Prayer for instance. I loved talking to God about all sorts of things as a teenager but I never knew that that was prayer. I thought prayer was what Ministers in churches did- prayers that had “Thee” and “Thou” and sounded like clever poems. From watching church people I thought that prayer was so hard that you needed to use written prayers composed by someone who had slaved for hours over a typewriter to distil a beautiful ode to the Lord.

Little did I know that God prefers one rough but honest word from the heart than a thousand beautiful words borrowed from somebody else who you consider more worthy. I had to learn that God cherished my words.

As the years went by, I learnt that God’s power and blessing are essential for life, Christian service, those in crisis and the wellbeing of the nation. This is a belief I hold to this day. However, I was shown examples of great people of faith who got up at 5am in the morning and prayed through great prayer lists of people and situations around them on a regular basis over a month. Prayer was beginning to be a bit of a burden with standards set as high as that. In fact the prayer lists became so long that I began to feel relief when I was too busy to have time to pray!

But in later years I have relearnt something I knew when young; some of the best prayer happens when you sit silently in the presence of God, read some of his Word, and enjoy the beauty of his Creation in your garden or elsewhere. It is the presence of God that helps me get my priorities right and cherish the things I should be cherishing in life. I then face the day ready to make good choices with my inner compass intact.
I don’t have to hear any words from God or even sense the Holy Spirit guiding me in any particular way for my life to be put back on the straight and narrow.

All it takes is time with God. Bible, silence, rest in Him.

This is a different kind of praying. It is not the only kind. And I suggest that you have different kinds of prayer on different days because all the different kinds are needed.

But prayer should be a joy that refreshes the soul even if it sometimes involves tears, yearning, confession, and pleading for other’s wellbeing.

Jesus needed this different kind of prayer. In our reading to today he finds himself overwhelmed by the success of his healing ministry. But how much time should he give this ministry and how much should he give to teaching people? And should he stay in one spot and let them come to him or should he move around?

So this is what Jesus did (at 5am in the morning!)
“ 35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he travelled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.” Mark 1 NIV

Simon coudn’t understand why Jesus would be praying while things were going so successfully. He probably needed some time with God so that he could get in touch with the “inner compass” and realise that there was something not right about this success that they were having- that it was muzzling Jesus’ preaching ministry.

What about you? Have you tried a different kind of prayer? Have you experienced the very undramatic but deep effects?

Give it a go a couple of times a week for 15 minutes (or longer!) in the two months leading up to Easter (8 April). You will sense the difference in you.

Graeme

It is Matthew who tells the story of the wise men and Luke who tell of the shepherds. They are completely different stories told for very different reasons. Matthew is trying to demonstrate that Jesus is the fulfilment of Old Testament prophesy and the hopes of God’s people. Luke wants us to know that Jesus comes as the saviour of the world. For him Jesus comes to call and to save everyone.

It is interesting that at the end of Matthew’s story the wise men go home secretly to protect the child from Herod, while in Luke the shepherds leave, telling everyone what they have seen and heard. I think that largely that is the point of his story. When people see something that is surprising the natural response is to tell someone, if not everyone they meet.

This year Christmas Day had one surprising event that everyone is talking about. How did you and your home cope with the hail and the rain? Everyone has a story to tell and part of our dealing with the surprise and the shock, is to tell it.

For most of us there are presents on Christmas Day which either surprise us with joy or disappointment and we either show and tell everyone, or we complain to those very, very close to us. In either case the surprise leads to telling.

The storm was so overwhelming that it may have diminished all other surprises, but Christmas this year had its own set of satisfying and surprising events. Let’s not let other things cause us to forget to share that which has deeper meaning for us.

Wasn’t Christmas Eve on the lawn fantastic! It was a real family Christmas event with the true meaning of Christmas well expressed.

Those who were at the 11pm service reflected on the birth of Jesus in an Australian Farming context. Not as exciting as the earlier event, but quite meaningful, and it was great to share communion in that atmosphere.

And then there was Christmas morning. An overflowing building and a great celebration of the surprising birth of Jesus.

There were other things I was surprised by over this Christmas as well. What about you? Maybe you could take the opportunity to share them with me or someone else.

I sometimes wonder why we are quick to share what is happening in our families, or the dramas around the workplace, or what is happening at the cricket (always surprising), or the weather, but are more reluctant to tell someone that we really enjoyed going to church at Christmas, or that we saw God’s love at work, or that God gave us a real sense of his presence, even when these experiences were just as surprising.
Maybe this could be something we work on in 2012; to seek ways to naturally include God’s surprising actions in our lives, into our conversations more often.