Just the other day, Karen and I were blessed to participate in a Global Day of Prayer alongside Cru missionaries and partners from around the world. While previous iterations have centered a lot around what God is doing and what we’d like Him to do across the various ministries, this time was much more intimate and relational-focused. We prayed through Larry Crabb’s PAPA Prayer journey, which consists of Presenting yourself to God (as you are, not as you’d like to be), Attending to how you have been viewing God wrongly (ex. as a vending machine or a tyrant), Purging yourself of the things you’ve placed as higher priorities than God, and Approaching the throne of your loving Father in silent contemplation and relationship.
As we explored each of those steps in depth, I uncovered and really invited God to deal with some of the issues in my heart. One issue is the pride with which I can gauge people against myself as the standard. Too often I apply a version of “anyone driving faster than me is a maniac and anybody driving slower is a space cadet” to all kinds of issues. As I seek to partner with people from many different cultures and denominations, I need to check my heart for the humility to look for how I can learn from others (Phil 2:3).
I also explored how quickly I rush past the hard feelings of a situation to find solutions. Karen and I spent a long time just acknowledging the difficult feelings and experiences we’ve had, without trying to solve or mitigate them (Romans 12:15). It was a refreshing time of unity and growth!
Grant Ministry 