My Prayer

In my reading this morning, God gave me a few verses that I believe provide extraordinary vision for our prayers and our ministry as believers.

A little backstory:
Solomon is finally completing the task of building a temple for the LORD. David had wanted to do this for much of his reign, but part of his punishment was that he would not have the privilege of building the temple. So God grants David’s son Solomon peace during his reign so that he would be able to build the temple. Solomon gets to work and builds this lavish temple to the LORD. In chapter 8 of 1st Kings, the temple has been completed, and the Ark of the Covenant is being placed in the temple. As soon as the ark is placed in the holy place, it says that the glory of God immediately filled the place like a thick cloud so that the priests were not even able to stand there and minister because of its greatness. Solomon then, in front of all the assembly of Israel, blesses the LORD and asks Him to bless this temple, to accept the sacrifices offered in it, and to hear the prayers offered in it and even those offered facing it from distant lands. This prayer lasts 39 verses and consists of him begging, pleading with God to bless Israel constantly with His presence. And let me tell you, it is pure poetry. He then turns to Israel and prays a blessing over them:

“Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He has promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant. May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Himself to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers.” (1 Kings 8:56-58)

And then he says what I believe must be our constant prayer and longing in everything we do:

“And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day requires, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no one else.” (1 Kings 8:59-60)

If the sentiment of those final two verses does not underlie our prayer for our ministry, we are doing it wrong. Both our prayers and our active ministry itself needs to acknowledge both in word and in deed that we are in desperate, life-or-death need of God’s grace to maintain our mission and sustain our souls therein. It’s not a one time thing either. He says, “As each day requires.” That means that every new day we need to be on our knees before our Lord and Savior crying out, begging, pleading with Him to give us the strength we need to accomplish His will; if the sun rises, we pray. I think the last part is the most important though because it reminds us of our motive. “SO THAT all the peoples of the earth may know that THE LORD IS GOD; THERE IS NO ONE ELSE.” That’s our goal! That’s why we do this in the first place! If the deep desire to proclaim the power and the greatness of God isn’t present in our prayers and if His lordship isn’t lauded in our lives, then I quit.

An Every-day Miracle

I had the privilege of watching the sun rise this morning. It was amazing. It wasn’t what most people would consider a spectacular sunrise, but it didn’t need to be. The simple fact that it happened is what made it not only spectacular, but miraculous.

Think about it though: What if the sun didn’t rise? What if you woke up one morning at 8:00 and it was still dark outside? What if noon rolled around and it was still dark outside?

We so quickly assume, because the sun has always risen day after day, that it will continue to do so. What we forget is that God is in no way obligated to say to the sun each morning, “Do it again!” It is only by God’s infinite mercy that the sun rises at the start of each new day; nevertheless, it does rise every day because God is not only merciful, but He is also unchanging.

What if we actually let the sun be a daily reminder of God’s predictable, reliable, unfailing, unchanging, abundant mercy and grace? What if, as soon as we saw the sunlight in the morning, our soul immediately rejoiced, saying, “God did it again! The sun rose again! Praise God! His mercies truly are new every morning! Let all creation praise the LORD!”

 

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God;

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

…In them He has placed a tent for the sun,

Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;

It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.

Its rising is from one end of the heavens,

And its circuit to the other end of them;

And there is nothing hidden from its heat.”

Psalm 19:1, 4-6

The Thirsty Find Water

I’ve been reading through the book of Judges over the past few weeks, and I just got to the story of Samson. It’s a story that I thought I was familiar with just from Sunday school as a kid until I started reading it. I don’t know if my teachers just didn’t tell the full story or if I didn’t pay enough attention, but I always saw Samson as a good guy who just made the mistake of falling for a deceitful Philistine woman named Delilah. Frankly, I felt a little deceived as I read the story and realized that that is not the case at all. Before he even meets Delilah, he marries a Philistine woman solely because he likes the way she looks, kills 30 men so he can take their stuff to pay his debt, leaves his wife and then tries to go back to her after she has been remarried, gets angry when he finds out she has been remarried and burns the Philistines’ crops, kills some more people in what he says will be his final act of revenge, and then, after his biggest killing spree, Samson gets thirsty and, for the first time in his documented life, turns to the Lord and asks for water.

After reading the first two chapters of his life, I was just mad at Samson for being such a jerk. I wrote in my notes: “Samson is a scoundrel. He has the worst temper, he’s rash, he’s unfaithful, he’s arrogant, and then he has the nerve to ask God for water.” After I thought about it for a second though, I wrote, “Sounds a little bit like me.” The truth is that sounds a lot like me. I’m that same arrogant, unfaithful, lazy scoundrel who has the nerve to go to God every day and ask for more of His blessings.

The most scandalous part of Samson’s story, however, might be that, when he asks, God willingly gives him the water. Isn’t that the Gospel though? “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14) This is the scandal of the Gospel: the thirsty find water, the hungry get fed, the lost get found, sinners get saved, and murderers are made sons. This is the scandal of the Gospel: “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.’” (Matthew 26:27-28) My prayer is that I would drink and drink deeply.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream.
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in Him.

Spend Less; Give More

The National Retail Federation is forecasting that, this year alone, holiday spending in America will rise to more than $465 billion. To me that number is simply staggering. Compare that figure to the amount of money it would take to provide clean drinking water to the entire world for a year, which the UN estimates to be as low as $14 billion, and it starts to put things into perspective. What could we possibly be spending $465 billion on that is so worthwhile? How many of those billions of dollars are spent on gifts that are either thrown away or returned or immediately put aside for storage? How many of those gifts – whether those given or those received – do we even still remember? It makes me think that maybe we need to start thinking about giving more relationally. I’m thinking about things like giving your child or your animal-loving friend a trip to the zoo together or making a scrapbook for a family member or writing them a heartfelt letter to accompany a smaller, less expensive gift. This doesn’t require giving any less than we normally do; we’re actually giving more, and we can use the money we save to pay our enormous credit card bills at the end of the month. One challenge I’ve been given is to buy one less gift this year. That doesn’t mean give one less gift this year; it simply means to buy one less gift this year. Take it or leave it; I just wanted to share that challenge because I’ve found that it has already added new meaning and excitement to the way I plan to give this Christmas.

 

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

I had my first and only true final exam today, and it was a big one. It was one that could easily determine whether or not I meet the GPA requirement for my scholarship. I absolutely needed an A on it, but I was starting to really stress about it last night because I hadn’t studied much at all going into yesterday, and I try to avoid making myself to schoolwork on the Sabbath. I knew I’d have some time yesterday night and this morning to study, but that didn’t seem like enough. With $9000 worth of vital scholarship money on the line, I was more than a little worried.

Going back to yesterday morning though, I had been listening to a lot of Fernando Ortega and some of his hymn renditions. One of the ones that I listened to probably a couple times was his version of Great is Thy Faithfulness. That hymn managed to get stuck in my head all day, and, frankly, it got kind of annoying because I would literally find myself singing it all the time.

At some point last night, while I was heating up some water for hot chocolate, I started singing that song as I had been doing all day, but this time I only got past the first couple lines when I froze as I realized just why that song had been stuck in my head all day. It was exactly the song I needed to hear as I was stressing about my final exam, and, even though I had been singing it all day, it took me till last night to figure it out. Oh, how sweet those words were when I started praying them though! Oh, the peace!

This morning, as I sat down to take my final I was actually able to pray in faith. It was not faith that, by His power, I would do well on that exam; rather, it was faith that the outcome of that test, regardless of what it was, would work for His glory and my good. What a blessed assurance it is to know that, “Faithfull is He Who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” (1^st Thessalonians 5:24)

By God’s grace, I think the exam went well, but that is not the point. May it never be the point! God is the point. May that never change!

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father!

There is no shadow of turning with Thee.

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

To Live Is Christ

I was praying this morning, and two passages kept popping into my head. The first is 2^nd Timothy 4:6a where Paul writes, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering…” and that made me think of Philippians 1:21 where Paul writes, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” I thought to myself, what does he mean when he says, “To live is Christ?” I think the answer is found in Philippians 2:8 where Paul says of Christ, “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” The life of Jesus consisted entirely of Him emptying Himself for us. Every day He lived He served us unceasingly, and He ultimately gave His life, suffering the cruelest death imaginable, for us. So what does Paul mean when he says, “To live is Christ?” He means that he has devoted himself to using every day that God graciously gives him to pour himself out “as a drink offering” for the sake of others – that they might receive life in Christ. This was Paul’s life, yet he was still one of the most joyful men alive. Each of his letters simply overflows with joy. I want to be like Paul. I want that joy. I want that life. I want to be able to say, “For to me, to live is Christ.” I realized as I thought this that this would mean “being poured out as a drink offering” each and every day. How do I do this though? How do I spend every ounce of energy I’ve been given on fighting the fight of faith in this stage of my life? For Paul, it was easy for Him to say he was being poured out; he wrote that verse from prison! I’m not in prison. I’m in college where I have food and lodging and education all provided by someone else’s generosity. Here’s what I realized though: I have God-given callings. One is to “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” (2^nd Timothy 4:2) Another is to be diligent in my schoolwork. God has gifted me with a capable mind and an incredible opportunity to steward that gift here at college. I need to do so. He’s also gifted me with a capable body – one that I do a miserable job of stewarding. I need to steward that gift well also. I have many, many sin patterns that I am called to kill. I need to do so. In light of these callings, here’s what I think it looks like for me to live as Christ and to continually pour myself out: It means at the end of the day I am exhausted. I am exhausted mentally because I have worked hard in every one of my classes and after classes to get my homework done. I am exhausted physically because I have exercised my body, and perhaps I am a little bit hungry because I have made a point to watch how much I eat. I am exhausted relationally because I have spent myself loving those around me, even the ones who are the hardest to love. I am exhausted spiritually because, though “….the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour,” (1^st Peter 5:8b) I have “fought the good fight” (2^nd Timothy 4:7a) and never rested in my effort to kill the sin in my heart. Finally, at the end of the day, though I am exhausted from all these things, “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body…Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” (2^nd Corinthians 4:8-10, 16) May that be true of my life!

Onward, Upward, Homeward

As we approach Thanksgiving break, I am thinking a lot about home. I miss home. I miss my nice, comfortable house. I miss that familiar old town. I miss my family. The other day I was praying for my parents and for each of my siblings, and I was feeling homesick. I began to cry as I thought about how much I miss being there with them. I miss having my dad that I can constantly look up to. I miss having my mom who defines what it means to love and care for others. I miss having the privilege of watching my younger siblings grow into unbelievable Godly young men and women. I miss that.

The truth is, though, that ‘s only a reflection of my true home and my true family. The homesickness I’ve been feeling this morning is a very different type of homesickness I was feeling the other day. There’s a note-card taped to my fridge that says, “You’re not home yet!” It reminds me that I will never be home in this life and that my true home waits for me in Heaven. And oh, how I long to be home! I long to find my true resting place there. I long to feel my true Father’s embrace! What a day it will be when He will scoop me up in His arms, wipe away my tears, and say the words I long to hear: “Welcome home, my beloved child!”

“For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:22-23)

One of my favorite hymns is It Is Well with My Soul. In the last verse of that hymn, Horatio Spafford expresses this deep longing for the renewing of all things as he writes,

And Lord, haste the day when our faith shall be sight –

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll.

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend.

Even so, it is well with my soul.

            This life is our journey home. In light of this truth, we press on – onward, upward, homeward.