Yancey's Not the Only One.....

A new book caught my eye the last time I was at the Christian bookstore (killing time while the girls were at the other end of the strip mall trying on clothes at T.J. Max.) At least I think it is a new book. I haven't seen it before....but I usually only go there when the girls are shopping at T.J. Max....so it may have been out for a while. The Papa Prayer, by Larry Crabb expresses sentiments similar to what Yancey had to say in his book on prayer....

"Ever since I've been a Christian, I've asked God for lots of things He hasn't given. There have been times I've begged God for clear guidance on how to handle messy relationships or on what direction to move in a confusing situation, and it never came. I could name a dozen nasty spots in my life, probably more, when I've felt desperate to hear from God yet heard only silence.

Sometimes I tried to believe I had heard God's voice, but I knew I really hadn't. I wanted it so badly I pretended I had.

"God, where are You?" I've often asked. "Are You listening to me? Do You know what's going on in my life? Do You care? Do I even know who You are?"

Anybody else been there, done that, bought the tape?????

He talks a little about his experiences with prayer.....

A New Way of Praying

I've practiced centering prayer. I've contemplatively prayed. I've prayed liturgically. I've interceded and petitioned. The first model of prayer I learned as a kid was ACTS: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. I tried that, too, for years. I've benefited from each, and I still do. In ways you'll see, elements of each style are still with me. There are many good ways to pray.

But I believe I've sovereignly stumbled on a fresh way to think about prayer that has led me to a new way of praying. It's not a formula or technique. There are no techniques in good conversation with God. There are no means to manipulate Him, no ways to persuade Him to do things our way. He's not open to input on how best to run my life.

He explains this fresh way of thinking about prayer in an acronym that spells Papa.....

It's the PAPA prayer, and it looks like this:

P: Present yourself to God without pretense. Be a real person in the relationship. Tell Him whatever is going on inside you that you can identify.

A: Attend to how you're thinking of God. Again, no pretending. Ask yourself, "How am I experiencing God right now?" Is He a vending machine, a frowning father, a distant, cold force? Or is He your gloriously strong but intimate Papa?

P: Purge yourself of anything blocking your relationship with God. Put into words whatever makes you uncomfortable or embarrassed when you're real in your relationship with Him. How are you thinking more about yourself and your satisfaction than about anyone else, including God and His pleasure?

A: Approach God as the "first thing" in your life, as your most valuable treasure, the Person you most want to know. Admit that other people and things really do matter more to you right now, but you long to want God so much that every other good thing in your life becomes a "second-thing" desire.

Even though I don't consciously follow his formula when I pray, I think I capture the essence of at least the P. A. P. part...being honest with God about what I am feeling....be it thankful, fearful or ticked off. I don't do very well with the final A....since it is hard for me to put my kids as a second thing desire. I know that scripture says God comes first and that we are to "seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness...." but the next verse also instructs us not to worry....which is another skill I have definitely not mastered at this stage of my Christian walk. Anyway, Crabb goes on to say that the PAPA prayer is not "rubbing a magic lantern and making known three requests to a docile genie that pops out before our eyes." and that most times when he prays this prayer "nothing happens-at least nothing I can see or feel right away. Sometimes I feel closer to God, or at least I think I do. And sometimes I sense an urge to do something, to reflect on a certain thought, to call a certain person, to think about a certain passage in the Bible, or to read a certain book." It is " simply a way to come to God and learn to wait, to listen with a little less wax in our spiritual ears, and, most of all, to be relentlessly real. "

He also says that it has given him a great deal of peace of mind:

As I recognize the symptoms of advancing years and terrifying images of old age come to mind, I am developing a comforting sense that the best is yet to come, even if I end up alone in a nursing home with attendants taking care of me.

Hmmmmmmm.....definitely NOT there yet either. But anyway, I came across two online guides...one for this book and the other for Yancey's book on prayer.....

Four Day Guide to Prayer which is a guide based on the PAPA Prayer.

Prayer Participant's Guide which is "Six Sessions On Our Relationship With God" The link will take you to Barnes and Nobles....the page where the book is available for purchase. Underneath the picture of the book is a link to this guide. "Read a sample chapter"

Any comments?