rusty cellar

Gustavo Gutierrez in his book On Job writes, “It is important that we be clear from the outset that the theme of the book of Job is not precisely suffering-that impenetrable human mystery- but rather how to speak of God in the midst of suffering.” (13)

I find these words very helpful in thinking through the nature of pastoral involvement with human suffering.  When I walk through a deep valley I need wise companions who will help me wrestle with how I speak of and to God rather than explain the problem of evil.  The intellectual aspect is significant but the relational component of the struggle seems to take the lead.

My knee surgery has hightened my desire for prayer. I have been reading a book by Stanley Grenz called Prayer: The Cry for the Kingdom. Here are two excerpts that challenged me today:

“Prayer is an eschatological activity. It is directed toward the kingdom of God. In prayer, we beseech the God of the future with the request that the marks of God’s rule (forgiveness, sustenance, deliverance, and the Spirit’s fullness) break into our present situation, which is filled with want, need, and insufficiency. Petitionary prayer, in other words, requests the coming of the future into the present.” (49).

“By means of prayer, we sift through the evil and dislocation of the present do that we might determine what must be altered if the rule of God is to be made manifest. Thereby, petition becomes the expression of a holy discontent with the present, an unwillingness to leave things as they are.” (52)

This is such a marvelous description what prayer is. It gives me strength and courage to pray. My weak and haphazard efforts at prayer carry cosmic significance. Prayer becomes a vital means for my participation in the eschatological process of ushering the Kingdom of God.