Boldness: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Ephesians 6:19-20

“Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.”

As we know, one of the key tasks of any human ambassador is to give a message. We often think of the messages as peace-bearers and treaty agreements. But sometimes the messages are words of warning as well.  Sometimes given in silence, and sometimes in words. Sometimes for good, and sometimes for power.

One silent common thread in crime dramas is when henchmen are told to “deliver a message” and the recipient is badly beaten.  Man’s solution.

And an opposite message of love is given any time a parent embraces a sobbing child in silence. God’s offer.

Jesus does not sugarcoat His words to His disciples and to His listeners, both of whom often do not understand or take affront. Yet He speaks the truth in love regardless of the consequences to Him personally, or opinions of others. He speaks them in mercy: words and actions towards life and healing and restoration. As a gift of life.

“I must speak,” Paul says, already knowing well the physical consequences of prisons and whippings. We already know the possible verbal consequences of ridicule and condemnation. And yet, without messages of truth, we cannot share hope.

Lord, please forgive us our timidity, and give us words in Your Spirit to share Your messages boldly in silence and in speech.

Psalm of Worship: Isaiah 55:13

“Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

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Reflection: Silence: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     What comfort does it give you to know that you can come to prayer upset and angry alongside with penitent and grateful?

2.     Are you willing to let God change any of your prayers into His purpose when the outcome may not be what you hoped for?

3.     In what ways does His mercy affect the consequences you may deserve from another’s prayers towards you?

Share: What seemingly impossible prayer have you seen answered?

Silence: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Revelation 8: 1-4

“Another angel with a golden censer came and stood at the altar; he was given a great quantity of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that is before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.”

First silence in heaven—holy awe. Then astonishment for us.

Our ragged, jagged, selfish, consumed, grief stricken, angry, penitent, robotic, hopeless, prideful, generic, confused, desperate prayers are accepted from each heart.  Acknowledged—Affirmed.

Then purified by grace.

Holy grace. Holy heart.

Taking our sin filled gasps and mingling them with sanctification.

Holy voice. Holy purpose.

Transforming them into possibilities.

Our bent, broken, hearts and lives and worries and battles, are acknowledged, taken seriously, and purified from false motives and faulty consequences.

To be answered in love’s authority.

Psalm of Worship: Isaiah 55: 3

“Incline your ear, and come to me, listen, so that you may live.

I will make with you an everlasting covenant,

my steadfast, sure love for David.”

Reflection Wanderers: Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Wanderers Questions

1.     How would you cope with silence from God over a period of years? Or have you?

2.     Do you find your strength in reading Scripture? What promises sustain you during season of trial?

3.     Would you be willing to live in caves for Jesus? What might a cave look like in today’s world?

Share: Have you ever had to run from danger? Were you able to trust God in the midst of it? How?

Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Clatter

There is a proverb somewhere

that says even a fool appears

wise if he does not speak.

Yet silence has hidden

away in our world of

continuous sound: communication

we say. Advanced technology

at the push of a key;

send, delete, fax, text,

instant access requiring

instant response. React.

No time to hear

what is being actually said,

no time—to recognize fools.

Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     How much do you think external noise interferes with our soul thinking?

2.     What noise is easy for you to ignore? Why

3.     When do conversations around you make it impossible to focus?

4.     Do you think you need more silence in your life? Why or why not?

Share: Do you seek out silence or does it make you uncomfortable?

Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Job 13:5, “If you would only keep silent, that would be your wisdom!”

I heard a story once that Susanna Wesley, mother of nineteen children, would pull her apron over her head when she wanted to pray.  And her children knew not to disturb her in her quiet place.

Most of us have more opportunities to find corners or methods of solitude for reflection and prayers, yet for me sometimes the quiet instigates the clamor. I talk my prayers instead of keeping silent. When another is sharing a problem I want to jump in with a solution, instead of listening with support and comfort.

One friend could not bear a silent house so would keep a tv or radio on, set at barely a murmur, because she didn’t want to be distracted from her projects, but complete silence made it impossible for her to be think clearly.

Or how often do we turn up volume to tune out other noises that interfere with our own personal noise? We seem to need to fill quiet pauses with conversation, to cover over silence with any words—regardless how empty they might be.

“Where shall the word be found, where will the word

Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence...”

― T.S. Eliot, Ash Wednesday

Lord, please quiet our tumult and our tension, and teach us to be still. Quiet enough to hear Your answers to the prayers we clamor at You. At peace enough to be willing to wait for wisdom instead of fretting into foolishness. Teach us to be wise.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 62: 1-2

“My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation,

My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.”

Kingdom Manna

Yoke

Mark 4:11, And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables;”

Secrets. Whispered murmurings. Hidden knowledge. Confidences. Entrusted to family, close friends, familiar associates.

Waiting for the right time or right motives to be shared. Kept in silence that a surprise not be accidentally spilt. Kept in the open with all aware except the uninitiated.

Seekers ask questions, probe clues, and work the information like pieces in a puzzle. Joyous when formed into a whole. Doubts evaporate. Confusion makes sense. Satisfied accomplishment for a mystery revealed.

When You chose to share Your secrets Lord, You planted Your words for all mankind. Earth and sky and sea proclaim You. Truth and love and justice describe You. Jesus mirrors You.

Stories share You. From ancient days to future possibilities. Available. Speak Your words within me too, I pray, that I may hear Your truths with Your language. May I be committed to search and to whisper prayers. To understand Your parables. To listen to Your voice.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 78:2

I will open my mouth in a parable;

I will utter dark sayings from of old,

Kingdom Manna

Hour

Luke 17:21, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There is it!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.

Quickly we follow the magician’s movements, eager to catch his secrets. As the object vanishes we are sure we know the hiding place. There. A groan. He has successfully masked the signs.

Diligently Israel watched through the centuries, eager to discern Messiah’s time. With study and prayer and scripture, leaders and people together knew the signposts. Now. A sigh. God’s silence weighed heavily.

Quietly Jesus moved among them, eager to share God’s love. Visible representation of all the promises. Here! A call. Unrecognized, unnoticed, He did not fit their symbols.

Daily I look to discover God’s counsel, eager to prepare my day. With schedule and plans and projects, I present a litany. Stop. A pause. Whose signals have I followed?

Lord, You do not hide Yourself. You disclose Yourself in stars and seas and seasons. And although I trust and depend on Your physical realm, I forget to follow Your spiritual guideposts. And I try to make my own magic. Instead may I recognize Your kingdom.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 145:13

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.