Thinking and Praying

"Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, 'a land flowing with milk and honey.' "

Deuteronomy 26:15

I was encouraged by reading this passage today of a prayer prescribed to those who obeyed God in giving their firstfruits according to His command.  What I love about it is it acknowledges God's sovereign rule and power over all, for He is able to see His people wherever they may be.  The people were to pray for God's blessing upon God's people and their land which He had given to them.  The request for blessing was not because they lacked blessing from God, but they prayed with the understanding that their land and their very existence were blessings from God.  Praying according to God's command demonstrated faith their expectation of future blessing would be found in Him.

When we pray to God, it is useful to pray according to the revelation of God and all He has promised in His word.  We can be confident as we pray according to God's will He hears us, and we have what we have requested of Him (1 John 5:14-15).  For instance, this is true concerning receiving eternal life by the Gospel.  We need not wonder if our prayer for salvation has been heard and answered by God, looking for a physical sensation or seeking a feeling of "peace" when God has already extended forgiveness, salvation and eternal life as a gift received by faith in Jesus.  If our faith flags or we pray without considering what God has said, we may be praying for what God has already provided for us--not that He has withheld anything--but because we have have failed to appropriate all He has given by faith in Him.

The Self-Confrontation manual for discipleship goes into detail of the "unprofitable practice" of praying without thinking.  It says, "You do not need to plead hopelessly for the Lord to be with you or with any other believer, because He is with you already and has promised never to leave nor forsake you (Matthew 28:20b; Hebrews 13:5).  Instead, thank the Lord for His continual presence with you (Hebrews 13:6)...You do not need to pray that God will grant you love for another person, because He has already poured out His love within you (Romans 5:5) and has commanded and enabled you to love (1 John 4:7-12).  Pray instead for His wisdom (James 1:5) and leading (Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:16) to show you how to increase and abound in love to others (1 Thessalonians 3:12)." (Broger, John. Self-Confrontation: A Manual for in-Depth Biblical Discipleship. Inc, Biblical Counseling Foundation, 2009. page 59)

How blessed we are to have a God who hears our prayers and is inclined to answer us because He loves us, and He can rest assured He will always keep His word.  We can have all confidence the all-knowing, all-powerful God who has purchased us with His own blood is attentive to our needs even before we ask.  He has provided the Holy Spirit to help us and Jesus Christ is our Mediator and advocate before the Father.  Rather than hopelessly praying for what God has already promised us, let us praise and thank Him He is faithful to do as He has said.  May He increase our faith and understanding to see how blessed we are as children of God and express our gratitude in prayer as we glory in our awesome Saviour.

Saying and Doing

Over the years, I have observed people whose poor performance exposed an inflated sense of ability and self-confidence.  I played sport with guys who believed their routine plays belonged on ESPN SportsCenter highlight reels, and they were completely blind to their own shortcomings.  One fellow talked up his baseball skills so much I imagined he would be the best player on our team that season--until the moment he walked onto the baseball diamond.  In minutes I began to wonder if he had ever played baseball before, much less used a baseball glove.  There was a confounding disconnect between the claims he made about his abilities and the performance on the field.

Rather than going through our mental archives to dredge up those who "talked the talk" but didn't "walk the walk," it is more profitable and constructive for us to realise we can and likely do this as well in aspects of our lives.  The children of Israel certainly did at times when it came to keeping God's commands.  Since their failings are included in Scripture for our learning there remains a relevant lesson for us.  After Nehemiah and the people in Jerusalem built the wall, there was spiritual revival as God's word was opened, read and explained.  People lamented their great sin before God, worshipped Him and were determined to change their ways.  They went beyond the letter of the Law in making vows and promising to make serving God a priority:  "We will not neglect the house of the LORD."

As we read on, however, it is evident the people did not follow through with much of what they promised to do.  It was only upon Nehemiah's return to Jerusalem he witnessed the total neglect of God's people to keep their word to obey God:  the high priest had allowed wicked Tobiah to live in the temple court, the portions assigned to the Levites had not been provided by the people (so all the Levites and musicians had left the temple), people were working, buying and selling on the Sabbath, and the foreign wives had not been put away!  Nehemiah was beside himself to the point of cursing and physically assaulting those who had been unfaithful to the LORD by defying God's commands.  The high priest's son was included among the guilty, and Nehemiah drove him away.  The words of the people did not match their walk, and we must be on guard against this same hypocrisy.

God holds His people accountable to His word and also to do the things they say.  It is better not to vow than to vow and not follow through, for our "Yes" ought to be "Yes" and our "No" means "No."  Better than saying what we plan to do, we ought to simply do that thing, for actions speak truer than our words.  Solomon wrote in Proverbs 27:1-2:  "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. ² Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips."  Saying what we will do in the future can be a boast we should refrain from.  Rather than talking up our abilities or seeking affirmation or approval from men, we ought to walk according to God's will so He will say to us in due time:  "Well done, good and faithful servant."  Many people have spoken well, but it is those who do well God commends.

Meditating on God's Word

People in Christian circles often make reading and studying the Bible a major emphasis, and rightly so.  It is by reading the Scriptures we hear God's voice and can know His will, and God alone has the words of life.  The exhortation Paul gave to Timothy is fitting for all believers in 2 Timothy 2:15:  "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."  Not only are we given the responsibility to read God's word and learn how to "rightly divide" it, but we have been given the Holy Spirit to help us to this end.  Jesus promised His disciples in John 14:26:  "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

What is not emphasised as much as reading and study--yet remains indispensable for believers--is our need to also meditate on the Scripture.  By meditate I do not mean in a transcendental sense as the term is commonly used today, but meaning to ponder, consider and carefully weigh what has been said.  It means considering the context of the passage, the circumstances of what is being said, taking time to compare and/or relate it to other passages.  Meditating on God's word means reading, believing God is speaking, and taking it personally enough to keep thinking about what God has said.  It is not enough for us to look at food, but we need to chew it up and swallow it so our body can utilise the nutrition of every bite.  Every word of God is spiritual food for us.  Unlike food that passes through the stomach and is eliminated as waste, the word of God goes into our minds and hearts so that we not only retain knowledge but learn to order our thoughts, attitudes and lives according to God's wisdom.

Psalm 1:1-3 says, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; ² but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. ³ He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."  David said the one who is alive, established and fruitful like a tree by water is he who meditates on God's law day and night.  The Law of Moses commanded kings of Israel were to write a copy of the Law to read every day of his life.  The ruler of God's people was to be one ruled by God's word.  It was not enough to be familiar with God's commands, for God's intent was for kings to submit to His word themselves and walk in humility (Deut. 17:18-20).  Psalm 119:11 says, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You!"

When people bother to hide something, there is typically a reason for doing so.  It might be a bad reason, like to conceal contraband or to avoid being in trouble for having stolen property.  We can hide things for a good reason, because we realise we have something in our possession that is precious and we want to safeguard it.  God's word is not to be socked away like gold in a safety deposit box in the bank to be drawn upon only in times of desperate need but like a letter from one we love, our eyes hungrily devouring the words as we read them over and over.  Long ago reading the words of a single telegram message impacted the course of history, and meditating on God's word provides wisdom that transforms our lives when put into practice.  Hiding God's word in our hearts means we possess it, treasure it, are familiar with it, but we remain fascinated by all it means because it is our God's word for us.  As we embark on reading and studying the Bible, we begin to realise how much we don't know.  Meditating on God's word begins to fill some gaps in our understanding and personal application we never noticed were empty.

Paying the Price

Today I read a great illustration of knowing and embracing our duty as followers of Jesus in Spiritual Leadership by Oswald Sanders:

"A young man who was beginning his work with the coast guard was early called to take part in a desperate assignment.  A great storm had arisen and a ship was signaling its distress.  As the men began to move the big boat to the rescue, the young man , frightened at the fierceness of the gale, cried out to the captain, "We will never get back!"   Above the storm the captain replied, "We don't have to come back, but we do have to go out."  In most decisions the difficult part is not in knowing what we ought to do; it is in being willing to pay the price involved." (Sanders, J. Oswald. Spiritual Leadership. Marshall Pickering, 1986. page 54)

If the Coast Guard only answered distress calls in good weather, they would not be fulfilling the purpose they are especially trained and outfitted for.  Soldiers, firemen, policemen, and medical personnel are among the many professions where men and women put their lives on the line to do their duty to help others.  In the course of their job there are many difficult decisions to be made, but the great leaders among them are those who are willing to pay the personal price to see their duty done well.  In the illustration with the captain and new recruit, the captain did not wrestle over whether they should embark on the assignment:  the need to go was crystal clear.

Having chosen to search for those who sent the distress call, however, questions remained over how they were to best tackle the developing emergency.  Drawing upon his training, experience and knowledge--with the counsel and aid of the officers and crew--clear decisions could be made and communicated to work together for a successful outcome.  It is likely the captain would have rather been doing something else that day, but he had been prepared for such an occasion and had the means to do what others could not.  One need not be the captain of a Coast Guard vessel to rise to the occasion of administering an encouraging word, asking a question, or lending a hand.  As believers we are called to love one another as Jesus loves us, and this will always come at a personal cost.

There is no confusion over our Christian duty to love one another, yet we can still question what is the best way to do so.  Like the young man was afraid to leave port because his safe return was not guaranteed, we also can shrink from loving as Jesus does because of fear:  how will others take it?  What will they say?  How could this negatively impact our relationship?  What unwanted demands will this person or situation impose upon my time?  Why is this happening to me?  Can't there be an easier way?  What if loving others results in being disappointed or having my heart broken again?  Because Jesus was willing to answer His Father's call to be crucified to atone for our sins out of love for us, He is the One to whom we look for comfort, help and rest in trying circumstances.  Our risen Saviour Jesus is the LORD who heals us, and He strengthens us to follow Him day by day.

It is good for us to consider:  how much does fear factor into our decision making?  It may be we are being more guided, hemmed in, or paralysed by all manner of fear rather than walking in the fear of God!  Fear for ourselves and unwillingness to pay the price involved can keep us from doing the thing we have been called, equipped and enabled to do by God's grace.  Let us be as the captain who saw his need to go even if returning was not guaranteed, willing to pay the price God requires of us.  Our eternal salvation and destination by faith in Jesus is assured, and thus with boldness we can venture forth because He has already paid the price.