Category: Leadership

Why are Thoughts and Prayers Insufficient?

Why are Thoughts and Prayers Insufficient?

The headline in the National Post read:

‘Your thoughts and your prayers are insufficient’: Jimmy Kimmel tearfully calls for gun control

Is America’s national Thoughts and Prayers Strategy (TAPS) no longer working? That is a question raised in an article in Maclean’s magazine making statements which can be disturbing to the Christian community.

Here is one example: Unfortunately, there is growing evidence that TAPS may not be delivering the results we would expect from appealing to an omniscient and all-powerful deity.

In other words, thinking about others and praying to God is simply not effective and the results are not clearly evident. We ought to think more about what is really accomplished through “thoughts and prayers” because it seems to be terribly misunderstood, especially in light of recent incidents of violence.

The power of thinking is impactful on the person having the thoughts and only impactful on others when those thoughts are expressed.  Many have probably quoted the proverb that says, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” If a person then, is consumed with thoughts of murder and killing, and those thoughts are not taken captive, they will eventually be acted upon and that person can become what was thought about. I would suggest that this is exactly what takes place when murderous acts happen; the thoughts transform the person to become what he is thinking.

The idea expressed in the Maclean’s article is that the thoughts and prayers of US congressman are somehow supposed to alter the behaviour of the American people. Let’s get it right; the thoughts and prayers are to comfort after an event like these incidents  (Las Vegas, USA and Edmonton in Canada) and should not be trivialized.  Maybe it is true that the thinking around gun control needs to change in order to make America a safer place, but please don’t diminish the effectiveness of “thoughts and prayers” for the people impacted by these sorts of incidents.

A most challenging statement for many Christians is this one: This data is very surprising when you consider the power of beseeching God. You would think parting the Red Sea, or smiting the Egyptians with a plague of frogs, would be far more difficult than just reducing gun violence. It is worth noting, however, that most well-known examples of successful celestial intervention in earthly affairs are over two millennia old.

Pray for LVHe goes on to cite the reasons for the non-response from God, which could be denominational, or we are not praying enough, or the wrong people are praying, or praying wrongly (kneeling or not, with eyes open or eyes closed).

When I read these statements it upsets me because in my 50+ years on earth, I have seen God’s intervention. As a matter of fact, without it I would have only been here for 5 years because meningitis would have taken my life. We need to think deeper about the true purpose of prayer.

“Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.” – Soren Kierkegaard

From this quote, we see the focus is really about bringing change within the person who prays. Therefore, the focus of “thoughts and prayers” is actually more about changing the thinker and pray-er rather than those being thought about or prayed for. However, I certainly can testify that both can be transformed by prayer. I wonder if we have really missed the true power of prayer and thereby dismissed its effectiveness. Isn’t prayer about relationship with God, communicating with Him regularly rather than someone we call on only in crisis? Relationship with God through prayer is meant to change us. When prayer changes us, that’s when we can be an influence for change.

Just think for a moment about what God said when he created earth and also man. He said, “Let them (man) rule over the earth.” Mankind has been placed in a position of authority and influence by God, within nations to effect change as it is needed.

“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” – Corrie ten Boom

Think about it –  we often use prayer to God as a spare tire. When there is a major incident or crisis, we call out to him. Prayer is meant to be our steering wheel which actually sets our course. It is meant to be part of our lives daily, not just when we have a blow out.

Does God intervene today? Maybe someone like paraplegic Joni Eareckson Tada, who had her neck broken as a teenager is much better qualified to answer this question:

“God permits what He hates to accomplish what He loves”

She calls suffering “a splash of hell” but maintains that a “splash of heaven” can be found through intimacy with Christ in the midst of it. And she can say so because she has found it to be true. The first part of that statement is strikingly similar to Jimmy Kimmel’s statement, “It feels like someone has opened a window into hell.” The problem is most are missing the “splash of heaven” since intimacy with Christ only comes through “thoughts and prayers” on a regular basis, not just at times like this.

What influences your life most? The splash of hell? Or the splash of heaven?

The Power of Sound

The Power of Sound

I had the opportunity to speak recently at a local church and chose to talk about the impact of our words. In essence, I began to walk through what words actually become as we speak them and the potential impact of those words on those who hear (including ourselves).

I quickly referenced Job 4:12-14 to demonstrate the path words take within us and how they are able to impact us. “A word was brought to me in secret; my ears caught a whisper of it. Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night, when deep sleep descends on men, fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shake.” We are truly complex creatures and what we hear impacts us more significantly than we realize.

If you look closely this verse reveals what words become:

  1. Firstly, “a word” was heard or became a sound.
  2. Then came “unsettling thoughts“
  3. And “visions in the night,“
  4. Which developed into “fear and trembling“
  5. Finally it “made all my bones shake.

All this disruption came because of a whisper in the ears. How is this even possible?

The Power of Sound

Until I did some research, I didn’t realize that sound actually creates, organizes and forms all the basic fundamental shapes found throughout the known universe. For more than 50 years, scientists have proven this to be true. Interestingly, these forms are referred as “Sacred Geometry,” which is said to be a discovery of man, not his invention.

Take a look at an amazing video demonstrating the effects of sound being played underneath sand pebbles on a metal plate. The sound causes them to move and organize into geometric shapes and the higher the frequency the more complex the shapes (just watching for a minute will illustrate).

 

Sound is a type of energy made by vibrations. So if you think about throwing a rock in still water, the resulting rings of waves are similar to the effects of sound. It is interesting that irregular sound waves create noise, while regular repeating waves create music.

Researchers have also discovered that we pay more attention when an emotion (such as happiness, sadness or anger) is expressed through vocalizations than we do when the same emotion is expressed in speech. So sound itself then, may be more powerful than we typically give it credit. Have you heard the proverb: “a joyful heart is good medicine?” If you stop and consider how joy is expressed, it is usually in the form of laughter (maybe some of the healing is through the sound itself).

Consider our lives at times; there can be so many different inputs with emotional attachments (like anger and frustration) and the result is often noise. Joy, on the other hand, is medicine because it produces regular repeating sound waves, having an impact that is like music to our ears!

Elba Mueller explains the Power of Sound  by referencing one of the most amazing experiments, conducted by Doctor Masaru Emoto, who gained worldwide acclaim for his groundbreaking research and his discovery that water is affected by vibrational sound in some very surprising ways.

When I read this, my immediate thought was about creation (in Gen. 1), when “the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” I’m thinking those waters were affected by the vibrational sound because “God said.”  It seems the sound of God’s voice resulted in the earth changing from empty to being filled.

In his experiments, Dr. Emoto analyzed the formation of differently shaped crystals in water as it was exposed to different sounds in different forms. Part of his research included verbal affirmations, thoughts, music, and even prayers from a priest. He focused on verbal affirmations of love and gratitude as they were being directed toward water that was sitting in a Petri dish. He then analyzed the water under a microscope and took before and after pictures to document the change.

pay attentionDr. Emoto and his team observed that after the experiment very beautiful crystals had formed in some of the frozen water samples where the positive vibrational waves were directed. Dr. Emoto then exposed water samples to music from Mozart, Beethoven, and other classical composers and found that beautiful crystal shapes formed in these samples as well.

He also experimented with people saying things like “you fool,” “I will kill you,” and other unpleasant phrases using a harsh tone. Dr. Emoto found that ugly, incomplete, and malformed crystals were formed in the water samples exposed to these negative expressions and tones.

 

Dr. Emoto concluded that any sound is vibration, and vibrations such as music and other positive sounds including the human voice can be a form of healing energy.

Here is what I find fascinating: on a 3D level the body is more than 70% water. If crystals formed in water from sound vibrations, then it seems pretty clear that the sounds and words we hear impact our bodies. Think about your words and the tone used expressing these words. I think it is fair to say that the vibrations we make when we speak are either forming something beautiful or something ugly, incomplete or malformed in those who hear.

When you talk with your children, spouse, neighbours, clients or colleagues; what impact is the sound of your words having? Are they building up or tearing down?

 

What Have I Become?

What Have I Become?

We are all on a journey in life and the one thing that remains constant is change. My wife recently took on the task of capturing some of our home videos (30 years worth). These include so many memories and changes, from hair styles to the way we dressed. The music at our youth events seemed radical to some at that time, but now, much heavier music is typically used in many worship services on Sunday mornings all across North America.

TrumpThink about politics for a moment. Just look back one year when the United States was in the midst of an election campaign. Let’s be honest, when you first heard that Donald Trump was running for President, how many thought he would actually become President? Most didn’t believe he had a shot at becoming the candidate to represent the Republicans in the run up to the election, let alone be in the presidential race. For many, the unthinkable happened … Breaking News: Donald Trump is now the President.

How was this possible? Many were left wondering how this could happen. Think about one of the things that politicians do everyday. They talk a lot, sometimes getting themselves in trouble because they say the wrong things. Things change because there are people who speak to influence others to bring about that change. 

For America, this was a major change. What was the basis for that change? I think you will have to agree that media of all kinds, was and remains a major influencer that results in significant change in our culture. Have you ever felt outrage when you hear about people who have been unfairly mistreated? Often times we hear about these types of circumstances through some form of media. When there is frustration over an issue, the media drawing attention to it can be the very means to bring change.

The fact is, whatever media you tune into begins to shape you and slowly your opinions can change, sometimes without even realizing it.

Change is constant and often comes through relationship and communication. Here’s an example in my life. I met a pastor in the early 2000’s who was a cyclist. He would often ride 30-50 kilometres (20-30 miles) at a time, and then on many Saturdays, he would double that distance. I first thought the guy was nuts, until he looked at me and said, “You would make a great cyclist.” Well, I wasn’t involved in any other sport and knew I could use the exercise, so I bought myself a bike and started. First, it was shorter distances, but in a very short time, I was riding those same distances too. Before long, I was challenging myself and one day, rode 120 kilometres (75 miles). My point is this: I became a cyclist, because someone said, “You would make a great cyclist.” I agreed with that statement and decided to become what I was told I could be. 

In 1991, I became a salesman of life insurance, partly out of necessity, but also because I was told I would be good for the role.

On 3.16.2017, our son, became a father, making me a grandfather. Well how did that happen? Without making this a PG rated blog, allow me to explain: It started with a conversation. Cathy (now my wife) and I, had our first date in May 1985. We talked together a lot on that evening. We shared our dreams and visions for the future and discovered that we had so much in common (at least until we got married, but that’s a story for another day). Well the words we shared eventually led to our marriage, where we publicly spoke our commitment to one another (before God and this company, I believe is how it traditionally goes). I still recall memorizing our vows in which we promised to “speak words of grace that would build one another up.” Maybe, I remember that so well, because it was one of the most difficult parts to keep.

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Well 25 months after those vows were spoken (to the very day), our son, David was born. He made similar vows himself when he was married (20 years later).

Here is the point: change comes to our lives because words are spoken.

Marriages happen because words are spoken (vows), divorces happen for the same reason. Politicians are elected in many cases because of promises made (words spoken) and not re-elected in other cases because promises were broken.

We are constantly becoming or changing because of the influence that comes into our lives through media (words that are spoken to us). You may not even realize it, but you are actually very much an influencer, and are helping others become who they are. The words you speak are more important than you realize because they are agents of change and with them you impact those around you.

Interestingly, the Bible says “the word became flesh” referencing, of course, the coming of Christ to live on this earth as a man. The Bible is the only book that has the claim of being alive and still desires to become something, or bring about change in us.

My son and daughter-in-law have discovered that when new life entered their lives, change was immediate. In my next few blogs I will walk through the impact  words have within us and how they impact what we become.

So let me ask you this: How have words spoken to you impacted your life? What change are you bringing in others through the words that you speak?