PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
EXODUS 33:7–11
Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Isn’t it interesting how this text and story about Moses sounds remarkably similar to this word from Jesus:
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matt. 6:6)
You would think they knew each other. You would be right. In that “tent of meeting” on the far side of the Red Sea; somewhere between the land of slavery and the land of promise, Moses met with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who with him and the Holy Spirit reign as one God forever and ever, amen.
Now, compare these two texts:
Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.”
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)
Are you seeing a theme developing. We might call it . . . wait for it . . .
CREATE SPACE FOR PRAYER.
So how do we create space for prayer? There’s clearly no magic formula here, and yet the Scriptures offer us clear and directional wisdom. It strikes me that there are at least three critical elements at play here. First, there is time. Second, there is place. Third, there is the substance of prayer itself. On the one hand, we don’t tend to think of getting prayer wrong, on the other hand, it can be easy to get off track. Here’s what I have learned about myself: If I do not have a set time and a specific place I will tend to fool myself into thinking I a) kind of pray all the time, and b) sort of pray everywhere I am. And that, my friends, is the essence of self-deception and the recipe for the malaise-ical enemy of the kingdom of God we call “casual prayer.”
Remember, Jesus was very specific:
1. Go to your room.
2. Close the door.
3. Pray to your Father who is unseen.
If you were to look at my practice over the years my interpretation of the text would appear to be as follows:
1. Go into the living room or den.
2. Sit in your chair or on the couch you always sit in no matter the occasion and no matter what you are doing.
3. Read the Bible and maybe some devotions and then prayerfully think about God and meditate in silence, doing your best to remember your family and friends with care.
4. And I almost forgot—try not to check your phone when it beeps and buzzes.
There is something about a specific kind of set-apart place for the specific kind of set-apart activity of prayer. Moses had a “tent of meeting.” Jesus had a “solitary place” outside Capernaum, (and the garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem). Many people have a prayer closet or specific room in their home. You get the point. With something as intangible as prayer, Moses and Jesus reveal to us ways of putting handles on it. They tangibilitate prayer, if you will.
There’s a favorite movie line from the old movie, Field of Dreams. You may remember it. “If you build it, he will come.” That is exactly the wrong way to think about a time and place as it comes to prayer. This is not a trick or formula or some kind of magic lever to move God. The secret is more like this: If you build it, you will come. We aren’t creating a space so God can show up. We are creating a space so we can show up. That’s the ticket.
THE PRAYER TO CRUSH CASUAL PRAYER
Abba Father, thank you for sending us your Son, Jesus. Lord Jesus, thank you for getting down on the level with us. Thank you for being so clear, specific, and practical. And thank you for not just telling us how but showing us in your own life. Forgive me for neglecting your specific instructions. Forgive me for assuming I sort of pray without ceasing when the truth is my prayer life is casual. Save me from getting caught up in creating the perfect prayer room. Help me to do this simply, to create time and place for prayer and even more to show up. Thank you that you are already there, even before I create it, waiting for me. Praying in Jesus’s name, amen.
THE QUESTION
Do you have a specific time and place for prayer? Do you show up there? How has and is God meeting you there? If not, are you ready to move in this direction? If not, why not?
