Talking With
There is a sushi restaurant I really like that was recommended by a friend of mine. When we went my friend started ordering things that weren’t on the menu and asking about other things that weren’t listed. Now, I am super outgoing and can make conversation with a chair, but I also hate to inconvenience someone by asking unnecessary things. I never want to be…”that guy”…I just let him ask all the questions and sat back.
When the rolls he ordered showed up, the food my friend ordered was unbelievable.
I went back with another friend of mine from out of town and wanted to show him all the cool things that I knew, because I was a local…and I awkwardly stumbled through trying to remember what the rolls were that weren’t listed. I was like a bad secret agent trying to guess the “code word” that sound like cleverly named summersaults. After a few moments of this ridiculousness, a slight pause in the attempted order allowed the server to then speak. The server started listing out these incredible “off menu” items that are unknown to most people. I recovered and we feasted on options most people didn’t even know were available.
I found out about those options because a friend told me about them, I then asked about them, and a whole new world was opened up to me.
Those sushi rolls aren’t hidden or on a deliberately secret menu only for locals…you just have to know to ask.
In our prayer life, most of us don’t even ask and then leave a pause for God to respond. We say things we are worried about or things we want and then move on with our day.
I do this all the time too. Multiple times today, I’ve found myself praying for God to do something, asking God to reveal something to me, big, bold, audacious prayers…and before those prayers have barely been lifted, I mumble “amen” and start to pick up my phone or move on to the next task.
How can we hear what God has for us if we don’t pause to have a dialogue, not just a monologue?
If you were with us yesterday at worship we are two weeks into a Prayer Journey. I invite you to listen to yesterday’s sermon, A Dialogue. And if you missed last week’s sermon, A Conversation, listen to that one first.
As we continue in this journey, our hope is that we become people who practice prayer as our normal rhythm. We want prayer to bleed into all areas of our life, for it to guide and direct us. We hope that we are people who find communing with God, not some sort of burden, but a life giving discipline.
When I lived in Missouri, we said “y’all”…some… It was not uncommon, but it certainly wasn’t a regular part of the lexicon. When I moved to Texas, it just started happening more and more regularly. It is a part of the culture. After 10 years there, to say, “hey everybody” or “hey guys” instead of “hey, y’all” sounded almost rude and inhospitable. “Y’all” has become my normal rhythm in conversation. It has bled into my greetings, my prayers, my sermons, texts and emails. I was not born anywhere near the south, but that “y’all” flows out of my mouth so easily, I’m starting to wonder if I was.
That is the way prayer should be. It should be something we turn to consistently to connect with, to touch base with, to commune with, to navigate life with God. After regular rhythms of prayer, we will notice when we don’t pray, it just feels off or rude to not turn to the one who created all.
A few weeks back we were in DC. In Keating’s class at school they were told to look for a statue in the United States Capitol. Each state has statues that represent their state. On the tour we were seeing dozens and dozens of statues…but the one he is supposed to be looking for is nowhere to be found. At one point during the tour, Keating asked if the statue for John Gorrie was anywhere on the tour and our guide said “no”.
After the tour, Keating was disappointed because that was the one thing his teacher told him to look for. After all, John Gorrie not only was ahead of his time in science and medicine, he also is responsible for helping invent refrigeration, manufacturing ice, and air conditioning…so…he seems pretty deserving of having a statue. While Foster and I went to the gift shop, Sarah and a slightly discouraged Keating went to ask where the statue of John Gorrie was in the Capitol. When they asked, it set off a chain reaction of all these different guides and directors to want to make sure we saw this statue. Next thing I know, I’m being summoned out of the gift shop to go on a private tour to find this statue. We retraced our steps of our original tour and then took a turn and got to go back to areas the general public doesn’t go to, we got to see statues and art that most people won’t ever see, we got to experience so much more, including seeing the John Gorrie statue.
We should not be afraid to ask.
And when we ask, we may be called to retrace where we’ve been, and/or journey to places we didn’t know existed.
But you will not know if you don’t ask and then wait for a response.
Last week, my challenge was for people to simply pray, “God…” and then speak whatever it is they are thinking, feeling, grateful for, or hopes, dreams, and desires.
This week, I want you to still do the same, but now end your time of prayer, asking a question to God. Maybe it is a prayer request, or a decision you need to make, or something you need to know how to navigate…just ask…then wait. Wait in silence and see what God has for you. Wait for God to respond…even if it is awkward or quiet or uncomfortable. Wait in the silence. That is what dialoguing is, it is two people, talking about things back and forth. Leave space for the forth, leave space for the response, leave space so it isn’t just you talking “at” God, but you talking “with” God.
Then I invite you to end your prayer with the same words Jesus ended his prayer in the Garden.
“Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
You may hear nothing. You may have an idea, you may feel something shift in your spirit, but when you say “amen” the communication with God isn’t over. As you go about your day tell the Holy Spirit you are available to hear. Maybe you will start to notice themes form in conversations, or in the scriptures you are reading, or in worship songs. Maybe God is wanting to use someone else in your process. The point is. Even after you say “amen” and go about your day…keep your spiritual eyes open.
I’m not saying if you do this in all areas of life you will suddenly get to eat secret sushi and get back stage private tours…but you will likely open up the possibilities of what is out there that you didn’t even know was possible, what God has for you even if it isn’t what you would choose for yourself, and you will also remind yourself that it is God’s will we are seeking. Not your will, or a politicians will, or a business’s will.
You could say, this type of prayer and waiting is a sort of God’s Will Hunting…
Join us as we continue to journey in prayer.
If you missed the sermon yesterday or last week, you can access the podcast on our website or anywhere you stream podcasts. Just search “The Chapel at Seaside”.
If you want to follow along in our prayer journey there are a few great ways to do that.
We have great resources to help you in this journey from our friends at Practicing The Way. Some teachings, podcast conversations, prayer guides and more. If you would like to access these resources, we need to add you to our Prayer Groups. Our HomeGroups are all doing it, but if you aren’t in a HomeGroup and you want access, just let us know.
In order to join the group to get the resources and additional teachings, you can text 816-810-5534 or email Sarah Beard at [email protected]. Just text or email.
“Please add (state your first and last name) to the Prayer Group. My email is (leave your email).”
Throughout April and May on Thursdays from noon to 1:00 The Chapel will be open for prayer. We are partnering with 30A Prays for this guided and intentional time of prayer. It is a very simple and quiet time of prompts for prayer and no one is required to say anything out loud. Come and go as you can or need to.
We have some recommended reading if you are interested.
Several of these books you can get at Sundog Books in Seaside or of course you can order online.
Beholding: Deepening Our Experience In God by Strahan Coleman.
Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools by Tyler Staton.
Lead With Prayer by Ryan Skoog, Peter Greer, Cameron Doolittle.
For more info on our Prayer Journey, go to thechapelatseaside.com/prayer/
We look forward to seeing you soon and let us know if you need anything.
Blessings.
Andrew