Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

from the June 2010 Newsletter

Prayer? Prayer is both the most exhilarating and the most frustrating experience in life.
When God answers your prayer, it's a feeling like no other. So often our prayers don't get answered the way we want. When that's the case, it can be so disappointing it drives you to tears.

We believe praying is like baking with an easy, three-step cake mix, coming out perfect every time. Despite all the books that promise such a thing, there is no secret formula we can use to guarantee the results we want. Still, we keep looking for it. We think about times we got exactly what we wanted and try to recall everything we did. Is there a secret formula we can follow to control how God answers our prayers?

"If prayer stands as the place where human beings meet, then I must learn about prayer," writes Philip Yancey. The Church Library has added Philip Yancey's, "Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?"to its collection. His book circles around two themes: "Why God doesn't act the way we want God to, and why (we) don't act the way God wants (us) to. Prayer is the precise point where those two themes converge. In his most powerful book, Philip Yancey probes the very heartbeat---the most fundamental, challenging, perplexing, and deeply rewarding aspect---of our relationship with God. His book "...explores the questions surrounding prayer that many of us wonder but few of us know how to express."

Philip Yancey, in an interview with Christian Odyssey Magazine (Dec. '06-Jan '07) http://www.christianodyssey.com/06/0612prayer.htm, added this powerful gem about Prayer:

"Don't fake it. A lot of us are like children playing 'peek-a-boo,' hiding their faces in their hands so you can't see them. They are the only ones being fooled. But a lot of us do that in prayer. We come to God, put on a smile and make ourselves look good, but we aren't fooling God. God knows the secrets. The more we put on a mask, the more we misrepresent ourselves. I heard a great sermon about Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. You don't hear much about them, except in sermons on Stewardship Sunday. But this preacher asked what it was that they did wrong. It was not that they did not give their money away. Peter said they didn't have to. But they misrepresented themselves to God. The whole Bible is full of what God puts up with from us—complaints, anger, remorse, repentance. But if you pretend to be something you are not, he can't work with you."

Yancey writes in "Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?"-

"Prayer is cooperation with God, a consent that opens the way for grace to work. Most of the time the Counsellor communicates subtly: feeding ideas into my mind, bringing to awareness a caustic comment I just made, inspiring me to choose better than I would have done otherwise, shedding light on the hidden dangers of temptation, sensitizing me to another's needs. God's Spirit whispers rather than shouts, and brings peace not turmoil." (p. 103)

Everything in this world that we put our faith in has the potential to fail. God does not. He is consistently reliable, even if we do not agree with his decisions. He always leads us in the right direction if we give in to his will. In the "Lord's Prayer," Jesus said to his Father, "…your will be done." (Matthew 6:10, NIV) I believe that only when we reach the place where we are willing to do or accept God's will instead of our own, we will have reached the turning point in our prayers.

~M C

New Film added: The New World

from the June 2010 newsletter

“If we are to love God, we must first stop, look, and listen for Him in what is happening around us and inside us. If we are to love our neighbours, before doing anything else we must see our neighbours we must see not just their faces but the life behind and within their faces.”

New Film:

"The New World"

From the celebrated writer/director Terrence Malick this is an epic story of love and change, As the Europeans arrive on North American Shores in 1607, we watch history unfold through the eyes of two characters on opposite sides of a cultural divide; John Smith and Pocahontas.

This is a long film (2 ½ hours) and it quite different from the usual “Hollywood” films. The director has a meditative style that may aggravate you, especially if you prefer to watch straightforward narrative, fast moving and conventional Hollywood flourishes, but it is a very good film. Terrence Malick is more of a poet who uses pictures instead of words.” Creation itself pours forth speech”, as the psalmist says, and Malick invites those with eyes to see to look closer and listen carefully.

After Sunday church services come and explore our collection of films. There are all sorts of films and I am sure I can find one that you will enjoy watching.

~P Y

Lost and found...

from the Easter 2010 newsletter

Spring is finally here, and it is time for a "Spring cleaning", again. I have noted a few Church Library books missing for some time. Could you please check your shelves, closets, under the couch, etc. to see if there are any books that may have been forgotten or misplaced?

There are a couple children's books missing --- notably, "Joseph and His Amazing Coat" and "Daniel and the Lion's Den" (both are Usborne paperback books). Another is the Christian Classic pocket book fiction, part of a series missing for quite a while --"The Curate's Awakening", by George S. McDonald -- the first book of two in the series (book two is "The Lady's Confession" which is still in the library). Thank you.

Happy Easter, and happy reading for the Soul. Nothing beats reading a Christian book! Please check out our books for all ages any Sunday!

-submitted by M C

Update: "Daniel" has been found... "Joseph" and the "Curate" are still lost...)

St. Timothy's Film Ministry:

from the Easter 2010 newsletter

Most of us watch films to be entertained. We enjoy seeing a film with a good sense of humor, a film with a satisfying love story, a film with a happy ending, an inspirational story. Less often, perhaps, we watch a film for educational purposes. I am not referring to the documentary films from the National Film Board that I remember as a child (although I do admit to remembering a real sense of excitement when the teacher rolled in the 16mm film projector!), but rather films, which allow us to explore different perspectives on life and situations that we encounter during a normal day.

Jeffrey Overstreet, a Christian film critic who lives in Seattle, best known for his work with the magazine “Christianity Today”, writes film reviews, which encourage me to watch films with a Christian perspective. His opinions on film challenge and encourage me to ask questions and learn more about what it means to be a Christian.

Overstreet believes that Christian film reviews in the past have focused on the dangers of movie going. For example, it might have been suggested to avoid a film because it was “too worldly, might lure people into temptation and could be a stumbling block to the Christian faith”. Jeffrey believes that focusing on the dangers of a film can prevent us from realizing that a good film is like telling a story; it can allow us to encounter a different perspective and enter into someone else's world. Unfortunately, some films do “celebrate” the darkness and make it look very appealing. Think of horror films that exploit “ugly” things just to sell tickets; this is not excellence in film. A good film is real and should enable us to engage with, listen to, and understand our neighbours.

An example of a film, which may be difficult to watch, is “Juno”. A film about teenage pregnancy, it accurately portrays the painful challenges of the situation. Overstreet believes that the film shows how the characters think the challenges through, how they make choices that are “sometimes admirable and sometimes dismaying.” “Some wise decisions lead to trouble, some of the foolish decisions lead to blessings. In that way, Juno resembles real life.”

As much as we all like happy endings, try considering that a good film might not have a happy ending. Life doesn't always turn out the way we want. Our prayers aren't always answered. Christians don't always win. In fact if we are to believe in Scripture, we should believe that Christians are more likely to suffer more than others. A good film will explore what happens when the character doesn't get what he wants. It will explore the good and the bad choices that people make and the resulting consequences.

A good example of this is the film, “Into the Wild”, based on the true story of Chris McCandless a young man who leaves his home and family and essentially abandons life to live as a recluse in the wilderness of Alaska. Throughout the story God reaches out to him through many different people, only for Chris to refuse to “open” the door. In the end, he realizes too late, the missed “golden” opportunities. The film is true to life in so many ways.

In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, verse14, Jesus tells us we are “the light of the world”. The world that Jesus is referring to, is a world with people with real problems; a world with the worst human behaviour, the greatest depravity; a world with people who are truly lost. This is the world where God's love and grace needs to shine brightly. This is what Jesus calls us to be and do. A good film will accurately portray this “broken” world and allow us to enter it and consider what we as Christians might or might not do.

Ultimately film choices are of course a very personal matter. What “works” for one person, may have no effect on another at all. Choose your films wisely, analyze the film for accuracy in relation to life and try and avoid always wanting the happy ending. Overstreet reminds us to “look for moments where you can see the glory of God at work in people's lives and in creation. Watch the film through the lens of faith and allow your faith to be strengthened by the awe-inspiring beauty and power of what God has made.”

-submitted by P Y