April 2009

John Piper says that we cannot know what prayer is for, until we understand that life is war.

He explains further:

Life is war. That’s not all it is. But it is always that. Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of this truth. Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. It is not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts in the den. (John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad, page 45).

I’ve been thinking about Piper’s words as we have prepared for today. The entire staff and associates of Campus Crusade will be gathering at many scattered sites for a Worldwide Day of Prayer.

Kay and I always look to this time. The theme for this Day of Prayer is “Our Strength and Our Shield”.

Psalm 28:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
And I will give thanks to him in song.

Another portion of Scripture on this theme is found in Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength,
An ever-present help in trouble.

He is our strength and our shield, our refuge and our strength.

Because life is war, and prayer is our wartime walkie-talkie.

Kay and I tried something last night. Along with several of our Campus Crusade teammates who live in our area of town, we threw a block party for our neighbors. We invited about 30-40 households to a movie under the stars. We set up at the end of a dead-end street. We showed the movie Magadelena – Released from Shame.

Shame is the ball and chain that holds many people to their pasts. The power of shame is broken by forgiveness. Many people no longer feel guilt, but almost all feel shame or embarrassment over things they have done. This movie traces the life of Jesus through the eyes of Mary Magdalene, who experience Jesus forgiveness.

We had guests from two households. Including those of us who hosted the event, we had about 15 people. So the turnout to the movie wasn’t overhwhelming.

But, we have met neighbors in 30-40 homes. We have shown them we are interested enough to walk through the neighborhood and invite them to something. We have identified ourselves as Christians. Like a lifeguard at the beach, when there is an emergency, everyone looks to the lifeguard. We hope that we’ll have opportunities to talk further with neighbors as life’s crises occur.

And, it was a great evening at the movie!

Archives for April 2009