August 2019
A Prayer We Should Not Pray?
Suddenly, the light bulb went on. While thinking about our vacation time in July, I realized everyone else in my family had to go back to work one week earlier than I did. That’s when it hit me. “Why not devote that time to a silent prayer retreat?” I have done this kind of thing before, but the last one had been three years ago—and I could tell. There were things in my soul that had gotten twisted and fuzzy. These were not the kind of issues that could be fixed in a daily devotion—even a long one. I needed extended time to be still and listen.
My 5-day retreat started with a heartfelt desire for clarity. I needed to hear from God about some specific areas of my life. I wanted to know, deep down, precisely the next steps I should take. Surely, the Lord could oblige. But the whole endeavor got derailed when I ran across this story from Brennan Manning’s book, Ruthless Trust.
“When John Kavanaugh, the noted and famous ethicist, went to Calcutta, he was seeking Mother Teresa … and more. He went for three months to work at “the house of the dying” to find out how best he could spend the rest of his life.
When he met Mother Teresa, he asked her to pray for him. “What do you want me to pray for?” she replied. He then uttered the request he had carried thousands of miles: “Clarity. Pray that I have clarity.”
“No,” Mother Teresa answered, “I will not do that.”
When he asked her why, she said, “Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to & must let go of.”
When Kavanaugh said that she always seemed to have clarity, the very kind of clarity he was looking for, Mother Teresa laughed and said: “I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So, I will pray that you trust God.”
To be honest, the thought that clarity was “the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of” kind of stung me. Then it ticked me off. “What’s so wrong about wanting clarity?” I inwardly protested. Only several days into the retreat was I able to see my push for clarity for what it really was—a desire for control. I keep learning that God doesn’t invite us to control things. It’s above our wisdom grade. Instead, we’re invited to trust God for the many things we can’t control. It’s about surrender.
In the end, I didn’t get the clarity I wanted on anything. I got something better. A deeper relationship with God built on trust.
Your less clingy friend,
Roger Ross
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)
P.S. Want to know the latest prayer need? Text KINGDOM to 573-227-6557, and you will receive a weekly Prayer Text. Thanks!
Praying daily for the grace needed to start new places for new people
and transform existing churches across Missouri.
Feel free to pray for a different area each day. Thanks for your prayers!
- SUNDAY: Let’s pray together: Lord, multiply your Kingdom through us.
- MONDAY: PRAISE GOD for multiplication growth in our Prayer Team! We are grateful for 865 people praying daily & weekly (by text), representing over 325 churches. Let’s humbly ask the Holy Spirit to lead a total of 1,000 pray-ers to the Team in 2019. (More prayer releases more power!)
- TUESDAY: Seek the Holy Spirit for a Great Awakening in our churches, communities and nation. Pray for the 12 churches in Missouri entering our new Multiplying Kingdom Impact (MKI) consultation process. Ask the Lord Jesus to reveal new insights and ways of being that transform each church.
- WEDNESDAY: Ask the Holy Spirit to encourage the 47 laypersons and pastors in our 2019 Planting Academy to find time for rest and spiritual renewal this summer.
- THURSDAY: Hold before the Lord these churches that are starting something new in 2019-20: Woods Chapel Raytown site restarted on March 3 and Eureka UMC 2nd site in the Fall of 2019. Good Shepherd UMC in the Spring of 2020. North Cross is now discerning their next steps regarding a 2nd site.
- FRIDAY: Seek God’s will to reveal clear next steps for the United Methodist Church around the world and for our Missouri Conference. Pray: Lord, give us a kind spirit of cooperation to create a new future.
- SATURDAY: Praise God for Rev. Geoff Posegate who is joining our CE staff as a half-time Missional Strategist beginning Sept. 1! Please pray for God to reveal the person who will join us as a full-time missional strategist. As we move into a new appointive year and new goals, please…
- Ask the Holy Spirit to inspire the creation of a “Meet & Invite” workshop for our local churches by the end of August.
