BACK TO THE GARDEN

In my first year of Bible College, one of the courses that I took was "Old Testament Literature". The class was an overview of the entire Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi. One of the assignments that we were given was to choose five major stories from the Old Testament and rewrite them as children's stories. The idea of the assignment was to get us thinking about key events of the Old Testament, but also to help us see the major themes of the Scriptures. To communicate Biblical truths to five year-olds you need to think in very broad, thematic terms. It was a fun assignment to complete, but on top of being fun, I also learned something (who would've thought?).
My group chose our stories and began to examine and rewrite them, trying to discern the major themes and truths of each one. What amazed me was that there was striking continuity between each of the stories. Every one carried major themes of God's father-like pursuit of His wayward people.
As a species, humanity's story had a perfect beginning; pure, harmonious relationship with God, with each other and with the world. It was God's perfect dream. We choose our own way, however; turned away from God's will and choose to make ourselves gods instead. Since then, God has never stopped chasing us. Throughout all of Scripture you can hear God's pleading, tender call, "I am here. Where are you?" His voice still calls.
Joni Mitchell's "got to get ourselves back to the garden" (from the song, "Woodstock") resonates something of truth and longing for me. Maybe I don't share the same hippy-topia vision that the song conveys, but I understand its longing for something lost. We were once whole. Now we are not. We are caught in a world at war, and we ourselves are at odds with everything, including God and ourselves. But this world at war is not God's dream. And in His dream there is still hope, even in the midst of our nightmare. The Biblical image of the garden is not only found in Genesis, at the beginning of all things, before corruption was conceived. The image is also found in Revelation, a vision of the end of all things. It is a vision of restoration, a vision of hope. Mainly though, it is a vision of a place where humans have stopped running. The is no voice of God calling, "Where are you?" His call will only be "Here I am. Here we are."
Are you running from God? Do you sense that He is calling you back into restored relationship with Him? How are you responding to his call?

HINTS FOR PRAYER

"Prayer is friendship with God. Friendship is not formal, but it is not formless: it has its cultivation, its behavior, its obligations, even its disciplines; and the casual mind kills it. So we offer here, as a guide-map not as a chain, a simple regimen of private prayer." - George A. Buttress
Many people don't pray simply because they don't know how. The following is a sort of guideline for what a time of private prayer might look like. These "Hints for Prayer" have been adapted from George A Buttrick's book "Prayer" (Read this book!!).

1) Begin in Silent Preparation:
Start your prayer time by quieting your heart and meditating upon God. Say to yourself, "His light fills the world. It fills this room."
2) Make an Act of Faith:
"In this initial silence of prayer we say to ourselves that whatever we ask 'in the nature of Christ' is ours, granted only our earnestness in prayer and life." Take these words literally and step out in faith and trust that God hears and answers prayer.
3) Start with Thanksgiving:
Deliberately call to mind the joys of the journey. Be very specific. Thank God both for the blessings of the day as well as for His continual blessings. Resolve to leave your prayer time with an attitude of gratitude.
4) Confess:
Be honest about your wrongs; be neither overly aggressive nor casually indifferent towards your sin. Again, be very specific. Accept God's forgiveness; let your sins be forgiven. Resolve to walk away from your sin and towards a new life.
5) Pray for Others:
Be mindful of who your neighbors are. Be specific. Call to mind individual faces, not a mass of people. In this, you should start with your enemies, then for leaders, the needy, your friends and loved ones. Pray daringly: be resolved to move and act in love in response to your own prayers.
6) Pray for Yourself:
Be honest and specific. Trust that God wants to hear and respond to your prayers for your own life. Allow God's will, not your own, to be done.
7) End in Reflective Adoration and Trust

A special note: At all intervals, your prayers should be filled with listening meditation. Listen at least as much as you speak; ideally you will listen more.