Review of In Constant Prayer by Robert Benson

I have been a Christian for many years now and one of the areas in which I have struggled is establishing a steady prayer life. I found this book to be a good tool to encourage prayer in a new way. Well, at least new for me. He uses many ancient practices and books to discover what was a center piece for prayer throughout the early years of the church. The principles that he points out are not new and therefore, at least to some, the book could be considered old news. I found them refreshing. The tone of the book is conversational and intimate. It seems that he is allowing us to see his struggles and how prayer books of the past as well as set times were an avenue into a deeper understanding and practice of prayer. Is it possible that when the Reformers left the Catholic Church did they leave behind powerful means of encountering God? Did they throw the baby out with the bathwater? Throughout the generations many of the great practices of prayer that were life nourishing and empowering were neglected. He points out that one of the obstacles that we must get past our ignorance and fear of anything that is associated with Catholicism and begin embracing prayer through the ancient practices.These practices are a way to restore and strengthen the church. Because of my Protestant and Evangelical background I found some of the things that are mentioned in Benson's work uncomfortable and challenging. I might not be up for going all the way that he has and encourages but I have learned to value the faith and disciplines of those that have come before me.

At the beginning of May a friend of mine challenged me to read a chapter of Proverbs a day for the month. There are 31 days and 31 chapters. I have really enjoyed the very practical nature of this book. It seems sometimes as I read through other books of the Bible I find that the spiritual nature is so far above me in understanding and application, but Proverbs is plain and very straight forward. I was reading chapter eleven today and there were two verses that really stood out to me. Verses ten and eleven deal with the interaction of the righteous and the wicked and their cities. "When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation. By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked." Proverbs 11:10,11 Many people from many different philosophical,theological,and cultural backgrounds are sounding the alarm that this great nation is in trouble in many ways. Inflation is rising, jobs are hard to find, violence is up, the general attitude of this land is becoming more and more skeptical and cynical. Morally, we have become relativistic, what is right and true for you is not necessarily right and true for me. When morality becomes relative immorality becomes an accepted norm. This is easily observed in what passes for entertainment today, but it doesn't end there, immorality is spreading to every aspect of American culture (the church in America is not excused from this by far). My understanding of the text quoted above is very simple, as the righteous and upright go so does the city or nation. Who are the righteous and upright? The righteous are the ones who have been declared to be in right standing with God. We are declared right in the sight of God when we repent of sin and declare Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior. The upright are those who live lives that are a reflection of God's law and will. Living uprightly is the outward display of the righteousness imparted to those in relationship to God through Jesus Christ. Righteousness and uprightness are not well received in our world today. To stand upon the statutes and principles of the Word of God is not a popular view point. So the righteous and upright have begun to hide and fail to speak out against the very things that are destroying our future. For example, in the spirit of free speech music artist have been allowed to promote all kinds of filth and we allow our greatest hope and our greatest blessings, our children, to hear and mimic it. Then in great disgust we turn on the children and complain that they are far worse than any generation before them. Let me just say that I do not oppose free speech and the opportunity for these individuals to share what is in their hearts. I would say that it is interesting that we as a society can tolerate and even promote actions that offend a large section Americans but find their rebuttal of said behavior intolerable. These verses stand as a warning against forsaking righteousness and uprightness. They serve as a reminder of what is the outcome when wickedness is the sponsored religion of the city. The wicked perish and the city is overthrown. We are seeing a great decline in America's ability to sustain it's position in the world today because our politics, culture, ideology, theology have become stained with wickedness. It is interesting that as Judeo-Christian values are replaced with moral relativism that depression,cynicism, skepticism, sexual deviancy, divorce, violent crimes (including juveniles), business fraud are all on the rise. Those that practice these things would say you're just making this up but if we truly look at the world around us, I ask who really has their head in the sand? The righteous must begin to speak out IN LOVE to a world that has called evil good and good evil. If restoration is even possible and apart of God's plan it is going to take the people of this once great nation to repent and to return to the God who brought such great prosperity and favor in the past. God bless!

Redeeming Religion

The word religion is a very interesting word that should be used with extreme caution. When it is invoked many different definitions, feelings, ideologies, etc. surface. As Christian and a minister I have seen this word become almost profanity in many Christian circles. Religion it seems has become synonymous with legalism. Religion is cold, bitter, self-seeking, arrogant, demeaning to others. At least, that is how it is portrayed by many. I must confess sometimes I have even used the word religion in this manner. Religion however, is not synonymous with legalism. Legalism, in a nutshell, is believing that if one abides by the rules then one is right with God. It even goes farther in that in order for one to be right with God one must follow an individuals rules. Legalism is displayed in all groups within Christendom. This is not what religion is. The most basic definition for religion that I can give is, it is man's attempt to reach God. Now we know that man cannot reach God by ourselves, therefore religion itself cannot attain its desire and can very quickly become legalism. The idea of man attempting to reach God is really an awesome point to start from. Paul springboards off of this idea at Mars Hill and reveals to pagan Greeks the unknown God they had built an altar to. He told them that they are worshiping someone they don't know and instead of condemning their empty religion, he reveals Jesus Christ. Religion can be great place to start from for many people. Man reaching out for God has its merit. Jesus himself promises that if you seek you will find, if you knock it will be opened, and if you ask you will receive. Understanding that religion cannot save is vital. Being a moral and a good person (in our own estimation) does not give us access to God and eternal life. It is in a way a Tower of Babel and we cannot approach God in our righteousness and estimation of self. The tower must crumble. While religion can be that springboard to truth, it isn't truth. We must use the gate that has been provided. Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No comes to Father but through me." We dare not change the method one enters into heaven, but should not destroy a tool God can use to bring them to the way. Religion within Christianity is not altogether malignant either. James says that true religion or true faith is taking care of widows and orphans. Boiling it down, true religion is action. So again the definition changes. Religion and faith become synonymous in James' epistle. True faith is more than joining a church, getting baptized, going to an altar and reciting a prayer. These can and should be a part of the faith, but coupling faith and action is true faith or true religion. We do a disservice to the Kingdom of God when we make blanket statements about religion. It is important we put it in context. We must not use this word as a synonym for legalism. To those outside the faith it can be a powerful tool to bring them into the right gate. Someone searching for truth, meaning, reality, for purpose and who is reaching out into the unknown can be reached if we don't demean the efforts they have already put forth. Religion and faith according to James are necessary to please God. It is time that we as the body of Christ redeem this word. At the very least it is far more than legalism. Religion pointed in the proper and right direction is actually pleasing to God. When it is only used in a negative way we miss out on the beauty of another far more important meaning, that is, reaching out and following Jesus Christ.