Praying and Waiting

Enjoyable and profitable conversation occurs when people are attentive to one another, listening and speaking in turn.  This exchange of ideas and deepening of relationship is greatly hindered if one does all the talking, if they habitually interrupt one another, or walks away without listening.  Every culture has its own nuance of what constitutes polite manners and decorum while conversing with one another, and consideration of the feelings and views of others is generally a good approach.

Ironically, our approach to conversing with people can be practically ignored in our prayers to God.  I have been guilty of doing all the talking and not taking a moment to still my heart and be silent before King Jesus, barging into his presence as if He does not know what I'm going to say.  I have made the mistake Peter did when Jesus was transfigured before his eyes, speaking because he did not know what to say.  When I have sought God's guidance and wisdom concerning a matter, I have rushed on without even waiting for an answer.  What folly!  In our communication with God this is more than bad manners, for our hearts can be tinged with unbelief and arrogance:  we have prayed, so we can assume we have God's blessing to do as we will.

I have observed that often when people say, "I prayed about it" in relation to seeking God's guidance, very seldom do they ever volunteer a clear answer from God.  In explaining how they know God's answer, typically people appeal to how they feel, that they "have a peace" about a certain course of action.  Interpreting past or current circumstances are also a means people employ to discern God's "answer."  Let me encourage you, dear Christian, that when you make petitions of the LORD for guidance and direction that you determine not to take action unless He speaks to you.  Now God can use our circumstances, things other people said, His word--really anything--to communicate His truth to our hearts.  Because the Bible is God's word and the Holy Spirit dwells in us, He helps us to understand the scripture and to submit our lives to Him.  People pray all the time to all kinds of things, thus praying does not mean we have heard God say anything.

God's promise in Psalm 91:15 is relevant to every Christian: "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him."  God has promised to answer us, but have we waited for Him to speak before we did what we thought best?  Jeremiah 33:2-3 says, "Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name): ³ 'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'"  What a strange thing it would be to call a friend on the phone and hang up before there was opportunity for them to answer!  Now God may not answer our questions immediately as we kneel before Him, but we are called to be praying without ceasing and to make our requests known to God.  We can continue to bring our supplication and intercession before Him when it comes to mind throughout the day and night, and we are called to wait for His clear answer He has promised and is faithful to give.

Saying, "I prayed about it" is not sound justification to do as we please.  Saul's prayers went unanswered because he was unwilling to repent of his pride and would not heed what God said.  Many of our prayers may be met with prolonged silence for the same reason.  Let us be those who are quick to listen, slow to speak and faithful to heed the word of God He has given us in the Bible.  When we call upon the LORD He will answer us, and we can have confidence to do what God requires of us by His grace.  Daniel did not pray and then run to king Nebuchadnezzar with an interpretation until God clearly answered Him, and we ought to follow his godly example.  Are we willing to lose sleep to hear God's voice?  Psalm 27:14 says, "Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!"

Simple Love and Trust

Knowing God as revealed in the Bible gives us confident expectation of good even when troubles abound.  With the many voices and influences in the world, God's people ought to determine His word will carry greater weight with us than all other feelings, opinions and views.  It is never easy to trust God and follow Him, as we are prone to lean on our own understanding or rely on help or guidance from others, but it is simple enough even a child can do it faithfully.

G.K. Chesterton famously remarked in an essay, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting.  It has been found difficult and left untried." (Chesterton, G. K. What’s Wrong with the World. Ignatius Press, 1994. pg. 37)  Indeed, even those who are faithful followers of Jesus Christ find personal sanctification and God's refinement difficult.  When our eyes are focused on how far we have come pride can set in, and should we fix our gaze on how far we still have to go we are easily overwhelmed.  Like Korah who asserted Moses took too much upon himself, being critical and judgmental of others undermines our relationship with the LORD and one another.  It is easy to point out faults in others (for who among us is faultless), but to humble ourselves and to repent is difficult:  difficult to do because we are naturally proud and stubborn, but the concept is quite simple.

God's word has a way of simplifying the dizzying complexities of life and the human heart, teaching us of God who does not change.  God has told us what He will do, and by His grace we are all given the responsibility and agency to choose to trust and love Him or not.  The psalmist declared God's words in Psalm 91:14-16:  "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. ¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. ¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation."  God has revealed Himself as gracious, longsuffering, merciful and compassionate towards the undeserving.  It is wonderful to consider what God promises to do for those who love Him, know Him and call upon Him.  God is faithful to deliver those who love Him, exalt those who know Him, answer those who call upon Him, and is with those who are in trouble.

Because God will always do His part by His grace, we can rest assured in His guiding hand to help us through the indwelling Holy Spirit.  All who are born again by faith in Jesus Christ have been given the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth, comforts and helps us to do God's will.  God works in His people both to will and do His good pleasure.  God does not hold us responsible to change ourselves, others or our situations:  He simply calls us to love and trust Him in all seasons of life.  Again, this can be difficult and even impossible, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  Our troubled hearts and fretting minds find rest in the LORD of Hosts who has done all for us, freeing us to praise and thank Him as we submit to Him joyfully in love.

Hearing and Sharing God's Word

It dawned on me today that due to the advent of the internet and social media, opinions have never been less or more influential at the same time.  People's views are broadcasted so frequently and cheaply they don't matter much, and people are hungry and thirsty for likes to build personal platforms.  Going viral has led to instant fame, and public outcry can lead to dismissal akin to social banishment.  Despite the facade of social media friendship many still feel desperately lonely, their lives hanging by the thread of superficial connections.

In contrast to the shifting sands of public interest and sentiment, God's word remains sure and absolute, rooted in God's wisdom that encompasses all that matters.  In the Bible, God does not give us His opinions but unchanging judgments concerning what is true.  He has given mankind freedom to choose what we will believe, who we will follow and what voices we will listen to.  I have observed the voices we listen to are the ones we will often repeat as relevant to us and others.  I love that the almighty God does not need to raise His voice to be heard, but in a quiet voice is able to communicate timeless truth with those who know Him.  Jesus said in John 10:27-28, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."

One challenge we face is allowing man's ways or opinions to sway us from what God has said plainly in His word.  Even faithful followers of Jesus can be distracted from what our LORD has said, similar to how David was influenced by Saul's proud example.  After David's men returned from an interaction with Nabal who spoke harshly to them, David sounded much like Saul as he went to avenge himself and spouted an oath in 1 Samuel 25:22:  "May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I leave one male of all who belong to him by morning light."  In that moment, David reacted to the unflattering opinions of Nabal and forgot the LORD who anointed him as king and would provide for the needs of he and his men.  How quickly we can be swayed from peace and rest in God by man's ways and words!

David wrote concerning God's word in Psalm 19:7-11:  "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; ⁸ the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; ⁹ the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. ¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. ¹¹ Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward."  Better than sharing our opinions on a matter is to speak forth what God has plainly spoken, for His word is perfect, right, enlightening, precious, valuable, sweet and rewarding.

Casting Our Burdens

"Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved."

Psalm 55:22

When David wrote Psalm 55, he was clearly burdened by many things, including a host of enemies, the oppression of the wicked, and betrayal by a friend.  Unable to fly away from his troubling situation or dread, he sought the LORD he knew would hear and answer him.  Toward the end of the song he turned his attention to the reader and urged all to cast their burdens on the LORD who would sustain those made righteous through faith in Him.

To sustain means "to hold."  When people are burdened in a literal sense, it means we are carrying something.  I picture someone encumbered with bags after coming home from the shops or a person carrying a load of firewood on outstretched arms.  When doing work, we like to make our effort and time worthwhile.  Rather than making several trips, we might load an extra bag or log to finish the job more efficiently.  In contrast to physical burdens we carry in doing work, we can be weighed down with mental and spiritual burdens that go to work on us--and not in a good way.  These cares, worries, fears and anxiety can paralyse us under a weight we struggle to carry.  We would rather carry what we able to carry rather than permitting others to assist us, and this tendency can be carried over to our relationship with God.  He allows burdens we cannot even carry for a moment, for we can easily be overwhelmed and collapse under the weight of them.

There are burdens that situations may place upon us, and there are burdens we voluntarily choose to pick up and carry as something we feel responsible to do or bring justice to bear on them.  At times we may not even realise we are burdened by thoughts and feelings that are weighing us down.  We can become rather attached to burdens, even finding our identify or sense of purpose in carrying them.  But David exhorts us to cast our burden (whatever it may be or however we obtained it) on the LORD and pour out our complaint to Him alone, knowing he will never permit the righteous to be moved.  Christians are exhorted in 1 Peter 5:5-7:  "Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." ⁶ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

In Bunyan's allegory the Pilgrim's Progress, the protagonist Christian was loaded with a burden of sin, and it is something he always carried that grew weightier over time.  It was when he knelt at the foot of the cross it fell from his shoulders, and Jesus is able to carry the weight of our sin and all other burdens we accumulate as we cast them upon the LORD.  What we can hardly carry He gives us supernatural strength to cast on Him.  It may be we have known the LORD a long season and perhaps we have burdens we have always carried to this day--and thus feel a bit attached to them, even justifying their existence.  We can proudly hold onto our burdens rather than casting them on the LORD, shrinking back from trusting He will sustain and hold us because we have yet to experience this.  What do we have to lose by casting our cares on Him who cares for us?  He rejoices to exalt and lift up those who humble themselves to cast their burdens on the LORD.