On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. Acts16:13
(Analogies are not everyone's cup-of-tea, but they can be evocative and memorable, so even if you're not the analogy type, bear with me!)
In the New Testament, rivers were where people were baptised (See Mark1:5) and in Gentile cities where there were no synagogues, the Jews would meet by the river to pray.
Now we don't gather at a physical river, but the imagery is valuable nevertheless.
- The river is where we can be washed
- The restfulness of the river flowing gently by is conducive to prayer
- The river provides us with cool water and if it is moving water it is safe to drink
- When we learn how to swim, the water can carry us
If we imagine life as a "Dr Livingstone" push through the jungle then these are useful analogies to remind us of our relationship with God:
(It is "a jungle out there" after all!)
1. When we confess our sins, Jesus forgives us completely, but it is only as we stay close to the still small voice of the Spirit that our sense of being forgiven remains and we are emboldened to resist temptation. This means we must follow the course of the river carefully - it is so easy to wander away from it and get lost in a forest of business were the bird-and-beetle sounds drown out the sound of the river and we struggle to get back to it. Sometimes the best way to find the river again is to turn around and retrace our steps (which is what repentance is.)
2. If we would become quiet enough to listen to the still small voice of the Spirit, we will find prayer to be as calming as the gentle sound of a big river flowing slowly past us. (The thing about big rivers is that the power of the water is enormous! And so is the power of quiet prayer!)
3. The water of the Spirit's river is best drunk from the cup of His Word. When we are regularly, systematically and humbly connecting with Scripture, we are in the best position to drink from the river.
4. One of the secrets to learning how to swim is to understand that we don't fight the water, but use it to carry us. But we have to take the risks. In the same way, the Spirit will ask us to reach out to others and to serve Him in the world. This will be scary, but if we work with His promptings and trust Him to carry us, we will swim.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
