To know and be known

This past Sunday in class, we wrestled with the idea of unanswered prayers. There were some questions that were raised and we had a great discussion. However, it seemed like at the end we had surfaced more questions than answers.

That might make some people uneasy, but for me it is simply a part of the journey. While God is near and accessible, God is also beyond comprehension. We are seeking to develop a relationship with a God who desires intimacy, but also requires awe.

In his letter to the churches around Ephesus, Paul penned the following prayer…

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Paul realized that God is both within reach and beyond our understanding. In the same prayer, Paul asks for God to live within us while calling us to seek a love that surpasses our ability to comprehend it.

This journey can be frustrating and discouraging at times. There are moments in life when we fail to understand why something happens or where God might be in the midst of the mess.

In those moments, I don’t believe that God wants us to blindly accept reality and just “deal with it.” At that same time, I don’t believe that God wants us to walk away. God weeps when we weep, smiles when we smile, and stands beside us when we can no longer stand. That is where prayer comes in.

Prayer is a way for us to connect with a God that loves us more than we can imagine. God wants us to cry when we need to shed tears and laugh when we rejoice. God wants to walk this journey of life with us so that when our life here ends, we can continue the journey with God into eternity. In the meantime, God wants nothing more than to know his people and for God’s people to know him.

 

shine!
Jason