MUSINGS ABOUT PRAYER

 

…we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. Romans 8:28 The Message.

I’m preparing a lesson for Sunday school about prayer—answered and unanswered—that I’ll be teaching in a few weeks, and here are a few preliminary thoughts.

First, prayer is totally relational. Prayer has nothing to do with getting things from God, but it’s all about moving closer to God. As we develop intimacy with our Father, we begin to understand that “every detail in our lives is worked into something good.”  (One of my friends said this should be followed by—“eventually.” A trusting relationship with our heavenly Father believes that he deeply loves us and will take the beautiful happenings together with the disappointments and heartbreaks and weave them all together into good for his beloved child.

The proper sequence in our life of discipleship goes something like this: facts>faith>feelings. The facts always precede faith, and feelings are a far distant third. So what are the facts? The facts are all contained in God’s Word, such things as:
• God rewards those who diligently seek him (Heb. 11:6);
• He tells us to call him and promises to answer (Jer. 33:3);
• He tells us to ask (Matt. 7:7);
• James says we don’t possess because we don’t ask (Jas. 4:2);
• James also says that we don’t receive because we ask for the wrong things (Jas. 4:3); and…
• The Psalmist says God doesn’t listen when there’s sin in our hearts (Ps. 66:18).

These are a few of the many facts that we can rely on. Some people call them the “promises” of God. Then faith follows the facts, for “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). It’s difficult to know the facts, or promises, if we’re not familiar with what our Father says in his Word.

When it comes to feelings, only a few moments of reflection confirm that feelings can be good or bad, happy or sad, depending on what we ate, our mood, traffic, and a score of other things. Feelings are fickle and must be disciplined in order to consistently live out our faith.

Oswald Chambers says that prayer doesn’t change things. Prayer changes us, and we change things. We can’t do what God does, but he won’t do what we can do. So, no matter the outcome of our prayers, we’re always richer, and God is glorified because of them.

Father, you told us to pray without ceasing. Thank you for the privilege of this ongoing conversation with you. Remind us of that treasure. AMEN.

GOD AT WORK

 

…for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:13

My friend Janie says that it takes God seven years to answer a prayer. I’m not sure how she’s come up with that number—perhaps that’s because it’s God’s number of completion. But Janie doesn’t get impatient when answers don’t happen right away. Unlike so many of us…

There are so many examples in the Bible of people praying and experiencing delays in their answers. Sarah and Abraham were well past their prime when God birthed their promised son. Joseph waited more than a decade to see God’s promise fulfilled in his life. The children of Israel waited about four hundred years before returning home. How long did the faithful wait for Messiah? And how long have we waited for his Second Coming?

Yet God is the one who is working. He gives a promise, and then he works to bring it to pass. When Sarah and Abraham tried to help God out, they only created enmity that has lasted to this present day. The pattern is: we pray and God works. He brings together the myriad details, all the connections, and every component that’s needed for what we call answered prayer.

And God works secretly, behind the scenes, and in our hearts. Trying to watch God work is somewhat like planting an acorn and expecting to see an oak tree appear overnight. “God works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform,” (Cowper) and we need to get out of his way. Often, it takes time; other times he surprises us with his speed. But the underlying truth is that God’s ways are higher than our ways (Isa. 55:9), and he’s always working.

So much is written about prayer—pray fervently, pray in faith, ask and seek and knock. I’ve spent countless days praying and praying and trying to see what God was doing. As if I could peek over his shoulder and be a spectator to the wonders of his ways. And when I didn’t feel I had prayed sufficiently or used the proper words, I’d begin again as if God didn’t understand the situation or hadn’t heard me initially.

I am beginning to learn that my job is to pray and then to simply trust and let go. I hand the matter to my Father and trust him to work. I try not to rush him or ask him to explain. I leave the matter totally to him. I walk away and move on to my next duty so that he can work without my interruption (or suggestions).

And then, to my wonder and great joy (sometimes when I’ve even forgotten what I’d asked him to do) in his timing he shows me what he has been up to. It’s always better than what I had prayed, what I had asked, or what I had imagined. God is ALWAYS working. And it’s always good. I’m trying to remember to back out and stop interfering.

Father, thank you for your mercy with my impatience. Let your will be done in your time. In Jesus, our Lord. AMEN.

A GOD FOR EVERY DAY

For in him we live, and move, and have our being… Acts 17:28

I’ve just returned from a delightful trip to our nation’s capitol with my daughter-in-law Brooks and grandchildren William and Caroline. We landed and hit the ground running, making the Air and Space Museum our first destination. I marveled at the progress made from the Wright Brothers’ first flying machine to the tiny space capsule housing our brave astronauts and remembered that the first “meal” taken in outer space was the holy Eucharist. And then watching the stars and planets and all the various systems fly at us at breathtaking speeds in the planetarium: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3, 4)
Walking back and forth between museums and our hotel was a visual reminder of our nation’s place in this global society. Restaurants offered dishes from many countries while unfamiliar languages swirled about us. We met people from everywhere, and our drivers all had different homelands. One of our drivers had Jesus stickers all over her dash and told us she was a Christian from Ethiopia. Everyone had a story. “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9)
In the Museum of Natural History, the array of animal life, its variety, size, and color called for appreciation of a Creator not only with great imagination but also a wonderful sense of design, color, and humor. Who else but God would give mama kangaroos pockets for their babies? (That might have been helpful for the mother who forgot her baby in the airport’s waiting room last week.) Or the fish who live in the deep sea and are almost transparent for safety’s sake? Think of giraffes whose long necks allow them to nibble on the tree tops… “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this.” ( Job 12:7-9)
Just at the point of our being totally exhausted, eight-year-old Caroline would run ahead of us with a huge toothy grin and twirl and spin her way down the sidewalk, bringing laughter and smiles. Reminding us of why we were there and the joy of being. “…a little child shall lead them.” (Isaiah 11:6)

 

The Museum of American History evidenced divine protection against overwhelming odds as this nation was created. Our forefathers battled enemies stronger, better equipped, and better trained. But their reliance was on God. At Valley Forge, Isaac Potts discovered General Washington praying in the woods, entreating God’s mercy when all seemed to be lost: “Such a prayer I never heard from the lips of man. I left him alone praying.” “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jeremiah 33:3)
Such stories were repeated multiple times: In the War of 1812, the British Navy bombarded Ft. McHenry, and yet only one life was lost after the battle. Throughout our history, people have prayed for this nation. Lincoln issued nine calls for prayer and fasting during his time in office, and on it goes. We know of the Miracle of Dunkirk, and I remember the prayers we all prayed for our boys (and my brother) in Vietnam. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” (Psalms 91:1, 2)
Even the monuments reflect God’s sovereignty. At the top of the Washington Monument are the words, “Laus Deo” (“Praise be to God”). Throughout the Capitol there are references to God and faith, and the nation’s motto, “In God We Trust,” is engraved on a plaque on the wall. President Lincoln’s second inaugural speech is carved into his Memorial in which Lincoln mentions God fourteen times and quotes the Bible twice. The Jefferson Memorial is filled with Jefferson’s references to God. The Supreme Court has images of Moses with the Ten Commandments while all sessions of the Court open with the “Courts Marshal announcing: God save the United States and this honorable court.” “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” (Psalms 33:12)
Our visit to Mt. Vernon, Washington’s beautiful country estate was initially chaotic as hundreds (if not thousands) of school children descended on the gates about the time we arrived. After the initial onslaught of students, we discovered that farm demonstrations were limited to small groups. (Whenever we felt overwhelmed, God brought quiet and respite.) We learned of our first president’s humility, ingenuity, and remarkable leadership skills. There is debate about his religious inclinations, but his practices certainly demonstrated a man of great integrity and charity. “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
At the close of each day, we unanimously agreed that the day had been wonderful. And then we awoke to the news that our flights had been cancelled due to the grounding of certain aircraft. But even then, our God who strengthened our nation’s founders and guided them in creating this unique experiment in democracy, remembered us and made provision. Brooks and the children got a bonus day in D.C., and I returned in time to host a missionary brunch in my home the following morning. “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)
I love knowing our heavenly Father is with us every single moment for every single occasion, not just the good times. He’s a God for every day.
Thank you, Father, for reminders of you wherever we go.

CHILL

 

“Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today…” Exodus 14:13

 

I’ve been mulling over a situation that has caused substantial grief in my world. Some of us have acted in ignorance; others have been wounded; there are those who have been misunderstood; and all of us are grieving. I’ve spent time and prayers trying to discern God’s way to healing and peace. I’ve walked around with a heavy heart and a determination not to make the issue a topic of public discussion.
For days I’ve carried this weight. You’re probably wondering why I didn’t roll it on the Lord, but I did. And then I tilted the prayer so that it rolled right back on me. How could I possibly resolve an issue I didn’t create but in which I was inadvertently caught up? And so I turned this about in my mind for too many days.
I’ve continued to pray and to ask our Father for a way forward. This morning, I read, “This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged… For the battle is not yours, but God’s” (II Chron. 20:15). For days I’ve been wrestling with this divisive issue and not finding any way to turn; then God speaks. “This is MY battle, not yours. Release the worry, the concern, your impotence, and trust me.”
How many battles did the Children of Israel face that seemed insurmountable? There was the crossing of the Red Sea under Moses; the capture of Jericho under Joshua; the defeat of the Midianites under Gideon; fighting the Philistine champion Goliath; and on and on. These were all God’s battles, and he would be victorious when he was trusted and obeyed.
Isn’t this a simple and happy way to move forward in confidence—eyes on Jesus and heart trusting him. We can let go and let God do the impossible. It’s his battle. Time to chill and watch him win.

 

Father, I forget sometimes that you’re in charge, and I’m not. It’s your battle, and you are Lord. Lead on. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

FOLLOWING THE CALL

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8

John, a carpenter, was invited to go to Honduras with a mission team. He was so moved by what he saw and experienced that he gladly went again. And again. Finally, on his fourth mission, his wife Helen joined him. Both Helen and John found themselves strangely touched by the people and work they did in a place that soon didn’t seem so foreign.
When the middle-aged couple returned home, they began praying and seeking God’s direction. Two of their four children were married, and the other two were in school. And yet John and Helen felt called to leave everything and give their lives to minister in the mountains of Honduras.
I asked Helen if it was terribly hard for her as a mother to leave her children and home to serve in a country thousands of miles away. Her eyes misted, and she nodded. She said that at first, the two young ones were angry, but they were well situated in university. She and John knew they had to follow where God was leading them.
They began working in a medical clinic with logistics and administration, all the while saturating their days with prayer and trust. Through difficult times John said God continued to challenge him with, “Can you trust me?” They stayed the course, relying fully on God’s provision, grace, and guidance.
Today their children, all grown by now, visit and say, “We’re so proud of you.” They get it and now have their own walk with the Lord. The clinic has grown and has 16 staff members including doctors, medical specialists, and technologists. Thousands of mountain people are served every year, and many of those come to know Jesus.
Because two people decided to give away their lives to follow Jesus.

 

Father, open our ears so that we may hear your call, and give us courage to trust your leading. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

 

LEGALISM

…for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.  II Corinthians 3:6  (NIV)

 

 

I have a friend who’s been struggling.  She had the good sense to enlist the help of a Christian counselor and poured her heart out.  In one of the sessions, the counselor asked her to describe her devotional life, the practices she follows to feed her spirit and to connect with the Lord.  My friend talked about the little religious routine she observes:  Read the Bible passages recommended in her Prayer Book; read a popular devotional book; and pray.  The counselor then asked how that helped, and my friend responded that it was just a custom that she followed.  It was another task of the day that had to be checked off before dressing for work.  What had started as a time of spiritual refreshing had gotten to be a habit so that there was no life in the practice.  The counselor told her to stop that deadly list-checking and instead get out and walk and talk with God.

I remember times when my children were small that I would sometimes get annoyed if they demanded attention while I was “having my Quiet Time.”  That sacred Time that no one was to interrupt.  Instead, I, too, found that my devotional time had evolved into what Oswald Chambers called “my time with my habit.”

Of course, this is not to discredit a secret time each day that we set aside to be with the Lord.  The whole point of devotional time is relationship.  We put ourselves in a place of sitting and being with our Father and listening to him, talking with him, and waiting on him.  The Psalmist tells us that “in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).

None of this checking off the list.  Having my Quiet Time.  We are speaking of a refreshing, life-giving, intimate meeting with our precious Father.  It becomes as necessary as breathing and eating, and it is not burdensome.  It’s not dead time, and we wouldn’t miss it.

If your Quiet Time has gotten “lame” (as my children might say) and dry, put away your books and begin to seek God with all your heart, asking him to give you a hunger and thirst for him and his righteousness.  And stay with it until he appears.  He will not disappoint—but please put away those habits that masquerade as fellowship with him.

 

Father, sometimes we get caught up with our religious practices and mistake them for reality.  Move us back into your presence so that we rediscover our joy.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

MOTHERING

As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.  Isaiah 66:13

 

Can you imagine anything better than a mother’s love?  I admit, I could never have competed with either my daughter or daughter-in-law in discerning the unique gifts and personalities they nurture on a daily basis.  And then there’s the topic of energy…

Today marked the mid-point of Camp Curry.  I’ve often remarked that the miracle of Sarah and Abraham was not their producing Isaac, but it was their ability to keep up with him.  Or perhaps that’s what their household staff did.

Today’s parents, and especially the mothers who nurture the children while running the household and managing a career, are amazing.  They are routinely dealing with higher expectations than my generation experienced, and their children have greater temptations, information, and challenges than ours ever did.

As the crust of the earth was cooling, I remember my grandmother talking about doing the laundry one day, ironing another, baking took another whole day (Does anyone do that anymore?), mending was part of the schedule, and then there were grocery shopping and cleaning.  Between my daughter and daughter-in-law, each week they do most of the above PLUS gardening, chauffeuring children to school and extracurricular events, running a successful home business besides a full-time job, and participating in a lively social calendar.  They are not unlike other mothers today.

So what’s my point?  Having been with my precious grandchildren this week and getting ready to let them go back home, I am more strongly reminded of the need for prayer for our young family members and particularly the young mothers:  that the joy of the Lord will be their strength (Neh. 8:10); that they will look to him for encouragement (Isa. 41:10); that they will always experience God’s presence (Deut. 31:6); that they will know they are greatly loved by God (Romans 8:37-39); and that he will supply every need they have (Phil. 4:19).  AND that they will delight in being stewards of the precious treasures with which God has entrusted them.

I will miss the sweet grands, but they will be returning to the place where they belong and where they will be loved and shaped into the image God planned from the beginning of time.  And I will be here praying for them all, loving them, and waiting for the next visit.

 

Father, thank you for the special times I have with all my sweet grandbabies.  Be with my friends who spend long seasons apart from their families and give them opportunities to bless those other children you’ve brought into their lives.  Make us your hands and feet as we love and touch those you’ve entrusted to us.  Keep their parents in you, and help us never to cease praying for them.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

DESPERATION

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.  Jeremiah 33:3  (NIV)

 

How blessed we are in the United States to have access to fine education, outstanding healthcare, comfortable housing (including indoor plumbing and electricity), adequate to excellent infrastructure, and blessings many other people only dream about.  Of course, these things are not free, but our fathers taught us that hard work and a good attitude would take us a long way.

And so that’s the mindset most of us grow up with in our country.  Try hard enough, work hard enough, and you’ll succeed at getting what you want.  Until we don’t.  When our circumstances become difficult beyond our abilities to solve (or beyond our ability to buy solutions), we become desperate.  And I’m talking about Christians.  In many instances, we behave just like pagans when we’re pushed to the wall.

I watch while desperation pushes us to every imaginable answer available and even beyond.  We try this and then that.  We read this author and that one.  We pray this prayer and then that one.  I used to (pridefully) be confident of God’s answers to my prayers (emphasis on my will).  It took years before I sincerely embraced “thy will be done” (the prayer that is always answered).  I believed that doing all the right things—tithing,  sacrificial giving, good deeds, right living, going to church and Bible studies, even the extremes of fasting and self denial—was like making deposits in a heavenly account. These were all enriching my standing in heaven so that when I prayed, my will was done.

Desperation, our friend, eventually depletes that “account” and brings us right to the foot of the cross where we say, “Nothing in my hand I bring; simply to the cross I cling.”  The stark reality of our total dependence on God’s grace and mercy becomes true for us.  As we sink into the stormy waves, we are ready to abandon all pretense and cry out to Jesus, “Lord save me,” and we discover that he is waiting for us.  Jesus lifts us up to himself, and nothing else matters.

It’s in him that we find his security, his healing, his peace, his comfort, everything we will ever want or need.  When at the very central heart of our lives we begin abiding in him, everything else comes into perspective.  Everything is measured by eternity, and God is enough.

Are we willing to be stripped of everything but Jesus?  Desperation can do that.

 

Father, thank you for gently and patiently moving us along in our journey so that the excess baggage no longer matters—we can discard its unnecessary weight.  Thank you that you allow us to become desperate as we weigh temporal things against your Kingdom.  Please keep up the process.  The results are heavenly.  AMEN.

SINGING IN THE DARK

 

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  Acts 16:25

 

Upon a recent reading of this text, I was struck not by Paul and Silas’s singing in prison, which in itself was remarkable,  but by the little comment that “the other prisoners were listening to them.”  Of course, they were listening.  Never having occupied a prison cell for my Christian witness, I have no firsthand experience of what words and phrases would daily bounce off the walls of those cold, dark, forgotten places.  But I do have a vivid imagination.

I can imagine that angry, bitter expressions and vile curses would be commonplace as the wicked, the innocent, and the politically disfavored wasted away hoping for rescue.  And then these strange men are tossed in among them.  Men who were thrown in prison for healing a demon-possessed woman.  Of all those locked away, Paul and Silas had reason to complain.

And yet, “about midnight,” the time when all one’s aches and pains and worries and emotional angst are exacerbated, that time when the Prince of Darkness wreaks havoc in our bodies and minds, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.  Do you wonder that the prisoners were listening to them?  Paul and Silas had been beaten and severely flogged.  They were probably bleeding and were surely suffering.  Instead of cursing and complaining, they were singing because there was a joyous melody in their hearts.

There was something beyond the realm of ordinary religion.  Rather than comfort, the gods of the day made selfish, extraordinary requirements of their supplicants and were known to wreak havoc on their lives.  Paul and Silas were praying and singing to the Almighty, Omnipotent God.  What a mighty God they served, one who caused them to sing in suffering, one who brought joy to the darkest circumstance, and one who caused them to experience his presence in the hopelessness of their situation.  Of course, the prisoners were listening.

Today people around us are watching, and they’re listening.  Will we pray, will we sing in difficulty?  Will we “count it all joy” when we experience trials that threaten to overcome us.  Will we sense that there is a Fourth Man in the fire with us?  And will we sing?

 

Father, only you are able to give us those songs in the night.  It’s not a matter of putting on a happy face, but it’s rather a matter of absolute abandonment to your faithfulness.  Strengthen us to keep singing of you, and cause our lives to be lived to your glory at all times.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

EXCEEDING ABUNDANCE

 [He] is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us…  Ephesians 3:20  (KJV)

 

Our World Mission Department is rarely stumped with the requests that come from our international partners, so when Mama Phoebe asked about wedding dresses, Betty didn’t hesitate.  “When our girls in Uganda get married, they like to have white dresses, but they’re very expensive for us.  Can you help?” Phoebe asked.

Immediately upon her return from overseas, Betty went from store to store pricing dresses that we could deliver to the hopeful brides.  It didn’t take much shopping for her to realize that purchasing just a few dresses would totally exhaust our annual budget.  So Betty did what we always do when a problem seems to have no solution—she prayed.  “Lord,” Betty prayed, “there’s no way we can afford these dresses, but you told us to ask, and so I’m asking for your supply.”

Within a few days, Betty got a call regarding a parishioner who wanted to close her bridal salon and wanted to give away the merchandise.  Were we interested?  She was astonished but responded in the affirmative.  And within the week our maintenance director called Betty to come down to the loading dock where a sixteen-wheeler was unloading its cargo:  numerous bridal gowns, shoes, veils, prayer books, bridesmaid and mother of the bride and groom dresses—everything and more than she had ever asked.  In fact, after sorting out all the bounty, our Ugandan friends AND our Mexican friends were able to open up their own bridal salons, and a church on the Border was able to purchase a van with the funds they made by selling unneeded wedding items.

Anytime we begin to think in our ministry (or our personal lives) that the need is too great or that it would be presumptuous to ask God to answer a particular request, we remind each other of the Wedding Dresses.  We might have thought it was frivolous—for God it was a way to demonstrate his love and his abundance.

You have not for you ask not (James 4:3).

 

Father, thank you that you love to pour out your blessings on your undeserving servants.  Give us great faith to ask great things that you may be glorified.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.