Doing Prayer

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:10)

Prayer should not so much take us away from the world, but give us a fresh perspective on it in order to more faithfully live in it. Authentic prayer propels a believer into action. Whether we be praying for ourselves or others, honest and sincere prayer draws on faith in Christ and bears fruit in faithful living. Prayer is the first step toward a life well lived with God and God’s creation.

Our Puritan ancestor, John Owen, wrote --

"He who prays as he ought will endeavour to live as he prays."

When you pray, don't just ask God what you want Him to do. Ask God to give you the wisdom to know what you need to do and the courage to do it.

Intellectual Arrogance

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” (1 Corinthians 3:19-20)

In college, I was enamored with various philosophies. My friends and I would stay up half the night discussing and debating the merits of this thinker or that. We thought we were so smart.

Now that I’m older, I realize how little I knew (and know). As I prayerfully read Scripture and carefully listen to people, I am consistently humbled. I regret my past (and sometimes present) intellectual arrogance.

The words of John Calvin put me in my place –

"There is no worse screen to block out the Spirit than confidence in our own intelligence.”

Sometimes we can be too smart for our own good (and the good of others).

Knowledge & Love

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)

I’ve known a lot of very smart people in my life. I had a friend in high school who got straight A’s even though he never listened in class. He was too busy reading Greek philosophy. I had a physics professor in college who knew 7 languages (including Sanskrit). I had a professor in seminary who not only taught theology, but had a thriving law practice.

As smart as these people were and as much as I admired them, they did not have as much as an impact on my life as people who simply shared the love of Christ with me, no matter how worldly wise they were.

St. Thomas Aquinas, who is himself considered perhaps the greatest Christian philosopher in history, put it well --

“Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.”