God On Mute.

When I picked up the book The Search For Satisfaction, I also found an interesting book called God On Mute. I probably wouldn't have picked it up except I saw that it was written by Pete Greig, and I remember hearing his name associated with a 24-7 prayer movement (which was confirmed when I looked at the back jacket) and that he was an English "bloke".

This has been a great book so far. God on Mute is essentially about unanswered prayer and how we as Christians deal with God not answering our prayers. Greig uses his own story - watching his wife undergo brain surgery for a brain tumor - as the key narrative, although he uses a ton of other stories as well, stories that are...well...heartbreaking.

The new name for my blog comes from a chapter in this book called "Naked Prayer" (although I chose "Pray Naked" because that idea has intrigued me since a band called The 77's put out an album called that, and yet had to change the name to just The Seventy Sevens because of the outcry by Christians regarding the title. People, it means to pray with complete honesty...as in nakedness.) and at the end of this chapter, he shares a story that I thought was kind of amazing:

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In 1842, an Irishman named Joseph Scriven graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, and promptly fell head over heels in love with a girl from his hometown. They got engaged and, with great excitement, planned their wedding and began dreaming about their future together as husband and wife.

The eve of their wedding arrived at last, and Joseph's fiancee saddled a horse to go and see him. Tragically, it was one of the last things she would ever do. A little later, Joseph saw his bride-to-be riding toward him, and he grinned. But suddenly, just as she was crossing the bridge over the river, her horse bucked and threw her like a rag-doll down into the river below. In blind panic, Joseph ran to the river, calling out her name. He plunged into the icy waters, but it was too late. His bride was already dead.

Heartbroken, Joseph emigrated to Canada, where eventually he fell in love again. In 1854, Joseph was due to marry Eliza Roche, but she fell ill and grew progressively worse. The wedding was repeatedly postponed until, three years later, Eliza died. Joseph Scriven would never again give his heart to another.

Back home in Ireland, Joseph's mother was deeply concerned for her heartbroken son, and he in turn was concerned for her. One night, Joseph penned a poem to comfort her, little knowing that it would become one of the best-loved songs of all time. Several years later, a friend found it in a drawer at Joseph's house and was deeply moved. "The Lord and I wrote it together," Joseph explained. That poem, forged out of so much disappointment and pain, continues to call millions of people in their own Gethsemanes to admit their grief, their trials and temptations, their sorrows and their every weakness to Jesus in the privilege of prayer:

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness
Take it to the Lord in prayer!