Beholding the Glory of the Lord
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV)
“Beholding the glory of the Lord.” This phrase has captivated me over the last few weeks. Personally, it resonates with a deep part of my heart – a work that the Lord is doing within me. Corporately, it feels in alignment with what the Lord is doing in our church (and in many other churches who I speak with). This beholding, you see, which carries us through a transformation into the image or likeness of the Lord, happens in and through prayer. It is happening in our church.
We spent the last three Sundays going over prayer during corporate worship. We talked about the importance of prayer. We surveyed ancient practices of prayer. This week we looked at different ways to embody prayer in our own lives and in our church community. The disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray.” They saw prayer as foundational to the life and ministry of Christ. I believe one could argue that the ministry of Christ was an outpouring of His prayer life. If that is true, then it stands to reason that the ministry of our church will be an outpouring of our prayer life.
What do you hope and believe for this church? How can we magnify the Lord together? How do you want Him to shape us? In what ways would you like to see the community around us impacted by what the Lord does through us?
I believe we all want to be known as a people who embody Christ on earth. Contrary to what we may think, that does not being with state-of-the-art programs, revolutionary teaching methods or perfect pitches to join a D Group. (D Groups really are great! Give them a shot.) These things are the outpouring of what is happening internally – through prayer. This is a call both to a personal and a corporate work.
In prayer we behold the Lord. Can you imagine anything better than beholding the Lord? In prayer we are transformed into His image. That means our prayers help others behold Him, too. When we become a people of prayer, we become a people of the Spirit. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Our hearts will only be burdened for what the Lord’s heart is burdened for through prayer. That is a bold call, but as verse 12 says, “Since we have such a hope, we are very bold.”