In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1:35, NRSV)
Some of you know that I’ve started a podcast as a complement to my book. I’ve really enjoyed having these conversations with a wide variety of individuals, but I’ve also been surprised at how much I enjoy the small thrill of having a potential interviewee say “yes” to my request to be on my podcast.
One of those “yeses” came from Eugenia Cheng, Scientist in Residence at the Art Institute in Chicago, and author of a couple books including, “How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics” (check out a pretty funny video of her with Stephen Colbert here). Math makes me break out into a cold sweat, but I’m about 50 pages into the book and haven’t gotten lost. Yet. It’s been interesting to read this book about math and logic alongside receiving numerous requests for prayer for those in the path of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
I think many of us would agree that “mystery” is a better word to describe prayer than “logic.” Prayer isn’t an equation where if x number of people pray, then we can expect y to happen. During times of catastrophe, understandable questions about prayer arise, too. If I pray that Hurricane Irma change course to avoid a certain city and that happens, but another city is destroyed, does that mean that God favors my prayers over someone else’s? Of course not.
So what happens when we pray? Is it magic? If it’s not logical, why bother? Some of my favorite passages in the Bible describe Jesus going away to spend some 1-on-1 time with God (like the passage above). This, to me, speaks to a part of what prayer is: relationship. When you have a deep, abiding relationship with someone else, there’s a freedom to be vulnerable. When that person asks, “How’s it going?” your first response is honest. It isn’t “Fine!” if, in fact, when you’re feeling lousy. This is what Jesus desires, more than anything: an intentional, honest relationship. And when you have that kind of relationship, you’re free to express your fears and desires, like the impact of a hurricane.
I don’t want to make it sound like Jesus is merely some imaginary buddy. I do believe that God can and does intercede in mysterious ways. But that’s just it. It’s mysterious. I don’t claim to know how God works. I only know that God desires that I lift up what’s on my heart. And that God will always say yes to a conversation. Even if it’s not on a podcast.