A Praying Church, Part 5
April 13, 2023 | by: Dale Thiele | 0 Comments
Posted in: Pastoral Encouragement
In this series of articles, I seek to unpack the teaching of Paul Miller’s new book, A Praying Church, and apply the principles to our church. As we grow in our prayer habits, may we become people of hope in a discouraging world.
In part 3 of his book, A Praying Church, Paul Miller addresses the topic “How the Spirit Reshapes a Praying Community.” He has seven chapters diving into the work of the Holy Spirit. We will spend a few weeks unpacking his teaching on this topic.
One of the causes of prayerlessness in the church, Miller contends, is a “doubt that the Spirit does anything substantial… The Spirit’s seeming elusiveness, which is anathema to management rationalism, contributes to the weakness of prayer in the modern church” (p. 95). If we do not understand how dependent we are on the Spirit for our spiritual life and well-being, or if we do not understand how the Spirit works on our behalf, we will not turn to prayer, seeking the Spirit’s help.
Miller then explains how our prayers interface with the Spirit in seven ways: 1. Surprise; 2. Imagination explosion; 3. Repentance; 4. Dying and rising; 5. Hiddenness; 6. Mystery; and 7. The least of these (p. 100-102). What Miller is highlighting with these seven ways is that we do not control the Spirit, nor do we fully understand how the Spirit works. Reflecting on John 3:8, where Jesus compares the Spirit with the blowing of the wind, Miller says, “Clearly, the Spirit of Jesus is not our assistant. He’s not here to bless our plans. He the free Spirit of Jesus with his own plans and design. We don’t control the Spirit’s timing, method, or result” (p. 97). Therefore, when we humbly depend on the Spirit through prayer, we often will be surprised by the manner the Spirit responds.
In the next chapter, Miller specifically addresses the “dying and rising” that the Spirit brings in response to our prayers. He calls this pattern, or path, the “J-Curve. Like the letter J, Jesus’s life goes down into death and up into resurrection” (p. 106). Miller explains that the Spirit often responds to our prayers with this pattern of dying and then rising. We might expect God to answer our prayers, but we often miss how God might answer those prayers through this path of death and resurrection.
Miller likes to tell stories of his dad to give illustrations of his teaching. His dad, Jack Miller, was a professor at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, had a significant impact on Tim Keller, planted New Life Church, and started the mission organization World Harvest Mission (now called Serge). Paul Miller explains that there were several significant low points in his dad’s ministry which led to deepened prayer life. Out of those dying moments in ministry, the Spirit opened up new ministry opportunities for his dad.
If we believe this is the normal pattern for how God works in our lives, a dying and rising path, our humbling moments in life will drive us deeper in prayer, hopeful and expectant for the new life the Spirit is working in us. Miller even explains that praying itself is a dying and rising. “The act of praying itself is a kind of dying, where you give up your self-will to ‘make things happen’ and go to God with a collective ‘Help us.’ The initial feeling of prayer is dying to self, because praying is an act of the will, a decision to shut down your activity and open the door to God’s activity” (p. 110-111).
This path of dying and rising is the path of Christian living. It underlines daily repentance. It explains spiritual growth. It is the path that leads to peace, hope, and joy. It is in this path that the Spirit works. Therefore, we ought to be expecting this path in our prayers. This path ought to shape the type of Christians we seek to be. I’ll close with Miller’s reflection: “We don’t know how the Spirit works, but we do know where he works. He works down low, in humility. We don’t learn the Spirit abstractly, separate from the person of Jesus. The Spirit of Jesus loves hidden places where he isn’t turned into a show. He loves to work in broken people, people who realize that they can’t do life on their own” (p. 113).
