“As the Christian life in miniature, prayer should flow naturally out of the good news of our salvation. In faith, we trust that prayer is not something we have to create or somehow generate on our own but something we enter into by grace.”- Kyle Strobel
In Chapter 2 (“What If Prayer Can Be a Place to Avoid God?”) of Where Prayer Becomes Real, Kyle Strobel asserts that trying to control God = the continual temptation of the human heart. Furthermore, Kyle believes, our devotional lives serve as the headquarters of that rebellion. Because our sin works itself out in our devotion, we often mismanage God rather than be with Him. Hence, we fail to realize we can use spiritual practices to keep God at bay.
Therefore, Kyle observes, to see prayer as a gift, we must embrace the Lord’s love and forgiveness. That God meets us in our brokenness, rebellion, and sin with good news. Above all, our prayer life reveals what we believe about life with God. As a result, Kyle counsels, it’s helpful for us to consider how we’ve approached prayer. To uncover our subconscious deep beliefs about God.
Consequently, Kyle talks about the main focus of the Christian life:
“The Christian life is not primarily about being good or knowing true things (although it should, of course, include them). Rather, the Christian life is about abiding in Christ, thereby sharing in the life of the Father so we may share our life with the Father. Therefore, we must be open to ways that our devotion, worship, and even service to God can be used to avoid him. . . . By faith we are called out of hiding to pray honestly about the truth in our hearts, as those forgiven, redeemed, and reconciled to God through Jesus.”
Hence, prayer serves as the first testing ground for the beliefs we affirm. To be honest and come out of hiding in prayer, we must know our sin in the presence of Christ. And know He forgives us.
Today’s question: Do you see prayer as the Christian life in miniature? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Greater than our hearts – God”
