I had a heart to heart with my prayer life this weekend after reading Bradley Nasif's essay The Poverty of Love (part of the Christian Vision Project). As an Eastern Orthodox theologian at an evangelical institution, Nasif is able to communicate the nuances and particulars of the Orthodox faith in the evangelical language I am more accustomed to reading, thinking, and writing.

Nasif makes the crucial point that:

When practiced in humility, ascetic rigor results in greater love. The monks fasted because they were hungry to love God more; they prayed because they wanted closer communion with God and neighbor; they contemplated so they could better fix their gaze on their divine spouse; they practiced silence because they wanted to hear God so they could speak and act more wisely to the people around them. The end goal of every spiritual practice employed by the monks was love.

Over the past couple of weeks some crazy stuff has been happening in my life that has caused a fog to roll over my brain.  I haven't been able to write without assistance from movies, books, or events to provide perspective and direction to my thought. 

When life gets rough this "thinking malaise" happens to me.  I can write about communities after watching some movies, but I just cannot sit and think about community---too much other stuff on my mind.  Or too little.

When life gets rough everything starts blending together and I enter this "spiritual comatose" when I cannot be silent but cannot really think either.  It's like my brain keeps yawning and hitting the snooze button. ... more

The papal mass was on TV yesterday in the New York City area.  And by "on TV" I mean all of TV, as in channels 2,4,5,7,9, and 11---everything you can get with rabbit ears.  No sports, no political talk shows, not even infomercials.  Capitalism, entertainment, and politics all submitted, bowed down and gave way to the Pope and the Catholic mass at Yankee Stadium.  I thought this was simply extraordinary.  Not even the State of the Union address gets full six-channel, rabbit-ears coverage.  Time seemed to stop for the Pope, and all eyes were on Yankee Stadium not for baseball or a rock concert, but for a mass.

The mass itself was beautiful.  Before the Eucharist, prayers were offered in many languages, and the liturgy expressed the diversity found in New York City.  Every channel had an announcer and a color commentator, like they were covering the Rose Parade, yet I think that was actually a good thing.  Since the general public is naive about all things Christian, the commentators had to explain everything in great detail, including the doctrine of substantiation, why gifts are displayed before the pope, the significance of the bread and wine, the liturgical significance of prayer, the role of incense, etc.  All the Sunday afternoon TV viewers, so accustomed to old sci-fi flicks or Mets games, were funneled into the worship of thousands of people.

What a sight: thousands of people partaking in communion, and this receiving far more attention than baseball or the president for that matter. 

I was so encouraged by seeing the gospel displayed before all, not in fancy rhetoric or fiery preaching, but in the sacraments and song.  That is truly Christ proclaimed.  In the flesh, so to speak... ... more

 What is the value of prayer?

Sometimes it is very hard to pray - it can feel so lame and repetetive. I once read an exhortation to "let your praying become doing, and your doing praying."

(I've never been able to find where this qote came from, so if any of you can help me out, I'd be grateful!) For some reason it has stuck with me, and I've spent the past few years trying to "go and learn what this means." It is a hard lesson. Colossians 4:2 says we should be devoted to prayer - so, as a first point if we are doing what the Word says then doing does become praying. And prayer, I've noticed, is convicting. Yes, that ugly word. But conviction leads to action, and that is how praying becomes doing. There is another side to the coin though; if you don't do one, you will undoubtably fail to do the other (even if you don't notice that you're failing). Letting your praying become doing is a way of communing with God in all things, not just during your devotional time; instead, it moves that devotional time into every moment of your day because everything falls under the category "doing." ... more

It took me a while to get my head around making my own prayer beads. I wanted my prayer beads to be individualized because I made them, not because I am starting my own mode of prayer. Although, if I did I could write a book and tour the country preaching the easy 5-step plan that starts with making your own prayer beads and ends with the final step of signing the lease to your yacht as it rests in the crystal blue waters of the resort town you just bought in Cancun. Oh wait, wasn't that book called the Prayer of Jabez? (It's been a long time since you heard those words, huh? Never forget!)

So off I went to the local craft store to find some wooden beads and a cross pendant. My wife came along for both moral and aesthetic support, and she joined me in making her own prayer beads as well. We found some really nice beads that fit our own personalities. I think it is important to have beads that reflect your personality, because then they become a part of you, a way to transcend your individuality (yourself, your beads) to the communion of the saints (the Godhead and the Body of Christ). If nothing else, you will not use the beads if you dislike their appearance. Call me vain, but I picked out some wood beads that remind me of the woods and bookshelves, both things I enjoy, especially when heavily laden with either fruit or books, respectively.

A big snag came with the purchasing of a cross pendant. The one at the local craft store was pathetic---it had was painted, flimsy, and looked like a toy you get in the plastic bubbles at the grocery store. It took me a while to find a pendant that fit my liking, but I providentially stumbled upon Full Circle Beads, and Cyd was gracious enough to let me pick out a pendant from her collection and buy it without beads. I highly recommend the store, the beads are fantastic and the service equally so. ... more

For the church plant I am a part of getting off the ground I was asked to organize a directed prayer centered on the Great Commission. The litany follows and has been adapted for general prayer use.

Scripture Reading: Matthew 28.16-20, Acts 1.7-11

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said:

"It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." ... more

Ash Wednesday is tomorrow, and I am not looking forward to it.  I feel sick and crumby, which is not the way Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday is supposed to feel like.  I am stuffed up and have a sinus headache when I should be rejoicing before I begin the Lenten fast. 

I am going to go through N.T. Wright's Reflecting the Glory meditations during Lent again, and try to focus on the aspects of celebration within suffering and hope within suffering, which is why I am bummed about my Mardi Gras cold. 

The overriding though for Lent this year for me is going to be Satan's picture of the kingdom during his temptation of Christ, and how Christ responded: in a rejection tinged with hope.  The kingdom is coming, even in the wilderness of suffering and fasting---that is what I hope for as we all begin this Lenten season. ... more

I am delighted to invite you to join us at our Global Prayer Gathering, April 11-13, 2008, in the Washington, DC area. IJM field operations leaders from Asia, Africa, Latin America, Canada, the UK and the U.S. will gather with us for a powerful time of asking God to bring rescue to the oppressed. As friends and staff of IJM come together for prayer and worship, we will celebrate God’s goodness and righteousness and ask that He would continue to use us to fulfill His promises of justice. ... more

Paul Soupiset is an artist, musician, worship and liturgy leader, graphic designer, editor, typophile and armchair theologian. Paul and his wife Amy have four beautiful kids. He was born in 1969 in San Antonio, ten minutes before his twin brother, Mark.

Currently a graphic designer in San Antonio, Paul has served as the creative director and lead designer at Toolbox Studios since its inception in 1996.