Thursday, January 22, 2009

Brian’s Reflection: Friday, Jan 23, 2009


Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.
Pray for power equal to your tasks.


- Phillips Brooks, Episcopal bishop, author of
“O Little Town of Bethlehem”, whose feast
day in the Episcopal Calendar is today.


For many years now, I have prayed a prayer which I believe to have been written by Bishop Stephen Bayne, based on a prayer by Archbishop William Temple. It is called “The Prayer of Abandonment”. (It is attached.) Now, suddenly, I discover that it MUST have been based on Bishop Brooks! Aint’ Life interesting!

Have you read “The Shack”?? One of its main principles is that all human woes began in “the Garden of Eden” when we chose “Independence” - , i.e., thinking that we were without a source of power and strength and discernment “beyond” ourselves, and must “make good” on our own.

However you think this Power came about, It is REAL! It has characteristics - read the Gospels if you want to know what those characteristics are (not just what people have to say about them, which is usually tainted by self-need).

The Life of each of us hands us a pretty demanding Path. We need to learn that we aren’t likely to manage the Path on our “own”. This is simply because we are not ON our own in this granted Life! We are meant to live not - as the Bible says - by “bread alone”, but by “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”, and be surrounded and upheld by companions. Bread and Water keep our bodies alive, but this is 5% of being a living human being. To live fully, the Spirit must descend into us as it did to Jesus. And we must know that this has occurred - that this is a Given of Life.

We know/discover that we have hard tasks to do. If we are aware and realistic, we understand immediately that we require others to walk with us; this is the theological basis of “family”. And of the “trinity”. What we need is power. God offers it.

If we discover that we have strengths for tasks before us, they will get done. If we discover we don’t – then perhaps the task is not ours?

Not every task must be lifted to our shoulders. Discernment in prayer of this distinction is one of the critical dynamics of praying. If the task IS ours – the power is forthcoming, from the “God” who lives at our core.

Brian+

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