“A true life of prayer is about gazing. . . . Prayer finds its perfected from when sons and daughters stop and stare at the glorious grace to be found in the Father’s eyes. So prayer is communion, and communion arises from friendship. and — now hear this startling claim from Christian theology — God is friendship.”- Daniel Grothe (emphasis Daniel’s)
Jesus said, “The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.”- John 5:19 (ESV)
Daniel Grothe concludes Chapter 10 of The Power of Place as he connects prayer and friendship. First, Pastor Grothe underscores, prayer is not:
- an executive meeting that we lead where we share our agenda
- creating a punch list for the council of heaven to begin working on
- clocking in so the boss upstairs know we showed up to do our work for the day
Rather, Pastor Grothe stresses, prayer primarily consists of communion with God. Therefore, the author explains, when Jesus disappeared, He entered:
” . . . into a consecrated and unbroken communion. To pray rightly, then, sometimes requires that you say nothing. Prayer is being there with God, listening, breathing, centering down, hearing him pronounce your name in that voice, getting your soul restored, and the ill-fitting yoke of the world off your neck. It is important, though, for us to remember . . . [Jesus] was communing with his Father. And communion at its essence is friendship (emphasis author’s).”
In conclusion, Pastor Grothe reminds us, God isn’t just friendly. God = friendship. Therefore, it follows that God encoded a longing for friendship in us. Since He created us in His image.
However, we form friendships through regular routines. Thus, we need to plan for and calendar friendship. Because if you value friendship, it’s worth planning for. As a result, Daniel exhorts:
“You can get out your calendar and build a meaningful year however you want. But in a world starved of friendship, please just do it. The world was born from friendship. And you need it more than you know.”
Today’s question: Do you agree that a true life of prayer is about gazing? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Delta Sky Club lounge or crucible?”
