One non-petitionary value of prayer involves shared attention. Two people can witness the same comedy or sculpture alone. There is a distinctive experience of appreciating a work or experience with someone. In sharing not merely "life together" a la Bonhoeffer, but our loves and likes together, we begin valuing their valuing of the work or experience as well. Placing myself in prayer may involve a type of shared attention which becomes shared appreciation.
One of my favourite philosophers, the Third Earl Shaftesbury, combines this idea of attention and appreciation with admiration. By not just admiring God but admiring God's admiration (anticipating Frankfurt's second-order attitudes) and admiring with God, we become sensitized again to the world of value. I think the three stages of attention, appreciation, and admiration are of the utmost importance in resensitizing ourselves. Mark Noll called a crisis a "scandal of the evangelical mind". Shaftesbury calls us in prayer to a healing of the evangelical heart.
So wonderful Mike. Thanks so much for these thoughts. I cannot help but recall Jesus's prayer (Heb 5:7-9 likely echoing Mk 14:33-36). Clearly it was not in anyone’s best interests for God to grant Jesus’s request and remove the cup, since our very redemption would be jeopardized. There's a profound solidarity we share with Christ whenever our petitions are declined. The fact that Jesus’s prayers were not answered according to his request eminently qualifies him to know and understand what we’re going through when our prayers are not answered in ways we hope. He does feel the depth of our despair whenever the world around us is flying upside down and 'all hell is breaking lose.' With Jesus we all have cried “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” (Matthew 27:46). Somehow, someway, this is our "best possible world" as it was Jesus's. In this we must rest.
One non-petitionary value of prayer involves shared attention. Two people can witness the same comedy or sculpture alone. There is a distinctive experience of appreciating a work or experience with someone. In sharing not merely "life together" a la Bonhoeffer, but our loves and likes together, we begin valuing their valuing of the work or experience as well. Placing myself in prayer may involve a type of shared attention which becomes shared appreciation.
One of my favourite philosophers, the Third Earl Shaftesbury, combines this idea of attention and appreciation with admiration. By not just admiring God but admiring God's admiration (anticipating Frankfurt's second-order attitudes) and admiring with God, we become sensitized again to the world of value. I think the three stages of attention, appreciation, and admiration are of the utmost importance in resensitizing ourselves. Mark Noll called a crisis a "scandal of the evangelical mind". Shaftesbury calls us in prayer to a healing of the evangelical heart.
I agree, and like these thoughts a lot. Very helpful!
So wonderful Mike. Thanks so much for these thoughts. I cannot help but recall Jesus's prayer (Heb 5:7-9 likely echoing Mk 14:33-36). Clearly it was not in anyone’s best interests for God to grant Jesus’s request and remove the cup, since our very redemption would be jeopardized. There's a profound solidarity we share with Christ whenever our petitions are declined. The fact that Jesus’s prayers were not answered according to his request eminently qualifies him to know and understand what we’re going through when our prayers are not answered in ways we hope. He does feel the depth of our despair whenever the world around us is flying upside down and 'all hell is breaking lose.' With Jesus we all have cried “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” (Matthew 27:46). Somehow, someway, this is our "best possible world" as it was Jesus's. In this we must rest.