Unanswered Prayer (3)

 

But now let me bring something else into the picture and see what you think, let me ask a question, “But what of the Body of Christ?”

 

Jesus teaches us to pray, “Our Father.” In this same passage He talks to us about entering our closets, but then we also have “Our Father.” Not “My Father,” but “Our Father.” Now as we see in Romans and Galatians we also assuredly have the “My Father” with the “Abba Father”; so we have both – the closet and the congregation…but still note the “we are the children of God” in Romans 8.

 

If we look at 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4 we have pictures of us as the Body of Christ, and within this Body we see the gifts and the graces and mercies of God flowing. Isn’t it interesting that while all three present the same image, the Light refracts a bit differently in each passage?

 

Well now, here’s the thing, here’s a question, “Can we ignore the context of these passages and still expect the power and grace of God to be expressed as illustrated in these passages?” In other words, can we ignore 1 Cor. 12:21 – 26 as our Way of Life and still expect to see 1 Cor. 12:8 – 10 working in our midst in a Biblical fashion?

 

I am pretty certain that we can’t ignore the Body, the gifts and graces of these passages are for the Body of Christ and God’s design and purpose are that they are expressed by the Holy Spirit through the Body (1 Cor. 12:11; Rom. 12:4 – 5). However, if the Body is not functioning then is there really a window of opportunity for God’s gifts and graces to be expressed? Are not such opportunities severely limited?

 

I just finished a book about splitting the atom and the Manhattan Project, and it occurs to me that what I’m writing about, in terms of the Body, is similar in the sense that when the Body is given the opportunity to learn and grow that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and that the Body’s explosive dynamics can astound us. I have seen this throughout my life in various denominational settings, what has mattered is that people have been given the opportunity to meet together, share life together, and learn to serve one another in Christ, share with one another, and pray for one another.

 

When God’s People are given the opportunity to allow the Holy Spirit to express Himself through them then we see passages such as 1 Corinthians 12 manifested – both the first part of the chapter and the second part – they are two wings of an airplane, the plane will not fly without both wings. Better yet, two wings of a bird that organically grow and complement each other. It is okay if the bird falls from the nest a few times, if Christ is the Head of the Body then He will care for the Body. It is our job to put the bird back in the nest and encourage it to try again.

 

When people pray for one another together in community we just have no idea what will happen. But when they don’t pray for one another we have a pretty good idea what will happen…not much. And when I say “pray” I mean in a relational group, often with laying hands on one another, speaking to one another, listening to the Holy Spirit, listening for the Word of the Bible to speak…and meeting together frequently so that relationships in Christ are deepened and being “members of one another” moves beyond a concept and into a manifested reality.

 

Now to be sure, there have been times when I’ve asked congregations to gather with those immediately around them for prayer, and that has its place…I think a good place…maybe I should have done that more.

 

The fact that we see nothing amiss in our churches when we read 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4 ought to tell us something about our condition, but we dare not go there – better leave well enough alone and applaud the Emperor’s new clothes.