Army of Priests

I’ve been a big Shane Claiborne fan since his first book, The Irresistible Revolution, came out in 2006. I’ve noticed a trend in his books since then as each one repeats the main ideas in the previous books with small additions. This book, Becoming the Answers to our Prayers, written with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove is the greatest example of this trend.

The book can’t decide what it wants to be. It dithers between offering advice for your prayer life and convincing the reader of the need for social engagement. As a book about prayer the authors advise us that, “where we pray makes a difference,” (pg 57) and that, “If you will, you can become all flame.” (pg 94). In general the book is quite clumpy when it talks about how we should pray, with the ideas seemly tacked into the book in such a way as to feel out of place. Part 3 of the book focused on mysticism in prayer but in a way that seemed only to confuse the issue rather than offer genuine incites. If you are looking for a book on prayer there are much better ones out there.

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The other day I was contemplating the degree of our smallness compared to the size of our problems. Global Poverty is a huge problem, and despite all the aid organisations it is a long way from being fixed. Greed is too strong.

No matter how many resolutions are ratified by governments or how strongly worded we write the acts of the Geneva convention torture will remain common in our world.

No matter how much love we pour on people they often just don’t seem to change. Drug addictions seem too strong, and biter thoughts to common, to defeat. There doesn’t seem like much we can do.

Heck, I struggle even to have enough discipline in my own life to maintain the time with God that I would like to, or exercise enough, or stop some repeated sin. If I don’t even have power over myself how can I help fight the problems in our world?

But that’s why we pray. Because we can’t save ourselves. Only God can.

I can give someone food, only God can solve their hunger. I can show someone love but only God can heal their pain.

Anything I do is invariably futile. Yet I do it anyway. Why? Because I believe God can make a difference.

My actions are statements of faith. They are futile in themselves but they represent my daring belief (or lack thereof) in God.

So when I give someone bread it is my act of prayer for God to solve their hunger. When I love someone it’s because I believe God can heal their pain.

I’m learning to live my life as a prayer.