Thursday 29 October 2009

Background

Praying for other people is sometimes depicted as a 'shoppinglist' or a 'wish list'. We know exactly what we want, or would liketo see in the unfolding stories of others dear to us. 'Ask God andit will happen.' So our prayers for others can easily become arecital of those wishes, or hopes, of ours. God now knows what wewant. Sorted! God is Mister Fixit. And it is true that countlesspeople can point to experiences that feel just like that: clarityand resolution.

But this isn't always the way, and it does no one any kind ofservice to pretend that it is. A friend once remarked to me thatsometimes we haven't a clue what to pray for. We have no compass,no spirit level, to help us decide what the 'right outcome' shouldbe. And it is precisely then that prayer gets serious; it isprecisely then that we come to rely on God's own helper - the HolySpirit.

Paul's words here, in his letter to the Church in Rome, remind usof that experience of praying in a fog. Like a mariner sounding hisfoghorn and waiting for a response from some other fogbound sailor(assuming there is one) we blunder on cautiously and verywatchfully. Paul testifies to the inner working of the Spirit ofGod even in the encircling gloom, actually facilitating ourprayer-communication with God.

In verse 28 we find one of the most-loved verses in all of Paul'swriting: "We know that all things work together for good for thosewho love God, who are called according to his purpose." But are wereading it and applying it with as much careful thought as itdeserves? In Paul's tightly-constructed argument its significanceis seen most clearly in relation to the 'groanings' with which thepreceding verses have been saturated (see Romans 8:22-23).In the midst of all this groaning we know that all things worktogether for good, because we have been called into a relationshipof love and trust with God.

Paul goes on in verses 28-30 to refer to a vexed topic -predestination (the belief that our destiny and ultimate future hasalready been decided for us by God). Controversy over the use ofthis word has caused much anguish for the Church over thecenturies. To cut a long story short, we may think of God"predestining us to be conformed to the image of his Son" (verse29) as an act of selection or preference; God chooses some (us) andrejects others (them). But there is another way of looking at it.If we emphasise the word God, rather than the word chooses, then wesee another - and almost certainly the true - meaning ofpredestination, very close to the words of Jesus himself: "You havenot chosen me; I have chosen you" (John 15:16).

The final verses of today's reading bring on the trumpets and drumsof the heavenly honour guard (in Paul's inimitable style) to leaveour ears ringing with this proclamation. Nothing can separate usfrom God's love in Christ.

To Ponder

Spend some time today reflecting on Paul'sassurance of the god in whom we can place our total and ultimatetrust.