Prayer a Close Encounter
/Prayer is a face to face encounter. I wonder if this is why prayer is becoming increasingly uncommon and even unpopular in our time?
Is that a presumption on my part? Even judgmental some might say? There is something special about being face to face with another. Lovers look in the eyes of each other. But, at the other end of the relational spectrum when we are afraid we do not want to look in each other’s faces. And, in those moments of hatred and anger—all too common these days— we say things like, I want to look them in the eyes and see them suffer. This is when the face to face encounter intended to give us an experience of God through one another is taken in vain—for our own purposes—and possibly borders on the human equivalent of being blasphemouse and we desecrate the common image of God that is uniquely reflected through each one of us. This saddens me greatly these days.
This is why I believe prayer is more important than ever. Prayer is a face to face close encounter with God, ourselves and all of humanity. Prayer is the place where we draw close to one another in Love. This always changes the way we see each other and always increases the respect (to look twice) we have for each other as a human being made in the image of God.
In the Book of Exodus, we hear, “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. (Exodus 33:11). The context for this comment was the Tent of Meeting. This is where Moses discovered the inspiration that comes with a face to face encounter. Sometimes this phrase is translated as tent, but can also be dwelling place, tabernacle, and even sanctuary. There is something inherently sacred—or supposed to be—about our face to face encounters. From the negative, consider the moments when you feel the most saddened or angry with others. We say things like, they acted like I wasn’t even in the room thus implying you did not feel valued or seen. Prayer is a face to face encounter with God that has an implication, according to Exodus 34:29, “Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.”
In the Gospel of John we are told God became flesh and dwelt among us (c.f. 1:14). If we are going to have a face to face encounter with God where we come away with our faces shining it will most likely be through one another. Paul, a missionary, of the early church continues along the themes of these phrases (tent, tabernacle, sanctuary) saying, we are a temple of the Holy Spirit (c.f. 1 Cor. 6:19). Friends, we were made to know (experience in a bodily way with one another) a face to face encounter with God that makes all our relationships to shine with his glorious loving presence. This is where the healing, the deliverance, fresh courage is imparted to us and so much more when we can see the presence of God in our lives.
You can see now in the light of God’s presence why the dark ways we are relating to each other these days are heartbreaking and could easily make us want to turn our face away (stop praying and meeting each other face to face vulnerably). But, God does not turn his face away on the cross when our treatment of Him was unsightly. Therefore, let us ask God for a renewed passion to pray as a face to face encounter with Him and then trust our face will shine like the sun (as Moses) in the places we walk each day—inspiring others to pursue the God who longs to show us His face and the loving possibilities that remain for our face to face encounters with others.
Check out this song and ask God for the same passion to know a prayerful relationship with him as an everyday face to face close encounter: