What is the One Prayer that Opens You to Abundance Like No Other?

When he first said it, it shocked me. Then, as I thought about it, it offended me.  But then, then, the words made a disturbing amount of sense.   And since that day I can’t shake off what Andy said.

I heard the words at a leadership conference.  Andy Stanley, a Christian leader, I especially admire was speaking.   I couldn’t tell you now exactly what he was talking about.   But in the middle of it, he said something like this.   “Why are we always praying for people who are sick to get well?   Is that really that important?  After all, eventually we’re all going to die.”  Do you see why that shocked even offended me? I thought. Shouldn’t we pray for the sick?   Andy, what are you saying? 

Then I got it.   Andy wasn’t telling people to not pray for the sick.  But he was saying, don’t only do that.  You see when it comes to prayer, that’s almost always what Christians or just about everyone prays about.    And that’s good. Keep praying for sick folks.   But if that’s all or even mostly what you pray about, you are missing so much of what God created prayer to be.    If that’s all you’re doing, you are missing the most important praying of all.  And when you miss that, you miss the door that opens you and this world to the abundance, God yearns for you and everyone to have.   So, what is this praying that you and, to be honest, I often miss?  In these words, God shows you the way.  Let’s listen and hear what God has to say.

Ephesians 3:16-19

God yearns for you to have so much, to fill you with joy, peace, fulfillment.  Yet you miss it.  Why?  You’re missing the prayer that Paul prays here.  You see. To receive the abundance God has for you, you need a whole lot less of you, and a whole lot more of God.   And isn’t that what Paul is praying for here?   

Paul is writing to a church undergoing persecution, hardships.   But what does Paul pray for them?  He prays for them to be filled with the fullness of God.   And in his words, God is pointing you to the door that leads to a fuller, richer, more amazing life than you could ever have dreamed. 

But here’s the problem.  You read these words, and if you’re like me.   You think.  Gosh, that’s nice.  You could almost put that on a Hallmark card, filled with the fullness of God.  But what the heck does it mean?   How do you even get filled with the fullness of God?  And what does that even do for you in day to day life?  Well it pushes you out of the way. 

You see.  That’s your main problem.  You or at least what you think of as you. That’s your problem.   That’s why you need this prayer of Paul’s more than any other.   After all, hopefully, you are only sick some of the time.  But you, that you are stuck with all the time.  And that “you” is messing you up more than you realize. 

What am I talking about?  Well, about twenty years ago, scientists discovered you.  A neurologist named Marcus Raichle was doing tests using a MRI machine.  And he noticed something puzzling.   When his patients were laying down doing nothing, one section of their brain was super busy.  It was lighting up all the over the place.  He realized.   He had discovered the human default mode, the place where you go, when nothing much outside of you is going on.   

He had discovered the part of your brain where your day-dreams come from or that cranks up when you’re remembering something or thinking about the future.  Not only that, this part of your brain, called the default mode network, it’s your capital city.   It controls everything else.  And that makes sense.   Because this part of the brain contains what you think of as you.   Some scientists even call it the “me network.”   For example, if I give you a word like happiness, and I ask you.  Would you describe yourself as happy?  Well, as you think about that question, you know what is lighting up inside you, your default mode network.             

Now you need this part of your brain.  It helps you plan.  It helps you learn from the past.  It helps you do all sorts of amazing things. But it limits you in serious ways.  

It limits what you see.   It only directs your attention to what it thinks matters to you.  Essentially, it blinds you to anything else.  As far as you’re concerned, it doesn’t exist.   In other words, it makes you think of yourself as kind of separate from everything and everyone else.   But here’s the problem.  You are so not separated.  That’s why Albert Einstein called this sense of separateness, an “optical illusion of your consciousness.”     

But beyond delusions like that, this network generates pretty much everything that makes you miserable.   When you’re depressed, your default mode network is working hard.  When you’re anxious, your default mode network is getting busy.   When you’re obsessed about something, yep, that’s your default mode network going to town. 

But here’s something that scientists have also discovered.  When you are praying, especially praying in the way Paul describes, this part of your brain goes quiet.   In other words, you start disappearing.   And the more you pray like that, the more and more this “you” disappears.

And when that happens you open yourself up to a reality that is more amazing, more incredible, more beautiful, then you could have imagined.  You open yourself to be filled with the fullness of God.   And that shifts everything.  As you pray like that, you see people around you differently.  You see yourself differently.   You feel less fear, less worry, less obsessiveness.  You become more loving, more peaceful; more happy; more content.  You become more of everything you desire to be.   It just happens.  

How does it happen?  When I was growing up, every now and then, we’d get a snowstorm.  And we’d pull out our sleds, and head over to a hill to go down.  But after several runs it always happened.   The sleds would start to only go certain ways.  You might start someplace different at the top. But you went down, it would slip into one of the grooves already made as you slid down the hill.  

In the same way, you fall into grooves, ways of thinking about yourself, about the world, about everything.   And you try to change, but those old grooves pull you right back in.  But as you pray, as God’s fullness fills you, it blows the old grooves away.  It opens the way for new grooves, for new ways of going down the hill.  It opens the way for new ways, for true ways of living your life, for in the best of ways, becoming a child. 

That’s part of why Jesus said you must become as a child to enter the kingdom of heaven.   It’s because in young children, the default mode network isn’t there.  That’s why kids hug so readily, why they don’t stress out comparing themselves to others; why they can feel close to God.   Their “you” isn’t yet getting in the way.

So how do you pray like Paul describes?  It can happen in lots of ways.  You can take a small piece of scripture, and just read it, maybe even write about it.  It’s called lectio divina or divine reading.  Google it, or e-mail me, and I’ll tell you more. Or you could spend time in prayer reflecting on the names for God in the Bible, bright and morning star, rock, refuge, shelter, light, the list goes on and on.  Or you could take a walk and open yourself to the beauty of creation.   And in a few moments, I’ll give you a chance to experience a way of prayer that many Christians have used to enter into this prayer of Paul’s.    

And in all these ways, you’ll start to experience one thing, a sense of awe, of wonder at how amazing God is.   And believe it or not, just experiencing awe changes you.   Researchers at UC-Berkeley had volunteers go to a eucalypus grove on the campus.  Some they asked to stare up at the trees for a minute.  Others they asked to stare at a nearby building.   Then they had a woman come by, stumble and scatter her pens.  Guess who were more likely to come to her aid?   If you guessed the eucalyptus-gazers you’d be right.  So, imagine if a minute pondering trees does that, what pondering God will do?

So, let’s do that.  Set an alarm on your phone for three minutes from now.  And in those three minutes, all I want you to do is, take a few deep breaths, close your eyes and focus on a sacred word or phrase.  It could be Jesus or love or God.   I often use the prayer, Jesus, lamb of God, have mercy on me a sinner.  But that’s just me.  The word or phrase isn’t important.  It’s an intention, a way of letting God know you’re wanting God to come be with you.   And as you quiet, that “you” inside you will crank up, sending all sorts of thoughts your way.  Ignore them.  Imagine they are boats on a stream, a stream of God’s love and let them float away.   Instead, return to the word, repeat it in your mind, until it too fades away.  Don’t think anything has to happen.  Just let Jesus work in these three minutes, however Jesus wants to. 

Let’s begin now – 3 minutes.

Now, this journey to God’s presence, to God’s fullness, to some of you, you know it already.  For others, it may be new.   But whatever the case, if you do this, you will find two things always happening.  First, you will find the “you” inside you resisting, telling you, you don’t have time for that or what about this you need to do.  Your “you” does not like to be quieted.  It likes to be in charge.   Second, as you do this, even for a few minutes a day or even on some days and not others, it will change you, slowly but surely, it will open you up to what Paul prays for here.   And don’t get stressed about doing it right.  That’s your “you” talking.   The only way you mess this up is to not do it. Period. 

And why do it?  You do it ultimately because God in Jesus offered up everything so you can.  Jesus on that cross tore away the barriers between you and God.   In Jesus, God died for you so you might have this sort of life in all its fullness.  In Jesus, God suffered utter separation so that you can experience this utter communion, a love nearer to you than your own hands and feet.   That’s how much God loves you.  All you need to do is just receive it.