A "Good Friday" Hymn

Bernard of Clairvaux was one of the most influential Christians of his era. This hymn is widely attributed to him and certainly marks the depth of his devotion to our Lord.

O Sacred Head now wounded,

with grief and shame weighed down,

now scornfully surrounded

with thorns Thine only crown;

O Sacred Head, what glory,

What bliss, till now was Thine!

Yet though despised and gory,

I joy to call Thee mine.

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered

Was all for sinners' gain;

Mine, mine, was the transgression,

But Thine the deadly pain;

Lo, here I fall, my Saviour!

'Tis I deserve Thy place;

Look on me with Thy favor,

Vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

What language shall I borrow

to thank Thee, dearest Friend,

for this Thy dying sorrow,

thy pity without end?

Oh, make me Thine forever;

and should I fainting be,

Lord let me never, never

Outlive my love to Thee!

Be near me when I'm dying;

Oh, show Thy Cross to me!

And for my succor flying;

Come, Lord, and set me free!

These eyes, new faith receiving,

from Jesus shall not move;

for he who dies believing,

dies safely, through thy love.

Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153)

English Translation: James Waddell Alexander

(1859-1904)

A Most Unusual Wedding

Of all of life's celebrations, weddings are probably the biggest. Most weddings are huge affairs with a giant banquet and often the festivities go on for several days. The detailed planning consumes many hours and the event can cost a small fortune. Often guests receive a "save the date" note long before the formal invitation is sent out.

Jesus taught that the Kingdom of Heaven was like a king that was hosting a wedding banquet for his son. I've never been to a royal wedding or reception, but the pictures are amazing. The expense and preparation are the best the kingdom can afford.  To be invited to the royal wedding festivities is an honor that is given to a choice few people. It is the privilege of the family, the influential, and the well-connected.

In the parable, the king sent messengers to the invitees and told them to come because everything was ready. Surprisingly, the invitees would not come. They ignored the messengers and the messengers returned to the king with the strange news that none of those invited were going to come.

The king was gracious. He sent a second round of messengers. These messengers described the beauty of the setting and the delightful food that had been prepared. Some of the invitees simply ignored the servants and went about their normal business. Others became aggressive and beat some of the servants and killed others. When the king heard of it, he became irate. He sent soldiers and destroyed those who ignored his invitation and treated his servants shamefully. It was a personal affront.

Jesus says that this is what the kingdom of heaven is like. A king has prepared a wedding banquet, but the influential and well-connected ignore the invitation. There is more to the story, but it is important to stop and reflect on the fact that Jesus says that God will rightfully destroy those who reject his offer. Is this your image of God? Does your picture of God include the idea that he will destroy his enemies? If not, the "god" you have mentally created is not the God of the Bible. It is an idol.

Thankfully, that is not the end of the parable. The king looks at his empty banquet hall and directs his servants, "The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite as many as you can find. My wedding hall must be filled!"

The servants went out into the streets and invited everyone they met to come to the banquet. Soon the wedding hall was crowded with people. Instead of the rich and famous who would usually gather at kingly feasts, the room was full of common people from all walks of life. Unaccustomed to the royal setting, they were awed by the splendor of the room and overwhelmed by the generosity of the king.

We like this part of the parable. The kingdom of heaven is just for the wealthy or the wise. We read in the Bible that it is open to people from every nation. Jesus invited everyone to come. The common laborer and the company president were all welcome. The riches and splendor of the king dazzle the senses and we are given access to it. It is truly incredible what the graciousness of the king has done for us.

But that is not the end of the parable. The king looks out on his overflowing banquet hall and notices someone who is not dressed for the wedding. "Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?" When a wealthy person, like a king, put on a wedding banquet in those days, it was customary to provide wedding clothes for those who could not afford them. Here was a man standing in the banquet hall without proper clothes. How was this possible?

The man had nothing to say. There was no fitting explanation. This man was at the wedding banquet without bothering to put on clothes for the occasion. He has no excuse.

The king was furious. He told his attendants, "Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the utter darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Like the people who did not bother to attend the wedding feast, the man who did not dress for the occasion also suffers the judgment of the king and is destroyed.

Jesus said this is what the kingdom of heaven is like.

This should be a sobering thought for us. There are those who reject the invitation to the wedding banquet and will be destroyed. More troubling is the thought that there will be those who are at the banquet but will be cast outside because they were not properly attired. To put it in our setting, there will be those who attend church and Christian gatherings but who will be thrown into hell because they are not appropriately dressed.

Are we properly attired? This does not mean that we are happy with what we are wearing or following the latest fashion trend. The question is whether what we are wearing satisfies the king. It is his opinion that matters, not ours.

What is the proper attire?

There are several important passages that answer this question. Revelation 19:8 speaks of the great wedding feast and that the bride has clothed herself in the fine linen of righteous deeds. So the wedding attire has something to do with righteous acts. The problem is that none of us are righteous (Romans 3:23).

Isaiah rejoices that God has clothed him in garments of salvation and a robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). This robe of righteousness that we are to wear is a gift of God that is expressed in the gospel (Romans 1:16-17). It is received by repentance (taking off our old clothes) and faith (putting on the new garment). We are warned about trying to attend the banquet with any other clothes (Galatians 1:8-9; Zephaniah 1:7-9). Trying to attend the banquet without wearing the garments of salvation will result in judgment. Have we repented and accepted the gospel?

We must also consider what our evangelism goal is. Many church services are celebrations with banners that read, "Welcome to the Wedding Banquet!" A festive and love-filled atmosphere fills the room as people contemplate the richness of the King. Many are attracted to the festivities. Good music, inspiring stories, a group of friendly people will draw a crowd. Like the messengers, we invite people and may see many people come to church. However, we must not be content with seeing people attend church. We must help people see their need to repent and believe the gospel so that they will be properly dressed for eternity.

A Mother's Request

It is perfectly natural to want the best for our children. We work hard to see that they get into the best schools and sacrifice in order that they succeed in life. That's why Salome's request is so normal. Her sons were apparently doing well, they seemed to be in the inner core of Jesus's team. Jesus had just spoken of the coming of the kingdom and that the twelve would sit on twelve thrones judging the tribes of Israel. There was just one possible "improvement" in their situation and she was determined that they succeed. So with her sons in tow, she approached Jesus and knelt before him.

"What do you want?" Jesus asked.

"Say that these two sons of mine are to sit at your left and right hand when you come into your kingdom" (Matt 20:21-22).

It is a bold request and one that was not made without the permission of her sons. In fact, the other gospels record that the sons asked Jesus directly. All three were in on the request. Perhaps they thought a mother's request was more likely to gain a positive response. Often family members work together to obtain what they desire. A parent will ask a coach to give their child more playing time, or a teacher to give their child special attention. The parent and the child want the same thing: advancement.

Jesus told them that they didn't understand what they were asking.

He then looked at the sons and said, "Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?"

Salome looked at her boys, wondering what they would say. Students following a rabbi were learning to live like him, but Jesus was no ordinary rabbi. She wondered if the boys had the courage to say yes to the rest of the training.

Suddenly, her breath caught in her throat. It dawned on her that while Jesus's comments about his disciples being seated on 12 thrones sounded great, the last thing he said was that he was going to mocked, flogged, and crucified. Is that what Jesus was talking about when he referred to the cup? Was Jesus asking her boys if they were able to go through one of the most agonizing deaths ever conceived in the cruel heart of man?

The two men looked at each other and then responded, "We are able."

Jesus looked at them and said, "You will drink my cup, but your request is not mine to grant" (Matt 20:23).

They would indeed drink the cup of suffering that Jesus drank. Within a few short years, Herod would put James to death by the sword (Acts 12:1-2). Tertullian writes that Emperor Domitian ordered John's execution. John was thrown into a vat of boiling oil but like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendigo, John was unharmed (Daniel 3:16-23). Not knowing what else to do with him, Domitian banished John to the island of Patmos.

What was it that Salome was asking? What did James and John want? They wanted to be successful, but they had the wrong conception of what success was. Soon the other disciples would chastise them for their request. I suspect that they were upset because each of them secretly hoped to sit on the thrones closest to Jesus. Jesus would teach them about what it means to be great. His lesson on servant leadership is often discussed as the means to greatness in the kingdom (Matthew 20:25-28).

But let's consider for a moment that graduates of the "school of Jesus" like James and John did not live lives that would be considered successful in the eyes of the world. They were considered to be the scum of the earth (1 Cor 4:13). They suffered intensely for their faith in Jesus. In the world's eyes, they were failures.

Their request of Jesus showed that they had the right heart, but a terrible understanding of what the kingdom was all about. They wanted to excel, but the way of excelling is through humble obedience to Jesus, not seeking positions of power or authority. Success in life is simply walking with Jesus. It is built on meditation on God's Word and obedience to what he says. This obedience will lead us deeper into Jesus and more of his Spirit will flow through us into the lives of others. This, rather than position, power, or possessions is the true success.

The words of Jesus must have caused Salome pain. No one likes to think that their child will suffer, but there is an important lesson here for us who are parents. We need to do our best to raise our children in the ways of the Lord and place the greatest value on the Lord's will rather than our own desires. It may be the Lord's will for our children to join him in the fellowship of suffering (Philippians 3:10). Our priority in prayer must be that our children would be faithful to the Lord wherever that leads them.

Consider the example of Mary. She was chosen to be the mother of the Lord. Her obedient heart rejoiced and she sang, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed..."(Luke 1:46-49). Shortly after she gave birth, however, Simeon blessed them and then prophetically said to Mary, "a sword shall pierce through your own soul" (Luke 2:34-35). The most blessed of mothers watched her child die on the cross.

Releasing our children into the will of God for their lives is a hard thing for parents to do. It is made much easier by realizing two things. First, God is not calling us to do something that he himself did not do. He knows what it is like to watch his Son suffer and die. Second, God always has a purpose for the suffering of his children. The death of Jesus opened the door of salvation.

What about James and John?

They learned a lesson that day about the nature of leadership and humble submission to the will of the Lord. Before he died, James was a powerful leader in the church in Jerusalem. John would go on to write five New Testament books. Both received the highest award from the Lord, "Well done, good and faithful servant" and will reign with him forever. Now that is true success!

How Reliable is my Bible?

"The Old and New Testament, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice."

These words from our statement of faith point to the importance of Bible. As uniquely inspired by God, they are authoritative when it comes to the doctrine and practice of the Christian faith. There is one small problem: the phrase "as originally given." If we cannot go to Louvre or some other museum and view a highly guarded original, how can we be certain we have what was actually written? If we do not have the original copy of the Bible, is this item in our statement of faith even meaningful?

This question bothered me until I took a class from a rather unique New Testament professor. The class was excellent, but I was dumbfounded by the fact that the professor returned our papers without any comments other than giving us extremely large deductions for spelling errors or inconsistencies in how we abbreviated books of the bible. The actual content did not seem to matter to him, but a few spelling mistakes could warrant a paragraph-length exhortation about the importance of details. 

His approach was a mystery until he spent a couple days teaching us about his passion: textual criticism. Textual critics examine the differences in ancient manuscripts to determine which text was original. It requires expertise in Greek, the ability to pour over ancient handwritten manuscripts, an extraordinary attention to detail, and ruthless logical reasoning. I am sure that he had read hundreds of papers on the topics we were writing on and would have said something if we wrote something heretical, but he had trained his mind to look for details and inconsistencies. When he found one, he couldn't help but circle it in red.

Codex Sinaiticus 350AD

I am convinced, based on what I learned, that we have something so close to the original text that there is no reason to doubt what we hold in our hands as being what God intended.

I'd like to share with several things I learned about textual criticism and look at a couple of passages.

Key Thoughts.

The sheer number and agreement of existing manuscripts is breathtaking. 

Writing materials are notoriously perishable, yet we have over 5600 ancient manuscripts of the New Testament. These date back to within 100 years of their initially being written. They are 99.5% accurate, a truly amazing feat when you consider that these were copied by hand. By contrast, we have about 7 early manuscripts of Plato's work. The earliest copy is dated to 900AD, about 1200 years after Plato lived. We have 9 early copies of Euripides's work. The earliest is 1300 years after he lived. See what I mean? The manuscripts are so early, numerous, and simiar that the confidence level in them soars.

Almost all of the discrepancies can be called "copying errors."

The copyists were extremely careful but occasionally they made mistakes. There might be a spelling error or a word or line skipped. Most of the differences between manuscripts are this type of error. They are usually easy to spot and to explain. Importantly, there is not a single case where a doctrine is called into question by a copyist's mistake.

Textual Critics Use Common Sense Rules to Decide What Was Original.

When faced with a variation between the manuscripts, scholars need to figure out what is the best way to determine the original version. Here are some of the ideas that they use.

• Give more weight to the older manuscripts. A manuscript dating from 400 is more likely the original than one dating from 1300.
• The more manuscripts the better, but it is not a matter of "the variation with the most copies must be right." Instead, sort the manuscripts by region of origin. Manuscripts from Alexandria go this is pile, from Syria in this pile, etc. If the variant exists in only one of the piles, it is probably not original. Also, note the "quality of copying" in each pile. Is one area known to have a lot of mistakes or variations? Give those manuscripts a little less weight.
• It is more likely that a scribe would intentionally add words than leave something out. While copyists sometimes would skip a word or line, there are also instances where they add a "clarifying" word or comment. Therefore, the shorter reading is generally given more weight.
• The more difficult reading is best. There are exceptions, but the thought is that a scribe might try to make difficult grammar simple rather than take a simple phrase and make it complicated. 
• The variation that matches the style of the writer is likely to be original. For example, Mark uses the term "Immediately" repeatedly. If a variation exists that says "Then after this" is uncharacteristic of Mark and is likely to be a change by a copyist. Often this seen in the gospels where there are parallel accounts and a copyist "borrows" a phrase from another gospel.

Comparing the thousands of manuscripts is painstaking work. Fortunately, the variations are relatively few, and they most can easily be diagnosed.

Papyrus 37 containing
Matthew 26:19-52
260 AD

Scholars are honest.

Sometimes, there are variants that are difficult to decide which was the original. In this case, modern bibles make a note of it in a footnote. So when there is a question about the original, you will know about it. Here's the bottom line: no doctrine or essential tenet of the gospel is called into question by any of these variants!

Two Big Examples

Most of the variations are fairly mundane. Things like a misspelled word or the addition of "Amen" at the end of a prayer are easily seen as mistakes in copying and therefore not original. And even if "Amen" appears in a large number of manuscripts, the result is a footnote and not a major problem or cause for controversy. 

There are two examples where the integrity of these textual critics shines through. They tell us that a couple of well-known texts are not actually "in the Bible." They were not part of the original text. Let's take a look.

The Lord's Prayer

It has been recited around the world for centuries. One of the early discipleship books, called the Didache, suggested that believers pray it three times each day. Many believers are startled to discover that modern Bibles do not include the famous doxology "for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever, Amen" in Matthew 6:9-13.

Many ancient manuscripts contain the doxology, however, the earliest manuscripts do not. The earliest church fathers in commenting on the prayer do not include the doxology. As the liturgy of the church developed it was fitting to add a doxology to the end of the prayer for use in the worship service.

In deciding what was original, is much more likely that monks who typically did the copying would add the doxology as they copied the passage than it is that they would leave out something with which he would have been very familiar. Therefore, scholars believe that the doxology was probably not original. However, because there is the possibility that it was, the translators tell us that some manuscripts include the words. (Read this article for a more complete discussion).

The Woman Caught in Adultery
Perhaps an even more surprising example is the account of the woman caught in adultery in John 7:53-8:11). It is one of the best known and loved stories about Jesus. But should it be in the Bible?
Modern Bibles typically put it in double brackets and note that the earliest manuscripts do not contain the passage. That is only part of the story.

One manuscript from the 5th century contains the passage, and it is in a manuscript contains numerous copying errors. All the other early manuscripts do not include it. None of the early church fathers mention it when commenting on John 7-8. In fact, if you read John 7-8 it flows naturally without 7:53-8:11. 

When it does start showing up in the manuscripts, it does so in three other places in John (after 7:36; 7:44; and 21:25). It even shows up at the end of the gospel of Luke! The copyists often put marks around the story, indicating that they doubted its originality. Eventually, it settled into the spot that we are familiar with and over time the special marks were dropped. Medieval manuscripts include it and it was these manuscripts that were used to give us translations such as the King James Version.

Scholars believe that story of the woman caught in adultery was not part of the gospel of John. Therefore it should not be considered inspired or authoritative. The best explanation of the textual evidence is that the story was a widely circulated and true account of something that happened. As people talked about what Jesus did, this was one of the things they talked about. Eventually, a scribe added it to the written account, but put special marks around it indicating that it was not original. One hypothesis is that it was initially put at the end of the gospel with special marks around it. It was then later inserted in the narrative where it happened. (For more information read this article or this article.)

Final thoughts:

When one first considers that there are variations in the manuscripts, it is a little disconcerting. However, when you actually begin digging into the variations, what becomes astonishing is the uniformity of texts rather than the variations. These were copied for centuries with incredible skill and diligence! The fact that there are so many copies of nearly identical texts is nothing short of a miracle! 

The other thing that you notice is that the variations that exist do not add or subtract from the what we need to know or do. The story of the woman at the well does not give us any new doctrine. In fact, it probably became popular because it was an event in the life of Jesus that illustrated the biblical truths so vividly. 

The branch of biblical studies called textual criticism is important and I appreciate the scholars who labor to assure us that our translations are based on the best possible understanding of what was the original text. Because of their work, we can be assured that the Bible that we hold in our hands is the Word of God, divinely inspired and authoritative for our lives. 

"I Forgive You" - What Does that Mean?

"If you forgive others their trespasses,

your heavenly Father will also forgive you,

but if you do not forgive others their trespasses,

neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

-Jesus (Matthew 6:14-15)

These words are found in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount. If we want to be forgiven by God, we dare not rush past them. Jesus says that our being forgiven by God is contingent on our forgiving others. Let that sink in. Jesus says that eternal things are at stake when it comes to this issue of forgiveness. It is not an option. But what is it?

Forgiveness is not a feeling or emotion. 

If someone hurts us, our emotions may be raw. Forgiveness does not mean that the emotions will instantly disappear. Instead, forgiveness is a choice and an act of the will. A trespass or sin against us creates a debt. It is natural to want to "make them pay" for what they have done. Forgiveness is the decision to cancel the debt. As a result, forgiveness can be difficult or costly. Often emotional release occurs when forgiveness is granted, but not always. Sometimes our emotional response can trail behind our decision.

Forgiveness is not forgetting. 

Sometimes people think that if they have truly forgiven someone then they will not even remember what happened. Does God remember forgiven sin? If he has forgotten something that means that he is not all-knowing! Instead, forgiveness is a decision about what we do with the memory of that person's action. It is possible to forget about something with the passing of time. Perhaps we don't see the person and the emotions fade. However, unforgiveness lingers unseen and when we encounter that person or a similar situation, those emotions will come roaring back. We haven't forgiven, we've merely forgotten about it for a while.

Ken Sande, in his wonderful book The Peacemaker sketches 4 components of that biblical forgiveness.

First, it is the decision not to dwell on the matter. When we have been wronged, it is easy to keep thinking about the wrong. When we do that, the initial wound grows rather than heals. Because we have chosen to cancel the debt, we must make the commitment to no longer let the wrong dominate our thinking.

Second, forgiveness means that we will not bring up the matter again to use it against them. How many hurts are stored up in an ammunition dump ready to be hurled back in the face of the person the next time they offend us! True forgiveness lets it go and does not keep returning to it in order to hurt the other person. This does not mean that we can never mention it again. There will be times, when we are not in the heat of the battle, when a recurring pattern of sin might need to be addressed. In general, though, forgiveness means that we have dropped the matter and will not mention it again.

Third, forgiveness means that we don't talk to others about what happened. Imagine for a moment that someone forgives you for something that you did. You feel set free and it seems like the relationship is being restored. Then you discover that the person went home and posted a Facebook rant about what a rotten thing you did. Would you feel forgiven? No. True forgiveness drops the matter.

Fourth, forgiveness means that you won't allow the incident to stand between you or hinder your personal relationship with the person. You have canceled the debt. You are not going to allow it to hinder the relationship that you have with the other person. If we say, "I forgive them but I do not want to have anything to do with them because of what they did" we have not really cancelled the debt. Forgiveness brings a willingness to re-establish relationship.

Forgiveness does not mean that there are no consequences. 

If a person steals money from the church, it is possible to forgive them. That does not mean that they should be the church treasurer. The woman caught in adultery was forgiven. She would still have to deal with the relational consequences of her actions (John 8:1-11). David was forgiven by God, but his sin against Uriah had far-reaching implications (2 Samuel 12:1-23). At times building a healthy relationship will require boundaries and times of dealing with sin.

Forgiveness begins before repentance. 

Unforgiveness:
The poison we drink
hoping someone else
will die.

Sometimes we have the attitude that says, "If that person comes groveling on their hands and knees and apologizes, then I will think about forgiving them." This poisonous thought will quickly develop into a root of bitterness that will infect our entire lives. Forgiveness begins as a commitment before God before the other person repents. We release the debt before God, echoing the word of Jesus on the cross, "Father, forgive them..." We choose to be merciful and to be patient. We commit to a path of love, realizing that Jesus told us to love even our enemies.

Forgiveness flows from a deep well.

The enormity of our sin against God is too large for words. We were guilty of an offense the magnitude of which can be described in two ways. First, the just punishment would be eternity in hell. Secondly, the cost to God for our forgiveness was the death of His son, Jesus Christ on the cross. The grandeur of the grace of God should take our breath away every time we ponder it. Those who have been redeemed have been made new and this new life bears fruit. That fruit is forgiveness toward others. That is the point of the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35). There may be a struggle at times to forgive others. We are still waging war against the flesh. But the redeemed wage that war. We battle to get to the point where we forgive others. That battle is a sign of having been touched by Jesus.

This is why Jesus says that we will not be forgiven if we do not forgive. It is not that forgiving others is the key to heaven, but forgiving others is a sign that the grace of God has penetrated our hearts.

The Greatest Prayer Book Ever Written

Coffeehouses are wonderful places for study and conversation. There is nothing like a good cup of coffee to brighten the day. This is an imaginary conversation about an important topic that I've discussed with many people over coffee. 

Tom took a sip of his fancy latte. We had talked about the routine stuff of life as I waited for him to get to the reason he wanted to to get together. I was pretty sure it wasn't to talk about the weather.

"Pastor, I am struggling with my prayer life. Do you have any good books I could read? What is the best book you have ever read on prayer?"

So there it was. He seemed uncomfortable asking it because he assumed that there was something terribly wrong with his relationship with God. He thought his question might shock me, but it really didn't surprise me at all. Many people wrestle to pray, it is just that most do not admit it. Sermons on prayer tend to bring feelings of guilt rather than inspiration. Books on prayer are a little like diet books: often read, but seldom followed. I decided to probe a little bit.

"Tell me a little bit about your prayer life."

"Well, Pastor, I have several prayer lists and I use the ACTS formula. You know, Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. I hate to admit it, but I find it all boring. I don't pray that much anymore. But I want to. I just don't have the discipline."

I've heard that before. Boring prayer has been the ruin of many a prayer life. I took a sip of my coffee. Strong and black, just the way I want it. I've always figured that if the coffee is good there is no need to add things to it.

"Tom, I've learned that many people try to sustain personal prayer lives that are like most church prayer meetings: boring. No wonder the church prayer meeting is the least attended event in the church! Here's the format of the typical church prayer meeting: someone will say, 'does anyone have a prayer request, something we should be praying for?' and a prayer list is made. Someone's uncle has a hernia, someone else has cancer, and someone's cousin needs a job. Then everyone folds their hands, stares at the carpet, and each thing is mentioned a second time only in the form of a prayer. This may be sacrilegious, but I think even God falls asleep!"

Tom looked at me with disbelief. "Are you slamming prayer meetings?"

"The way a lot of them are run, yes. Sure, God wants us to pray for those physical things, but when you look at how people prayed in the early church, they had a completely different experience. And they turned the world upside down through the power of their praying. Not only that, but when you look closely you see that they were constantly praying whether they were togehter or alone. It is impossible to conceive that they found prayer boring."

"Well, what do you recommend? What book should I read?"

"There are a lot of good books, but only one revolutionized my prayer life. Once I learned how to use it, I never looked back."

"Really? Which one? Does the bookstore have it?"

I laughed, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure the bookstore has it. It is the Bible."

He looked confused and disappointed.

"Tom, I went to seminary and learned how to study the Bible. Studying the Bible is important but by itself is pretty powerless. In fact, it can easily lead to spiritual arrogance. The Pharisees, after all, were scholars!"
"Here is a key verse that opened things up for me: John 15:7. 'If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.' It is an if-then statement. The promise is that you can ask whatever you want and it will be done. That's a pretty awesome promise! The condition, though is that we abide in the Lord and his Word abides in us. That's a simple formula, but it is true and it works!"

"Really? I've tried claiming promises before and nothing happened."

I sighed. It is so common to hear teachers say that you should find a verse to claim. The only problem is that there are over 30,000 verses in the Bible! And many people have shipwrecked their faith by finding a random verse that seemed to promise what they wanted, "claimed it in faith", only to be devastated. I've drunk many cups of coffee trying to help people recover their faith in God after following those teachers.

"Tom, I am not talking about claiming promises. Look, I know you believe the Bible and this verse is true. Jesus is making an incredible statement about of answered prayer, but what does it mean? Take another look."

Tom was looking at his phone. "It says here that the word 'abide' means to 'live in' or 'to remain in'."

"That's right. "Abide" is the Greek word meno. But what does it mean? Explain to me what it means to abide, live, or remain in Jesus. How do we know we are fulfilling the condition of the promise? Is it even possible to know? And what does it mean to to have his word abiding in us? Does it mean memorizing it? And if so, does that mean that God will answer more prayer based on how much Bible you memorize? You've defined the word, but what does it mean?"

"You're the pastor. You tell me!"

I laughed and said, "Do you really want to know the answers to those questions? Do you want to experience what it means to abide in Jesus and to have his Word abiding in you? There's no way to know where this may lead."

The expression on his face had become serious. "Yes. That's what I want."

I leaned forward and look intensely into his eyes. "I dare you to ask Him."

He stared at me and I continued, "It is the Holy Spirit that will teach you, not me. Your Bible app is good. But it only told you that 'abide' means 'to live in.' You knew that before you looked at your phone. Looking it up and confirming that gave you a sense of satisfaction. But it did not answer the question of how to abide. Nor did it give you any assurance that you actually are abiding. Study is good. Theology is important. You will go astray if you ignore it. But the Bible is primarily a prayer book."

He took a sip of his latte, looked out the window, and said, "I still don't understand."

"Okay. let's take this verse and use it as a basis for a prayer." I wrote the verse on the top of a piece of paper. "What can we ask God to do based on this verse? What questions do we have that we want him to teach us?"

Here's what we came up with:

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, 

ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 

• Lord, the idea of abiding sounds like something to be known by experience. Teach me by experience what it means to abide in you.
• Jesus, the opposite of abiding is departing. I don't want that to happen! 
• Show me anything in my life that is keeping me from fully abiding in you.
• Lord, it says that your Word should abide in me. I am not sure what that means. Is it simply the word of salvation (the gospel) or is it the Bible hidden in my heart. Teach me what you mean by this, Jesus.
• My life has been full of unanswered prayers. If the conditions are not met, then there is no promise of answered prayer. Have I not been abiding in you? Has your word not been abiding in me?
• Jesus, how I hunger for the fullness of this abiding! 

Tom's eyes were getting big. I smiled. He appeared to be learning quickly.

"Tom, Jesus gave us this promise because he wanted it to be our experience. It's important to study, but we must not stop there. We need to turn the passage into prayer."

"I've never seen anything like this."

"Few people learn the obvious secret: to pray in God's will, pray God's Word back to Him! But it isn't about finding a verse and using it like a magical incantation to 'speak into existence' whatever you want. Did you notice as we made our list the Spirit deepened our hunger for him and that we were brought to a place of submission? That's the way it works. Praying this way increases our desire for Him and we grow to understand what he want. We then become a junior partner with him by praying for what is on his heart. Here, Jesus wants us to abide in him. Praying the passage back to him is a key way to make it happen."

"Have you been praying this way for very long?"

"Years. When I am alone with my Bible open, sometimes I am studying it like you might any book. But usually I am in a conversation with God. I am praying based on what the Bible says. Sometimes I pray for myself and other times the Spirit seems to lead me to pray for another person. In my praying for our church I am praying through the book of Ephesians. I will read a few verses listening for the Spirit to tell me to stop and linger in prayer. It is usually no more than a paragraph before I am stopping to pray based on something I am reading. I pray that the truths would become reality in our church."

"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done..."

"Exactly. He answers those kinds of prayers."

I took a sip of coffee as Tom looked at the list of prayers we had written. Finally he looked at me and said, "I'm excited to try this. Is there anything else I should know about doing it?"

"Well, there is a lot I could say, but really you learn by doing. I guess the one thing I would add is that it is important to slow down. Pray for insight and a willingness to obey what he tells you to do. Those are keys. Why don't you try praying this way for a while and tell me how it goes?"

"Sounds great! You're praying through the book of Ephesians. Maybe I'll start there and we can talk about it."

"Sure, Tom. Any excuse to have another cup of coffee with you!"