Trying to Train

just_say_amen

This past week has been one of encouraging growth and of stretching my imagination.  Over the holiday break there seems to have been a turning point in the church planting work we’ve been doing.  For most of the summer and fall it has been lots of seed sowing and waiting.  Now it seems there is more fruit than this little worker can deal with.  God has brought six people independently to us within two weeks asking for companionship in the life of God and in developing a missional church in their context.  This makes me ask myself, “Do I really think I have what it takes?”

So that’s when “praying for more workers” (Lk 10:2) seems to make immediate and practical sense.

Prayer in mission work is essential.  I try to pray specifically for more workers (multiplying disciples of Christ) in Chicago every day at 10:02am (for Luke 10:2).  Usually I leave whatever I’m doing behind for a minute or two, get down on my knees, and face east as I pray (the earliest Christians did this, looking for Christ’s return.)  I do this because I believe God wants harvest workers even more than I do, and because he asked us to pray this prayer.

But when it comes to dedicated prayer,  I’ve always secretly envied the spiritual diligence of Muslims.  Praying 5 times a day, facing Mecca, in anticipatory reverence.  That is in such contrast to my prayers – feeble, halting, and lonely. If only I could have the kind of commitment in prayer that they seem to have…

Spiritual formation cannot happen when we drink deep from the Western poisonous chalices of “too much freedom” and “too much isolation.”  These cups are handed to us by our culture, and we get free-refills; but they lead to disastrous conclusions.  When its all up to me, my pitiful will power leaves me “trying” in vain.

I go to pray with a sense of “trying my best,” and usually end up failing.  The same is true with working out.  Now is the time of year everyone is joining a gym – but everyone knows that attendance will drop off by March.

Trying isn’t enough.  Slowly I am learning that my relationship with the Lord is like one with an intimate coach – focusing and buffing my soul to strengthen it for what is to come – I begin to see my prayers as training.

  • Training leads to godliness (1 Timothy 4:7)
  • Scripture provide the “track” for training, which equips us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16,17)
  • Those who have trained themselves can discover new things about God (Hebrews 5:11-14)

Growing up, I went through a process in spiritual formation.  As a kid I somehow thought that once I had committed to Christ and was baptized, I was in – no more learning or training or forming was needed.  My life was about coasting into heaven.  Awhile back I learned that life is about preparing for heaven – even practicing it here on earth.  So I thought I’d give that a try.

Only trying did nothing but frustrate me, for the reasons mentioned above.  I think refocusing on my prayers, fastings, memorizations, etc as “training” I begin to see that, much like an athlete or an artist, I can’t be ready for what’s to come if I don’t routinely accomplish what small thing God puts in front of me today.

A side note:  Training in spiritual discipline is a little different than cultivating an intimate relationship with Father God.  Only after we discover God is a loving, accepting Father, can he become the coach that will help you in godliness.  That is one of his roles as Father – training you to be his beloved Son or Daughter.

So what do you say – learning to refocus my disciplines as training with a loving Lord, rather than trying under a taskmaster God – is it something that would:

1) re-energize you to take on the task of spiritual formation, something all followers of Christ are called to and…

2) …develop in you a deeper love for our Father who wants to save you from too much freedom and isolation?

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