The picture in front of me loudly contradicted what my heart had recently prayed for, and my faith took a beating. Honestly, the swiftness of my emotions surprised me as anger quickly rose to the surface, with hurt and sadness hanging on for the ride. I was a mess emotionally and mentally. My thoughts pulled my mood by the hair, leading me to a place I did not want to go and where I was startled to find myself. The voice in my head was asking, “Does prayer even matter, or does it even work?”
Paul David Tripp’s writings have impacted me on “street-level Christianity.” This is where one’s faith intersects everyday living. I have heard others say that all Christians live in this intersection, but I have determined that many do not. It is not an easy intersection to walk in because it demands something of us that we cannot do on our own. It requires a dependence that our independent nature balks at like a toddler who no longer wants her mom to hold her hand crossing the street. We often desire to live independently, directed by our thoughts, opinions, and expectations. Our life our way. Faith is relegated to incidentals like those we carry with us in case of accidents. They are important, but only when we need them. “Street-level Christianity” does not see faith as incidental but foundational, intentional, and deliberate.
Living our Christianity at the street level suggests faith gives us perspective on life events. It is the lens through which we see life and the determiner of our thoughts, opinions, and expectations. The faith of the Bible denies us the option of doing life our way because it calls us to walk in dependence on the promises of the Author of our faith. Dependence means allowing that promise to “hold your hand” as you cross a difficult road. Dependence means yielding to that promise as it determines the steps you take and the direction you walk. Dependence means believing that promise despite what you feel or see. I believe this to be true about faith, so the jarring voice in my head suggesting prayer was meaningless caused me to step back and remember some things.
I remember a friend who told me that what we see in front of us can never negate what God’s word says. So, my eyes do not determine truth at the intersection of faith and real life. Faith comes in, takes me by the hand, and walks me through. For instance, 1 John 3:22 says, “And whatever we ask we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.” John 15:16 repeats this theme. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” Again, John 16:23 says, “In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.” There are many verses with this theme; recently, I have been studying it more intently. My heart has been stirred to pray, expecting God to fulfill this promise of answering because He said He would. Isn’t this what faith is? Believing or, as some say, claiming God’s word?
But, right smack in the middle of this faith walk, life hit me square in the stomach and doubled me over. Questions about what I see get in the way of what I don’t always see. So, looking at what seemed to contradict what I had been asking the Lord for, I questioned whether or not what He said was true. This led me to ask if there was meaninglessness to prayer. Does it even work? Have you ever felt this way? My guess is that many have, and maybe some have been unable to get back to that intersection of faith and life, where faith determines how we walk despite the view. Isn’t faith defined in Hebrews 11 as “the assurance of things expected and the evidence of things unseen?” I realized that my view could not be a determiner of reality if faith were present.
“Street-level Christianity” means my faith impacts my everyday living in every way. So, when I face something that seems to contradict what I am praying for, faith holds out its hand and beckons me to grasp it so I can navigate the difficulties ahead. No one is immune from difficulties that challenge our prayers. We must remember that difficulties are the tangible things that grow our prayer lives and develop persistence in us. Persistence is a theme in the Bible as well. Read Luke 11:1-10 and Luke 18:1-8 for two great examples. We are to persist in prayer. I like to say, “Do the hard work of praying.” Faith gives direction to our prayers and confidence before God.
My view suggested that God had not answered my prayer. My faith told me to take hold of the promises of God as I navigated the emotional ride. At the intersection of faith and life, I chose faith to direct my thoughts and shape my emotions despite what I saw. I did the hard work of prayer and reminded myself of the word of God that speaks when I cannot see. This is what we must do at street level.
At the intersection of faith and life, faith is the only safe “hand to hold.”