tablets of human hearts

In my journey following Jesus, I have met many who have been fairly certain their way of worshipping and praying is the right “way” to worship or pray and that other ways are wrong.   I have also met many, and myself included, who have been frustrated as they struggled with the concept of the right “way” to pray, struggled with connecting with God, or have felt out of touch with certain forms of worship.  Why, for some, does connecting with God seem so easy, but for others, it is not?

Then I found Gary Thomas’ book Sacred Pathways.  The ideas Thomas presents in his book were introduced to me at a prayer retreat.   They intrigued me.  As soon as I returned home, I ordered the book.  I further explored Thomas’ concept of Sacred Pathways and discovered that 1. I am not alone in my frustration; and 2. our frustration may stem from the misconception there is a right “way” and a wrong “way” to worship and pray.

For my struggling, frustrated traveling friends, this book is for us.  It can also be for the other group, but they may have to approach it with an open mind.

Gary Thomas presents the idea that God has created each of us uniquely and in doing so, we each have a unique way of loving Him.  He identifies nine different spiritual temperaments,  nine pathways of connecting with God.  Each of these temperaments contribute to the body of Christ and each of these temperaments, I think, teach us about the beauty and complexity of God’s heart.

As I eagerly read Thomas’ book, I quickly identified my dominate temperament.  I also found that I had one or two other temperaments that were somewhat strong as well.  Thomas encourages us to find comfort and confidence in worshipping God in the unique way in which He has designed us.  He provides ideas to further explore worshipping God in our temperament and offers examples of others who share the temperament.  Additionally, he provides cautions for the temperaments, where worship might become something destructive, lead to where our Heavenly Father did not intend.  He also exhorts us to explore the other temperaments as a means to supplement our own journey on our pathway and to better understand those whose temperaments are different from our own.

The Nine Pathways are:

Naturalists – loving God out of doors
Sensates – loving God with the senses
Traditionalists – loving God through ritual and symbol
Ascetics – loving God in solitude and simplicity
Activists – loving God through confrontation
Caregivers – loving God by loving others
Enthusiasts – loving God with mystery and celebration
Contemplatives – loving God through adoration
Intellectuals – loving God with the mind

Personal note: While Thomas combines creativity with the Sensates, I would break out a tenth temperament: Creationist – loving God in creating.  Whether music, art, sewing, woodworking,  the written word, or any other form of creating, I think we join with our Creator in the creation process and that it, in and of itself, is another form of worship.

If you have been experiencing a dryness in your time with God, or if you have longed to have the rich spiritual walk you see others experiencing, then this book is for you.   Be assured that our Heavenly Father is inviting you to experience Him in the unique way in which He has created you.  Come, pray and worship, delight in the Father who delights in you.

Prayer: Does it Make any Difference by Philip Yancey, is an excellent follow up to EM Bounds’ book Power through Prayer.  In his book, Bounds contends that we don’t see God’s power because we don’t seek God in prayer.  But Yancey’s book asks the question, what about when we do seek God, and we still don’t see His power?

What about when we do pray?
When we cry out to Him.
And we cling to His promises.
But heaven seems silent.
Our prayer goes unanswered
And we wonder why.
What is God doing?
Why does He not answer?

Reasons haunt us.
Did I not pray enough?
Confess enough?
Believe enough?

And we end up with broken dreams, broken hearts, broken promises.
What then?

That’s where Philip Yancey takes us – to that place of what and why?
What is prayer?
And why do we pray?

From the perspective of a fellow sojourner, Yancey walks us through this thing we as Christians are called to do, this thing called prayer. Throughout the book, he shares the personal prayer testimonies of everyday people as well as quotes and wisdom from many “giants” in the faith.  His first section, aptly called “Keeping Company With God” takes a look at us, takes a look at God, and brings us together in relationship.  Yancey then moves on into the mysteries of prayer, drawing us into discovering the prayers that Jesus prayed, and the prayers that he did not.  He also invites us to peer into the prayers of Old Testament men and women, exploring the idea, “does prayer change God?”

When I reached the section, “Prayer Dilemmas,” I found that my reading of the book had been quite timely with certain events in my life.  With a friend’s diagnosis of cancer, we rallied with family and friends around her, praying over her, claiming promises of healing, carrying her to the feet of Jesus, like the four friends who carried their friend on the mat, expecting answers, hoping for miracles.  And when we faced unanswered prayer, we wondered why.  When we sought healing and it did not come, our hearts were broken.  
In the midst of it, I marveled that I was in the book’s section of prayer dilemmas.  How I appreciated Yancey’s words of wisdom and insight, his chapter on living with the mystery of unanswered prayer and asking the question of what we ought to pray for.  As I wrestled, like Jacob, with a God I could not comprehend, I took curious comfort in the fact that I did not wrestle alone. Throughout history, God’s people have wrestled, pondered, questioned, this thing we as Christians are called to do, this thing called prayer.  

And in the end I found, that really, all I can do is crawl up next to my Father’s heart and trust that He is good, even still.

It amazes me to think, and I had to constantly remind myself as I read, that this book was written at the end of the 19th century, over 100 years ago.  Even then, EM Bounds, in Power Through Prayer, cried out for men to pray, chastised men for disregarding prayer, criticized men for neglecting the vital ingredient in serving God.  For all our technology, we are not any different than those who have gone before us.  There have always been things that have kept us from and distracted us from the greater work of prayer.   I think that the problem we have with prayer is a condition of our falleness rather than the state of the world around us.  How often have I struggled, faltered, rushed, forgone time alone with my Father.  Here I am… open the door, He says.  But off I rush, wondering why I am failing, wondering why there is lack of power in my life.  Anything done without prayer – a real seeking the heart of God, prayer – is done in my own strength and with my own ideas, not His strength, not His ideas.  If we want to serve, if we want to impact the world for His Kingdom, we need His anointing.  God’s anointing is His pleasure to put us to work in His plan with His power because we have diligently and persistently sought His heart.  The apostles appointed deacons to serve so they could devote themselves to prayer.  But did the deacons also find prayer important?  Do some positions require more praying?  Or are we all called to pray and our service, our ministry, our work is the overflow of that time spent with the Father?  EM Bounds aims his book at preachers.  I am not a preacher, but I can replace the words preacher and preaching throughout the book with other words: teacher, teaching; leader, leading; disciple maker, discipling…  The power of prayer must be at the heart of every role if it is to have eternal impact and not just earthly good.  To spend time with the Father is to learn His heart and to know it is good; He is good.