1 Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. 2 Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. 3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5:1 – 3, New international Version)
Theme: Discipleship
Context:
Your comments continue to add so much depth to our journey. What a blessing it is to read what encourages you to pray even in your darkest hours. Thanks for your transparency!
So far this week, we have been able to learn about passionate prayer from the lives of disciples of Jesus starting in the 4th century all the way to the Modern era. Today we end with a lesson from a disciple living in our era, the Post-modern era. Back on Day 6 we were introduced to the theologian and author Rowan Williams. In his book, Being Disciples: Essentials of the Christian Life, Williams uses an interesting analogy to encourage praying with expectancy.
“The Master is going to speak or show something; reality is going to open up when you are in the Master’s company, and so your awareness (as has often been said by people writing about contemplative prayer) is a little bit like that of a birdwatcher. The experienced birdwatcher, sitting still, poised, alert, not tense or fussy, knows that this is the kind of place where something extraordinary suddenly bursts into view. I’ve always loved that image of prayer as birdwatching. You sit very still because something is liable to burst into view, and sometimes of course it means a long day sitting in the rain with nothing very much happening. I suspect that, for most of us, a lot of our experience of prayer is precisely that. But the odd occasions when you do see what T. S. Eliot…called ‘the kingfisher’s wing’ flashing ‘light to light’ make it all worthwhile. And I think that living in this sort of expectancy—living in awareness, your eyes sufficiently open and your mind both relaxed and attentive enough to see that when it happens—is basic to discipleship.”
What a privilege for disciples of Jesus to be able to pray and live with the expectancy of a birdwatcher. “Something extraordinary” is going to “burst into view!”
Bible Passage:
Our Scripture passage describes the Psalmists attitude of expectancy in prayer. Please prayerfully read the passage and consider the question below.
Question:
Can you recall an example of someone praying with expectancy in the Bible? Please share your memorable example.
Sharing your thoughts could be a big help to someone else. Please leave a comment on the blog.