Streams of Living Water
Deep Pools of Prayer
Ecclesiastes 5:1-7; 1 John 4:16-21
October 31, 2004
Mark Eberly
Our fourth stream or tradition in the flow of the Holy Spirit’s river is the prayer-filled life or the contemplative tradition. It is out of this tradition that all the other traditions have their foundation. For it is only by learning to be in God’s presence that we can live the holy life or be filled with the Spirit of God or be empowered to live the compassionate life or even hear what God says through His Word. This is why the title is deep pools of prayer. For it is coming before God to hear the still, small voice of God that we make a connection deep within our souls. Rather than rushing water, the imagery is of a serene quietness.
We heard from Ecclesiastes earlier and going before God without a whole bunch of words or an agenda and just being in God’s presence. The motivation for entering into the presence of God is love, God’s love within us. Turn to 1 John 4:16.
A family went to dine at a restaurant and the six-year-old boy was asked to say the blessing.
As they bowed their heads he said, “God is great. God is good. Thank you for this food. And I would even thank you more, God, if Mom bought us some ice cream after dinner with liberty and justice for all. Amen.”
This brought several chuckles from other customers and also one strong remark from an older woman seated nearby, “That’s what’s wrong with this country. Kids don’t even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why I never!”
Tears welled up in the little boy’s eyes as he exclaimed, “Did I do something wrong? Is God mad at me?”
The mother reassured him that he had done nothing wrong and that he had done a great job as an elderly gentleman walked up and said, “I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer!”
“Really?” asked the little boy.
“Cross my heart,” answered the man and with sly grin nodding toward the woman, “Too bad she never asks for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.”
Of course, mom bought ice cream for everyone. The little boy stared at his ice cream for a moment. Then he slid out of the booth, took his ice cream and placed it in front of the older woman.
With a big smile he told her, “This is for you. Sometimes a little ice cream is good for the soul and my soul is good already.”
Let’s read 1 John 4:16-21.
John is saying that it is our love for God the drives to seek out His presence. And in turn it is His love within us that drives us to love one another.
Jesus sets the model for us, as He would often withdraw into lonely places to spend time with God. We often call this prayer but in reality this is worship and prayer combined.
Now here is the key to the prayer-filled life. Are you ready? Somebody tell me that you are ready. Are you ready?
Prayer Is Not an Important Thing.
Bet you didn’t know that. How many of you thought differently? It’s not an important thing.
Prayer Is Essential.
It is the primary thing. Without it nothing happens. Without it nothing matters. If we are not expressing our love for God to God in prayer and worship then we do not have love and everything that we say and do is like a clanging gong.
I love what Richard Foster says in his book Streams of Living Water about the prayer-filled life. It is “the steady gaze of the soul upon the God who loves us.” That’s rich. That’s powerful! The steady gave of the soul upon the God who loves us.
Let me share with you some of the characteristics of the prayer-filled life.
Characteristics of the Prayer-Filled Life
a. Love.
Through time and experience we sense a deepening love for God. It becomes not something that we have done or that we can cross off our spiritual checklist. It is a gift. A gift of grace that we feel so unworthy to have received. In these times of communion with God, one feels complete.
At first we may experience a great deal of fluctuation – hot & cold, high & low. However, if we persist and diligent seek out times of solitude and community expressions of prayer and worship, our love grows deeper, stronger, and more steady.
b. Peace.
It is during these times that we know a peace that we can’t explain. It passes understanding. It is not due to the absence of worry but rather due to His holy Presence. In the beginning, this peace may be interrupted by multitudes of distractions but as we discipline and train ourselves, we learn to focus on God and quiet the clatter of our noisy hearts.
c. Delight.
These are not dreaded times nor something that we feel that we dutifully must due. At first you may have to discipline or train yourself but eventually the practice should deepen so that you thirst for more of God and desire a deeper experience and you find a true, deep joy in the Lord.
The problem that many people have is that they never learn to experience the deep communion love of God. They struggle with having a “quiet time.” At first you might because you must train yourself to get into the habit but you must look beyond habit to the relationship. Might I suggest that if you have trouble with this then there is trouble at the heart of your love relationship with God?
When I read that passage in 1 John, I get the impression of a person that loves to be with God. John can’t wait to be with God and he can’t wait until he will some day be perfectly in His presence. He doesn’t fear and he doesn’t worry. There is no struggle. There is confidence because God’s love draws him close. There is sweet delight in God.
d. Emptiness.
At the moment of loving delight, we also experience a contradiction of an intense longing, yearning, burning, searching and not finding. There is the sense of I want more but not too much. The more I draw closer and the more love that I sense, the more empty that I feel. We don’t have words to say or express it. So we just stand in awe of the greatness of God’s love. Richard Foster calls is a dissatisfied satisfaction. I want more of God’s love. More love, more power. It is to know that I am small and insignificant in the scheme of life.
e. Fire.
This is the steady, flaming passion. Anything that causes disobedience or separation from God becomes extremely painful. Where we used to not notice when God’s name is used as a curse, now it is like a knife deep in our heart. We welcome the purifying fire of God’s love that burns out our stubbornness, all hate, and pride even though it hurts, we have experienced the wonder of coming through the fire a changed person.
This is the desperation or earnestness of David who said, “Oh God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek you.” I am desperately for you. I am lost without you.
A song by Tome Wuest called Fuel says, “You are the fuel our spirits burn, the oil, the light, the flame, the fire, we are burning. You are the faith, the hope, the love, the peace, the joy, the life, the One, we are yearning. Yes, we are burning. Yes, we yearning. We are longing for Thee.”
f. Wisdom.
We are filled with “the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14). This is the inflowing of God Himself. God reveals Himself and His ways.
g. Transformation.
God captures us. First our hearts and will, and then the mind, imagination, and the passions. We become more and more like Christ. We take on His habits, feelings, hopes, faith, and love.
The prayer-filled life is not an important thing. It is the only thing.
Can you get a glimpse of this? Does it awaken anything in you? Do you want more? How badly? If there is one word that describes how God is moving in the emerging generation and what God is doing within our hearts, it would be desperation. We live in a time in which our world is being destroyed. The ozone. The environment. Terrorists. Wars. Famine. Aids. Addictions. Social Security. Healthcare. Government spending. Big business oppression. Poverty. We can make a difference? Not on our own, we can’t. And those who have come to know The Famous One, they have come to know a desperation for God. We are desperate for God to do the impossible because we sure can’t fix the mess that we inherited.
The prayer-filled life is the only place we have left to turn. But there are dangers to watch out for.
Perils of the Prayer-Filled Life
1. Compartmentalization.
We can easily separate our spiritual walk from the ordinary life. In fact, as Jesus withdrew to lonely places, many have gotten lost in the example by withdrawing and not coming back. Escapism.
We need to insist that it is right in the middle of everyday life (dirty diapers, irate customers, dirty floors, PTA meetings, and broken machinery) is where prayer and intimacy with God needs to be developed. It is good to get away for a few days to be alone with God at Whitehall or wherever but our true holy place should be at our office or workbench, at the playground with the kids, or in the sanctuary of our home.
2. Fanaticism.
We all need to train in the spiritual life but there have been many who have been spiritual gluttons. We need to learn the purpose of the disciplines. For example, fasting is not to be done for fasting sake but to learn to feast on God.
While you and I are probably not tempted to excesses in this arena, it has been a problem in the past. St. Ciaran mixed his bread with sand. St. Kevin remained in a standing posture for seven years. St. Ite caused his body to be eaten by beetles.
In our day, cults are the manifestation. Jim Jones and countless others.
3. Anti-Intellectualism.
Mysticism is often a word that describes some of the practices of a prayer-filled life. Anti-intellectualism happens when we divorce our seeking after God with solid theology. When we separate our head and heart, we are headed for trouble. Some people have so focused on the experience or the feeling of God’s presence that they have, well, fallen into just plain goofy practices.
A cold intellectual faith is wrong but so is a faith that is devoid of right reason. We love God with both the mind and the heart. Lastly:
4. Isolation.
It is easy to focus so much on my personal relationship and experience of God that I neglect the community of faith. In fact, it is often isolation that leads to fanaticism. Community provides nurturing accountability. It provides a connection.
In our day and age where many believe in not just a personal relationship with Christ but an individual relationship, we need to heed this warning!
So what can I do to cultivate this stream in my life?
Cultivating the Prayer-Filled Life
• Solitude.
Learning to be alone with God is important. But this doesn’t just mean going on retreats to Whitehall. These are great opportunities but be creative as well so that you are not starved until you schedule one of these times.
Limit your speaking for a day and concentrate on listening. See what you can learn. Sit at a mall or Wal-Mart and watch people carefully. Reflect on what you see. For one month, leave your car radio off and make your commute a mini-retreat. Get up at 2:00 am, light a candle to remind you of Christ’s presence, and listen to the sounds of night. Take a pre-dawn walk and listen to the sounds of an awakening world. Take a walk at McConnell’s Mill while you watch and listen to the river. Come tomorrow to the church to pray for the election. Come and spend an hour or two with God.
• Pray Scripture.
Prayerful reading and meditation of Scripture is perhaps one of the greatest ways that I know of turning our hearts and minds to God. We slowly. Memorize phrases even. Pause on specific words. Reflect on them. Talk to God. Praise God with that phrase.
• Simplify.
Learn to do nothing. Learn to relax. Relaxation techniques in prayer are wonderful. Learn centering prayer – where you come to God to do nothing but be in His presence. Take a nap. Just hang out. Talk a walk not for exercise but to enjoy the moment. Listen to nature not to hear a message but just simply enjoy it and wonder at God’s creation.
Sit down and do nothing. For some of us that will last maybe all of ten seconds. Take a bath instead of shower. See how many times you can skip a rock. Go fishing with one pole. I have known some fishermen that where perpetually busy doing something with their bait or a pole or a hook or a lure.
If you have mate, sit on the porch and swing. Just enjoy being in the company of the other person. Lastly:
• Learn From the Masters.
Read some of the great material from some of the masters of the prayer-filled life. Frank Laubach. Thomas Merton. John of the Cross. George Mueller. In our day, Henry Blackaby or Jim Cymbala or Peter Wagner or Richard Foster.
These are just a few ideas. This sermon would be incomplete without spending some time before the Lord. It is very simple. For the next few minutes, quiet your heart and spirit before God. Reach out with your heart and soul to touch the presence of the Holy Spirit. Breathe deeply and relax in the love of God. If you have a hard time concentrating, imagine yourself on warm, sunny beach. Imagine that rays of warm sunshine are actually God’s love washing over you, touching your soul. Forget about the rest of the day for just a moment. This is the Lord’s Day so focus on Him.
