The Healing Power of Prayer

Question: My friend has been given a serious diagnosis and a grim prognosis. I believe in the healing power of prayer and I want to encourage my friend to not give up. I’m praying, but he isn’t getting better. How can I help him have more faith and how can I pray more effectively?

Answer: First of all, it’s not up to us to persuade our friends to believe one thing or another. If your friend has a short time left, he probably doesn’t want to spend that time hearing that he doesn’t have enough faith! Remember in Job’s time of distress, his friends tried to give him the answers they thought he needed, but really they only made him more miserable. He didn’t need their theology; he needed their love and support and he didn’t get much of that. I think there’s a lesson there for us.

That having been said, I too believe that prayer is a powerful force in our lives and that miracles happen every day. So, you can continue to pray for your friend. See him bathed in God’s loving light. Imagine him sleeping peacefully at night and enjoying his meals throughout the day. Hold a picture in your mind of you hugging him and telling him you love him, and imagine him smiling with joy as you share that tender moment. Give thanks for the medical care he is receiving. Pray for angels (cosmic or human) to minister to him. Ask God to bless him. And then detach from the outcome. You can certainly wish for him to feel better, and you can hope for his disease to go into remission. And you can trust that your love and hope are making a difference in his life. But don’t add to his stress by telling him how he “ought” to feel or what he “should” believe. You can believe in miracles and affirm that one is possible for your friend, and then let things unfold as they will, trusting that God is in the process and that nothing will ever separate your friend from God’s love.

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If you have questions about faith, the bible, the church, or sexuality & spirituality, you can email your questions to durrell@sunshinecathedral.org, or go to the Ask the Reverend Durrell Watkins page and click on the link there. Rev. Durrell Watkins will answer your questions and publish the answers here and in the weekly SunBurst. Your name will always be withheld, so only the actual question and the response will be published.

Why did Jesus say he was dying for his friends?

Q&A by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins, Senior Pastor

Question: Why did Jesus say he was dying for his friends? What does that mean?

Answer: I have no idea if Jesus said he was dying “for” his friends. Remember, Jesus didn’t write the gospels. People wrote those stories 40 – 70 years after Jesus’ death, so lots of words have been put in Jesus’ mouth that Jesus probably never said.

In ancient Greek culture, warriors who died defending the city-state were said to have “died for the people”. Perhaps the gospel writers saw Jesus in this way — willing to put himself on the line to make changes in the world and to empower people on the margins. While he was defending the sacred value of all people, he was killed like a warrior dying for his people.

When Dr. King was killed in Memphis, didn’t he die for the sins of racism, violence, and classism? Didn’t he live and die to improve the lives of others? It doesn’t mean God wanted him to be harmed; it just means that the love of God was so powerful in him that he was willing to risk death to bless people’s lives. Maybe that’s what the writers of the gospel were suggesting about Jesus.

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If you have questions about faith, the bible, the church, or sexuality & spirituality, you can email your questions to durrell@sunshinecathedral.org, or go to the Ask the Reverend Durrell Watkins page and click on the link there. Rev. Durrell Watkins will answer your questions and publish the answers here and in the weekly SunBurst. Your name will always be withheld, so only the actual question and the response will be published.

Isaiah's Message

Q&A by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins, Senior Pastor

Question: You preach a message of optimism and self-esteem. But how do you account for biblical messages like the one in Isaiah, chapter 64 that says, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags”?

Answer: There are at least three contributors to the Book of Isaiah. They each speak from their own perspective. The second contributor to Isaiah, for example, believes that a day of healing from Yahweh is on the way. The third contributor, however, is sometimes hopeful and other times desperate. “Third Isaiah” (the last ten chapters of the book) is the writer of the passage you mention, and he has a hard time maintaining a positive outlook. His gift to us is his honesty about his struggle. That doesn’t mean we should emulate his despair.

The writer believes that God has been unfairly harsh in punishing people for their mistakes and the harshness of God’s punishments cause the people to doubt God’s goodness, and their doubt leads to more mistakes. What a vicious cycle! I don’t believe God punishes people for their mistakes (though choices have consequences… we may be punished “by” our mistakes, but nor “for” them), and even Third Isaiah knows that. He says, “Yet, O God, you are our Parent; we are the clay and you the potter — we are all the work of your hands” (v.8). When he’s thinking clearly, he knows that God is good. When he focuses only on the hardships of life, he blames God for those hardships, saying things like, “No other god would treat its servants in such a way!” (v. 4).

Yes, one of the three writers of Isaiah during a moment of crisis believes that God isn’t terribly fair. But he shows us how such defeatist thinking doesn’t serve him, and how his natural bent is to hope anyway. In a weak moment, Third Isaiah may have imagined God was treating him like dirty rags, but that isn’t the big picture of Isaiah, or of the bible.

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If you have questions about faith, the bible, the church, or sexuality & spirituality, you can email your questions to durrell@sunshinecathedral.org, or go to the Ask the Reverend Durrell Watkins page and click on the link there. Rev. Durrell Watkins will answer your questions and publish the answers here and in the weekly SunBurst. Your name will always be withheld, so only the actual question and the response will be published.

How do we keep shame, regret, and fear from creeping back into our consciousness?

Q&A by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins, Senior Pastor

Question: We are given such a positive message and warm experience at Sunshine Cathedral every Sunday morning. How can we maintain that feeling of joy and optimism during the week, Monday — Saturday? How do we keep shame, regret, and fear from creeping back into our consciousness?

Answer: How many years did we hear that God was angry with us, or that God’s love somehow excluded us? How many years were we presented a picture of God as a distant and disapproving relative? If we received that message in our formative years, and carried it around for 30, 50, or 70 years, then it might take a few years of hearing something consistently positive and nurturing to replace those old messages. I suggest that you keep coming to Sunshine Cathedral week after week (or, if you were to move, find a similar progressive and positive thinking church to attend). Read inspiring, loving literature. Spend time daily in meditation, simply experiencing the goodness of God’s presence. Come to our Sunday evening services to hear in-depth teaching sermons. Take a Light University class. Read Spirit & Truth, and watch Sharing the Light on the Internet. Surround yourself with positive people who recognize the sacred value of all living beings. Beliefs are just thoughts that we’ve rehearsed until they became habits. Once we rehearse the positive, uplifting, thoughts consistently enough, they will begin to shape our worldview. So just keep hearing the Good News over and over until it becomes part of you.

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If you have questions about faith, the bible, the church, or sexuality & spirituality, you can email your questions to durrell@sunshinecathedral.org, or go to the Ask the Reverend Durrell Watkins page and click on the link there. Rev. Durrell Watkins will answer your questions and publish the answers here and in the weekly SunBurst. Your name will always be withheld, so only the actual question and the response will be published.

Books for Studying the New Testament

Q&A by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins, Senior Pastor

Question: I am interested in studying the New Testament. I would like to review the books in chronological order and by author. Is there a textbook or books you would suggest that I could buy?

Answer: An excellent introduction to the New Testament (including historical and contextual information), is The New Testament: History, Literature, and Social Context by Dennis C. Duling (Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2003). If I remember correctly, he dates Mark about 6 years earlier than I do (I believe Mark was written about 70 CE), but otherwise, I think Duling is a very reliable source. Another really good resource is The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings by Bart D. Ehrman (NYC: Oxford University Press, 2000/2004). Enjoy your studies!

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If you have questions about faith, the bible, the church, or sexuality & spirituality, you can email your questions to durrell@sunshinecathedral.org, or go to the Ask the Reverend Durrell Watkins page and click on the link there. Rev. Durrell Watkins will answer your questions and publish the answers here and in the weekly SunBurst. Your name will always be withheld, so only the actual question and the response will be published.

How Can I Get My Faith Back?

Q&A by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins, Senior Pastor

Question: I’ve been struggling with a lot of difficulties. I don’t even think I have faith any more. How can you get faith back once you’ve lost it?

Answer: I wouldn’t worry about your “lack” of faith. You probably have more faith than you realize. Faith is just the willingness to imagine new possibilities. There is probably something in your life that you can imagine being different, in which case you are not totally without faith.

The other day I was feeling a little annoyed about something when suddenly, out of the blue, I remembered a very funny story and I immediately laughed out loud. I went from irritable to joyous in the blink of an eye! Why? Because I stopped thinking for a moment about something that made me miserable and started thinking about something that made me happy… it was that simple and I physically felt better after I changed my thoughts to something happy. We can choose our thoughts, and we can choose the ones that feel good. We really do have that power.

Psychologist Holden says: “happiness is only ever one thought away at most. One fresh perception, one new belief, one innovative thought, one powerful decision, one moment of surrender, one instant of complete openness is all it takes to experience a world of difference.” Can you imagine anything in your life being different? If so, then you have faith. Use that faith to consider something that brings you joy. Even if the joy only lasts for a moment, then you have a wonderful moment to remember and that may bring more joy. I wish you many blessings.

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If you have questions about faith, the bible, the church, or sexuality & spirituality, you can email your questions to durrell@sunshinecathedral.org, or go to the Ask the Reverend Durrell Watkins page and click on the link there. Rev. Durrell Watkins will answer your questions and publish the answers here and in the weekly SunBurst. Your name will always be withheld, so only the actual question and the response will be published.

If God Isn’t the Author of the Bible, How Can It Still Be Important to Me?

Q&A by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins, Senior Pastor

Question: I grew up believing that God actually wrote the bible and that it was literally true from the first page to the last. I now doubt those assumptions, but I wonder what importance the bible has. I don’t want to throw it out, but I can’t believe what I once did about it. Can you help?

Answer: The bible has many authors covering more than a millennium and touching at least three continents. The writers spoke a variety of languages and none of them knew our continent even existed. The bible writers were clearly influenced by their own cultures and experiences and we’ve learned some things since their time. However, they honestly struggled to find meaning in life and to embrace hope in difficult times. They faithfully and creatively recorded their ideas and as we read the songs, poems, sermons, letters, legal documents, and stories they created we find inspiration to ask our own questions and to pursue truth and meaning as courageously as they did. We may come to different conclusions and we may express our findings differently, but that doesn’t mean their journeys can’t have a positive impact on our own. The bible writers (none of whom knew they were writing anything that would eventually be included in a “bible”) were trying to know, serve, and share God. We are inspired, comforted, challenged, and encouraged by their efforts, even as we recognize God has much more to say to our hearts than we may find in any collection of writings.

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If you have questions about faith, the bible, the church, or sexuality & spirituality, you can email your questions to durrell@sunshinecathedral.org, or go to the Ask the Reverend Durrell Watkins page and click on the link there. Rev. Durrell Watkins will answer your questions and publish the answers here and in the weekly SunBurst. Your name will always be withheld, so only the actual question and the response will be published.

How Do We Know There Is a God?

Q&A by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins, Senior Pastor

Question: I am… a scientific person (civil engineer)… [To me] everything has an equation, an answer that can be proven… My question is: How does one know that God really exists if we cannot physically (visually) see Him?

Answer: If God is a person on a throne in the sky, then “He” will always feel distant and perhaps even unreal to us. But there are other ways of understanding God. Theologian Paul Tillich described God as the “Ground of Being”. Jesus said that God is “spirit”, and the word he used for spirit is the same word that can be used for wind or air or breath. St. Paul, quoting an ancient Greek poet, said that God is That in which we live and move and have our being. The writer of the New Testament book of 1^st John said, “God is love…”

If we think of God as just a bigger person with magical powers who answers some prayers and punishes misdeeds, then obviously the scientific mind (or any critical thinker) will have trouble embracing that image. But if as the mystics have always said (including Jesus and Paul), God is the Source of life, then we can see God in ourselves, in nature, in our loving relationships, in our creativity, in beauty or peace or joy.

I think of God as All-that-is, and I know that the Whole must be more than the sum of Its’ parts. God is what I call this All-in-all, but that is my choice. I could call It Spirit, or the Inward Light, or That in which we live and move and have our being, or the Ground of Being, or Love, or a thousand other things. God is simply my word for ultimate reality, and I believe in reality because I experience it.

My guess is that you see God (or Love or the Energy of life or the Web of existence… what’s in a name?) every day. Reason tells me that there is a Source, and faith tells me that that the Source is good. My choice is to call it God, but whatever you call it, I bet you already experience it in profound ways.

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If you have questions about faith, the bible, the church, or sexuality & spirituality, you can email your questions to durrell@sunshinecathedral.org, or go to the Ask the Reverend Durrell Watkins page and click on the link there. Rev. Durrell Watkins will answer your questions and publish the answers here and in the weekly SunBurst. Your name will always be withheld, so only the actual question and the response will be published.

Why aren’t my prayers doing any good?

Q&A by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins, Senior Pastor

Question: None of my prayers seem to work anymore. I’ve prayed for people to get well, and they’ve gotten worse! I’ve prayed for financial blessings but I still struggle. I’ve even prayed for my love life but I’m still alone. Why aren’t my prayers doing any good?

Answer: Abraham Heschel wrote, “Prayer cannot bring water to parched land, nor mend a broken bridge, nor rebuild a ruined city; but prayer can water an arid soul, mend a broken heart, and rebuild a weakened will.” If we think of prayer as a magic bottle that will release a wish granting genie, then we may find ourselves disappointed when the wishes don’t come true. But if prayer is the change of attitude that helps us change for the better, then the better “us” can create a better life for ourselves.

Begging creates desperation, and a desperate spirit is not a receptive spirit. Prayer, rather than begging, is more of a release. Try sitting in the Silence. Just breathe. Feel gratitude for the solitude of the moment. Know that at least for that moment, all is well. Just relax and experience the peace of quiet breathing. That is centering prayer, and it will almost always leave you feeling better. I find such prayer to be effective.

Another formula you might try is affirming your good rather than begging for it. Affirm that Good is at hand, and then allow it to come however it may. It may not look exactly like your desire, but sometimes it will, and sometimes it will even be better. Such a prayer can be very simple: “Dear God, I relax in your presence and know that your grace is enfolding me and my dear ones now. I trust your grace to provide for every need and to bring wonderful blessings into manifestation at the perfect time and in the perfect way. Thank you, God. Amen.”

When I was in college, I complained to a wise older friend that my prayers weren’t working. She could tell I was quite anxious. Her answer to me was brilliant. She said, “Never pray hard. Always pray easy.”

If your prayer helps you experience a moment of peace, then it is a perfect prayer. And once you achieve a peaceful state, you may find that specific blessings find their way to you as well.

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If you have questions about faith, the bible, the church, or sexuality & spirituality, you can email your questions to durrell@sunshinecathedral.org, or go to the Ask the Reverend Durrell Watkins page and click on the link there. Rev. Durrell Watkins will answer your questions and publish the answers here and in the weekly SunBurst. Your name will always be withheld, so only the actual question and the response will be published.

Why Do We Call Jesus “Teacher”?

Q&A by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins, Senior Pastor

Question: Why do people call Jesus the “Master Teacher”? I was raised to believe Jesus was divine, and that he was my savior. This “Master Teacher” talk is new for me.

Answer: I think “Teacher” is a great title for Jesus. I don’t often use the word “Master” because of its hierarchical and abusive connotations in our culture; but for me, Jesus is certainly a Great Teacher! Remember this story from the synoptic gospels — “…a man ran up, knelt down before Jesus, and asked him, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus answered, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.’” He then went on to teach the man an important lesson. He taught him that generosity was more important than legalism, but notice what else happened. He asked “why do you call me good?” He didn’t ask “why do you call me ‘teacher’?” Can you imagine a more powerful, relevant teacher in human history than Jesus?

There is a wonderful saying in the South, “You can’t teach what you don’t know and you can’t lead where you won’t go.” Jesus knew that he was one with God, and so he teaches us that we, too, are one with God. Jesus stepped out in faith to heal and help others, and so he teaches us that we, too, can be channels for miracle working power in our world.

We can think of Jesus as “Lord” (over against forces of oppression in our world) or as “savior” (rescuing us from loneliness and despair) or even as “redeemer” (showing us our innate dignity and sacred value), but Jesus is also a great teacher pointing us in the direction of hope and healing and happiness by his words and example.

Thinking of Jesus as a Teacher doesn’t diminish his importance; in fact, because he knew his oneness with God, he can show us ours. He can teach us the Truth, because he knew it. And because he teaches us, we know it too.

If you don’t like the other titles people have used for Jesus, e.g. “savior,” then “Teacher” is a great alternative. If you are satisfied with the other titles for Jesus, “Teacher” is just one more appropriate and biblical word to add to the list. Whatever else Jesus is for us, he is undoubtedly a wonderful Teacher.

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If you have questions about faith, the bible, the church, or sexuality & spirituality, you can email your questions to durrell@sunshinecathedral.org, or go to the Ask the Reverend Durrell Watkins page and click on the link there. Rev. Durrell Watkins will answer your questions and publish the answers here and in the weekly SunBurst. Your name will always be withheld, so only the actual question and the response will be published.