The Prayer of Suffering

I have several books that I will always have on my study desk; my Bible, and two of Richard Foster's books, "Celebration of Discipline" and "Prayer." Today I was reading a segment of the chapter on 'The Prayer of Suffering.' I can only read a little bit at a time because there is so much to think about. I need to write some of it down so I can reread it and you may benefit as well. I highly recommend you obtain both of these books. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "In the Ravensbruck Nazi concentration camp- the camp where ninety-two thousand men, women, and children were murdered-a piece of wrapping paper was found near the body of a dead child. On the paper was written this prayer: "O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not only remember the suffering they have inflicted on us; remember the fruits we bought, thanks to this suffering: our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, the courage, the generosity, the greatness of heart which has grown out of all of this. And when they come to judgment, let all the fruits that we have borne, be their forgiveness."~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "This standing between God and people involves a kind of wrestling with God. That is part of our suffering, a little like arguing with our best friend. Tertullian calls it "a kind of holy violence to God." Like Jacob of old, who wrestled all night with the angel, we refuse to let go until we receive a blessing, not for us but for others. We argue with God so that His justice may be overcome by His mercy. It is only because of our intimacy with God that we can thus wrestle with Him. This intense interaction is not unlike God Himself, for, as Donald Bloesch tells us, "God even wrestles with Himself, seeking to reconcile His holiness, which cannot tolerate sin, with His infinite love for a sinful human race." Even so, this wrestling is a hard image for us to accept. We much prefer the image of restful harmony. Our difficulty is due, in part, to our culture's inability to reconcile struggle with love. We assume a loving relationship by its very nature must be peaceful and harmonious, and yet even on a human level those things we care about the most deeply we argue for the most passionately. Struggle is consistent with love, for it is an expression of our caring." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Fasting is one expression of our struggle. Fasting is the voluntary denial of a normal function for the sake of intense spiritual activity. It is a sign of our seriousness and intensity. When we fast, we are intentionally relinquishing the first right given to the human family in the Garden-the right to eat. We say no to food because we are intent upon others receiving a far greater nourishment. We are committed to breaking every yoke and setting the captives free. Our fasting is a sign that nothing will stop us in our struggle on behalf of the broken and oppressed." ..."Our fasting is part of our wrestling with God. It is part of the birth pangs we endure in order to see new life come forth. The wrestling may be painful, but the net result is worth the struggle, for as Soren Kierkagaard reminds us, we win-and so does God: "The righteous man strives in prayer with God and conquers- in that God conquers."