It is time for a super power
Ketring Park, Littleton CO
WHERE: Ketring Park in Littleton, CO. Facing the lake and the mountains.
WHEN: Anytime, but the morning was shady and quiet
BLESSED SPOT: The brick wall facing the lake.
Head to the little brick wall and have a seat facing the lake.
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
— Colossians 4:2
“Prayer Gives us a God’s-Eye View”
From my second story bedroom I can look down on the neighbor’s house across the alley. I keep the blinds closed quite a bit because I can see him in his backyard. It seems like every time I look down there, he is shirtless on his patio and is looking over at our house—it creeps me out. After a few weeks of this I looked a bit closer and what I realized was hilarious and humiliating. Admittedly my distance vision isn’t what it used to be, and what I thought was my bare-chested neighbor was really a boxing dummy. I was so convinced it was real! Once I had my glasses on it became laughably clear. We have all had those moments when we realize what we believed for so long was just not true. Maybe it was a childhood memory, or a fear of something, or falsehood about someone you know, or a scientific or historical fact you had so wrong.
Mark Batterson in his book “Draw the Circle” writes about the verse Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Being watchful means having spiritual eyes to see what is beyond our five senses. A God-given ability to discern truth from what comes out of our distorted filters. We process information through our broken and battered lenses. Our outlook is filtered through our upbringing, tragedies, how we have been hurt, humiliation, through a lens of politics, religiosity, biases, or potentially even just ignorance. God promises to help us see through his perfect vision, to gain his vantage point, and to clear the fog of self deception. We all need this super power so bad right now.
The more we pray, the more we seek his word, and the more we are able to see the truth. And the more truth we gain—we are able to discern good from bad, see people the way God does, dispel fears, react in kindness, reject exclusivity, get at the heart of a matter, and gain life-changing wisdom. Right now we are all trying to navigate a world that grieving from the George Floyd tragedy and all it reveals. At the same time we are stepping out of quarantine, some are going full sprint with no fear, and others are dipping a toe into the water feeling terrified. What remains is that we have a God that understands all of this, has all of the answers, and the infinite wisdom for these situations. His heart must break. God tells us to be watchful— which means alert, awake, vigilant, and observant. We must ask him to reveal his vision for us and our world. When we are watchful and truly observant we see the best in others, not the worst, we see God’s image in them, not the gaping war wounds, we see his fingerprints, we see his signs and promptings, and we also we see his warnings.
Take Captive Every Thought
Batterson writes “Prayer is the difference between seeing with our physical eyes and seeing with our spiritual eyes. Prayer gives us a God’s-eye view. It heightens our awareness and gives us a sixth sense that enables us to perceive spiritual realities that are beyond our five senses.” Wow, do I want that in my life. Mainly right now when there is such division, rioting, protesting, and so much anger. We need a new perspective and a dash of hope. We need to stop dehumanizing people and see them as those with a complex story.
In the verse, he marries being watchful with being thankful. We called to be thankful in all things but, I think the more that we pray the more we see him moving in our lives and in the world—his fingerprints light up everywhere. We have the opportunity to be more acutely thankful. It feels deeply satisfying to thank God for the specific things he reveals or does for us in our lives.
2 Corinthians 10:5 says “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” I love the idea of being keenly aware of our thoughts, collecting them, not letting them escape and go wild, and making them be obedient to Christ. This is not a negative thing, this is a powerful and positive concept. Think of it this way—to allow God to nurture a great idea, redirect a false belief, love on your inadequacies, eradicate your negative self-talk, empathize with your struggles, reveal himself in your neighbor (or someone you don’t agree with), or expose another side to a divisive story. First we need to be aware of what we are thinking, collect them, compile them, and ask God to reveal the truth in them — to sift the false from the truth, the ugly from the beautiful, and the selfish from the generous.
“When you pray for someone or something, it creates a category in your brain. You start noticing anything related to those prayers. Have you ever noticed that when you pray, coincidences happen? And when you don’t, they don’t. It’s more than coincidence; it’s providence. Prayer creates divine opportunities. But prayer also enables you to see the God-ordained opportunities that are all around you all the time.”
—Mark Batterson
I could have kept my blinds closed for months fearing my neighbor might be peering in my room, thank goodness I looked a little closer and realized my peeping-tom was a life-sized punching bag. There certainly are more serious and destructive beliefs I hold and there are many feral thoughts I let run wild, but the comical story is telling. What belief do you have that might not be real? What fear do you have that you need to re-filter through God’s lens? What has broken you, what has hurt you and kept you from realizing how much God loves you? What is keeping you from living a selfless, kind, satisfying, inclusive, and fulfilling life? What kind of opportunities would present themselves if you were in regular communication with God?
My Prayer for You
As you sit facing the lake, watch the ducks look after their newly born ducklings, and how the earth has greened up around you—take in a deep breath and feel the beginnings of some restoration. There is new life all around you, green grass, emerging flowers and leaves, baby critters, and a whole bunch of hope lingering in the air.
I am praying that you toss aside your broken lens and ask God to provide you with his sixth sense, his X-ray vision, a new superpower. I am praying that your fears are made captive, and your falsehoods are corrected, that you believe that God deeply loves you, and wants you to see him in others around you. That God reveals the truth that you are seeking. I am praying that you would feel that triumphant freedom in Christ. I am also praying that if you feel misunderstood, disenfranchised, rejected, or mistreated that there would be deep long-lasting healing and a sense of hope in your gut.
This spot has been prayed for:
God provides you with his vision, his super power
That you recognize that God made you perfectly in his image
That any false belief would be gently and graciously revealed in your life
That there would be healing if you feel misunderstood, rejected, abused, or mistreated
That you would be excited to pray
That God would reveal himself through your prayers
That you would find unique and distinct things to be thankful for
You would be acutely aware of good moving in your life and in the world around you
That division would be bridged between the ones you love and the neighbors around you
Things you can do:
Take the full mile walk around the lake and the perimeter of the museum and just be quiet—wait for your spiritual eyes to open.
Bring a picnic there is lots of open space and views of the mountains!
Write a comment, prayer, or request below
Read Mark Batterson’s 40 Day Prayer Challenge — “Draw the Circle” I promise this one is a life-changer!
Remember God is bigger than C-19 and is heart broken by the way we dehumanize people.
