Praying Resurrectionally & Upcoming Events
Before the resurrection, no one prayed in Jesus’ name. The Church now prays in the Name that is above every name.
When we face challenges, our temptation is to either accept some form of fatalism (“Lord, whatever happens, happens”) or some kind of desperationism (“I can’t believe this is happening! Why didn’t you choose to do this with someone else, God. Am I deserving of this trial?”)
In the Upper Room Discourse in John 16, Jesus says that there will come a time when he will no longer be with the disciples. How would they live in the absence of their Master? When your source of hope is gone, what do you do? How do you maintain this life of communion when your Lord and Master is gone? Jesus teaches that his physical presence is not necessary for our present joy.
The disciples have already asked Jesus many questions. “Lord, when is this going to happen, and when is that going to happen?” Does that sound like us at times? “Lord, just give me a sequence of predictable events in my life, then I can more carefully prepare for my future?” If that happened, our temptation to control our steps and schedules would catapult to magnificent proportions.
To Ask or Not To Ask
It’s very instructive that in the four Gospels, the disciples ask dozens of questions, but after the resurrection, in the Book of Acts, the apostles seldom asked any questions. This is because the disciples tasted the answer. The resurrection of Jesus was the objectivity they needed to make sense of their new reality. But before the resurrection, they were filled with uncertainty.
Do you ever feel uncertain? Take heart. The disciples often felt that way. Jesus says that the night of darkness and doubt will become the morning of deliverance and hope in the resurrection era. Before the resurrection, we asked in doubt; after the resurrection, we asked in hope.
Before the resurrection, no one prayed in Jesus’ name. The Church now prays in the Name that is above every name. The risen Lord now intercedes and speaks on our behalf. We can only pray in Jesus’ name because he is victorious over death.
So, how do we then pray?
We pray in the name of a risen King. If you were to dissect Jesus's model prayer, you would see that point: “Thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.” If we are to find delight in praying post-resurrectionally, then our prayers must correspond with the priorities of the Kingdom. Biblical prayer does not pray in hopelessness but in the full assurance that the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord (Rev. 11:15).
Sometimes, we ask in Jesus’ name for a petition rooted in our kingdom's hopes. Those hopes often contradict the glories of the heavenly vision (Isaiah 6). God will still answer you, but we may be missing a richer answer to our prayer. God will always answer, but the question is, “Will he answer us richly, or will he answer from the crumbs of heaven’s table? Now, heaven’s table is rich, and even the crumbs are delicious, but are we missing better things from our prayer life because of our lack of boldness, lack of communion, and lack of proper priorities?
We need not a casual prayer life but a fiery one that calls the Kingdom of God to crush our enemies and answer our needs. When we ask, are we asking in a pre-resurrection manner? Fatalistically, desperately, weakly, cowardly, hopelessly? When the tomb was silent, we did not pray in Jesus’ name, but when the voice of victory rolled the stone away, we prayed in the name of Jesus to whom the Kingdom, the power, and the glory belong.
Notations
Zoltán Dörnyei observes that the fruit of the Spirit “outlines a composite character that can be seen as a representation of…a Christlike personality.” This sketch serves to undo the fallenness of man represented by the 15 human vices offered in Galatians. For Paul, the structure of this fruit-bearing tree is sufficient to outlive the false trees in the field.
Christopher Wright notes that those who reject the rules or traditions of the church ultimately wish “to set us free from the institutionalized religious burden.” The idea is to liberate us from any form of higher ethics structures.
Luther notes in his Galatians commentary that the fruit of the Spirit “bring with them most excellent fruits and maximum usefulness, for they that have them give glory to God, and with the same do allure and provoke others to embrace the doctrine and faith of Christ.”
Nuntium
My plate is pretty full around here in Monroe, LA, with the music camp in full swing. It was a terrific joy to minister in preaching yesterday at the Church of the Redeemer for my dear friend, Steve Wilkins, whom I have known for 17 years.
The music camp started this morning and it has been a joy to lead the chapel time these last nine years. We had 350 students plus parents joining us in the morning, which was delightful.
I am trying to find every ounce of time to work on a few upcoming projects, lectures, and Sunday sermons at Providence. But it is always a pleasure to fellowship with these dear saints coming from various parts of the country.
My traveling post-Europe will be quite hectic in the next few weeks. I will be headed to D.C. to participate in #natcon4, spend time with some unique figures in the political and theological spectrum, and deliver my invocation. Pray for the occasion!
Upon return, I will deliver a lecture at the Theopolitan Conference in Birmingham, AL on Alfred Kinsey. Kinsey was the evil sexologist behind much of our sexual paganism today.
Afterward, I will be headed to Nashville, TN, for the Bitcoin conference hosted by a Providence member. Please let me know if you are in the area and would like a discount. The speaking line-up is phenomenal!
I will head back to Birmingham late in July for a Theopolis Board meeting, and then in August, I will return to Moscow, ID, for some interviews, the NSA board meeting, and the Grace Agenda.
Uriesou Brito
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