Enter into the heart of God

Enter into the heart of God

Fr Chris Thomas from the Emmaus Family of Prayer reflects on the importance of intercession.

Just recently I’ve been asked to speak several times on Intercessory Prayer and the text that I have been given by the organisers is from the Second Book of Chronicles. This has obviously made me think a little about what I believe about Intercessory Prayer.

Fundamentally all prayer is about entering into the mystery of God. It’s about clearing the way for communion between God and the one who prays. It is seldom about words but about what Richard Rohr calls ‘the long loving look at the really real.’ Intercessory prayer has to be about entering into the mystery of God and discovering God’s heart for the world.

So let’s go back to the book of Chronicles. It is not always helpful to take bits from the Scriptures and quote them without looking at the context that they first appeared in. The book of Chronicles was written to present an idealised version of the History of Israel from Adam to Ezra missing out the sinfulness and brokenness of the journey. The Chronicler hoped that in showing Israel as a faithful servant of God he could remind the people of their mission to be a holy and priestly people. It’s a little like a political rally where the politician conveniently ignores the scandals that may have dogged him or her in the hope that he or she can rally support.

It’s into that context that we have the quotation that many people use as a guide to intercessory prayer. “then if my people who bear my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my presence and turn from their wicked ways, I myself will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and restore their land.” 2Chron 7:14 It seems to me that throughout the Scriptures there are several themes that emerge which find their fulfilment in Jesus. The main theme that runs from the beginning to the end is that God is love and there is nothing we can do to earn that love that it isn’t dependent on our worthiness or goodness or in fact anything that we do but only on the goodness that is God.

The quotation from second Chronicles seems to fly in the face of the God that Jesus reveals because it makes everything dependent on us. The author writes ‘if my people do this then I will do…’ as though the action of God were dependent on what we do. Jesus and certainly Paul seem to say the complete opposite. All God wants is that we be submerged in the torrential pouring out of love. It’s not something we have to earn. It’s not something we deserve, it’s simply there poured out and all we have to do is trust it and believe it.

The people of Israel were being led towards the full revelation of who God is in Jesus but at the stage in their history that the book of Chronicles was written they still saw God as one who was exclusively on their side and who would smite their enemies because they were the chosen people. They had met a God who was trying to lead them and help them understand the immensity of love and they thought it was about them and what they did. So what is the author of Chronicles really trying to say to his people? It’s that we are called to be a Priestly people and a holy people. It’s an invitation to enter into the heart of God, the mystery of God and the only way that can happen is through prayer and letting go of the concerns of the ego. It is a humbling experience to know just how much our selfishness and egocentricity stops us seeing the heart of God.

When that process begins to happen then that we know that God is always listening and always desiring to make things right. It’s not that God won’t do it unless we play our part. It’s just that we can’t see or enter into it unless we open our eyes and begin to see.

So is God dependent on what we do? Not at all God is always listening and responding and forgiving and restoring. It’s just that we don’t have eyes that see. Maybe if we did then we’d know that all that is in the heart of God for this world is love and all God is ever doing is loving and bringing life.

Does all of this mean we shouldn’t pray for the state of the world today. Not at all but what it does mean is that we have to listen to what God wants and not presume that we know. It does mean that we have to let go of our own personal dislikes and enter into the mystery of God’s heart and see what lies there. When Jesus said anything you ask in my name I will do he was talking about entering into the heart of God as he had done and therefore knowing the heart of God for the world and for all God’s children. When you ask having done that you’re asking for what already is and so it will be.

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Just recently I’ve been asked to speak several times on Intercessory Prayer and the text that I have been given by the organisers is from the Second Book of Chronicles. This has obviously made me think a little about what I believe about Intercessory Prayer. Fundamentally all prayer is about entering into the mystery of God. It’s about clearing the way for communion between God and the one who prays. It is seldom about words but about what Richard Rohr calls ‘the long loving look at the really real.’ Intercessory prayer has to be about entering into the mystery of God and discovering God’s heart for the world. So let’s go back to the book of Chronicles. It is not always helpful to take bits from the Scriptures and quote them without looking at the context that they first appeared in. The book of Chronicles was written to present an idealised version of the History of Israel from Adam to Ezra missing out the sinfulness and brokenness of the journey. The Chronicler hoped that in showing Israel as a faithful servant of God he could remind the people of their mission to be a holy and priestly people. It’s a little like a political rally where the politician conveniently ignores the scandals that may have dogged him or her in the hope that he or she can rally support. It’s into that context that we have the quotation that many people use as a guide to intercessory prayer. “then if my people who bear my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my presence and turn from their wicked ways, I myself will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and restore their land.” 2Chron 7:14 It seems to me that throughout the Scriptures there are several themes that emerge which find their fulfilment in Jesus. The main theme that runs from the beginning to the end is that God is love and there is nothing we can do to earn that love that it isn’t dependent on our worthiness or goodness or in fact anything that we do but only on the goodness that is God. The quotation from second Chronicles seems to fly in the face of the God that Jesus reveals because it makes everything dependent on us. The author writes ‘if my people do this then I will do…’ as though the action of God were dependent on what we do. Jesus and certainly Paul seem to say the complete opposite. All God wants is that we be submerged in the torrential pouring out of love. It’s not something we have to earn. It’s not something we deserve, it’s simply there poured out and all we have to do is trust it and believe it. The people of Israel were being led towards the full revelation of who God is in Jesus but at the stage in their history that the book of Chronicles was written they still saw God as one who was exclusively on their side and who would smite their enemies because they were the chosen people. They had met a God who was trying to lead them and help them understand the immensity of love and they thought it was about them and what they did. So what is the author of Chronicles really trying to say to his people? It’s that we are called to be a Priestly people and a holy people. It’s an invitation to enter into the heart of God, the mystery of God and the only way that can happen is through prayer and letting go of the concerns of the ego. It is a humbling experience to know just how much our selfishness and egocentricity stops us seeing the heart of God. When that process begins to happen then that we know that God is always listening and always desiring to make things right. It’s not that God won’t do it unless we play our part. It’s just that we can’t see or enter into it unless we open our eyes and begin to see. So is God dependent on what we do? Not at all God is always listening and responding and forgiving and restoring. It’s just that we don’t have eyes that see. Maybe if we did then we’d know that all that is in the heart of God for this world is love and all God is ever doing is loving and bringing life. Does all of this mean we shouldn’t pray for the state of the world today. Not at all but what it does mean is that we have to listen to what God wants and not presume that we know. It does mean that we have to let go of our own personal dislikes and enter into the mystery of God’s heart and see what lies there. When Jesus said anything you ask in my name I will do he was talking about entering into the heart of God as he had done and therefore knowing the heart of God for the world and for all God’s children. When you ask having done that you’re asking for what already is and so it will be. << Top Home >>