in the word”), I never hear or read it the same way again. Weeks later, it comes back to me with new zeal: as a prayer, as a moment of truth, or as a tasty morsel to savor like a good little spinach pie.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NIV)

Drawing: Sybil MacBeth

Tags: prayer, surrender, words
Posted in Praying in Color | Permalink

Wisdom and Silence

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Yesterday
I prayed for Wisdom and Silence.
Neither came.
Instead, Unwise Noise burst from my mouth,
Polluted all airwaves within earshot.
Perhaps a tied tongue is “more to be desired than much fine gold.”

Sybil MacBeth 2009
Quote: Adapted from Psalms 19:10

Tags: prayer, silence, wisdom
Posted in Praying in Color | Permalink

Praying the Hours

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Every morning before I open my e-mail, go to Facebook, or read the New York Times online, I pray the Morning Office from Pray the Hours on the website explorefaith.org. The Psalmist says: “Seven times a day I praise You…” (Psalms 119:164 NKJV). In an effort to pray and offer praise unceasingly, Jews and Christians have said “fixed-hour prayers” (prayers like the Morning Office) at regular intervals throughout the day for centuries.

The Morning Office I pray online comes from The Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle. It takes about five minutes to say. It is a combination of Psalms, a Gospel reading, the Lord’s Prayer, hymns, and other Scripture passages. I can read the Morning Office anytime from 6AM-9AM. When I open the Pray the Hours webpage, I choose the time zone I live in.

Although people often pray the Offices alone at home or at work, they join millions of others who pray the same prayers at the same time. Phyllis Tickle says,

“Christians today, wherever they practice the discipline of fixed-hour prayer, frequently find themselves filled with a conscious awareness that they are handing their worship, at its final “Amen,” on to other Christians in the next time zone. Like relay runners passing a lighted torch, those who do the work of fixed-hour prayer do create thereby a continuous cascade of praise before the throne of God.” *

When I pray these morning prayers, I feel like I’m part of a giant Wave of praise before God. Right now I’m only disciplined enough to pray the Morning Office. When I’m ready to commit to more, I know a new set of prayers pops up for the Midday Office,11AM to 2PM. A final set is available for Vespers from 5PM-8PM.