The Power of Position
Justin Jones / Spiritual Formation and Strategic Development Pastor
We just had our Transformation Prayer Ministry Seminar the end of October. People from all around the country and the world came to hear Dr. Ed and Joshua Smith talk about the biblical principles of transformation and a process they have developed that lets us be intentional to seek transformation in our everyday lives. I have been trained in and practicing TPM for around six years and have mentored hundreds of other people through the process. That being said, as I was listening to the weekend's training there was not a lot of “new” information for me to learn. Instead, I was listening for what God might be speaking to my heart or reminding me about.
There was one new term that they coined to describe what TPM really is: “positioning prayer.” And this really spoke to my heart. As Pastor of Spiritual Formation at our church, my heart is to help those in our congregation to consistently and intentionally put themselves in a position to hear from God and be transformed by God. That is the same heart behind the ministry of TPM. And there are at least three ways I was reminded of the power of position.
First, positioning ourselves properly before God eliminates the need for performance. There was an illustration I gave to my small group a couple of weeks ago that was very similar to what Joshua Smith said at the conference. I asked them to think about how I would feel if my son Judah came up to me one day and said something like, “I finished with all the things you asked me to do and I will keep working at getting better so someday I can earn your love.” I may be happy that he did what I asked him to do, but I would be heartbroken that he would think that there was anything he could do to earn my love. My love is freely given to him every day no matter what he does. Every parent can understand what this love feels like. My son is my son no matter what happens, and there is nothing he can do to change my love for him.
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| Photo by Nikoline Arns on Unsplash |
There was one new term that they coined to describe what TPM really is: “positioning prayer.” And this really spoke to my heart. As Pastor of Spiritual Formation at our church, my heart is to help those in our congregation to consistently and intentionally put themselves in a position to hear from God and be transformed by God. That is the same heart behind the ministry of TPM. And there are at least three ways I was reminded of the power of position.
First, positioning ourselves properly before God eliminates the need for performance. There was an illustration I gave to my small group a couple of weeks ago that was very similar to what Joshua Smith said at the conference. I asked them to think about how I would feel if my son Judah came up to me one day and said something like, “I finished with all the things you asked me to do and I will keep working at getting better so someday I can earn your love.” I may be happy that he did what I asked him to do, but I would be heartbroken that he would think that there was anything he could do to earn my love. My love is freely given to him every day no matter what he does. Every parent can understand what this love feels like. My son is my son no matter what happens, and there is nothing he can do to change my love for him.
In light of that, I asked them to consider how we treat God every day. Despite how many times we hear it, most of us are still living out our faith the way every other major religion does … "I have to do better to make God love me." It is faith based on performance. I have been guilty of it. Most of us have. But the Bible clearly says something opposite. 1 John 4 among other places explains that our standing before God has nothing to do with the amount of love we can muster, but the amount of love God has bestowed. Ephesians 2 says our salvation has everything to do with God’s grace and nothing to do with our works. So, something God was speaking over me again this weekend was, "Stop thinking that you can DO something to get to a different place with me and instead accept the position you are already in." Dr. Smith explained that we are not seeking victory; we are victorious. We are not seeking holiness; we are holy. We are not seeking righteousness; we are righteous. It is only when we accept the position of daughter or son that God has given us that we can truly receive His power to live out who we already are.
Second, positioning ourselves properly before God prepares us to love others around us. When we are positioned properly and not seeking anything of ourselves anymore but only God’s will for us, we can truly start to love. Godly love is self-sacrifice. It doesn’t make sense in the world’s economy, but it does in God’s economy. One of the ways that God spoke to me this weekend was loving my son. We are in a new season with him because he just started school. He is loving it, but we are wrestling through some different, small challenges. It just seems like there is something going on in his heart that is “off.” I have found myself being more stern and short-tempered with him about these things.
Second, positioning ourselves properly before God prepares us to love others around us. When we are positioned properly and not seeking anything of ourselves anymore but only God’s will for us, we can truly start to love. Godly love is self-sacrifice. It doesn’t make sense in the world’s economy, but it does in God’s economy. One of the ways that God spoke to me this weekend was loving my son. We are in a new season with him because he just started school. He is loving it, but we are wrestling through some different, small challenges. It just seems like there is something going on in his heart that is “off.” I have found myself being more stern and short-tempered with him about these things.
But after the TPM Seminar on Sunday it was late, we were all tired, and I was putting him to bed. In that moment God was able to show me my own selfishness and see his struggles. I apologized and then started probing about what he was feeling in his heart. Very quickly I discovered even at five years old, he was carrying around some lie-based beliefs about who God is and who he is before God. This opened up a place for us to talk through it and start mentoring Him in how to take those lies and fears to God. Positioning ourselves properly helps us to truly love people by seeing what they are going through and where they need to go.
Finally, positioning ourselves properly before God allows us to avoid deception. Now that I have been practicing TPM for years, it is hard to watch TV or look at interactions at the mall or see pretty much anything in society and not see the constant and incessant deception that is alive in this world. People are living out lies left and right. God has tasked us with helping others to see His light and break free from that deception. But we cannot help others if we are also extremely deceived ourselves. The greatest lies are half-truths. And half-truths in our lives can make us look good on the outside while draining us of God’s power. I have seen that a willingness to position myself before God has helped me to avoid deception that I might otherwise easily fall into.
I believe that the power of position is one of the most powerful things that God wants to teach us. Everything else we do or say is impacted by what position we are in. I have a lot more to learn about this, but my prayer is that we can all keep growing in our understanding of positioning ourselves before God so that He can do His work.
Finally, positioning ourselves properly before God allows us to avoid deception. Now that I have been practicing TPM for years, it is hard to watch TV or look at interactions at the mall or see pretty much anything in society and not see the constant and incessant deception that is alive in this world. People are living out lies left and right. God has tasked us with helping others to see His light and break free from that deception. But we cannot help others if we are also extremely deceived ourselves. The greatest lies are half-truths. And half-truths in our lives can make us look good on the outside while draining us of God’s power. I have seen that a willingness to position myself before God has helped me to avoid deception that I might otherwise easily fall into.
I believe that the power of position is one of the most powerful things that God wants to teach us. Everything else we do or say is impacted by what position we are in. I have a lot more to learn about this, but my prayer is that we can all keep growing in our understanding of positioning ourselves before God so that He can do His work.