St. Bartholomew's Church

When I first read Simply Christian, I took a break between chapters eleven and twelve, thereby missing the beauty in the segue. This week, as I read it again, I was intrigued with the transition Wright makes from worship to prayer. He ends the discussion of worship with: “What matters is not so much how we go about it as that we go about it.... We are invited not only to watch, like flies on the wall, but to join in the song.”

So it is with prayer.

Why then, as a Christian who wants to be a part of God’s kingdom-movement, who does find myself, in Wright’s words “drawn into his heaven-on-earth way of living” - why do I often have such a hard time getting on with it? This chapter helped me begin to work through some answers to this question.

Wright says, “Christian prayer is at its most characteristic when we find ourselves caught up in the overlap of the ages, part of the creation that aches for new birth.”

Yes! I ache!

It’s like at the end of a complicated day at work. I come home and my husband says, “How was your day?”

I respond, “Too much to get into.”

In other words, “It was such a mess I’m not even sure where to start.” I find myself often approaching prayer the same way. “God, things are such a mess I don’t even know where to start.”

But then Wright reminds us that what makes Christian prayer different is that “God himself, by the Spirit, dwells in our hearts as we resonate with the pain of the world.” That God has launched this rescue mission through Jesus “precisely because all is not well.” Therefore, I need not be discouraged or paralyzed by the mess of it all. I am invited to join in the groaning of creation.

The invitation of our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer is to stand at the line where the life of heaven and earth overlap. To join in bringing God’s kingdom “on earth, as it is in heaven.” Sometimes we will stand and celebrate. Sometimes we will be thankful, sometimes needy. Often we will groan (I do this a lot). But, as with worship, we must begin by accepting the invitation to join in.

The section on the Shema was encouraging, because I am one who needs much help when it comes to prayer and I find solace in many of the ancient prayers, both in the prayer book and throughout scripture. I appreciated Wright’s focus on this ancient Jewish Prayer from Deuteronomy 6: “Hear, O Isreal; YHWH our God, YHWH is one; and you shall love YHWH your God with all your heart.”

Both the Shema and the Jesus Prayer have been particularly formative in my spiritual journey. As Wright points out, the Shema may not even sound like a prayer to some, more like a statement with a command attached. Yet as it declares who YHWH is and what he requires of his people, it is indeed an act of worship and commitment. Maybe most importantly, it turns the focus from my groaning, my needs and my fears, toward what God has done and is doing. The Shema is a reminder that God is both creator and redeemer, who made the good creation and is making it good again. And we are invited, “not only to watch, but to join in the song.” To image our creator in the world through both worship and prayer.

This week, I pray I’ll do a better job of getting on with it. Join me?