Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers.

Book Review

Claiborne, Shane. Wilson-Hartgrove, Jonathan. Becoming the Answer to our Prayers. Prayer for ordinary radicals. InterVarsity Press 2008.
Bothe authors are ‘radicals’ (activists) with a passion for the marginalized and needy. Their focus on prayer reflects this passion.

Comment. Henry
The focus of prayer in this resource is that when we pray, God’s answer to that prayer will most likely involve some action on our part. Therefore it becomes crucial for us to understand and be open to God’s message to us as part of his answer to our prayer. Texts chosen to explain how this works are very familiar; the Lord’s prayer, John 17, and Ephesians 1.

“Prayer is not so much about convincing God to do what we want God to do as it is about convincing ourselves to do what God wants us to do.” Introduction. It is both speaking (and listening) to God and being with Him.

The Lord’s Prayer is used as a text to explain community and the kingdom of God (which is political) and comes with significant responsibilities. The reference to daily bread and forgiving debts prompted the authors to plan what they described as a ‘Jubilee’ celebration on Wall Street. Acts 2 records what God’s economy looked like during the time of the early church. There was no poverty (in the church). The ‘Love Feast’ of those early believers had to do with sharing ‘daily bread’.

“Temptation is a sign that we are still on our way to the Promised Land”. (45) Recognizing our vulnerability is a prerequisite to being delivered from temptation.

Using John 17 as a text the subject of ‘Christian politics’ is discussed, i.e. the kingdom of God. Jesus’ prayer that God ‘glorify the Son, involves us as Christ followers. “Living Christ means a living cross. Everything else is a living death.” Gandhi. Unity and evangelism are discussed as they relate to Jesus’ prayer.

Eph. 1: 15-23 provides a text for the need and search for “growing deeper in spiritual wisdom”. (93) God’s presence in the person of the Holy Spirit is part of our inheritance from God that we may access and may enjoy now.