A Whakapapa of Prayer
Over the past decade we have seen God move in incredible ways in our community in Naenae, Lower Hutt. Along this journey, we have learned of the crucial relationship between prayer and action, and how Jesus seems to use one to inspire greater passion for the other.
We now look back and see a ‘whakapapa of prayer’ - a lineage of faithfulness that has re-birthed St David’s Church and our community.
Here’s some of what we’ve learnt along the way:
1. Prayer Inspires Holy Action
One golden Saturday morning I was down at Te Puna Manawa - a drop-in centre we started out of St David’s Church in Naenae for those in our community who are struggling. We are always open during the week, but we thought we’d do a little shift during the Saturday Naenae market. I was a bit reluctant, but I had a kind of ‘God thought’ that maybe we would interact with the young gang members who had been causing havoc in the neighbourhood recently.
In our morning prayers, we’d been praying about these guys. And sure enough, there they all were in the shopping courtyard causing grief for Tony who runs the Pawn Brokers.
I was less than keen to go out and connect, but I just knew that nudge inside me – “Just do it!”. Then all the excuses began filling my mind: “But what if they come back into Te Puna Manawa? I don’t want any trouble! That would be counter-productive to building relationship with them”. Ah yes. Those familiar clever doubts and pathetic excuses. But then, amore compelling thought came.
I’d mentioned to my prayer small group that God had put these guys on our hearts to pray for. And here was a gilt-edged opportunity to interact positively. God had answered our prayer.
So. Deep breath. Get my attitude right. Simple task.
I went out with a plate of chocolate toffee pops. Of course, they loved it. And then - I didn’t ask them to – but they followed me inside for more bikkies, a cuppa and a game of pool, dragging a cloud of vape smoke with them. Unsurprisingly, almost no one else dared come in. But I knew this was why we came down.
It’s strange how easy it is for us to forget the prayers we’ve prayed when they are answered in the form of us being required to take courageous actions. When God answers prayer, the answer often comes as an opportunity for action which will then lead us again into deeper prayer, and into deeper relationship with God and our neighbour.
2. Prayer Makes Us Attentive to God’s Invitations
I really do believe God leads us in and through prayer. Without this commitment to spending time with Jesus, we can forget about reaching communities with the love of Jesus, or lasting the distance when the going gets tough (and it will).Jesus beckons us to let go and dive into the sacred waters of a deeper prayer life.
There was a conversation between an Abbott and a monk:
The Monk asked, “Is there anything I can do to make myself enlightened?”
The Abbot replied, “As little as you can do to make the sun rise in the morning"
The Monk asked further, “Then what’s the point of the spiritual exercises you prescribe?”
The Abbot replied, “To make sure you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise”
Personal, as well as communal prayer practices, are crucial to going deeper with Jesus and building our attentiveness to the Spirit’s leading. A fruitful life of ministry is a life birthed and sustained in prayer. It has been in regular prayer with Jesus that God consistently has consistently led me and Alison on our crazy Jesus journey. Prayer opens us up to an awareness of God who is always present with us, developing attentiveness and responsiveness, and adding fruitfulness to our faithfulness.
Brennan Manning describes the importance for him of going to Jesus every day: “The hour I spend in the prayer room is when I re-focus, re-centre on Jesus, becoming fully aware of His presence again. When this happens I can carry God’s presence into the next 23 hours, knowing all the time He is with me, He is for me, He likes me and hears my thoughts. I’ll see people and situations the way He sees them.”
A game-changing experience of prayer for me came as we discerned our next steps after a 14 year-old season serving refugees and migrants in Central Wellington. During a regular morning prayer time, I had a vision of my maternal Grandfather, who’d been an Anglican Priest for 60 years, and a CMS missionary in Pakistan for 27 years. In the vision, he walked into the prayer room and laid a gauntlet on the table. A challenge. I knew what it meant regarding our discernment of where to move in our next season. We needed to go back to where he had ministered for years in Naenae. It was the habit of prayer that made me attentive enough to hear, and this prayer gave birth to whole new chapter of ministry.
3. Prayer Is How Community Grows
Distinct from our own personal prayer journey, we are also called to pray for others and with others. I know some who argue that they see the importance of prayer for themselves, but don’t believe in the power of intercession for others. I had a time of reckoning with exactly this issue some years back. My internal struggle was: “do I believe in the power of prayer? If no – then stop it completely – stop pretending. If yes - then it is time to be wholehearted and intentional.” I decided to be more whole-hearted.
A few weeks back I did some journaling around whether I had any bitterness or gripe with God about unanswered prayers. I looked back and saw so many answers. Of course, I ache for more and there is muchI don’t understand, but I take encouragement from this long list of answers – ranging from the need for personnel, spiritual breakthroughs, healings and more.
One example was at a prayer gathering a few months back. I looked around at the people in the circle that evening. In that moment I realised three of the five people I prayed for to know Jesus the previous year were now in the circle. God had been faithful.
This story typifies the idea of the whakapapa of prayer – prayers inspired by theSpirit that gave birth to Jesus-inspired action and further prayer. A whakapapa that traces the growth of St David’s Naenae, the creation of Te Puna Manawa drop-in centre, the Tumanako Hou faith space, the political and media action over Kainga Ora housing, re-founding St David’s, building an Urban Vision community in Bertram Grove, Naenae, becoming Prison Chaplains… and the list goes on. All linked by Jesus-inspired prayer that gives birth to further opportunities and prayers.
Going on the listening and responding journey is phenomenal – it’s what we’re made for. Walking with Jesus and seeing God at work and the Kingdom of God breakthrough!
“All of us must cling to God through prayer. My secret is simple: I pray. Through prayer I become one in love with Christ.” – St Teresa of Kolkata
Rev. Martin Robinson
Martin, along with his wife Alison, are priests at St David’s Naenae-Epuni in the Hutt Valley; a church they replanted 10 years ago which has become a vibrant faith space, impacting its wider neighbourhood with the love of Jesus. Martin has been significantly shaped by his early faith years in YFC and his 30 years of Urban Vision involvement. He wants to see the Hutt Valley revitalised by church planting and re-founding. On the family side of things, the kids have all grown and left home (supposedly), the hair is becoming whiter – but he still loves to cycle, rave and dream of an acting career in Musicals.