Praying By Faith

The hymn goes, "O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear!  All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."  Neglect of prayer does lead to troubled hearts and minds, yet still many pray and do not always experience the peace God freely provides by His grace.  One reason this can occur is the same reason why the children of Israel did not enter the land God promised to give them:  unbelief.  The amount of negative impact of the many shades and degrees of unbelief in the lives of believers is frankly unbelievable.  Those whose sight is failing often do not realise what they cannot see, and praise the LORD for His word that illuminates our sight to see ourselves in truth through the examples of others.

Psalm 78 is a passage written by Asaph that explores the history of God's chosen people and how unbelief caused them to disobey and rebel against God.  The shame of past sins were not glossed over, for the next generation could profit much from their example by choosing to trust and obey God instead.  Psalm 78:7-11 reveals the purpose of this rehearsing the failings of their fathers:  "...that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments; ⁸ and may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God. ⁹ The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. ¹⁰ They did not keep the covenant of God; they refused to walk in His law, ¹¹ and forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them."  Unless the current generation is willing to instruct the future generation that is willing to learn, sinful rebellion against God will be rife.

See the inferred consequences of unbelief in God:  setting their hope on self or something other than God, forgetting God's works, disobeying His commands.  The generation miraculously brought forth from Egypt was marked with stubbornness, rebellion, perverse hearts, unfaithful to God, retreating in fear, did not keep God's covenant, refused to surrender their will to walk in His law and forgot His works.  Psalm 78:17-19 continued:  "But they sinned even more against Him by rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. ¹⁸ And they tested God in their heart by asking for the food of their fancy. ¹⁹ Yes, they spoke against God: they said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?"  Unbelief prompted God's people to rebel, test God and spoke against Him.  God caused them to eat manna every day, caused wind to blow quail to satisfy them with meat and caused water to flow from the rock to drink.  They ate and drank; they were satisfied and sustained.  But unbelief in God prevented them from connecting what God had already done to what God would and could do today and tomorrow.  Thus they denied themselves the blessing of the rest and peace found in God and were unable to receive of His goodness, though they had food and water.

The great sin of God's people (consider this, of God's own people!) was their refusal to believe God who did wonders in their midst.  Though God was their Redeemer and Saviour, Psalm 78:36-37 says:  "Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, and they lied to Him with their tongue; ³⁷ for their heart was not steadfast with Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant."  God saw through their words straight to their hearts and their unfaithfulness.  Psalm 78:40-42 says, "How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! ⁴¹ Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. ⁴² They did not remember His power: the day when He redeemed them from the enemy..."  It would be impossible to belabour the point for Asaph did so for the purpose to warn God's people of the consequences of unbelief, how unbelief is a spiritual cancer than impacts our entire lives, as a warning to others, and to magnify the grace of God who forgives those who repent.  Asaph said God's people tempted and provoked God with their idolatry, turned back from following Him in obedience, and limited God.

Though the guilt of God's people was great, His power to love, show mercy, give grace and forgive was greater still.  Over the course of Israel's history God allowed many trials to refine them:  40 years in the wilderness that ended in death for the vast majority of people, oppression by enemies in the days of the judges, 70 years of captivity in Babylon, and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.  Yet all that time God was faithful to His people, and He has been faithful to those who are God's purchased possession by faith in Jesus Christ.  Let us not think because Christians are now the temple of the Holy Spirit we are prevented from the folly of previous generations that rebelled against God, forgot about Him, turned from His covenant, provoked and limited Him due to unbelief.

Belief in God remembers all He has done in the past and knows our God is the same yesterday, today and forever and thus can provide all we need right now..  His arm is not shortened that He cannot hear and has purposes beyond our understanding.  Because He is our Good Shepherd we follow Him; because He can do everything we pray to Him.  Like the children of Israel were to drive out the inhabitants of the land, so we are to drive out the worries, flattery, lies, deceit, lust and adultery from our own hearts and minds.  We are called to surrender our will to do God's will ourselves, not that God's will shall be done somewhere without us but by our obedience to Him!  Jesus summed this up the importance of our belief in John 6:29:  "...This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  Those who believe will trust, obey and pray.  O LORD, keep us from unbelief that leads to lies and flattery that provokes, limits and grieves God in prayer.  Turn our unbelief and neglect of prayer to praying by faith in God.