The Prayer Habit

'Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.' Mark 1:35

I used to find difficulty praying. My mind can never be still on a single topic for any sufficient length of time. I think too many thoughts at one time. Soon after I have settled on a prayer item, my mind would begin to wander. I have struggled with this disability for many years.

I used to watch my late father-in-law, the Rev Kao Jih Eng pray. He was a very active Chinese pastor for more than 40 years. He made for himself a ‘kneeling’ platform on which was attached a reading stand with a cross. Under this stand was a shelf holding 2 compartments. He would place cards with prayer petitions from his parishioners in one compartment. As he prayed through each item he transferred these cards into the other compartment and back again. He woke up early every morning to pray.

I read about St Theresa of Avila for whom prayer is the journey of the mind into the depths of the soul. She described prayer as moving from one room into another in one's spirit. Then, in the innermost sanctum of one’s being, one finds God and ecstasy.

In the heydays of the Charismatic movement, I would practise praying in tongues. Since my mind always strayed, why not just pray in tongues? I need not focus. Perhaps like St Teresa, I could still achieve the soul-satisfaction she described. But, there was a lingering worry that all I was seeking was some form of self-gratification and was not really communicating with God. 

Finally, I reckoned to live every moment and dedicate every day as a prayer to God. Just live through the day and when a petition, a thought, a praise comes to mind just whisper to the Lord, a word of thanks or a quick petition.

Here is an example of a prayerful moment. Whilst walking down a busy street one day, out of the blue, a song which I had not sung for more than 30 over years came to mind. It’s a composition from Sister Soeur Sourire, the Singing Nun and it is called 'It’s A Miracle.'

How I love to go for a walk along the street,

And to say, "Hello" to the people that I meet, 

And to watch the show of their happy, happy feet, 

And I say to myself, It's a miracle. 

Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu-ia! I sing as I walk along, 

Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu-ia, God gave me such a happy song.

Can’t you feel his love and joy in everything

In the wonder of the sparrow on the wind

In the sky above and the song that I now sing

And I say to myself it’s a miracle

Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu-ia! I sing as I walk along, 

Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu-ia, God gave me such a happy song.

In the joy of his love and the sky up above and the song that I sing

It’s a miracle.

I could not stop humming and singing the tune. So I sang it as a prayer to God and a prayer for all the people I was passing by. This is making prayer ubiquitous, praying all through the day, this is Continuous Prayer.

Henri Nouwen taught me another way to pray, "Listen to your heart. Praying is first and foremost listening to Jesus who dwells in the very depths of your heart. He doesn't shout. he doesn't thrust himself upon you, His voice is an unassuming voice, very nearly a whisper, the voice of a gentle love... This listening must be an active and very attentive listening, for in our restless and noisy world God's loving voice is easily drowned out. You need to set aside some time everyday for this active listening to God if only for ten minutes. 

You'll find it not easy to be still for ten minutes at a time. You'll discover straightaway that many voices, voices that are very noisy and distracting, voices that do not come from God, demand your attention. But if you stick to your daily prayer time, then slowly but surely you will come to hear the gentle voice of love and will long more and more to listen to it." Ref 1

This is Contemplative Prayer. So instead of trying to spend an hour in prayer, it might be better for me to spend short times of 10 minutes to find the place where God is, empty my thoughts and let God fill my mind. I used to think that contemplative prayer is some highly spiritual activity reserved for hermits and the Desert Fathers but difficult for the average person. It is something unachievable by people who are easily distracted. I no longer think this way. The discipline of contemplative prayer is particularly good for people who are busy, people who have many things on their plate so much so that it is good for them to get away for brief moments with the Lord. The Don Moen song 'I Just Want To Be Where You Are ' aptly describe this desire. 

Then there is Community Prayer, Henri Nouwen said, "Prayer is the language of the Christian community. In prayer the nature of the community becomes visible because the prayer we direct ourselves to the One who forms the community. We do not pray to each other but together we pray to God, who calls us and makes us a new people. By prayer, community is created as well as expressed."

When we pray in groups, we bind ourselves together. We learn that prayer is a most precious expression of our individual faiths so it needs the constant nurturing and support of the community. Jesus said

 

"Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree on anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there I am in the midst of them." 

Matthew:18: 19-20 

Lionel

Ref 1: Henri Nouwen. You Are The Beloved. Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living. Hodder & Stoughton, 2017

First Published in May 2007

Unceasing Prayer

n

'Pray without ceasing.' 1 Thess 5:17

18 August 2007, my daughter Becky wrote something on prayer: I tend to hang out a lot online and have become a member of a number of prominent message boards. One particular message board struck me, it started a little thread for prayer requests. The introduction of which is as follows,

"I am placing this thread here as a place for Christian players to request prayer. I plan to check the thread regularly, and pray for the requests. I encourage others to also pray in response to the prayer requests. I'll make the first request. Please help me pray for the wisdom, knowledge, and strength to be a better servant of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of the one true God. I hope that God is glorified through this thread." - Shaper Geneson

Although the thread itself isn't really popular, there have been a number of prayer requests from people and it's heartening to see prayer used to help others. 

I check the message board daily to pray for friends that I know and quite a  few people that I don't even know their real names. I figured, God knows who I'm talking about, even if I don't. I started to have had online friends who had troubles and told me about them. Seeing as I can't get out to Canada or Switzerland or America in the blink of an eye to give them hugs or advice directly, my best way of helping is to pray for them. I'll tell them that I'm doing it and pray with them over the microphone or just over chat in a chat room. 

God knows best, and it's almost surprising how much comfort people can take in prayer. And the prayers are answered, sometimes in very specific ways, I get feedback from friends about it. This keeps me going, even if I do feel embarrassed praying over a microphone for someone that I haven't even met. In fact, I've had people tell me that they've never been prayed for before. 

I cannot imagine not being prayed for. Praying for others and being prayed for is something I remember from way back when. I remember waking up early in mornings sometimes, lying in bed, I can see Papa or Mummy kneeling by my bedside praying for me. It is something comforting, knowing that God has my back and that I'm not the only one struggling to pray for myself - that other people care as well. To me, prayer is the most powerful tool that we Christians have. I mean, to be able to talk with God? That's pretty important stuff! 

I recall that one pastor in my church once observed that in Jerusalem, they rock when they pray. Why? Because it's GOD that they're talking to when they pray. Why shouldn't they pray with all their heart and soul, mind and body? It's GOD. 

So, take some time off sometime today and do some praying. I generally do every day before I sleep. I take time to tell God what I've done today, thank him for the funny addresses (simple pleasures that keep me going) in my work as well as for the many many blessings he has given me, I thank him for dying on the cross for my sins. I pray for my family, for friends that I know the names of, for friends I don't know the names of and for people I don't know from Adams. Then I pray for myself. Then, I thank God for listening to it all and being patient enough. 

Praying really reminds me of everything that I have to thank and praise him for. The words come out easily. Sometimes, I have so much to say, I fall asleep saying it. But, it's a good thing, because I've touched base with God.

So, take some time now, today, whenever... and just sit down with your family, or someone that you know, or someone that you don't even know but you've been listening to (My pastor even prays for complete strangers he's met on the bus!) ... and pray. Because it's important.  

Lionel adds: We could make our prayers instinctive as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, 'Pray without ceasing.' But how do we pray without ceasing? 24/7? I think the answer is to try weave prayer into our everyday life and routine. To some extent Becky has weaved prayer into her IT routine. We are now learning to have Zoom prayer sessions. 

We can also establish a ubiquitous prayerful attitude for all our waking moments. Brother Lawrence observed that it is a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times. Henri Nouwen wrote, 'By the discipline of prayer we are awakened and opened to God, who enters into our heartbeats and our breathing, into our thoughts and emotions, our hearing, seeing, touching and tasting. We give ourselves over to this incredible Presence, who takes possession of all our senses. By doing this, our unceasing thinking is converted into unceasing prayer, moving us from a self-centred monologue to a God-centred dialogue.' Ref 1

Dallas Willard noted that 'Prayer is never just asking nor is it merely a matter of asking for what I want. Prayer is a matter of explicitly sharing with God my concerns. And of course he is concerned about my concerns and, in particular my concerns should coincide with His. It is the inevitable result of someone who understands God and is actually living interactively with Him.' Ref 2

The song, The Prayer, popularised by Andrea Borcelli and Celine Dion celebrates this interactive living with God, that resonates in our prayers.

I pray you'll be our eyes, and watch us where we go

And help us to be wise in times when we don't know

Let this be our prayer, when we lose our way

Lead us to the place, guide us with your grace

To a place where we'll be safe

With such a prayerful 24/7 encapsulation of our lives, we become receptacles of the divine through the pathway of prayer.

 

Becky and Lionel 

Ref 1: Henri Nouwen. You are the Beloved, Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living. Hodder and Stoughton, 2017

Ref 2: Dallas Willard. The Divine Conspiracy, Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God. HarperCollins, 1997

1st Published on 18 Aug 2007

In Search Of Worship - Simplicity

James (5 months) and Ah Kong

' Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.' Matthew 18:3

I used to sing the praise song, “I love you Lord” to my grandson James every night before he slept. James is 12 years old now, then he was 5 months old. Like every 5 month old, James will fight sleep but when he listened to this song, he would stop crying, become calm and would soon be ready for bed. It is a simple four line tune: 

“I love You Lord and I lift my voice to worship you. 
O my soul rejoice! 
Take joy my King in what you hear. 
May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ears.” 

James just loved to hear this song repeated to him over and over again. In the singing I imagined we were praising God together, grandfather and grandson.

Worshiping God with a five month old in tow does not trivialise the act of worship. True worship is hard to find. If one could capture the right inspirational moment, an unfettered time, one should take the opportunity to worship. Make it simple. It is quite natural to worship with James in hand, for this baby is indeed a blessing from God; a clear and present evidence of God’s creative power and of His goodness.

Falzarego Pass, The Dolomites

In the same way if you happen to chance on a very simple church when you are hiking up some mountains go inside to pray and worship. Do not miss the opportunity to seize one sublime moment of simple worship. No need to be intellectual, nothing to be complicated about; even better if worship can be impulsive.

Once, when Jesus was in the temple in Jerusalem, the little children were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David," The priest and scribes were indignant at the commotion and they complained, "do you hear what these children are saying?" meaning to accuse him of instigating the children to blasphemy, "Yes," Jesus replied, "have you never read, "from the lips of children and infants, You have perfected praise?" (Matt 21:16 and Psalms 8:2). Perfect praise exudes from pure simplicity. Babies, by their very lives are testaments to God’s bountiful grace.

In contrast, there is much that is contrived and showy when adults worship. Words that come out forced can be hypocritical. Catchy tunes are sung repeatedly without thought to the adequacy and appropriateness of the lyrics. The Rev (Dr) Ben Witherington, Asbury Theological Seminary speaking in Singapore at the Aldersgate Convention in May 2008 asked the question, “Who is doing the worshiping? Who is the beneficiary?"

Speaking about congregational worship Dr Witherington (Ref 1) said, “We often hear people say I don’t go to that worship service because I don’t get anything out of it. But who is supposed to be doing the worshiping here? If it is the congregation, then the primary question should be where can I go to best give praise and worship to God, not where I can go to get the most out of it. Any experience that put us on God’s level is not worship. It is inappropriate and even shocking familiarity; indeed it can even be called idolatry. God condescends and remains God, we do not ascend and become as gods. Worship happens when the creature realizes he is not the creator and bows down to the One who is.”

In speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus told her that where one worships, what styles one would use do not really matter. He told her one day, the true worshiper will be worshiping in spirit and in truth. No hypocrisy. God is more concerned with the attitude of the heart than the melody of the song; the motive of the people than the performance.

A poor Methodist woman (Ref 2), probably a labourer in the work houses or a farmer’s wife in 18th century Britain wrote, "I do not know when I have had happier times in my soul than when I have been sitting at work with nothing before me but a candle and a white cloth, and hearing no sound but the sound of my own breath, with God in my soul and heaven in my eye. I rejoice in being exactly what I am – a creature capable of loving God and who, as long as God lives, must be happy. I get up and look for a while out of the window and gaze at the moon and stars, the work of an almighty hand. I think of the grandeur of the universe, and then sit down, and think myself one of the happiest beings in it."

When we worship, it is not fulfilling an obligation, it is a human delight. Come back to 'The Heart of Worship.'

Lionel

1 Methodist Message 110(7) Jul 08
2 Mary Tileston, ed. Daily Strength for Daily Needs

Out Of Chaos Comes A Calm

'I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber' Psalms 121:1-3

On 11 Mar 2020, the World Health Organisation declared the Corona Virus, COVID-19 infection a pandemic which affected many countries and continents. Many are afraid to contract the virus. Although for the most parts, the disease is quite mild, mortality rate is significant in older people who have underlying health concerns. The death rates among the elderly in China, South Korea, Iran and Italy are extremely high. The virus is highly contagious and some countries resorted to closure of schools, large public events and curtailed travel. It may even derail the Olympic Games to be held in Japan later this year. Several churches in Singapore and other countries are no longer meeting but virtually beam the worship services to parishioners through the Internet.

In times like these, people of all faiths turn to prayer. Christians pray, expectantly, that God will answer just as the Psalmist declared in Psalms 121. This assurance of help from God is the cornerstone for our confidence which allows us to live a full life even in periods of adversity. 

There is a favourite anthem of the Charis Methodist Church Choir. Noel Ong, who helps select songs for the choir wrote, "On Path to Answered Prayer' is a beautiful and touching piece that Heidi Fuller wrote after going through much trial and seeming unanswered prayer, as well as helping a close friend through similar issues. Their specific circumstances were different, but the underlying issues of faith in God, whether he hears and answers prayer, and waiting for God's timing and plan, were underlying both their journeys. Indeed, they underlie the journeys that each one of us Christians would take in our respective life journeys. Indeed, we can be encouraged through the message of this song because God brings amazing things through the trials of life and we need to 'learn to trust Him as you (we) travel on the path to answered prayer."

My favourite phrase in this song is "Out of chaos comes a calm". It assures me that the COVID-19 pandemic will dissipate, this world will return to normal, the economic recession will pass and God will restore the earth.

"Have you ever wondered if your prayers are really heard?

Why is your path so lonely if God listens to each word?

When answers seem so distant through years of faithful pleas.

Still your Guide is right beside you each moment on your knees.

In the wilderness He’s working, in the dark, do not despair.

In the storms, He’s sanctifying, in the thunder He is there!

Out of valleys, He gives vict’ries, out of chaos, comes a calm.

Out of testing, He brings triumph, out of sorrow, comes a song.

There comes a song.

So find power in His promise, though at times not understood,

as you love the God who leads you He will guide your paths to good.

Though there’s weeping in the waiting, in the morning, joy is there.

Learn to trust Him as you travel, learn to trust Him as you travel,

learn to trust Him as you travel on the path to answered prayer.

He answers prayer."

It is this song that the chairperson of our choir, Raymond Chiang clung to as he lived through cancer affecting his health. He prayed for healing of a colon cancer he suffered which had spread to his liver and subsequently he lived a normal and active life through two surgeries and chemotherapy. Click to hear, Raymond's encouraging testimony, how God gave him the faith to overcome his illness. 

Raymond spoke about trusting God and praying for healing. After a colectomy, it was found a year later, that there was a secondary to the liver. He underwent surgery to remove the tumour in the liver. After the surgery, the surgeon asked whether he had undergone chemotherapy prior because 70% of the tumour cells from the liver was found to be not viable on the biopsy. Raymond answered negatively which surprised the surgeon. When informed, the oncologist replied, "A supernatural force is at work here". Today Raymond has completed the post-surgery chemotherapy and he is hale and hearty.

The response to the corona virus pandemic in almost every country, underlies the innate fear and panic in many people, they run to the supermarkets and pharmacies to hoard daily essentials. People were jostling for rice and canned food, masks and alcohol wipes and even toilet paper to the point where nothing was available on the shelves and the national stockpiles were depleted.

Fear and panic are not the ways we should confront the challenge of COVID-19 pandemic; instead of fear there should be faith and instead of panic there should be prayer. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Lionel