tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post8045923235908801822..comments2024-03-28T10:26:20.408-04:00Comments on Ponderings on a Faith Journey: Seed Scattered and Sown -- Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 5ARobert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-70831394518899097892014-07-09T13:09:25.838-04:002014-07-09T13:09:25.838-04:00As a "doer" myself, I hear that!As a "doer" myself, I hear that!Steve Kindlenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-42008660695336413612014-07-09T12:56:25.637-04:002014-07-09T12:56:25.637-04:00Steve, I don't know that I have a better answe...Steve, I don't know that I have a better answer. I do think that prayer does align us with God's intentions. We stop and listen for God's voice, which often comes to us through the cries of our neighbors. One of the things I take from the Slow Church idea is that, as church we need to take time to listen. As a "doer" rather than one who "contemplates," I may need to take more time to listen!Robert Cornwallhttp://bobcornwall.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-35029671007173208382014-07-09T12:36:55.914-04:002014-07-09T12:36:55.914-04:00The issue of the efficacy of prayer is my most nag...The issue of the efficacy of prayer is my most nagging intellectual/spiritual problem. It doesn't take much to know the solutions Christians (and most all people of good will) want for our most pressing problems. Food for the starving, relief for the oppressed, health for the infirm, etc. Surely, we would hope, these are the same outcomes God wants, as well. Yet they mostly go unattended. Many solutions have been proposed: God's ways are mysterious, we need stronger faith, God is restricted (or self-restricted), God is unable to affect needed change, on and on. How many times have we prayed for the ill in our congregations to no avail? And when a rare "miracle" is found, we immediately attribute it to answered prayer. What accounts for all the others? <br /><br />Perhaps the answer is found in Marty's piece. Fuhrer was the “pastor whose prayer meetings inspired protests....” Perhaps prayer doesn't change things, but changes us, changes us into the vehicles that make change possible. I remember reading about a person who shouted at God because of the images he saw of starving children throughout the world. He laid the problem precisely at God's feet. Then he realized that these images were God shouting at him and he began to work for solutions to world hunger. I like that, but I also know that I'd prefer a God who was more involved than that. So, I'm still befuddled and continue to want a more satisfactory answer. Got one?Steve Kindlenoreply@blogger.com