Pastor’s March Message
Dear Friends and Family of Hilton Baptist Church,
Throughout this season of Lent, I sensed a “nudge” that we as a church needed to focus our attention on prayer. I am slowly learning not to ask “Lord, why would you want me to do that?” and instead, I am trying to follow these ‘God prods’ in trust and obedience without needing an explanation for doing so.
As Thomas Merton, a catholic monk, once confessed in a prayer:
“…the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it…”
I am hoping and trusting that all of you will accept this call and invitation to prayer this season. Your world needs your prayers, your church needs your prayers and your soul needs your prayers.
Sometimes prayer can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. I think the problem many of us have is our idea of what prayer should be, rather than what prayer actually is.
For the last several weeks I have continually reminded you, “God calls you to follow Him as you are, and not who you think you need to be”. This also applies to how we pray! Prayer is about how you connect to God and not how you think you ought to connect to Him!
“I don’t like praying out loud” – So don’t!
“I feel connected with God on a walk, but that doesn’t seem like praying” – So go for a walk!
“I can’t pray like so and so” – When and where does God ever tell you this is required?
“I feel guilty because I always get distracted so I just quit” – It happens to all of us, but how many other tasks do you simply give up just because you become distracted?
You see – God calls you to pray as you are and not how you think you ought to pray. I read this recently and it caused me to give some thought to my own life of prayer.
“The worst thing we can think about prayer is that it is a trivial exercise – saying a few words or channeling one’s thoughts in a particular direction. Authentic prayer is not that. It us usually difficult. This is not because it takes great expertise or is reserved to an elite, but because it takes a lot of courage. To pray well I must first find out where I am. Self-knowledge is never procured cheaply. To pray well I need to face up to realities about myself, that I would prefer to ignore: my anxieties, fears, private griefs, failures, lovelessness, my utter lack of resources. To accept the truth about what I am, as also the truth about other human beings, demands courage. If I do not pray well, it is usually because I lack that kind of courage.” – “Toward God” Michael Casey
So come to God as you are, and not who you think you need to be. And this will help you to…. be still.
With Grace and Peace,
Dan
Categories: Pastors Message