If our faith is not relevant to our daily life in the world, then it is no use; and if we cannot be Christians in our work, in the neighborhood, in our political decisions, then we had better stop being Christians. A piety reserved for Sundays is no message for this age. ... Douglas Rhymes
This week's Theology Cafe discussion is going to be on prayer. I know, prayer seems like "inside-baseball" talk to those who follow Jesus, but may be foreign for those who don't. When I really started digging in for the discussion I began to wonder if our own thoughts on prayer might be wrong too. Do we see prayer as a list of things to ask God? Do we see prayer as a kind of get-out-of-trouble card? What if we taught our children to pray by being silent and listening rather than opening up with a litany of things. Do we begin our prayers by thinking God for what we have only to end them by asking for more? This made me think of the old Keith Green Song "Make my Life a Prayer to You." Is prayer something that is a part of our life, or is our life a prayer? Do we have a relevant faith?
I have, over the years often asked non-believers why they never embraced Christianity, many of them answered that they did not want to be like the Christians they knew. Some of them said they didn’t know any Christians, even though I knew several Christians that they were acquainted with. I have often wondered, that if we are a people with the hope of eternal life, if we are the recipients of the inheritance of the King, why aren’t we a joyful and satisfied people? If Christianity is the best thing going, then why aren’t we infectious with our presence and our spirit? Why aren’t people grabbing us by the shirt sleeves and asking us what it is that we have and how do they get it?
How can we live a relevant faith? How can we begin to make our lives a prayer?
