March 3, 2003

     The Pressure’s Off

Dear Teammate,

This book has changed my life!  Once in a long while a book comes along that is more than interesting reading.  The Lord has used this author to help me grow closer to Christ. 

I am in the process of reading Larry Crabb’s book The Pressure’s Off and I highly recommend it.  Larry says that we Christians would not categorize ourselves as “Name it and Claim it”, but in our prayer life we often think that if we pray in the right way and do the right things, then God is bound to give us what we want.  When things don’t go the way we wish, we ask “What did I do wrong?”  Or we say, “Jesus, just tell me what to do and I will do it.” This is what Dr. Crabb describes as the Law of Linearity.  If I do “A” then God will do “B”.

But God is not bound by our prayers. He wants to be so much more than just a genie that doles out blessings.  He wants us to pursue the better hope of nearness to Him.  Our goal should not be an easy life but a close relationship with our Lord.  So we will have to redefine our goals.  I may need to abandon myself to God. Humbling myself enough to stop telling Him what He should be doing in my life and committing myself to whatever He’s doing, and believing it is good.

It’s not that we no longer have desires and goals, but they become secondary to encountering Jesus.  As a friend of mine was fond of saying “I’d rather have Jesus”.  In the middle of life’s most difficult trials, is it possible to actually enjoy God?  It is the point of living… it is the reason we live.

So here is where I am.  How then do I pray?  Patti and I have a very serious issue we are praying about.  But am I trying to manipulate the Lord by praying, “Lord please provide for our need”? Or do I pray, “Lord I just want to know you” but in the back of my mind I REALLY want this need met.  I am having a hard time landing this prayer … until… I realize that I have an advocate with the Father through the Spirit.  So now my prayer is, “Holy Spirit please pray for me.  I know you can take my feeble prayer and translate it to the Father.”

That is where the Lord is taking me in all this.  In the New Way of the Spirit whatever we do comes out of a heart that has already come to God, that demands nothing but celebrates God in everything.  We need to reorient our prayer life to match the New Way of living.

This book has helped me to see my goal is to draw near to God in any circumstance.  I recommend this book to you if you want to draw closer to the Lord.

                                                                      Serving Christ with you,