John Killinger tells the story of a woman who was juggling a great bundle of books in her arms. Standing in the parking lot of a local bookstore, a friend of the woman asked her, “What in the world are you doing? Are you opening your own bookstore?” “No,” the woman replied, “these are all books about prayer. All my life I have been hearing about the importance of prayer, so I finally decided to learn how to pray. I have bought fourteen books on the subject. And not only that, I have signed up for two courses on prayer: one at my church, and one at a friend’s church. I am really going to master this subject!”
Several weeks later, the friend ran into the woman at a grocery store. “How is the big project going?” he asked. “Have you learned to pray?” She hung her head and made a gesture of despair. “It was too complicated,” she said, “and I gave it up. Now I’m taking a course in Yoga.”
It’s true that there are a plethora of books on prayer, expressing many different theological perspectives and practical viewpoints. There are also many courses on prayer that are available for classroom study, small-group ministry, or personal growth. However, the four Gospels in the New Testament are still our best guide to understanding prayer, and what we find in the teaching of Jesus is not very complicated. Nevertheless, His teachings on the subject can be challenging at times.
For example, Jesus taught His disciples to pray for their enemies. “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6.27-28). Killinger writes that the disciples were instructed to desire and pray for the salvation of others, “regardless of how they felt about their enemies. And the amazing thing they doubtless discovered as they prayed for their enemies was that they no longer had enemies! An enemy prayed for is no longer an enemy.” This is an important lesson for church leaders, for, while it would be difficult to say that the church of today has the same type of “enemies” it had two thousand years ago, the church is never without its critics. In fact, the only way church leaders can avoid criticism is to doing nothing at all…and even then, critics would level the charge of laziness against the church!
Church leaders must face the reality that criticism can never be avoided and often never truly defused once expressed. The answer to criticism is always found in praying for the critics; it may not change the criticism, but it helps prevent church leaders from viewing critics as “enemies.” Prayerfully evaluating criticism also helps keep our hearts humble and our attention focused on the greatness and goodness of God. Criticism should always serve as a reminder that “it’s not about us;” it’s about “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1.27 NIV). We are the body of Christ, continuing His ministry in today’s world. While that is an awesome task, it is also an awesome privilege. We must never allow criticism to rob us of the wonder and the joy of that privilege…a privilege that is by the grace of God alone.
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