Category Archives: Prayer

Guidance As We Pray

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Editor’s note: These guides to prayer were first published in May 2023 in advance of the General Assembly.

God’s will be done.

 
“Your will be done,” we pray. We are prone to saying it by rote, week in and week out, without even thinking. For God’s will to have any chance of being heard and heeded, submission is vital. When we pray for God’s will to be done, it means that we are willing to see it, accept it, and then submit to it, even when it’s contrary to our own thinking or the ways of our world. I wonder to what extent the average, well-meaning Christ follower is acutely cognizant of those things.

Clearly, we all have work to do.

Let’s pray with a renewed vow to seek the holy and perfect will of God the Father in all that we do. Truly powerful prayer includes the ability to forgive one another. “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” (James 5:16)

Discernment.

 
Satan is real and loves to attack the church and its leaders. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and is the master of lies and deception. We must be wary. Discernment is the process of determining whether someone is acting in God’s will – or not. It’s a challenge. Believers have been deceived.

As we pray, we are first invited to adopt a spirit of humility. Life is not about us. Next, we are called to submit the heart, mind, and spirit to the Lord. Do it early and often. Regularly check the pride meter and bring yourself down if needed. Add a dash of humility. Keep asking the Lord to speak and to have ears to hear and eyes to see. Watch for the fruit of the Holy Spirit as evidence of God’s hands at work. Look for the behaviours of those who follow the desire of their sinful nature.

Spiritual Protection.

 
The desires of our sinful nature are powerful. We have limited ability to resist. That’s why we see so much in the way of “sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties” and other sins like these (Galatians 5:19-21). We are called, as follows of Christ, to be better. First, to be aware of our sinful nature. Second, to seek spiritual assistance – because we are powerless on our own. We are invited in Ephesians 6:13 to “put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.”

People who are obedient to the Lord are a target of the enemy and a potential spiritual battleground. We seek the peace of Christ, Who wants us to be One with Him.

Fresh fruit.

 
And we mean it. Nothing withered or past its prime. That’s not a comment on our outer conditions. We can be bruised and wrinkled. But that’s physical. When we talk about fruit, it’s the spiritual.

The fruit of the Spirit are described in Galatians 5. When we refuse to follow the desires of our sinful nature and choose to submit to the Spirit of Christ, we begin a life-long process of sanctification. Our progress is demonstrated by the fruit produced in our lives.

“The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)

If there are any sour grapes, they aren’t from God.

An assembly of God’s people can be very good when kindred souls united in Christ seek His pure and perfect way. But it’s more likely that we will coexist with people who have a different idea of the Gospel. It’s not always easy to be at peace. But we must endeavour to try, otherwise Satan will take advantage of the discord and provide all sorts of temptation and disruption.

We seek the peace of Christ, who wants us to be One with Him. We are invited to wear our spiritual armour, to approach one another with unconditional love. And when we are at odds with one another, may we be willing and able to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us.

We turn to God in prayer

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As I am writing this piece, General Assembly has just finished. I spent the time before, during and after the sederunts praying for the moderator, the commissioners, the clerks, the help desk people and the technology. Having been a commissioner last year, I knew what a challenge everyone would face and how important it was to be covered in prayer.

We in orthodoxy have felt the need to be tough this last year with the way things are going in the PCC. And the future doesn’t look any easier. So we turn to God in prayer realizing that nothing that happens is a surprise to God and that He has a plan and it will be fulfilled.

Our Lord spent much time in prayer (Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16), therefore it behooves us to spend much time in prayer.

After this GA, as after the last one, we may be asking God, “Why?” The prophets before us asked why. Job asked why. “Why have you made me your target?” (Job 7:20). David asked why. “Why, O Lord do you stand far off? Why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 10:1). Jeremiah asked why. “O hope of Israel, its Saviour in times of distress, why are you like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays only a night?” (Jeremiah 14:8).

In order to experience God’s care in the midst of affliction, we must call out to Him in faith and persistent prayer. It is through prayer and trusting in Him that we experience God’s peace. We receive strength from the Lord, and God’s mercy, grace, and help in time of need. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Be reassured my friends: God is on the throne, He is in control. Our job is to pray continually and seek His face.

Inspiration via Orthodox Prayer

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When I was asked to contribute a reflection on an ancient prayer, all I had to do was look up from my desk, and there was the answer – an Orthodox Prayer based upon the Prayer of St. Ioannikios, as well as the traditional and ancient Troparia to the Holy Trinity. I had printed out the prayer many years ago, and pasted it to a bookshelf where I could easily see and read it from my office chair. I often start my day with it, or turn to it when stressed or overwhelmed. The Orthodox prayer cycle is one in which I take considerable comfort. So much of it is directed to God, in the ageless declarations of the praise of God’s attributes and being.

My introduction to Orthodox spirituality came from a prof at Queen’s Theological College, Father Basil Zion, a priest within the Orthodox Church of America, who was one of the advisors on my master’s thesis, which had to do with the Greek Fathers in Calvin’s Institutes. Father Basil helped me discover and appreciate the ancient texts and worship formats, many of which, such as the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, are still in regular use today.

My studies in the Patristics have both grounded me and nourished me. I also came to appreciate and enjoy Orthodox Worship Music, both in ancient form and in the more recent compositions by Rachmaninov and Grechaninov (“recent” in Orthodox terms). Rachmaninov’s “Vespers” (also known as the All Night Vigil) and Grechaninov’s “Passion Week” are deeply beautiful and a refuge for me in the midst of life’s storms and struggles. Beauty of architecture, music and word are highly prized in Orthodox worship, and these compositions reflect that priority. Among many wonderful recordings, I can recommend Charles Bruffy’s on the Chandos label for sheer beauty, as well as the Patram Choir recordings for deep spirituality.

The Prayer of St. Ioannikios which opens the prayer I have chosen, is attributed to Ioannikios, a shepherd turned warrior turned monk, based on Mount Olympus, but travelling and bringing blessing wider afield. His massive frame was offset by his humility and meekness, and his gifts were widely cherished. He was said to intone, “The Father is my hope; the Son is my refuge; the Holy Spirit is my protector; O All-holy Trinity, glory to You,” as a refrain between his recitation of the Psalms.

The Troparia is most often chanted or sung in a public service of worship, or prayed aloud when in private. The “metanias” are indications to bow down in worship, most often while crossing yourself. We Presbyterians aren’t much for crossing or for bowing – and certainly not for prostrating ourselves during worship! – but in the Orthodox mindset, worship involves the whole body, not just the mind and mouth. A “metania” is a “low earth bow,” which is a “lighter” version of the full-floor kneel or prostration. I confess that I tend to use this prayer while seated, but when attending Orthodox worship, as I do when in Jerusalem at Armenian Cathedral of St. James, I try to blend in, despite my tender knees and rigid Presbyterian spine.

I encourage you to find inspiration in Orthodox spiritual practice, particularly the prayers and the music. A nice introduction to Orthodox theology and practice can be found in Burgess, John P., “Encounters with Orthodoxy: How Protestant Churches Can Reform Themselves Again.” I haven’t time to get into the use of icons in personal devotion; perhaps in a future article I’ll detail how a group of PEI Presbyterians found their initial distaste of icons to flower into a deep appreciation during a pilgrimage I led to Meteora! Until then,

“The Father is my hope; the Son is my refuge; the Holy Spirit is my protector; O All-holy Trinity, glory to You.” Amen.

Prayer of St. Ioannikios and Morning Troparia

The Father is my hope; the Son is my refuge; the Holy Spirit is my protector. O All-holy Trinity, glory to You.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

O heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who art in all places and fillest all things: Treasury of good things and Giver of life: Come and dwell in us and cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O gracious Lord.

All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities. Holy God, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy Name’s sake.

Having arisen from sleep, we fall down before Thee, O Blessed One, and sing to Thee, O Mighty One, the Angelic Hymn: Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O God.

From my bed and sleep Thou hast raised me: O Lord, enlighten my mind and my heart, and open my lips that I may praise Thee, O Holy Trinity: Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O God.

Arising from sleep I thank Thee, O holy Trinity, because of the abundance of Thy goodness and long-suffering Thou wast not wroth with me, slothful and sinful as I am; neither hast Thou destroyed me in my transgressions: but in Thy compassion raised me up as I lay in despair; that at dawn I might sing the glories of Thy Majesty. Do Thou now enlighten the eyes of my understanding, open my mouth to receive Thy words, teach me Thy commandments, help me to do Thy will, and confessing Thee from my heart, singing and praising Thine All-holy Name: of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

O come, let us worship and fall down before God our King. (metania)

O come; let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King and our God. (metania)

O come, let us worship and fall down before the very Christ, our King and our God. (metania)

Amen, amen, amen!

“I believe that the time has come for North American Protestants who care about the Christian faith and the future of the Christian church to take our own journey into an expression of the Christian faith that is foreign to us. Such a journey has to be more than a kind of religious tourism that briefly dabbles in other people’s traditions; rather, we have to immerse ourselves in ideas and practices that are so foreign that they jar us and push us to more honest self-evaluation about where our Reformation traditions got things right or wrong.” — Burgess, John P., Encounters with Orthodoxy: How Protestant Churches Can Reform Themselves Again. Westminster John Knox Press.

— Douglas Rollwage is minister at Zion Presbyterian Church in Charlottetown. He was the Moderator of the 142nd General Assembly in 2016.

Awareness of God’s Presence

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This devotion is one that I shared at a Renewal Fellowship board meeting in March of 2022 and also shared during a midweek service during Lent. During both we looked at Judges 6:11-7:21, reading just the first part of it and referencing other parts of the section of scripture. This is referencing Gideon, who would have lived roughly 3,000 to 3,300 years ago. The scriptures start off with telling us that Gideon was threshing grain in a wine press. He was hiding for fear that the Midianites would come and steal his grain. What happens next is that an angel of the Lord appears. Even though Gideon was living in fear of strangers, he stops what he is doing and goes over to this stranger.

My first point for us is to recognize that even in a time of fear and busyness, Gideon takes time to recognize that the angel of the Lord is present.  Too often when we are busy, we don’t have the awareness to see God’s presence or hear God speaking to us.  It is easy to allow the fear to dictate our responses or our busyness to guide our responses or lack thereof.

The Angel of the Lord greets Gideon by saying “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor” (Judges 6:12b).  Gideon but a verse prior was hiding in a wine press, afraid of thieves and other attackers; he is not looking or sounding like a man of valor who stands up to oppression and injustice. He sounds like a person who is trying to hide, to not be noticed, and here he is being noticed by God. God speaks two truths into Gideon’s life: firstly that God is with him and secondly that Gideon is stronger than he thinks. God sees more of who we are, and definitely the deeper truth of our lives that we are afraid to admit, whether it is one of encouragement or the recognition of sin. We need to take the time to listen to what God has to say to us so that we will be ready to hear where God is sending us and not be overwhelmed by what is laid before us.

In this interaction, while humbled and scared at times, doubting at other times, Gideon is honest with the angel of the Lord. Gideon asks the hard question that many of us struggle with in times of struggle: where are you God?  Gideon’s faith comes through in recognizing that God has been faithful in the past but is wondering why are so many bad things happening to God’s people right now. The answer is not what we would expect, either. The angel of the Lord tells Gideon, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor. . . I will be with you.” (6:14b,16b).

God is commissioning this man, who moments ago was hiding, to go and lead a rebellion against the Midianites. God has heard His peoples’ cry for help and is empowering and leading His people to act.

God did not pick the person who everyone saw and respected or feared.  God picked the person who would listen and be aware of God’s presence to lead God’s people. It was not about following a personality, it was about following God and trusting in Him to deliver His people. Even when we look further into the retelling of this event, Gideon is constantly listening to God’s leading, whether it is to reduce the number of people in the army so they would not mistake their victory by being self-accomplished or when doubts filled the air and God reassured them through their enemies’ own words.

What is it that you are facing, or your church, your culture or society, or the world? Will you have the awareness of God’s presence at work in your life to go and listen to God speak to you?  Will you be honest enough with God to bare your heart and soul before God? Will you trust the redeeming love and power of Jesus enough to follow Him where He is leading you?  When we are aware, when we listen, when we trust, and go where Jesus is leading us, it is not about our limitations, it is about Jesus’ grace being lived out and realized. It is not easy, but living with the dynamic and empowering life of Jesus never is but it is fulfilling.

— Ed Charlton is minister of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Arthur Ont., St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Gordonville Ont., and is a Wellington North Fire Services Chaplain. He is a member of the Renewal Fellowship board.

A Prayer Testimony

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This is a testimony of a couple who for many years, were homeless and travelling around Canada, destitute and struggling with addictions and hopelessness, surviving by living in parks, alleyways under tarps, tents, and receiving handouts in community centres and shelters. They lived “welfare cheque to welfare cheque” and often taking advantage of the compassion of passersby. Frances grew up on the East Coast, and as a young girl had gone to Sunday School class and learned about a God who hears prayers and she “gave her life to Jesus.” Throughout her life, even though it was filled with trouble, she had kept in her heart the knowledge that there was a God Who loves. When life became so destitute, she began to silently pray. Her partner, Richard, did not know but Frances began to notice answers to her silent cries to God. For many years, Frances and Richard continued in their mired, aimless lifestyle. In August 2014, they felt compelled to get on a bus and travel to B.C. They had “wintered” there on the streets many times before. But after travelling a long journey, the bus stopped in the wee hours of the morning in Kenora, Ontario. As they looked out the window, something compelled them “to get off the bus” and go look for breakfast. While they had had “plans” to have travelled on further, they took their one “suitcase” with all their belongings and started walking toward town. They were tired and hungry, but since nothing was open yet, they stopped to rest on the steps of the First Presbyterian Church. As they sat wondering what they would do next, two men walked by them. The gentlemen passed by but then they stopped and turned around, back toward the couple on the cement pad. One of the men approached Richard and Frances, introduced himself and asked about them. After a brief introduction, the man offered to pray for them. Frances welcomed it and Richard replied disbelievingly, “Sure, anything — if it could help.” The man prayed over them and then left. Richard didn’t think much of it from there and shortly after, he and Frances walked on toward the “Hings Corner” where a number of homeless people greeted them, and when asked as to where they might get some help or shelter for the evening, they were kindly pointed to the Jubilee Church and told to ask for Pastor Frank. Frances and Richard knocked on the door and from there, were taken in, given a mattress and eventually a home to live in. From there, they gave their lives to Jesus. In their own words, Richard described: “When we knocked on the door at Jubilee in 2014, we were broken people with addiction, mental illness, and our own issues. We were welcomed, understood, cared for and loved. Not judged. Thank You, Jesus, for Pastor Frank and Yvonne. For their compassion and commitment to the less fortunate.”

Richard and Frances’ “turn around” turned into blessings that have spilled over into the community of Kenora for the past 7 1/2 years, thanking God for His mercy and grace, the miracles and love they experienced and giving all the glory to the Father. Richard and Frances decided to marry and in their life of gratitude to God, they began supporting mission teams, raising money not only for missions from Kenora to Africa and Liberia, but also for the Kenora Fellowship Centre and Jubilee Church through the Coldest Night of the Year annual events. They also began a yearly, very generous Christmas hamper drive, started the Sure-Can Volunteers, organized a team to send relief to the Bearskin Lake Community, and began the Facebook group: “Community Connections.”

— Do you have a prayer testimony? Email us at renewelfellowshipppcc@gmail.com

Prayer and Care in a Divided World

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As we work towards the renewal and revival of the church in accordance with Biblical orthodoxy, The Renewal Fellowship is focusing on two priorities in 2022: prayer and pastoral care. To be effective in those two things, we need to understand our church and the world in which we exist. The following essay is intended to shed light on cultural, political and economic trends in an effort to address our prayer and pastoral needs.

What in the world is going on?

Just when the pandemic appears to be over, and a sense of normalcy begins to return, protesters  converge on our nation’s capital and refuse to end their occupation of the streets surrounding Parliament. Key border crossings have been blocked. Similar protests are now erupting in other nations. The federal cabinet grants itself unprecedented powers to intervene.

While it would be nice to dismiss these as the final acts of frustration from the COVID-19 pandemic, I believe they’re part of a larger malaise. Consider that it’s virtually impossible to find someone who does not have a strong opinion about these matters. Try having a calm discussion about this with someone who does not share your opinion. It’s almost impossible.

There’s something deeper going on.

So let’s widen our view.

Canadian politics: The rise of the People’s Party in 2021, whose supporters include many who have never voted, seldom vote, or those who believe the Conservative Party has moved too far towards the political centre. This mirrors the growth of right-wing parties in Europe [1] and in other nations.[2]

U.S. politics: The world’s bastion of democracy elected a non-politician (anti-politician) as president who divided the nation and refused to accept his defeat four years later, resulting in a low-level attempt by a few of his most rabid supporters to overthrow the government. During all of this, the nation was torn apart over the reaction to the killing of an African-American man at the hands of a white police officer.

Culture: The emergence of those who refuse to accept the gender with which they were conceived and born, who create new identities, is tacitly encouraged by the public school system and wider culture.

Faith: The new federal law banning conversion therapy suggests that scriptural orthodoxy is a “myth.”[3] Denominations are continuing to divide themselves over their responses to these issues. And every new poll on faith finds fewer people identify with a particular faith, let alone practice it.[4]

This is just a sampling.

Our world is in the midst of a profound crisis. There is a growing body of thinkers, writers and academics – secular and church alike – who are convinced that the world is in the midst of changes seen only once every two or three generations.

Some observers downplay these issues, saying they’re nothing compared to the ravages of two world wars and a Great Depression which did arguably more damage. We need to grow up, they say. Wars and deprivation did produce more immediate human suffering. But those conflicts all had clear villains. We were united in our desire to go into battle. And we won. The difference with today’s challenges is that in many situations we don’t know who the enemy actually is. And when we are faced with adversaries, we discover to our horror that they are our friends and neighbours.

Lord, show us what we need to know.

I had the honour in December of sitting in on an online conference organized by Wycliffe College where the guest speaker was Ed Stetzer, a professor at Wheaton College and Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center in Chicago. He’s a leading thinker in the field of missiology, the study of mission and how the church might understand secular culture and respond.

Stetzer believes that the world is in the midst of a profound shift, something he calls a “cultural convulsion” which happens every 60 years. (Writer and critic David Brooks calls it a “moral convulsion.”[5]) The theory was proposed by the late Harvard political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, “who noticed that these convulsions seem to hit the United States every 60 years or so: the Revolutionary period of the 1760s and ’70s; the Jacksonian uprising of the 1820s and ’30s; the Progressive Era, which began in the 1890s; and the social-protest movements of the 1960s and early ’70s. These movements share certain features. People feel disgusted by the state of society. Trust in institutions plummets. Moral indignation is widespread. Contempt for established power is intense.”[6]

While those eras appear to be centred on America, that nation does not operate in a vacuum. The French Revolution was happening at the same time as the American separation from Britain. Similar social and democratic reforms took place in Canada and in Western Europe during these periods.

Assuming the 60-year theory holds, we now find ourselves on the cusp, or in the midst of the next convulsion, with its own smorgasbord of troubles. In Stetzer’s view, we may see COVID-19 as the main issue, but he believes it’s only one of many forces. There are actually six pandemics going on – only one is associated with a virus. Stetzer labels each with a ‘D’ – Disease, Distrust of authority, Damage from technology, Disorientation or Disconnect from identity, Disruption to mental health and Division in the church.

I took his framework and filled it out.

  1. Disease. COVID-19 hit like a wave and no health authority was completely prepared. Authorities reacted with what they knew at the time, which was limited. Measures varied from place to place. We adapted as our knowledge grew. All lives were affected. We experienced suspension of liberties, mandates and limitations on movement.
  2. Distrust of authority. Pandemic regulations have provided fresh fodder for libertarians. A significant minority are skeptical of vaccine safety; the fact that this group includes nurses and people of profound faith does not escape my attention. Throughout the pandemic, announcements and rules were often changed. Leaders and elites were found to ignore travel restrictions. And when protests emerged after the George Floyd murder, the same government leaders who were admonishing people for gathering in groups were participating (and being photographed) in massive gatherings of solidarity for justice.
  3. Damage from technology. We are connected online like never before. But we are disconnected. Picture couples in a restaurant and families at the dinner table each buried in their devices. There’s the inability to behave ourselves online. Social media is an emotional hothouse. It’s not uncommon to see friends sign out for a period of time, making a solemn declarative post about the need to sign off for a time: there’s only so much vitriol a person can take. When I share or post on a hot-button issue, I’m much more likely to get responses. A recent share of an inconsequential Tweet from a rising politician slamming the leadership of the prime minister produced 23 reactions and 41 comments, some of which produced long tangents dimly connected to the original topic. Compare that with the Bible verse that really spoke to me one morning back in late October. I felt a Holy Spirit nudge to shout it in a mountain top post. It was Psalm 57:11 – “Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.” And yet only six reactions and a single comment. (“Amen” to you also, sir.) Social media has opened vast amounts of knowledge and platforms for sharing and debate like never seen in human history. Are we any smarter? Is our discourse any better? Is the world a better place?
  4. Disorientation or Disconnect from identity. Gender confusion and dysphoria is a perfect example. “People aren’t sure who they are,” Stetzer says. “This has multiple, multiple ramifications. Because when we hear identity in today’s conversation, gender identity, we’re seeing the conversation about gender dysphoria and gender identity in ways that we haven’t talked about in depth and just in ways we never expected to accelerate so quickly, but it’s more than just that, it’s the rise of nationalism. Nationalism is on the rise, all over.”
  5. Disruption to mental health. The mental health implications of the last few years will be generational. In Ontario, for example, a recent survey found one in four Ontario residents reached for mental health support last year – a significant increase from 17 per cent the year before.[7]
  6. Division in the church. What’s happening here in the PCC is just one small example of what’s ripping apart other denominations and congregations. Deeply-held opinions on the issues of our times are causing ruptures in evangelicalism.[8]

Stetzer predicts that the pandemic will end. I hope so. But the cultural convulsions will continue and the divisions will deepen. “The vitriol, in a way that has not happened since the 1960s, is seeping into churches and/or the denominations,” he said.

Churches are hardly monastic. We are fully integrated into our geographic and secular political, social, and economic systems. Jesus talked about His followers being different; He described it in John 17 as “belonging.”

“I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.” John 17:15-19, NLT

To whom we belong and to whom we answer is clear: it’s our God in Three Persons.

From that, I propose three questions.

How do we survive in (or adapt to) this culture? We saw a lightning-fast response from congregational leaders in the early weeks of the pandemic, scrambling to continue worship online. Most of us accept that some form of hybrid congregation will become a permanent feature of church life: there will be those who participate in person and those who take part online, with a migration back and forth between the two groups. Survival is a deeper issue. In the face of declining attendance and revenue, we simply have to make use of whatever the Lord has provided. It could mean selling the real estate and operating out of our homes and coffee shops. It could also mean more bivocational ministry.

A second question: How do we respond to the hot issues of the day? Take the pandemic measures and vaccination mandates for example. Some churches marched in line with health authorities, closing and reopening only when allowed, then mandating vaccination for in-person attendance. They were among those voicing support for mandatory vaccinations, citing the Christlike command to care for the vulnerable, be our brother’s keeper and Paul’s command to submit to government authority.  Other churches brazenly defied restrictions and continued to gather in person, unmasked and unvaccinated in compliance with the divine command to refuse to allow anything to get in the way of worship. To them, it’s a fight for religious freedom and rights: if restaurants and liquor stores can remain open, so should we. Many churches find themselves somewhere between those two extremes.

Then there’s politics. The Ottawa and border protesters have plenty of church support – some right on the front lines. There are also many believers who see it as insurrection. One minister told me he’d have no problem if the military removed them by force.

With mental health, identity, technology, and culture, we can ask how to respond as the hands and feet of Christ. There are ways.

Regarding our inability to have civilized conversations over matters of public interest, the church could act as a model. We’d have to get our own house in order first. The Presbyterian Church of ours is deeply divided over how we view Scripture and see the role of the church – is our primary focus to spread the Gospel word for salvation or should we be focused on justice? I don’t believe we have ever had a concerted effort to have a national discussion on HOW to co-exist. Perhaps we need to start in our congregations and presbyteries. Anywhere.

But I wonder if a more important question might be: How do we become renewed via all these cultural shifts? Consider that the last “convulsions” birthed something new and lasting. The 1960s produced amazing music which had a lasting effect on the church. The impact of contemporary Christian music is powerful. Out of the hippie culture came the “Jesus movement.” Styles of worship and liturgy changed. We were no longer compelled to be the church of our grandparents.

Finally, I’m going to suggest that there is an even larger question. Huntington, the author of the 60-year theory, asked not which side you are on, rather “who are you?” We are increasingly identified not by race, culture, or nation but by gender, sexual orientation, religion, race, social background, social class, or political outlook. “I identify as …” is becoming the new introductory line in our bios.

Huntington’s question sent a Holy Spirit shiver down my side. It was a clear nudge from the Creator. Isn’t this the primary question asked by every believer: “Who am I?” So I ask: Who or what are we? According to our Scriptures and theology, we are beings created in the image of a perfect God, yet our souls are separated from our Creator by the presence of sin. Enter redemption through the sacrificial death of the Son of God. We are born again. We live, because Christ lives in us. That is who I am.

I’m going to invite every reader to ask that question of themselves. And then, in light of our answers, return to the earlier questions. We might need to churn this over prayerfully until we know how to act.

Footnotes:

[1] https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-54895-7_14 accessed Feb. 16, 2022

[2] https://ctc.usma.edu/the-globalization-of-far-right-extremism-an-investigative-report/ accessed Feb. 16, 2022

[3] The preamble to Bill C-4, which passed into law in January, states: “Whereas conversion therapy causes harm to society because, among other things, it is based on and propagates myths and stereotypes about sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, including the myth that heterosexuality, cisgender gender identity, and gender expression that conforms to the sex assigned to a person at birth are to be preferred over other sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions. . .” https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-4/royal-assent

[4] https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2021001/article/00010-eng.htm accessed Feb. 16, 2022

[5] Collapsing Levels of Trust Are Devastating America – The Atlantic accessed Feb. 16, 2022

[6] https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/collapsing-levels-trust-are-devastating-america/616581/ accessed Feb. 16, 2022

[7] https://ontario.cmha.ca/news/1-in-4-ontarians-access-mental-health-help-the-highest-rate-during-the-pandemic/ accessed Feb. 16, 2022

[8] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/opinion/evangelicalism-division-renewal.html?smid=fb-share&fbclid=IwAR17pH-zYAHkm7q8hVS5O3SMlMlhaYsHSGZRmx-p9NkeIYG0hnx2QMskjSk accessed Feb. 16, 2022 (may need subscription to access)

소그룹 기도 가이드

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사랑하는 친구 여러분,

끊임없이 변하고 있는 이 세상에서 하나님이 세우신 가치질서를 지키며 살아가려는 사람들에게는 종종 “거꾸로” 가는 사람이란 꼬리표가 붙게 됩니다. 좀 너그럽게 비판하는 사람들은 우리들을 “고리타분” 하다고 말할 것입니다. 하지만 이것은 중요한 사실을 간과하는 것입니다. 우리의 삶이 우리가 믿는 가치들을 따르지 않는 것이라면 우리들은 허공에 매달려 바람에 흔들리는 가지에 불과하다는 사실입니다.

폭풍의 계절을 지나고 있는 우리 장로교인들은 현재 Remit “B” (결혼에 대한 2가지 다른 정의를 병행해서 인정하는 것) 과 Remit “C” (동성 파트너와 결혼한 사람을 목회자나 장로로 위임하는 것) 을 승인할 것을 요청받았습니다. 이같은 제안들은 다양성을 수용하면서 동시에 종교의 자유를 보호하는 일을 적극적으로 추진하는 것으로 알려져 있습니다. 하지만 우리들은 이런 제안이 성경적인 것이라고 믿지 않고, 또 우리들이 새롭게 회복되도록 인도하는 것으로도 보지 않습니다.

이 안건에 대한 결정이 총회로 들어가기까지 우리에게는 2020년 3월 말까지의 기간이 있습니다. 현재까지 이 안건이 초래한 결과는 우리 가운데 있는 심한 분열을 더욱 확고히 하는 것이었습니다.

이제 여러분께 다음의 기도들을 부탁드립니다.

  • 이 분열을 통해 오히려 더 선한 일들이 이루어지도록
  • 캐나다 장로교의 미래에 소망이 있을까 의문을 품는 분들을 위해
  • 개인이나 부부, 그룹으로 기도하는 기도 동역자들을 영적으로 보호하시고 인도해 주실 것을
  • 아직도 이 Remit을 놓고 논의 중이거나 투표를 해야 할 장로 교회들을 위해
  • 성령님께서 우리들 가운데 역사하시도록 – 우리의 기도와 언행을 지도해 주셔서 하나님의 순전하고 거룩하신 뜻이 우리들의 court와 회중 가운데 자유로이 운행하시도록

아멘

Rev. Andy Cornell
Executive Director

Small Group Prayer Guide

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Dear friends,

In an ever-changing world, those of us who adhere to established practices are sometimes branded as “backward.” More-gracious critics might just say we’re “old school.” But that’s missing the point, which is that practice must follow principle, otherwise we are just branches swaying in the wind.

In this stormy season, our presbyteries are being asked to approve Remit ‘B’ (parallel definitions of marriage) and Remit ‘C’ (calling/electing and ordaining teaching and ruling elders who may be married to same-sex partners.) The proposals are heralded as a way forward which accommodates diversity and yet protects freedom of belief. But we do not believe that they flow from scripture or that they will lead to renewal.

Our presbyteries have until the end of March 2020 to decide before the issue returns to General Assembly. The results so far have reaffirmed our deep divisions.

Please pray:

  • that something good will come out of this division;
  • for those who are wondering whether they have a future in the PCC;
  • for spiritual protection and guidance for prayer partners – individuals, couples and groups;
  • for presbyteries which have yet to discuss and vote on the remits; and
  • for the Holy Spirit to move in us – to guide our prayers, our words and our actions – so that God’s pure, holy will can move freely in our courts and congregations.

Amen.

Rev. Andy Cornell
Executive Director

Dedicated Prayer: Let’s Make it Happen

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This blog represents the thoughts of the author. While they may reflect the theological position of The Renewal Fellowship, they should not be seen as an official statement.

What’s the first thing we give up when life gets busy? Time for ourselves. We can easily ignore our personal needs with fewer immediate repercussions than skipping commitments at work, church, in the community, and with family.

But I’m going to suggest there’s something that’s pushed aside even before our personal downtime. Take my life as an example. I juggle two paid jobs (a 60/40 split), which is nice in theory but anyone (and not just those in ministry) knows that those who do not punch a time clock don’t keep track of their hours. That’s just the first challenge. Within my congregational call I’m assigned as interim moderator at two congregations (one of which is a multi-staff mega church which recently endured a split) and I chair the committee which oversees my ministerial association’s summer Sunday evening worship. (I was enticed into the job because it involved high-level oversight and chairing a few meetings. That was fine for the first year until key volunteers left or aged out, no replacements could be found, and I was left doing almost everything. Thankfully, my colleagues heard my cry for help and much of the burden is being lifted.)

I’m not looking for a pity party. I know that this is just a season which will pass. The point is this: when there are conflicts to resolve and decisions to be made which affect other people, we put aside things “that don’t immediately matter”. That’s code for “what doesn’t affect other people”.

Are any of you sensing one big omission in all this? God. Not once did I mention my prayer life. I’m not talking about the obligatory prayers to open and close meetings and the silent (and sometimes verbal) prayers when you’re alone for a few minutes muttering under your breath or driving from one commitment to the next. No, I’m talking about the kind of prayer that involves carving (sometimes literally) space and time to be alone with our heavenly Father.

It’s the type of prayer that Jesus modelled for us. You know, when He retreated to be alone in a remote place. This wasn’t “getting away from it all” like going to a quiet place to escape the city and the demanding crowds in order to listen to the birds. Rather, it’s being still long enough to allow true communion with the all-knowing, omnipresent, all-powerful Creator. It’s about focusing on our triune God and allowing the Holy Spirit to give us the words. It’s about admitting all that and submitting to His power working through us, which can accomplish more than we can do or even imagine.

While I know that and agree to that without thinking, I don’t practice it much anymore.

I know I’m not alone. Ministers are under increasing pressure to be jacks-and-jills-of-all-trades in their volunteer-challenged congregations. An aging church yields fewer able helpers. Yet the show must go on.

I had the pleasure of five days off last week. My wife and I joined some friends at a Christian-operated lakeside resort. There was a nice dining room, wonderful daily teaching in the chapel by a gifted pastor and a golf course at our door. We enjoyed kayaking, hours of off-road cycling and daily morning runs. A sandy beach. Rest and rejuvenation for the body and soul. I even took a book or two and did some deep theological thinking – which is good for me because I don’t get the opportunity for that in the daily rigmarole. But something was missing. Wanna guess?

Dedicated prayer: the type in which everything stops and we are focused – either alone or in a group – on the only human activity that really matters. That’s what was missing.

It’s absent in our busyness and even in vacation mode because we are unable and unwilling to carve out the time. We need external discipline. In the same way we have school bells and start times, we need the same for prayer. We need a gentle push. We are sheep.

It’s one reason Renewal Fellowship has our 7:14 call to prayer. We pray 2 Chronicles 7:14 at 7:14 a.m. and p.m. daily. Some of us set our phone alarms to those times. It would have been really nice if that lakeside Christian resort – in addition to the 9:30 a.m. devotional time Monday to Friday (twice on Sunday) – had a daily 7 p.m. or 1 p.m. prayer gathering, a dedicated space and time, perhaps with a faithful prayer-kicker to start it off. Half hour, 45 minutes, whatever. But make it a routine. I, for one, need that. I would have been there.

The power of prayer goes without saying. Whether it’s alone in a private prayer closet or in a small group or in a stadium of 20,000 souls in prayerful silence – it’s the power of God at work.

It’s why Renewal Fellowship started dedicated prayer groups many years ago across this great land of ours. Like many initiatives, it’s dwindled and now boasts only two regular gatherings – in the Ottawa and Hamilton areas. The time has come to kick-start that ministry. With the Board’s blessing, I issued a call in my July 27 blog to establish new prayer groups and I received a very encouraging response: eight firm offers and three maybes from faithful prayer-ers. Wonderful.

The immediate need for prayer is the theological state of The Presbyterian Church in Canada, whose presbyteries are faced with a momentous decision in the months to come: whether to approve a proposed redefinition of marriage. The Renewal Board has taken the position that the changes are not based on sound theology. We are encouraging presbyters to say no.

I am in the midst of working with our current and budding prayer groups. The times and days and approach may be different in each one, but the focus will be on the renewal of the church, “leading ourselves and the PCC to authentic Biblical thinking, powerful, Spirit-led prayer and effective Gospel witness.” It’s our mission.

Which leads to a request. We know that personal encouragement is more effective than a phone conversation or a face on a computer screen, which is why Renewal is going to do its best to kick-start prayer groups in person. It’s a big country and travel comes at a cost. Yes, we have a small budget for travel, but it doesn’t begin to meet the needs. It’s never easy asking for financial assistance, but here goes: Would you prayerfully consider a donation of any amount to help us hit the road and meet face to face with our new prayer partners? Click here. In the comment or message section, please indicate “travel”.

I know that some of you are asking “why?” You believe the time for renewal has passed, the battle has been lost, and we’re better off charting a new course outside the confines of the PCC as we know it. That may be the case. But what is more true is that no matter what happens, we need prayer more than ever to pave the way. Is there a future for true believers in the PCC? Will we be able to practice the true faith in a sea of apostasy? And if not, how do we graciously carve out new prophetic territory to worship our unchanging God and follow His will rather than our own?

Prayer – dedicated, disciplined, and focused on seeking and knowing God’s true will in an unbelieving world – is so badly needed. Help us make it happen.

Powerful, Spirit-led Prayer

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We begin life with the human instinct to connect to our Creator. Children, whether they’ve been raised in a Christian home or not, reach out to God in their thinking. And it continues throughout our lives. Even a professing non-believer might say, “O please, please, please let me find my wallet” as they’re desperately searching around. Who are they talking to?

For many people, the prayer journey ends there. Others are introduced to prayer at church, in popular culture or through family. It registers and they pay attention – they go beyond the instinct. That’s the second group. The third group are actual believers. They may sincerely pray to God through Christ. Taking another step forward, they may pray out loud, a huge step.

I was in that third group for many years; I scripted all of my public prayers. Finally, I took the bold step to pray extemporaneously – the fancy word for prayer that is unscripted and unprepared. It’s step four. It was a significant mark in my journey. And it felt great. But then I stopped the journey. I set up camp in the school of prayer in which you thought about each word, but they were still my words.

Little did I know that a fifth step lay head. A couple of years ago, I started feeling that my public prayers were a little empty. All head, no heart. And then one day, while reading through the Bible I came across that wonderful verse from Romans 8:26, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us.” Wow. I’d read that verse 100 times before but it finally clicked. It was as if the hands of God had reached down and gave me a shake. That was it. I was praying with my head and not my heart.

So my journey resumed. I was drawn to Dunamis Project, the intensive training in the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who has ever taken part in Dunamis knows that this is something missing in many of our churches. Submission to the Holy Spirit is where powerful prayer starts.

There is plenty of scriptural inspiration as we seek to become prayer warriors. But one stands out. “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” (James 5:16b)

Earnest? We pray from the bottom of our hearts. It’s pure and motivated by altruistic submission to God’s will. It seeks God’s will. It’s not about us. Can you picture that? Do we pray that way? Most of the time? Then there’s righteous. Do we trust and obey? Do we have enough faith to live in obedience to God’s holy commands? Most of us try to live by the Golden Rule. Are we virtuous and upright? Most of the time?

The sobering truth is that as earnest and righteous as we think we are, our prayers aren’t going to be powerful and we aren’t going to get wonderful results because something very important is lacking. Too many of us look at that one sentence without putting it in context. Look back one sentence: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” (James 5:16a)

There’s an element in the Presbyterian Church which downplays the presence of sin and the power of sin in our lives because to do so is a downer. So we often ignore the power of sin and how it prevents God’s hands from working.

It is vitally important to identify sin, call it out, and pray the blood of Jesus, which takes away the sins of the world. In the same way that we recognize the power of the Holy Spirit, we also need to recognize the power of the enemy, the demonic strongholds that are found throughout our secular culture – and which creep into the church. It’s an illness.

There’s a line in the old hymn, “There is a balm in Gilead” — “to heal the sin-sick soul.” It is to the balm of Gilead that we must turn before we pray. He is the only one who can take away our sins. It’s why we pray in the name of Jesus, who lived with no sin, but who was made to be like sin in order to pay for our transgressions.

Because we are human, we possess a certain amount of pride. We are quick to point to the sin in others and not so fast to shine the light in our own dark places.

This need to come clean is found throughout Scripture and witnessed powerfully in Psalm 19:12-13. “How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.”

Notice the word “hidden”. Each one of us harbours some sin that we don’t actually think is sin. There are things that I do which I think are okay and in God’s will but aren’t. So, part of repentance is asking God to show us those dark places in our lives which we might not be aware of.

Sin controls us. When we call it out, we take much of its power away.

Easy enough, right?

But wait. Read James’ words again.

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”

Each other! It is easier – much easier – to confess our sins to God than it is to confess them to each other, face to face. And so in true human weakness, we fail to do that. I pray for forgiveness daily in prayer, sometimes several times, depending on the day. But when was the last time when we pulled someone aside and confessed? It doesn’t have to be a crime or an egregious moral failure. It can be something minor. But minor things left unchecked become significant things, which left unchecked can lead to serious transgression.

Confession of sin – before God and each other – is essential if we are to achieve any sort of freedom from sin’s control. The need to confess and be free from the control of sin is essential if we are to call ourselves righteous in any way and pray earnestly.

The challenge to each other and to The Presbyterian Church in Canada is as straightforward as a three-step program.

First, we confess to God and to each other and seek forgiveness. Second, we search. We humbly ask whether we have been deceived and are harbouring sin.

Only then can we present our honest prayers for God’s will to be done and we can seek and allow the power of Christ’s Spirit to pray for us, to provide the words. Humbly let go of our own expectations and open our minds to what God can do. This is powerful, Spirit-led prayer. It is achievable if we prepare, if we focus, if we submit. It takes work. It is a journey. And it’s one that never ends.