CALLED TO A FULL LIFE …
In John 14: 6 Jesus declares, “I am the way, the truth the life.” He also declares in John 10:10 “I have come that [ you ] may have life, and have it to the full.”
For myself, I have found these bold declarations of Jesus to be more than true. Whether seeking his wisdom in a particular decision or just aligning my life choices with his values and teachings, it has always without fail proved to be the best “way.” Those moments where I am struggling to forgive or to see hope or am feeling confused - it has been his presence and the truth he brings that has helped me to let go, to find hope, to find peace and freedom. And those times where I have felt restless, hungry for more it has been he himself and again, aligning my own way of life with his character, values and teachings, that has brought me a sense of that “life to the full” - as opposed to the times I have tried to secure my own happiness through other things, people, circumstances. And as I have discovered this fullness of life in him, I have also discovered more of myself and experienced the freedom of stepping more into I who I really am.
You might say, “Okay, Crystal, so I know that supposedly life to the full is found in Jesus. That all the peace, security, joy, hope, direction that I long for can ultimately be found in him. But how do I actually experience that? How do I access it?”
That’s where prayer comes in.
We can often view prayer as just asking - almost a sort of Christian magical wishing well. But asking is more a result of the purpose of prayer - not the purpose itself.
Pete Greig, founder of the 24-7 Prayer movement says this in his book Dirt Glory: “The point of prayer… is not the power that it releases but the person it reveals… I don’t pray because I’m into prayer. I pray because I’m into Jesus, so we talk. I don’t believe in the power of prayer. I believe in the power of Jesus, so I ask for his help. A lot.”
The purpose of prayer is relationship with the one who created you, loves you more than you can ever fully comprehend and is closer to you that your own breath.
Like any relationship, our relationship with God deepens and strengthens as we spend time with him, sharing our hearts and listening to his. The more we do this, the more we discover how powerful, wise, loving and kind he is. We discover just how much we are greatly loved and deeply known by him. There is no judgement there, only welcome. So then we know we can trust him with those big and little asks that are so important to us.
Prayer is the incredible gift he has given us to grow in our relationship with him, to communicate with him and it is also where we can access true peace, wisdom, new perspective, hope, strength, joy, and security.
And this gift of prayer is made even more effective by all the creative ways we can utilise it. There is no just one way. There are forms of prayer like Breath Prayer and the Prayer of Examen that can help us access his peace immediately, process our day, release things that are weighing on us and find gratitude. Or forms of prayer like lament that help us process and express pain, grief, disappointment, fear and anger. Or using creativity in prayer, like visual journaling, can help us get past our heads and into our hearts so we can express honestly what we are really feeling and God can speak words that bring us life, hope and joy.
These forms of prayer were introduced to us centuries ago. And this is the other gift that comes alongside the gift of prayer and makes it even more powerful. Community.
We need one another. Time alone with God is vital. But so is time with God in the presence of others. Jesus modelled this for us all the time.
God is within himself a community - Father God, Jesus and Holy Spirit. And he created us to not only need him, but to need one another. We grow best when we intentionally plant ourselves in a community of people who also want to grow and want to help us grow.
Getting to know God and accessing all he has for us in the place of prayer takes intentionality. And so does community.
I want to encourage you to start today, even with just two other friends who also want to grow in their relationship with Jesus. Agree together that you are going to be intentional in spending time with God every day and learning different and creative ways to pray. Then hold each other accountable, ask each other how it is going, share what you are learning with each other, where you are struggling, where you have failed. Then pray for and with one another. And find at least one person who is a bit older, a bit further down the road than you and who you know is interested in your relationship with God and in you becoming all you are meant to be, and ask them to help you learn and grow as well.
Life may not be perfect, we may not get everything we want or do everything we want to do - but living life like this with Jesus, allowing him to be our way, truth and life, will ultimately give us that life to the full that Jesus came to give us.