Formed By The Light

Prayer is where energy is converted into mass.  Spiritual realities are transformed into earthly realities.  The Holy Spirit places godly desires in our soul and prompts us into prayer where those godly desires manifest themselves in human character and in earthly life.  Through prayer, desires placed within us by the Holy Spirit become actual things that take place.  I say desires placed within us by the Holy Spirit, because those are the only types of prayers that God answers--those that are according to His will.  This may seem easily understood by anyone with a sliver of working faith, but I think the profundity of the actual concept of energy being converted into mass through prayer can be better appreciated by scientific explanation. 

Let's start with what we're most familiar with, which is mass being turned into energy.  In any basic understanding of science, we can easily grasp the concept of mass being converted into energy.  The sun converts mass into energy through the process of nuclear fusion.  Gasoline is turned into energy through combustion.  Food is turned into energy by metabolism.  And so on and so forth.  In these everyday, familiar processes, a very small amount of mass is used to create a large quantity of energy.  We refer to this process as the "mass-energy equivalence," which is represented by the famous equation E=mc2.  The "c2" figure in this equation is actually a ridiculously large quantity....it is the speed of light squared.  The speed of light is 186,282 miles per second.  Therefore what this equation says is that "Energy equals mass multiplied times the speed of light squared."  To put in simpler terms, this equation means that a tiny bit of mass corresponds to a large amount of energy and the proportionate corresponding link between them is light (1 John 1:5).  To put it even simpler, this equation means that energy and mass are interchangeable and the constant between them that determines the change is light.  Without light, there is no link nor conversion.  Which brings us to the lesser understood converse of this formula, which would be the opposite of mass being converted into energy....namely, energy being converted into mass.

Now we are right back to my first statement:  "Prayer is where energy is converted into mass."  While mass being converted into energy is more familiar to our daily experience, energy being converted into mass remains theoretical to us, for the most part, because such a ridiculous amount of energy is required to make a tiny amount of mass.  For example, burning one gallon of gasoline releases enough energy to make an amount of mass equal to a single particle of finely ground flour, or 14 billionths of a gram.  That's a decimal point that goes out twelve places to the right.  In another example, the amount of energy released in the nuclear bomb that destroyed Hiroshima (18 kilotons of TNT) would make an amount of mass roughly equivalent to a small paper clip.  Humanity doesn't possess the capacity to convert energy into mass in any practical way, since it would require the ability to harness and manipulate quantities of energy greater than the core of the sun.

The greatest occurrence of energy being turned into mass was when God first spoke creation into existence out of nothing. God said, "Let there be light.." and the potential mass for the entire universe came into existence.  Without light, there is no mass and there is no energy transference.  Which brings me to the point of this post, which is the critical nature of prayer in the life of a growing, committed Christian.  Prayer is the place where God continues His work of turning energy into mass.  1 John 1:5 says that "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all."  God's very presence is a creative force, thus He forms Christ in us by the energy of His presence.  We enter His presence through prayer.

Scripture tells us that we are to walk in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1:7).  Jesus tells us that He is "the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).  Prayer is where energy is converted into mass, where sinners are converted into saints.  When we look at Einstein's formula for mass-energy equivalence, we see that the link between the two, the constant that determines proportion, is light.  If you are a believer in Christ and you do not have a prayer life, then you are not walking in the light.  You are dwelling in darkness and you have no life in you.  You are a dead believer, a shriveled twig (John 15:6).  You may have the entire Bible memorized, but there is no life in it because you are not connecting to the source of transformation, the source of living water, the vine of life.  Jesus said "I am the vine, you are the branches... apart from Me, you can do nothing...if you remain in Me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (John 15:5-7).  How do we remain in Christ?  How do we enter into His presence?  How do we ask Him for things?  In prayer.  Prayer is where our trust in Christ is built.  It is where Christ becomes real to you, and where the rubber of your faith meets the road to heaven.  

We consume God's word because Scripture teaches us the type of things that we should ask for in prayer, but God's words devoid of His Spirit are lifeless.  God's word reveals His will to us, Scripture gives us knowledge, but prayer brings us into understanding because it is God's Spirit that gives life, both to His word and to us.  The letter instructs, but the Spirit transforms and the Spirit transforms us when we connect to Him in prayer.  God's words are truth, but without His Spirit they remain in the cradle of information.  A cradle may move from side to side, it may lull a babe to sleep, but the cradle itself has no life in it.  For God's word to have life, it must be shaped in the womb of prayer where the life-giving force of His Spirit feeds us.  Paul himself says that the New Covenant of Christ is not of the letter, but of the Spirit, "for the...Spirit gives life" (2 Cor 3:6).  Jesus said, "It is the Spirit that gives life.  Human strength can do nothing.  The words I have spoken are spirit and life. However, there are some of you who do not believe." (John 6:62,63)

Jesus says that the Spirit gives life and His words are spirit and life, which means that we cannot separate God's word from His Spirit, or we will only have letters that kill, lifeless doctrine that divides us, creates factions, incites arrogance and pride, making us defamers and destroyers who "think they are offering a service to God" (John 16:2) and those who are "not serving the Lord Christ, but their own personal interests," deceiving and creating obstacles (Rom 16:17,18).  Jesus' words become life when we put our trust in them.  It is our trust that testifies with the Holy Spirit.  Our trust both in Christ and His words is the hand that reaches into the spiritual realm to grasp a hold of God.  God then communicates to us and shares Himself with us in prayer.  Paul tells us that sanctification takes place "by the word of God and prayer."  (1 Tim 4:5).  We enter into relationship with Christ by expressing our faith in prayer (Rom 10:9), and we maintain our relationship with Christ through prayer.  Without prayer, there is no relationship with Christ.  Without prayer, there is no spiritual growth.  Without prayer there is no sanctification, and Scripture teaches that "without holiness, no one will see the Lord" (Heb 12:14).  There is no such thing as a non-praying Christian, because to be Christ-like, to be in-Christ, is to pray.  My fear is that there are many people who consider themselves Christians, yet have no real prayer life and will be counted among those to whom Christ says, "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord,'...but I will declare to them, 'I never knew you.'" (Matt 7:23).

For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. (1 Tim 4:5)

This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you:  God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)

How precious is Your loving devotion, O God, that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from Your river of delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. Extend Your loving devotion to those who know You and Your righteousness to the upright in heart. (Ps 36:7-10)

By faith we understand that the universe was formed by God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Heb 11:3)