Chambers-Made (2)

that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.  John 17:21  NASB

May believe – “The purpose of God is not to answer our prayers, but by our prayers we come to discern the mind of God,”[1] Do you suppose Chambers read Heschel?  No, not possible, but both men come to the same conclusion about prayer.  Heschel wrote: “The purpose of prayer is to be brought to His attention, to be listened to, to be understood by Him; not to know Him, but to be known to Him.”[2]

Heschel clarifies and elaborates:

“For the ultimate aspiration of man is not to be a master, but an object of His knowledge.  To live ‘in the light of His countenance,’ to become a thought of God—this is the true career of man.”[3]

“Prayer . . . is primarily Kavvanah, the yielding of the entire being to one goal, the gathering of the soul into focus.”[4]

Now notice how Chambers expresses the result.  The world will believe when we are in harmony with God and each other.  Disunity destroys delivery.  You want others to come to know YHVH?  Stop all the contention.  Oh, I don’t mean stop seeking, stop asking, or stop debating.  I mean put all that aside when it comes to loving.  You and I can vehemently disagree about some text, some doctrine, or some dogma, but if that prevents us from joining hands in the worship of YHVH, then we show the world that division is the basis of our faith.  How sad!  In fact, I might even be bold enough to suggest that lack of love for the “enemy” is the basis for unanswered prayer.

“Prayer comes to pass in a complete turning of the heart toward God, toward His goodness and power.  It is the momentary disregard of our personal concerns, the absence of self-centered thoughts, which constitute the art of prayer.”[5]

Do you hear echoes of Yeshua?  “Seek first the Kingdom . . .”  Perhaps prayer is the first step of seeking.  Perhaps that’s why its absence is so debilitating.

Topical Index: prayer, kavanah, unity, John 17:21

[1] Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, May 22.

[2] Abraham Heschel, Between God and Man: An Interpretation of Judaism (Free Press Paperbacks, 1959), p. 200.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid., p. 201.

[5] Ibid.