Hey, Y'all,
Today we're again checking in with Yancey and more of his thoughts on Prayer...
Norwegian theologian Ole Hallesby settled on the single word 'helplessness' as the best summary of the heart attitude that God accepts as prayer. "Whether it takes the form of words or not does not mean anything to God, only to ourselves...Only he who is helpless can truly pray."
What a stumbling block! Almost from birth we aspire to self-reliance...As adults we like to pay our own way, make our own decisions, rely on no outside help...All the while we are systematically sealing off the 'heart attitude' most desirable to God and most descriptive of our true state in the universe. "Apart from me you can do nothing," Jesus told His disciples, a plain fact that we still attempt to deny.
The truth of course is that I am not self-reliant. I rely on public utilities to bring me electricity, vehicle manufacturers to provide me transportation, ranchers and farmers to feed me...I live in a web of dependence, at the center of which is God in whom all things are held together. Prayer forces me to catch sight of this, my true state...Prayer is thus a declaration of dependence on God.
In a world that glorifies success, an admission of weakness disarms pride at the same time that it prepares us to receive grace. Meanwhile, the very weakness that drives us to pray becomes an invitation for God to respond with compassion and power...In the presence of the Great Physician, my most appropriate contribution is my wounds.
You've been prayed for today...
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