Emilie Griffin: Solitude and prayer

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35

“Solitude is a human need, a need for everyone. Never mind about who is an extrovert or an introvert. Solitude offers an opportunity for reflection, for sorting things out…When talking to a group of young mothers not long ago, I did not mention solitude as primary, lest that sound to monastic, too far out of reach…

But a journal appears to be ordinary. In fact it may open an extraordinary path. The journal’s empty pages become a way into solitude. They invite recollection, or centering…After clearing a space for God we may begin our conversation with God…In front of the Lord, we pull out our unfinished agendas, our unfulfilled desires, our unrequited loves. What is to be done about this? We want to know…

Stillness in the presence of God, a listening attitude, is also prayer…Solitude is one way we imitate Jesus, who went apart for times of solitude even though his life was already filled with prayer. Early in the morning, while it was still dark, He went outside into a solitary place for prayer. Besides that, Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert as a preparation for His ministry.”

Emilie Griffin in Small Surrenders: A Lenten Journey (Brewster: Paraclete, 2007) 45-48.

What’s today’s post have to do with generosity? Before we can go out and live a generous life, we must tap into the source of all generosity. That happens in solitude and prayer.

I like Griffin’s suggestion to journal because for some people, like young mothers, solitude seems out of reach. That’s where the practice of journaling can help us become fully present with ourselves and God despite the noise and distractions around us. Whether you journal or go to a quiet place, take time to vent, to pour out your heart before God, then also be sure to allow time to listen.

The forty days of Lent are modeled after the practice of Jesus who fasted for that timeframe before His ministry began. He was alone with the Father, tempted by the devil, and emerged from that exercise ready to minister generously! What about you? Are you up for the Lenten journey?

It starts Wednesday. Decide what you will do linked to prayer, fasting, and giving this Lent. Adopt your Lenten rhythms in these three areas for forty days from 1 March 2017 to 16 April 2017 (not counting the seven feast day Sundays, those are “days off”). They just might become a way of life. Don’t do this because I say so. Do it to follow the example of Jesus.

As for us who are strong, our duty is to bear with the weaknesses of those who are not strong, and not seek our own pleasure. Romans 15:1

“The New Testament also demands the sharing of resources. It is the duty of those who are wealthy to give generously of their wealth to those who are in conditions of physical need…Since God owns everything, since we are managers of what God has entrusted to us, and since that management exists for the good of others, then it stands to reason that God has blessed the wealthy in material items, not so that they may hoard things for themselves, but rather use that wealth to benefit those who have material needs.”

Charles R. Lane in Ask, Thank, Tell: Improving Stewardship Ministry in Your Congregation (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 2006) 41. Lane was at the gathering of LCMS stewardship leaders that I attended this week.

Here, Lane rightly echoes the Apostle Paul in reminding the wealthy that with God’s abundant provision comes a responsibility, a duty. The wealthy must share with those who are weak and with those in need.

So often, when we possess more than enough, we get sucked into thinking the toxic notion that “we earned it” or that “it is ours to do with as we please”. Nothing could be further from the biblical truth!

Lane’s quote is a great reminder as we approach Lent because one of the three areas of focus in Lent is almsgiving. Almsgiving is personal giving to the poor or needy around us. Know anyone around you in need?

Christ-followers are stewards. We are not on this earth to seek our own pleasure. We have a duty to use God-given material wealth to aid others in need. The New Testament does not suggest this. It demands it!

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16

“My rheumatism is not really bad. It only produces extreme footsoreness in the left foot, so that after 50 years, the right one is fresh as a daisy, the left keeps on whimpering, “Stop! Stop! We’ve been 25 miles already”. The real nuisance is that I am beginning to get horribly fat and this foot comes just when I ought to be slimming by long walks. I have had to give up potatoes, milk, and bread: perhaps having to fast for medical reasons is just punishment for not having fasted enough on higher grounds.”

C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) in “Dear Mary” letter dated 1 November 1954 in Letters to an American Lady, edited by Clyde S. Kilby (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967) 28.

I can relate. Perhaps you can too.

I turn 50 this year. Lewis was 50. I have had issues with my left foot since I herniated disk in my back on 19 October 2009. Lewis had issues with his left foot. I feel like I am gaining weight, because either my clothing is shrinking or its getting too tight. Lewis admits to becoming “horribly fat”.

Why share this excerpt from a personal letter of C.S. Lewis and be vulnerable about my own condition?

I feel like the practices linked to praying and giving tend to stick after Lent is over, but fasting, not so much. Maybe I am too much of a product of this consumeristic society. I don’t know. I am praying about what I will fast from this Lent. I would encourage you to join me. Ash Wednesday is days away.

More than that, let us ask God to us make fasting a regular practice after Lent so that we have margin in this busy, noisy world to be with the Father and feast on God’s generous offer of bread that satisfies and living water that quenches our thirst. Let’s discipline ourselves to fast on higher grounds.

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. et each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:1-5

“Paul’s citation of this poetry is remarkable for the way in which he turns from the mystery of the self-emptying Christ to the self-emptying of the church. He takes the self-emptying of Christ according to what must have been a normative christological tradition by his time, as certain. But his concern, in appeal to that tradition, is to make an argument about the life and conduct of the church. Thus, in verses 1-5 he urges that the church, in its concrete practice, must imitate the self-emptying of Jesus Christ. He requires of the church a self-emptying for the sake of others in community.”

Walter Brueggemann in Money and Possessions (Interpretation; Louisville: WJKP, 2016) 225-226.

As we approach the season of Lent leading up to Easter, let us together meditate on the self-emptying of Jesus Christ. Why? We are instructed to have the same mind.

Who, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:6-11

Brueggemann concludes with this thought: “Self-emptying in economic conduct is done in an assurance that there is more than enough. When one is convinced of the scarcity of goods or for that matter a scarcity of divine grace, one readily becomes parsimonious and exclusionary. Such a stance, however, is inimical to the mind of Christ.”

Last night I arrived in Phoenix to meet with Lutheran Church Missouri Synod stewardship directors for two days. I shot the header photo at sunset over dinner. It was stunning. Today, far away, back in Cleveland, my father, John “Jack” Hoag, is celebrating his 78th birthday. Happy Birthday Dad! Thanks for pointing me toward Jesus Christ and for self-emptying often to care for others in the community of faith.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

“I am convinced that anyone who brings up the question of consequences in the Christian life is only a mediocre and common Christian! I have known some who were interested in the deeper life but began asking questions: “What will it cost me – in terms of time, in money, in effort, in the matter of my friendships?” Others ask of the Lord when He calls them to move forward: “Will it be safe?” This question comes out of our constant bleating about security and our everlasting desire for safety above all else. A third question that we want Him to answer is: “Will it be convenient?”

What must our Lord think of us if His work and His witness depend on the security and the safety and the convenience of His people? No element of sacrifice, no bother, no disturbance – so we are not getting anywhere with God! We have stopped and pitched our tent halfway between the swamp and the peak. We are mediocre Christians.”

A.W. Tozer (1897-1963) in Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings is a revised edition of Renewed Day by Day, vol. 2. Compiled by Gerald B. Smith (Chicago: Moody, 2008) reading for 9 May.

What measure of sacrifice, bother, and disturbance is there in your Christian faith?

Perhaps it’s time to learn some new disciplines. Try the three that were central to Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting (Matthew 6:1-18). As we approach Easter, join Christians around the world in observing Lent.

Add sacrifice to your giving by thinking of those less fortunate and sharing some of what you have with them. Add bother to your schedule by carving out more time for prayer and less time for some other activities. Add disturbance to your diet by fasting from something so you can feast on Jesus.

We observe Lent because it helps us move from mediocre Christianity to the deeper life that God wants for us. Jenni and I have developed three different Lenten resources. If you’d like PDF copies of them, simply reply to this email and I can send them to you. A little sacrifice, bother, and disturbance just might change your life!

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35

“What makes the Dead Sea dead? Because it is all the time receiving, never giving out anything. Why is it that many Christians are cold? Because they are all the time receiving, never giving out anything.”

D.L. Moody (1837-1899) in Anecdotes & Illustrations of D.L Moody related by Him in His Revival Work (Washington D.C.: McClure & Rhodes, 1878) 79.

Paul ministered from about 52-54 A.D. in Ephesus. Today’s Scripture recounts the famous last words of his farewell speech to the Ephesian elders before leaving. He reminded everyone that Jesus prioritized giving over receiving.

Long after him Moody labored in Chicago and said many profound things in his revival notes. This statement is moving because of all that it reveals. Our “giving out” demonstrates the temperature of our faith.

What about you? If you are “all the time receiving” and not “giving out” generously, what might that say about your Christianity?

Here’s my advice, especially as we approach the season of Lent: Pray, map out a plan for growing in the grace of giving during Lent, and then work out your plan!

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. 2 Kings 2:9

“I have seen apostolic holiness revived within our church. I will say before the throne of God that I have seen as earnest and as true a godliness as Paul or Peter ever witnessed. I have seen such godly zeal, such holiness, such devotion to the Master’s business as Christ Himself would look upon with joy and satisfaction.

But there are others who never enter heartily into our projects of concern or unite with our gatherings of prayer. To them I say, “My dear brethren, if you are indeed with us, if you have fellowship with us and with the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ, I beseech you to ask the Lord to make you more earnest than the most earnest of us have ever been.

If you have been slow either in generosity of your giving or in the earnestness of your pleading, ask the Lord that you may henceforth double your pace and do more in the time that remains for you in this life than anyone might dream possible.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) in The Power of Prayer in a Believer’s Life (Lynnwood: Emerald, 1993) 85-86.

Lent begins on 1 March 2017 this year. From that day, Ash Wednesday, there are 40 days (not counting the six feast day Sundays) leading up to Easter on 16 April 2017 (the seventh feast day Sunday). Why mention this?

Lent is the “Spring Training” of life when the Church dedicates time to focus on the core practices of the Sermon on the Mount: almsgiving (“When you give alms…” Matthew 6:2), prayer (“When you pray…” Matthew 6:5), and fasting (“When you give fast…” Matthew 6:16).

In our home, we don’t focus about how bad things are in the world. We ask God to make us part of the solution through our giving, prayers, and fasting. Care to join us? Want to see revival in the church? It starts with you and me.

Father in heaven, pour out a double portion of your Spirit so that we double our pace. Deepen our generosity in giving, our earnestness in prayer, and our humility in fasting this Lent. Help us retrain ourselves so that our lives reflect godly zeal and devotion. In your mercy, hear our prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14

“The whole Bible shows that the angels are happy beings; far happier than we can conceive. (1) They are holy beings — ever doing God’s commandments. Now, holiness and happiness are inseparable. (2) They are in heaven —always in the smile of their Father. They “do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven;” they must be happy — no tear on their cheek, no sigh in their bosom. (3) They are represented as praising God — one crying to another, “Holy, holy, holy,” and singing, “Worthy is the Lamb.” Now, singing praises is a sign of mirth and gladness. “Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.”

Now, I want you to see that the happiness of these happy spirits consists in giving. They all give: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation?” Upon the earth, very few people give; most people like to receive money; to keep it, to lay it up in the bank, to see it becoming more and more. There are only a few people that give — these often not the richest; but in heaven all give. It is their greatest pleasure. Search every dwelling of every angel — you will not find one hoard among them all. They are all ministering spirits.”

Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843) in “More Blessed to Give Than to Receive” Sermon 82 on Acts 20:35 in The Works of the Late Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne, Vol. 2, Sermons (New York: Robert Carter, 1847) 477.

In this sermon on the only “traditional” saying of Jesus not recounted in the Gospels — “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35 — McCheyne reminds us that giving is the greatest pleasure of the inhabitants of heaven. They are happy because they are doing what God made them to do.

What about you and me? Are we ministering givers that reflect the happiness of heaven? The angels of heaven exhibit the generosity of God. On this Lord’s day, let us contemplate what this means for those of us who claim our citizenship in heaven. As the Holy Spirit stirs within you, give like heaven!

You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:14

“Now, there is this magnificence about the world of prayer, that in it we work out not our own bare and naked and scarce salvation only, but our everlasting inheritance, incorruptible and undefinable, with all its unsearchable riches. Heaven and earth, time and eternity, creation and providence, grace and glory, are all laid up in Christ; and then Christ and all His unsearchable riches are laid open to prayer; and then it is said to every one of us — Choose you all what you will have, and command Me for it!”

Alexander Whyte (1836-1921) Scottish preacher in Lord, Teach Us to Pray: Sermons on Prayer (Vancouver: Regent, 1998) 9.

Think for just a moment with me today about how generous our God is. We come to him with nothing. We come to work out, as Whyte so eloquently put it, “our own bare and naked and scarce salvation.” Then notice what happens when our scarcity meets God’s abundance. His riches are unsearchable and available to us.

Think now of movies where treasure-seeking characters discover a huge chest of valuables. Their first tendency is to stuff their pockets and to devise plans to hoard it for themselves. That’s our bare and naked and scarce sin nature showing its ugly head.

If we want our lives to exhibit Christian generosity, try working our your salvation along these lines: Realize you have nothing, that you come to Christ with nothing, and that in Him have discovered unsearchable riches. What will you do? Don’t hide them for yourself. Share the riches with everyone you meet. Point them to Christ where the riches are found.

That is generosity! Sometimes our giving is spiritual treasures and other times it takes on material form. Always it flows from the humble realization that everything we possess — everything — was graciously given to us by our generous God who offers us the riches of His kingdom!

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14

“We must not look upon prayer as a good work to be done, or as a pleasant and genteel exercise of piety. Prayer cannot become for us a means of producing something, of making a gift to God or ourselves. For we are in the position of a man who can only receive, who is obliged to speak to God because there is no one else to whom he can turn.”

Karl Barth (1886-1968) in La prière, d’après les Catéchismes de la Réformation (Sténogrammes de
trois séminaires, adaptés par A. Roulin; Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 1949) 20, as recounted in Karl Barth on Prayer</em> by John A. Hardon, Theological Studies: 447-448.