A recent "lightbulb" moment...

I've been reading Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Tim Keller. (Thank you, Mitch!) There is so much in the book to unpack, discuss, think about, and apply. Since I don't think anyone would appreciate reading pages and pages of direct quotes from the book on this blog, I'll just recommend it to any and all. Prayer is a topic that I always said I was going to work on but it always seemed too big to tackle. So, I continued with my norm and by ignoring prayer in my life, it became an even bigger idea that was just too difficult for me to wrestle. Thankfully, this book and the Scripture it has pointed me to, has revealed that prayer - rich, powerful, life-changing prayer - is very possible. I just want to share one of my biggest take-aways.

By having a skewed view of the Gospel, I've created a skewed view of God, myself and our relationship with each other. My take on the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ keeps me from experiencing the fullness of the abundant life He promises because my nature adds to the truth or minimizes the magnitude of the gift. My take is tainted by my sin and clouded by the eyes of my flesh. Prayer is the work that God has called me to and when done in the way Christ modeled for us, will cleanse and clear my view of the Gospel. Keller phrased it this way, on page 207 of Prayer:
"Only against the background of the Old Testament, and the great mystery of how God could fulfill his covenant with us, can we see the freeness of forgiveness and its astounding cost. It means that no sin can now bring us into condemnation because of Christ's atoning sacrifice. It also means that sin is so serious and grievous to God that Jesus had to die."
God's perfect balance of justice and love were fulfilled and poured out in Christ. Wow. And because of Jesus, I carry the blessed privilege and holy responsibility of spending time with Him in prayer. Prayer returns my eyes to a clear picture of God. When my vision is clear, my heart can be shaped through the direction of the Holy Spirit. And when my heart is shaped in the image of Christ, my world is changed. Prayer can change my world. Prayer can change your world. Prayer can change THE world.

Citation:
Keller, Timothy. Prayer: experiencing awe and intimacy with God. New York: Dutton, Penguin Group USA, 2014. Print.

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