Things that stuck out. page 18. "God is always present with us--we know that theologically--but there are times when he withdraws our consciousness of his presence." I identified with praying and feeling as if my words were empty, "nothing helps" I also liked the stripping of "exterior" and "interior" results. I feel this is something I have been experiencing as well.
one question I had comes on page 19 "darkness is a definite experience of prayer. It is to be expected, even embraced." Is Foster speaking of the despair of not feeling the Lord? and if so, is that truly an aspect of prayer? or really of our hearts? I don't know if that makes sense.
My other question is at the bottom of page 19. Foster makes the statement "God grants us perfect freedom because he desires creatures who freely choose to be in relationship with him." Since I believe that we are elected by God to be saved, I have trouble with this statement. what did you all think? I will write more this week.
Lauren
5 comments:
Lauren, I am with you on this one. Chapter 2 really resonated with me too! It is something that we all go through and it is reassuring to realize that we are not alone.
The ironic thing about my own experience is that at the time that you would think that I would feel the most deserted from God (waking up from my 2 1/2 week nap) is when I felt the Lord's presence the most. But later on down the road when I begin to feel better physically is when I feel the most detached. I feel like I needed the Lord a great deal during the beginning of all of my major health problems, But I know I need him just as much now too. It is strange how we go through droughts in prayer.
I really enjoyed his examples too about 'interior' and 'exterior'. As far as the 'exterior', I found myself nodding in agreement a lot :) There seems to be a purifying action that has the effect of filtering the unnecessary desires of the heart and what impresses us, as Foster says.
I also find myself questioning my motives so much lately. Even with seemingly innocent things I will question whether my motives are pure or not. I'm not sure if this is the Lord working in my heart or what it is.
As far as your question, Lauren, about pg. 19, I was a little confused too. I'm not sure if he is talking about the darkness coming from our hearts, but my guess is that he is trying to say that we have two options when we feel darkness in prayer: further separate ourselves from God, or trust in Him that He is always there. I think that is what he means by saying that we should "embrace" the darkness in prayer, but I am reading into that a lot! lol.
As for your other question, I'm not even going to touch that one! :) I do have a question relating to that though. On the top of page 20 Foster says, "Through the Prayer of the Forsaken we are learning to give to God the same freedom." I was fascinated by this statement. I had never thought of it in this way. What do you all think???
PJ
I'm glad that you guys were encouraged by Chapter Two. Foster is certainy right on target when he discusses the way in which all Christians will, at some point in their lives, view the metaphor of the desert as an apt description of the way they feel about God. This connects back to what we discussed last week - the idea that perseverance through these deserts is essential in the lives of believers.
In regards to how humans are enabled to persevere, I would certainly differ with Foster in my theology. Foster is a well-known Quaker, so I went ahead and read up on Quaker theology because I thought it might help me to understand some of the presuppositions from which Foster's ideas stem. If anyone else would like to have a quick brush-up on what Quakers believe, the following website was helpful: http://emes.quaker.eu.org/documents/files/meeting-the-spirit.html.
Hope that helps!
Thanks for the website! It was helpful :)
Hey everyone, sorry I'm late with getting involved in the posts. I'm new to the blogging experience. I am going to try to catch up by talking about both chapters.
I can't remember if I received this from chapter one or from somewhere else but I have been really focusing on asking myself, "Am I trying to pray in a way that I'm telling God what I think He wants to hear, or am I telling Him exactly what I'm feeling even if it's frustration." If I can't get personal with God then what kind of relationship do I have? Even if it's confessing sin. I find myself saying a blanket prayer instead of repenting specifically. I sin specifically why can't I confess specifically?
I think everyone can relate to chapter 2 and going through dry spells. I think it is extremely important to remember the times when God was there and answered prayer and strengthened our faith. If we can't remember those times then it's going to be easy to slip away, especially without fellowship with other believers. I think about Moses and how he went up the mountain to talk with God. He was only gone forty days and the people were already worshipping a hand made, gold calf. After they experienced numerous miracles from God personally. ONLY FORTY DAYS! Then God gave me a spiritual uppercut to my face. I just came back from a 15 month deployment in Iraq where God showed me some amazing things. I haven't even been back three weeks and I'm getting distracted by the world, putting things before God. When God is answering prayer remember it, hang on to it, feast on it because there will be times of famine when you'll need it. Lastly, I just want to say that through my experience, there is always a quiet before a storm. Don't be discouraged from times of silence but be excited because something huge is coming.
-Luke-
SUCH a great post, Luke! Your point about the Israelites forgetting God in such a short time is definitely pertinent to the discussion. I also like your point about confessing sins specifically. It's sometimes so difficult to do that, and yet it honors the Lord so much. Thanks so much for your comments!
Post a Comment