The Cry of the Heart

“Some prayers just happen; they are ‘the Cry of the Heart.’  No training is needed when it comes to this type of prayer.”- John Eldredge

In Chapter 3 (“The Cry of the Heart”) of Moving Mountains, John Eldredge tells of the time he and a buddy were on their way home from a fishing trip when they encountered hail on the highway.  Their van spun over those icy marbles, veered into oncoming traffic, and finally came to rest upside down in an irrigation ditch.  Shortly before the flip, John prayed the only thing he knew how to pray in that situation: Jesus!  John explains:

“”The Cry of the Heart just comes if you let it. . . . I think it will just flow for you, too, if you give it permission.  Turn the editor off; let your heart and soul speak.”

Mr. Eldredge adds that the Cry of the Heart is more than cries of heartache, sorrow, or distress.  Joyful spontaneity and triumph also are important aspects of this type of prayer.  You don’t have to arrange for, practice, or even learn the Cry of the Heart.  No religious language is required.

John does offer a word of caution:

“Be careful that your heart cries do not subtly turn into agreements with despair or forsakenness.  Do not let ‘Father- I feel abandoned!’ turn into an agreement with ‘I am abandoned.’. . . it is too easy to land in a place of heartache and call it authenticity.”

The way to escape the shipwreck of the soul is to turn your gaze to God.

Today’s question: How have you kept your heart-cries from turning into agreements with despair or forsakenness?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Effective prayer”

The Cry of the Heart

The story you find yourself in

“Look- you may not like the story you find yourself in, but your displeasure doesn’t make it go away.”- John Eldredge

John Eldredge concludes Chapter 2 of Moving Mountains with his discussion of the second (of two) assumptions essential to prayer.

2.  We are at war.  John notes that King Herod’s “massacre of the innocents” (Matthew 2:16-18) is not portrayed in any Christmas pageant or manger scene.  While the lovely imagery surrounding Christmastime is dear to many of us, Mr. Eldredge points out that such imagery is profoundly deceiving.  The warm feelings, associations, and expectations of what the nature of the Christian life is going to be like as created by this perspective are, in fact, dangerous.  Our viewpoint is incomplete.

When Daniel was in Babylon and received a revelation concerning a great war, he devoted himself to prayer and fasting for three weeks.  Although God answered Daniel’s prayer the first day he prayed, the answer was delayed because a mighty, fallen angel blocked the way.  God’s angel had to fight his way in as well as his way out.  John explains how the Scriptures are a wake-up call:

“The Scriptures are a sort of wake-up call to the human race, a trumpet blast . . . One alarm they repeatedly sound is that we are all caught up in the midst of a collision of kingdoms- the kingdom of God advancing with force against the kingdom of darkness, which for the moment holds most of the world in its clutches.”

This should motivate us to learn to pray like a soldier learns to use his weapon for battle or how a smoke jumper learns survival skills.  Until we learn to pray, we’ll have no idea what sort of breakthrough actually is possible.

Today’s question: Which of John’s two assumptions essential to prayer resonate most with you?  Please share.

New addition to Crown Jewels: “The whisper test”

Tomorrow’s blog: “The Cry of the Heart”

 

The story you find yourself in

We are all underway

“We are all underway and we are not all in the same place.”- John Eldredge

“Until we reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”- Ephesians 4:13

In Chapter 2 (“Third Graders at Normandy”) of Moving Mountains, John Eldredge discusses the first of two assumptions essential to prayer:

1.  God is growing us all up.  John states that “we are at different stages of maturing”- we are all underway.  Mr. Eldredge adds that realization is very gracious, realistic, and quite helpful to understanding your own life as well as the lives of others around you.

God understands where you are and is absolutely committed to your growing up.  As John explains, God has a fervent passion for our maturity:

“God . . . is utterly delighted with our attempts at prayer; he loves our little prayers tucked into drawers (aka God’s In-Box).  And, he is calling us upward to grow into the maturity we were destined for, including mature prayers.”

But there is one problem, as John points out.  Most of us don’t share God’s fervent passion that we mature.  Our default settings take up residence in other things- the big game, our general comfort (which includes getting others to cooperate with our agenda).

John describes the means God provides for growing us up:

“Situations that stretch us, strain us, push us beyond what we thought we could endure- those very same circumstances that cause us to pray.  This assumption is important for one simple reason: it changes your expectations.”

We are all underway.  We are being called up.

Today’s question: At what stage of maturing are you when it comes to prayer?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “The story you find yourself in”

 

 

We are all underway

Things can be different

“There is nothing more hopeful than the thought that things can be different, we can move mountains, and have some role in bringing that change about.”- John Eldredge

“After a long time, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: ‘Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.”- 1 Kings 18:1

As John Eldredge concludes Chapter 1 of Moving Mountains, he states that God, in His sovereignty, “created a world in which the choices of men and angels matter.”  Pascal referred to this as “the dignity of causation.”  Our choices have significant consequences.

Mr. Eldredge references the biblical account of Elijah, Ahab, and the prophets of Baal (1 KIngs18).  Following the defeat of the prophets of Baal, Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel and prayer for rain- eight rounds worth of prayer.  Although it is certain that God will come through, God insists on Elijah’s participation.  As Augustine once wrote, “Without God, we cannot, and without us, He will not.”

John points out that James, the brother of Jesus, makes a staggering connection in James Chapter 5- you are no different than Elijah:

“That was his [James’] purpose in using the phrase, ‘Elijah was a man just like us.’  James was trying to disarm that religious posture that often poisons the value of biblical stories: Well sure, that was so-and-so [in this case Elijah], and they were different than us.  Nope.  Not the case.  Actually, James makes it very clear: Elijah was a human being just like you.  In other words, you can do it too (emphasis John’s).”

Today’s question: How can prayer help you sustain the thought that things can be different?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “We are all underway”

 

Things can be different

The elephant in the room

“Let’s go ahead and name the elephant in the room- some prayers work, and some prayers don’t.”- John Eldredge

Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority is the latest book from author John Eldredge.  John’s previous books are Wild at Heart, Fathered by God, and Beautiful Outlaw.

In Chapter 1 (“Prayer That Works”) of Moving Mountains, Mr. Eldredge states that each of us has our own story of “prayers answered, prayers unanswered, and silence [we] can’t quite make sense of.”  Yet, when it comes to life-including prayer, there is a way things work (emphasis John’s).  Unfortunately, there is something adolescent in human nature that resists submitting to the realities of the world around us and within us.

Thus, John writes, we want prayer to be simple and easy.  We ask for God’s help the best we can- the rest is up to Him.  The problem arises when God doesn’t come through and we have no clue why.  Losing heart and abandoning prayer may follow.  With this very naïve view of prayer, we feel hurt and justified in giving up.  Mr. Eldredge explains the consequences of this viewpoint:

“We abandon the very treasure God has given us for not losing heart, for moving the ‘mountains’ in front of us, bringing about the changes we so desperately want to see in our world.”

There is a terrible dilemma for us when it comes to prayer.  It is in our nature to pray.  We desperately want to have faith that God will come through for us.  When He doesn’t seem to come through for us, where does that leave us?  John emphasizes:

“I believe God is in the dilemma; I believe he wants us to push through to real answers, solid answers.”

Today’s question: What Scriptures speak to your dilemma when it comes to prayer- the elephant in the room?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Things can be different”

The elephant in the room

The quiet hum

“And with all the traffic raging around you, I pray that you will hear only the quiet hum.”- Matt Bays

Chapter 17 (“The Quiet Hum- My Life for the Glory of God”) is the concluding chapter of Finding God in the Ruins.  Matt Bays asserts that at times it is appropriate- and even right- to doubt God’s existence or involvement in our lives.  Blindly ignoring the effect of painful events on our faith does not make us more faithful, Pastor Bays notes.

If our faith is ever going to mature from adolescence to adulthood, doubt is a necessary part of our journey.  Matt states that “when we  . . . embrace our doubt, we are often propelled forward, closer to God than we ever though possible.”

Shelving the trials we have faced does not allow God to use them for the good of others.  By denying others access to our stories, we are living out the bystander effect- minimizing our involvement.  We fail to acknowledge how our pain could set someone else free. By listening to God’s quiet hum, we can assume the burden of responsibility.  Matt offers these encouraging words:

“Because of your strength to step up to the plate, because of your courage to stand alone and honor the pain, because of your willingness to carry the burden of responsibility, the chances that others will be rescued has just increased dramatically.”

Today’s question (from Matt): Take a moment to think about whether God’s love has become greater than your pain, despair, or unanswered prayer.  Is what you’ve been through worth what you’ve gained as a result?  Would you say you pain has been redeemed, or is still in the process of being redeemed?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: the Annotated Bibliography of Finding God in the Ruins

 

The quiet hum