Escape from Escapism
The last post was pure escapism, and I apologize to those of you who might have thought I had lost my sanity. However, John Ankerberg has just published a book on the spiritual themes in LOST, so I don't feel quite so foolish.
Speaking of escapism, the Super Bowl is on tonight, and the only part I care about are the commercials. The devotion paid to this football game is remarkable, and I'm using that euphemistically. Fox sanctified it with a very good pregame reading of the Declaration of Independence, for which I salute them. Fox doesn't mind wearing its patriotism on its sleeve. The networks would never produce such a blatant display of love of country, only love of Barak Obama.
The reality is, I don't understand football, not truly, just the broad outlines. But I do understand spectacle, I do understand the Patriots are a bunch of shameless cheaters, and the Manning brothers are cute boys from a close family. So I want New York to win though I realize that might not happen.
The real point of this post is to make some comments on intercessory prayer, the subject of my current Bible study (lousy transition). Intercessory prayer is extremely difficult for many reasons, and I think one of them is that we rarely know the results of our prayer. I have a member of my Bible study class who has had to go into a home due to early onset dementia. Her recognition of people comes and goes. How do I pray for her? Well, for healing, of course, but if that is not to happen, peace and freedom from the fears and terrors of dementia. We think of dementia based on what we see--what's going on inside the victim's mind? What nightmares and hallucinations. My friend may be relieved from that, but I won't know. Intercessory prayer takes a double dose of faith for results--faith beforehand to accompany the prayer, and faith afterward that the prayer was answered (and perhaps in ways we wouldn't imagine).
The difficulty of intercessory prayer, which I will expound on more later, is offset by what it does for the praying person. Psychologically, it makes one more empathic. It will make you more aware of those around you, of human experience and human failings and human needs. I told my class today, go deep, not broad, when it comes to prayer. Choose one group or types of person, and pray for that one day. Let the Lord bring to mind all the people in that category whom you know. For examples, those in authority. That's political persons, that's administrators in the schools your kids attend, that's the police (something needed right now in Hamilton County, TN!), that's your boss(es). That's just a start. We always hear, the devil is in the detail. Not really. God is in the details. God makes the details and cares about the details.
Speaking of escapism, the Super Bowl is on tonight, and the only part I care about are the commercials. The devotion paid to this football game is remarkable, and I'm using that euphemistically. Fox sanctified it with a very good pregame reading of the Declaration of Independence, for which I salute them. Fox doesn't mind wearing its patriotism on its sleeve. The networks would never produce such a blatant display of love of country, only love of Barak Obama.
The reality is, I don't understand football, not truly, just the broad outlines. But I do understand spectacle, I do understand the Patriots are a bunch of shameless cheaters, and the Manning brothers are cute boys from a close family. So I want New York to win though I realize that might not happen.
The real point of this post is to make some comments on intercessory prayer, the subject of my current Bible study (lousy transition). Intercessory prayer is extremely difficult for many reasons, and I think one of them is that we rarely know the results of our prayer. I have a member of my Bible study class who has had to go into a home due to early onset dementia. Her recognition of people comes and goes. How do I pray for her? Well, for healing, of course, but if that is not to happen, peace and freedom from the fears and terrors of dementia. We think of dementia based on what we see--what's going on inside the victim's mind? What nightmares and hallucinations. My friend may be relieved from that, but I won't know. Intercessory prayer takes a double dose of faith for results--faith beforehand to accompany the prayer, and faith afterward that the prayer was answered (and perhaps in ways we wouldn't imagine).
The difficulty of intercessory prayer, which I will expound on more later, is offset by what it does for the praying person. Psychologically, it makes one more empathic. It will make you more aware of those around you, of human experience and human failings and human needs. I told my class today, go deep, not broad, when it comes to prayer. Choose one group or types of person, and pray for that one day. Let the Lord bring to mind all the people in that category whom you know. For examples, those in authority. That's political persons, that's administrators in the schools your kids attend, that's the police (something needed right now in Hamilton County, TN!), that's your boss(es). That's just a start. We always hear, the devil is in the detail. Not really. God is in the details. God makes the details and cares about the details.
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