Finding Your Way
I have traveled quite extensively and it is such a comfort to be picked up from the airport and taken to the place arranged for me. A new city or country can be quite disorientating at first, especially when the language is different than you are used to. Having a guide is the best way to get around, but there have been times when I have been on my own. Whether I have good maps or gps, rent a car or take public transports, the first time in any city it is easy to get lost. And, believe me; I have been lost a number of times. It is not until you go back to that same city again and again that you begin to learn the layout of the city and become familiar with its streets and transport system. I now have a number of cities around the world that are in my comfort zone and it is like being “at home”, when I visit them.
I find the same thing true when going to the Father in prayer. The first time someone prays, it may seem awkward and frightening. Some prefer that the prayers be written out or that someone lead them, by given them the right words to pray. Maybe the first prayer you prayed was by repeating after someone else. You may not have felt confident to pray on your own and so you rely on others to pray for you or with you. If you only go to God in prayer occasionally or when there is an emergency, the way will continue to seem strange and complicated. It’s the daily visits, the leisurely strolling on the avenues and boulevards, the gazing at the beautiful buildings and parks, the study of the maps and learning from the residents of the city, that one becomes familiar and at ease.
The disciples of Jesus came to Him one day and asked Him to teach them how to pray. They had observed that the disciples of John the Baptist knew how to pray and that Jesus spent so much of his time in prayer, but they felt lost when it came to this area of following Jesus. Jesus was more than willing and laid out for them a detailed map. Many have taken this written pray map as a prayer to be memorized and repeated over and over again. It is like learning to get somewhere only by using the subway or bus route. Limiting yourself to this, you will still never come to know the city. Prayer is a relationship. It is getting to know God in His fullness. It is not just in the going somewhere or the getting something, but in the learning and appreciating of its purpose and design.
Jesus pointed His disciples toward the Father. He gave them the basic layout of the city of God. He even said that there would be a Heavenly Guide to accompany them, but they needed to begin. The Lord’s Prayer was a beginning point. Here, Jesus describes the highways of praise, and streets of forgiveness, the alleys of supplication and the boulevards of thanksgiving. He describes the glory of the throne room and majesty of His name, but all is still strange and so distant until you go there yourself. The door is open, the ticket has be purchased and a great adventure awaits you. Don’t hold back. You’ll find you way.
Scriptures to meditate on:
Mat. 6.9-13; I Thess. 5.17-18; I Tim. 2.1-3; John 17