I’ve always imagined when I’m praying that my spirit is transferred up to the throne room of God in that moment. That while my body is kneeling beside my bed or driving in my car, my spirit is raptured into the holy of holies, into the presence of God…who is there, but not necessarily here.
For several years now, however, I’ve been increasingly convinced that the biblical idea of “Kingdom of Heaven” is a very this worldly reality. That the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus in this world means that the Kingdom of Heaven is not elsewhere, but present and active here.
It’s funny how paradigm shifts tend to take a while to apply.
The implications of the hereness of the Kingdom of Heaven immediately convinced me that a place called Heaven is not the ultimate goal of the Christian life. But up until recently my imagination in prayer still took me up to a remote, distant, heavenly throne room.
Reading this morning in the Sermon on the Mount (Jesus’ most explicit delineation of the Kingdom of Heaven!), I saw the error of my praying ways. Jesus prays for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The implication here is that prayer, like church gatherings, aren’t mini Christian vacations into heaven. They are not temporary forays into the next life or another world. Prayer, like church gatherings, are a full engagement with this world. Prayer takes place within and for this world. It does not long for a time to escape, it is an expression of a soul already fully engage in God’s redemptive purposes for this world. I love how Eugene Peterson says it, “Prayer is not an escape from what is going on around us. It is gutsy participation in every earthly detail.”
If heaven is God’s throne, then earth is his footstool. And I can pray at His footstool because that’s where God’s feet touch our ground.
Amen. Excellent. A much needed word for our time. http://textsincontext.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/love-prayer-and-forgiveness-now-also-in-ebook-format/
Awesome post bro! I clicked because of the Star Wars picture, just being honest
Now I know what attracts you!
An “aha” moment like that for me was when I realized that, from the moment I accepted Christ, I had already stepped into my eternity with Him. Eternity begins here and we should be aware of that and begin living that reality!
Over the last few months I have really been thinking about, reading about and more intentionally practicing prayer. In many ways I think prayer is the final frontier for many Christians, especially the more educated (pastors especially) ones. Prayer is ever in front of us, but diving into those depths is terribly frightening just because of the immensity and unknown.
Props for sharing this place of growth. I would recommend E.M.Bounds works on prayer. They have been an amazing part of my intentional journey of prayer.
Good word, Cathy! Thanks for sharing that.
Chad, I’ve never read EM Bounds. I’ve seen the book. I’ve even owned it, I think. But I’ve never read it. You’ve given me cause to do so.
Would it be good for my morning devotional times?