Who do you depend on?
This week I had to give another speech for my Communication as Christian Rhetoric Class (fancy seminary name for speech class). I decided to go with the topic of self-reliance vs. dependence upon God. I discussed how self-reliance was the normal and accepted cultural value...sounds like "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" and "I'm a self-made man". And then I explained how in looking at the Biblical narrative we see something much different, the value of utter dependence upon God. In doing research for this I found an interesting quote in Ronnie Floyd's book, How To Pray. It was short but powerful: "Prayer occurs when you depend on God. Prayerlessness occurs when you depend on yourself." I have not been able to get this one out of my head since earlier this week. It has become sort of the "litmus test" of my own dependence upon God.
2 Comments:
this sounds like a good thing to have stuck in your head, and your heart :)
A big surprise for me when I work with the "converted later on" crowd is the move away from prayer. It's like at first people can see the need for Christ - the hopeless state of their lives. Yet, something happens - a spiritual pride? That causes people to shrug off on prayer. I have heard this comment many times "you know, when I use to pray a lot..." isn't that wierd? And frankly, I can't be satisfied with the "enemy" answer. Practicing the spiritual disciplines is one of those things completely under our control.
...I will nonchalantly put my soapbox back under my bed :)
Smiles,
ames
great post josh-- prayer is a demonstration of voluntary poverty-- without which nothing really significant ever really happens.
Mother Theresa said something like this--- "If you do not pray your deeds will have no power; your words will have no power. Prayer enlarges the heart until it can contain the gift of God himself.
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