Nathan's Praying...Again

So I am completely blessed today (along with every other day) the sun has returned from its slumber and is beckoning me to forget my responsibilities and entertain it. I won’t though, it’s destined to return again, and then we will embrace each other all the daylong when it does.

Today’s thoughts come from another experience of mine, this time it involves prayer. Throughout my life prayer has been something that the Lord has been walking me through, developing and teaching me, and in no way have I ‘figured it out’ but I have discovered something that begs a question. But first a little history from my end about prayer.

Last year I had the glorious opportunity to intern under AYMI a youth organization, with the internship stressing leadership. It was a life changing experience, as it seems everything is that I’m walking through these days. My roommate for the year was a one Nathan Densely, who challenged me with the concept of prayer as we lived in our dilapidated apartment in downtown Calgary, so close to a crack house we had to wipe the dust off our counters daily (facetious). What this man taught me all year was that there was power in prayer, something that I struggled to recognize earlier on in my life. I could always find him down on his face before the Lord as he cried out to Him at all hours of the night.

Well the Lord is beginning to walk me toward similar waters. I have this huge desire to fall deeper in love with Him, spend more time with and grow our relationship. What I’m finding is that when I pray, I often have real conversations with Him, as though I can see Him there with me, face to face. I use words that I use everyday, as if speaking to my father.

Now when I’m faced with the idea of a prayer meeting, I usually find it hard to be motivated because I am faced with what seems like a ritualistic type of prayer. I am put in a room with however many people and we will either pray what is on our hearts with our heads bowed and eyes closed or we will take turns in a circle. Please understand I am in no way complaining or attempting to view this type of prayer in a negative light. What I am doing is asking the question, where is that passionate prayer that brings me to my feet, and makes me yell with intensity? Where did the idea of this structured prayer, this very seemingly traditional prayer come from?

I have been to many different places in my brief existence and nothing is more motivating then when someone pours out their hearts to the Lord. I’m asking this because I myself do it. I can notice a distinct difference with my interaction with the Lord when I’m around my close co-workers, on my own or in a prayer meeting.

Do you have any thoughts on where this developed from, and perhaps your own experiences with the idea of praying, where your at with the idea, and how you go about doing it. I would love to have your input, because really I just want to know some different perspectives.

This Necessary Contraption

I was a part of a conversation the other night when us recruitment kids were discussing this current generation of young adults, and how they depend so heavily on the internet. Now coming from the city I do – Calgary – where WIFI is being installed on all the buses so you no longer have to wait that extra half an hour to check your email, I had discovered I had some thoughts on the subject.

Ever since I can remember I have been around the Internet. Well that is not exactly true, I do remember a time in my young life where I would hover around my fathers old prehistoric black and white Apple with the rest of the children in my Sunday school and play a game know as ‘The Ancient Art of War’ a terrible war simulation game that somehow entertained us for the few minutes after church had ended before we were rushed out of the building. But when I think about it, the Internet has been apart of our lives for just about 10 years. We’ve grown up with it and have watched it evolve from its plain past to the dizzying media display it currently entertains us with. Try and imagine for a moment what your life would be like without the Internet. There would be no more questions answered by a simple Google search. How many time have you wanted the answer to a question that was pecking at your mind, wandered over to your computer and within 10 minutes found relief to that nagging thought? There would be no more instant communication other than that of the telephone or the pen on paper. I’m sure this would be a benefit for some people, even myself in some ways, as the skills of letter writing would once again be widespread. But what you would not have is days spent messaging your friends from all over the globe, electronic mail transferring files and messages at all times in the day. You would not find the interesting images and movies from all over the globe about history, people, current event and the like. No up to date sports or news. But at the same time it would be much more difficult to stumble across the filth that is pornography and all sorts of other evils that plague the Internet.

Think about the places this contraption has taken us in the past and where it is taking us in the future. What would your life be like without the Internet? Would you be reading more books, watching more television, spending more time outside? Would you be the social butterfly you have become, would you have as many surface level friendships and with the same breath would you have as deep friendship so quickly? Would your relationship with that guy or girl be strained because of the difficult communication? We live in a day and age where we cannot help but be affected in some way by this giant that is the Internet. What would your life be like without it? And how can we harness this machine’s potential to develop our world and ourselves? A lot has changed in 10 quick years, imagine what you’ll be surfing in fifty.

Wal-Mart Special

With my time for writing seemingly disappearing during recruitment and the Stanley Cup playoffs, I have been tempted to fill this page with things that did not tweak my interest or heart for that matter. I have resisted and unbeknownst to me found myself getting side swiped of all places at Wal-Mart in Moose Jaw.

We were traveling around town looking for the big W, and after exploring its contents for a while were getting ready to leave. Before we left the female members of the team had to check one last section leaving Craig and myself to entertain ourselves. We heard a jingle coming from a box hanging off the shelf and decided to further investigate. Turns out it was one of those boxes full of nature sounds, work out music and classical hits, where you press the button and get a small sample of the musical treats inside. Craig played a song from Avril Lavigne, who lyrics spouted off, “she said see ya later boy, he wasn’t good enough for her…” Having heard this countless times before I thought nothing much of it until I replayed the lyric in my head prompting the question…who decides who is ‘good enough’ for another person?

I had a tough time thinking about it because I’ve thought it so many times before. I have noticed a developing relationship and thought that one person was not good enough for the other. Why was this? Well it was probably a judgment based on past choices or circumstances, current choices and lifestyles, personality, attitude, or any other number of things. I am sure many of us have considered these thoughts before but are they to be validated? Should we allow ourselves to categorize each other into classes, when we are all seen as equals in the eyes of Christ? To me it seems so odd, but it is almost like a pattern in life, where certain sections of people date certain sections of other people. I can have discussions where people will bring up the idea of having romantic feelings for someone but submitting them to the trash because that person sees there self as being unwilling to measure to the one having caught their eye or heart. I cannot seem to comprehend where this type of thinking developed, but I have to admit it has infected my thinking.

Another thought that came out of this thought was, without censoring my presumptions and judgments, why is it that certain people end up dating or marrying when one member of the party doesn’t seem to -for lack of a better term – measure up? In my very brief existence I have unfortunately run across a very common theme, where young women seem to be very self conscious and insecure of themselves. I wish it could be otherwise, but I have encountered so many deflating stories to believe it to be otherwise. Now what I have noticed is that a man may come into a young women’s life and make her feel beautiful and wonderful like the princess she is and was born to realize and they will fall in love. But I think to myself that person deserves ‘better’. Shame on me and my skewed views. Is it not my own selfishness that would wish for someone to be with someone else for MY own happiness? Or do I genuinely care for both individuals and want the best for both? It is a fine line that seems impossible to see and perhaps harder to walk. What I am learning is there are no rules to love, no prerequisites, perhaps just circumstance, maybe destiny, maybe a little bit of both. I know so little on the subject it is humbling, but I thought I would share this thought of self-discovery.

We need to treat brothers and sisters of Christ with love and respect. I can feel so convicted when I catch myself placing people in certain tiers of respect. If this type of judgment is wrong I pray the Lord redeem my thoughts and cleanse my heart of such selfish desires. I would love your insight into the subject of viewing peoples choices in a relationship, whether you think it justified or not, let me hear your views of this unpredictable dance.