An interview with Philip Yancey (an excerpt only)
RELEVANTmagazine.com interviews author Philip Yancey on his book Prayer: Does it make a difference? Here’s an excerpt:
What advice do you have for twentysomethings just beginning to embark on their Christian journey, specifically in regards to prayer?
In one word, Relax. It’s too bad prayer comes bundled in a package of “spiritual disciplines.” Really, we should see prayer as a spiritual privilege. We don’t do it as a callisthenic exercise to gain points with God; we do it, because it is good for us in every way. I quote the author Roberta Bondi who says so many people worry about “doing it right.” Hey, if you’re praying, you’re doing it right. I try to include some practical hints, but mainly I think a good prayer life depends on a trust relationship. You need to have a strong belief in a loving, merciful God who cares about you and the trust to open up to God with complete transparency. God already knows the naked truth about us, of course. Why not acknowledge it? So many times we act like the child who plays peek-a-boo—covering her eyes with her hands, thinking you can’t see her. Hiding ourselves from God is just as futile.
After living a significant portion of your life as a Christian, how has prayer shaped you, your life, your relationships?
I spend some time in the book looking closely at Jesus’ own practice of prayer. As the Son of God, He knew how the universe worked. When He prayed, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” He knew well what He was asking. And yet at every major juncture of life—the temptation, choosing disciples, His baptism, meeting the needs of the masses, the Garden of Gethsemane—He made prayer a priority. I call that “getting His truth batteries recharged.” Jesus of all people knew that a sovereign, loving God rules the universe, and yet when He’s surrounded by guards buckling on swords and torture devices, it’s hard to keep that in mind. If Jesus needed prayer as a lifeline to the truth about the universe, how much more do I? Every day the world, especially through the media, conspires to convince me that what matters most in life is wealth, prestige, beauty. Jesus said exactly the opposite: the poor are blessed, as are those who mourn, the persecuted. Prayer forces me back to ultimate truth, gives me a refresher course in how God views this planet—with sadness, surely, but also with boundless compassion and love. And then I spiral in to how God views me—with sadness, surely, but also with boundless compassion and love. Then I go out, renewed, to join the stream of God’s work in the world.
:)
What advice do you have for twentysomethings just beginning to embark on their Christian journey, specifically in regards to prayer?
In one word, Relax. It’s too bad prayer comes bundled in a package of “spiritual disciplines.” Really, we should see prayer as a spiritual privilege. We don’t do it as a callisthenic exercise to gain points with God; we do it, because it is good for us in every way. I quote the author Roberta Bondi who says so many people worry about “doing it right.” Hey, if you’re praying, you’re doing it right. I try to include some practical hints, but mainly I think a good prayer life depends on a trust relationship. You need to have a strong belief in a loving, merciful God who cares about you and the trust to open up to God with complete transparency. God already knows the naked truth about us, of course. Why not acknowledge it? So many times we act like the child who plays peek-a-boo—covering her eyes with her hands, thinking you can’t see her. Hiding ourselves from God is just as futile.
After living a significant portion of your life as a Christian, how has prayer shaped you, your life, your relationships?
I spend some time in the book looking closely at Jesus’ own practice of prayer. As the Son of God, He knew how the universe worked. When He prayed, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” He knew well what He was asking. And yet at every major juncture of life—the temptation, choosing disciples, His baptism, meeting the needs of the masses, the Garden of Gethsemane—He made prayer a priority. I call that “getting His truth batteries recharged.” Jesus of all people knew that a sovereign, loving God rules the universe, and yet when He’s surrounded by guards buckling on swords and torture devices, it’s hard to keep that in mind. If Jesus needed prayer as a lifeline to the truth about the universe, how much more do I? Every day the world, especially through the media, conspires to convince me that what matters most in life is wealth, prestige, beauty. Jesus said exactly the opposite: the poor are blessed, as are those who mourn, the persecuted. Prayer forces me back to ultimate truth, gives me a refresher course in how God views this planet—with sadness, surely, but also with boundless compassion and love. And then I spiral in to how God views me—with sadness, surely, but also with boundless compassion and love. Then I go out, renewed, to join the stream of God’s work in the world.
:)
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