Praying into Union

Praying into Union

The word “salvation” (yasha; yeshuah=Jesus) first appears in Genesis 49:18 “For your salvation I wait.” The Hebrew (yeshuah=Jesus) word can be translated “salvation, deliverance, welfare, prosperity, victory, help, health and saving health.” It is the feminine passive participle of yasha (literally--to be open, wide, free, opulent; by extension save, savior, deliver, preserve, rescue, (give) victory, defend). These words have both a mundane, temporal application and a spiritual, theological application. A large number of usages were in the context of military deliverance.

Salvation is God's work of love and mercy. Our response, repentance, is the work or returning to God. The Greek word, metanoia, is a compound of "meta" and "nous" and means a change of mind, a mind from above. Repentance is a "nous" centered phenomenon. The central focus of Christians has two elements: God's grace/mercy entering covenant with us and our response repentance/fidelity/love/trust.

Ultimately, “salvation” includes victory over sin and death, freedom from the world, flesh and devil and healing of our brokenness in body, soul and spirit. It is also reconciliation of humanity with God in perfect unity. Salvation is a process. I believe that there are similarities in how the physical, emotional, mental, relational and spiritual dimensions work. So physical exercise can be a model for understanding spiritual exercises; healthy body and healthy soul.

The least helpful way to understand salvation is “going to heaven.” “Going to heaven” is impersonal, it focuses on a reward earned or a gift given to people who get access to enter the “greatest amusement park ever.” Many people imagine a family reunion, however, it is often devoid of any sense of worship. God's role is reduced to “providing the fun”… The theological debates, in light of this, question of the admission process: good works or grace? The modern salvation debates have centered on law court justice. God is envisioned as The Judge. Theologians ponder the decree of guilty or innocent and shift the focus from relationship with God to exoneration. The relational model is organic. By definition it cannot ignore God. The theosis model is about transformative union, it is, therefore, about the existential and ontological state of a person, not their legal status.

However, if Heaven is actually a circumlocution for God, then relationship with God is actually the content of Heaven. Relational models do a better job of grasping that reality then a Law Court explanation. Based on Incarnation theology—God became one of us so we could become one with Him—it is helpful to have a developmental approach as well.

If our goal is to repent and turn back to God; then prayer should be part of that return. Prayer is opening the mind and heart to the triune God. Prayer is an experience of the Kingdom of God now. However, it is a long, slow and imperfect experience of the Holy Three God. The communion of prayer is impacted by the divisive power of Sin. We constantly turn from God  and prayer is the eternal return to God. It is more important that we connect with the Holy Three God  than it is provide a "to do list"... 

“Mind/Soul” [Greek nous] is the seat of perceiving—both intuition and sensing; feeling; thinking—to include knowing, reasoning and understanding; judging and choosing. The ‘mind’ is darkened by sin which means we are often misled. We are in broken communion with God. The Divine Light does not fill our “nous” which wounds us to our core (heart). We cannot "see" rightly so we cannot choose rightly. We need saving: forgiveness, healing and renewal. 

The ongoing problem of “bad thoughts” and the resultant “sinful desires” (called ‘passions’ because they cause pain) is the sin which divides us further from God, each other and ourselves. Sin is both an outward act and an inward disposition (hence Jesus in Matthew 5 “You have heard it said “do not…” but I say to you…).

The purification of the “nous” has two dimensions. The human dimension is our responsibility. It is the so-called “spiritual disciplines” including prayer, study, ascetical practices and love. The purpose of the church is to support this healing process ("soul healing" or from the Greek words; psycho-therapy). All of our efforts open the mind and heart to receive God’s gracious activities. Remember, God saves us, we just cooperate. However, He does not save us against our will. For example, if God reveals Himself to us in the Scripture, then if we prayerfully read (or hears) the Scripture we encounter God. If we turn away..... It is the work of the Holy Spirit but we cooperate (synergism= work with) and this is because free will is required for a genuine relationship. Love cannot be bought, coerced or programed, it must be freely given. 

Simple, relational prayer is the best: 

1.    Focus on the reality of God. Spend time in awareness.

2.   Focus on opening to God and request the Lord's help in this. It is about unity and relationship, not getting stuff.

3.   Jesus’ name—we pray in and through Messiah--is central. The word Yeshuah has a depth of meaning revealing His identity. Pray with gratitude and trust His Promise. Mt 7:7-11 “Ask... Seek… Knock…” you will “receive… find… it opens...” 

4.   Trust God is responding. Confidently acknowledge it in faith even if you do not see/feel it. Focus on what is taking place. Work on receptivity. Thanksgiving prayer, over and over, is the proper response.

5.   Spend significant amounts of time in prayer each day. Repetitive prayer with a focus on being present to God, opening to God’s purifying, healing and unifying Spirit and with the desire to give ourselves to the Father (rather than cajole Him into granting some wish list) should become one of your daily occupations.    

6.   In addition, Listen. Read the Bible. Repeat verses or phrase prayerfully. Psalms is a rich source, by the way. It may take decades for our ‘nous/mind’ to be purified by His Holy Fire and Light. We are on a long journey into the heart of God, but paradoxically from the first step we are already in, but always we have farther to go. Prayer is a key component of successfully reaching that destination.