A Way to Pray

A Way to Pray is my new favorite book. It is Matthew Henry's book A Method for Prayer written in 1710  that has been revised and updated by O. Palmer Robertson. "This work consists almost entirely of Scripture, arranged under various headings, to help Christians pray in harmony with the truth of God, revealed in His word."

" O Lord our God, you are so great. you are clothed with honour and majesty. You cover yourself with light as with a garment. Yet to us you make darkness your pavilion. We do not know how to approach you because of the darkness that veils your essence.
You are light, and in you is no darkness at all. You are the Father of lights. In you there is no inconsistency. You do not change like shifting shadows. You are love, and those who dwell in love dwell in you, and you in them. Every good and perfect gift comes from you. You are the blessed and only potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords. You alone are immortal. You live in light which no man can approach. No man has ever seen you, or can see you." 1 John 1:5, James 1:17, 1 John 4:16, 1 Tim 6:15,16, Psa. 104:1, 2;18:11 Job 37;19

Wait for the Lord

 Did you know that the word “wait” occurs 90 times in 86 verses in the NASB and 24 of those occurrences are in the Psalms and 23 of the 24 occurrences refer in some way to waiting on God? I didn’t either until I did a little research on it.  Here are a few of my favorite verses from the Psalms about waiting

·         Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!         (Psalm 27:14 )

·         Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.  (Psalm 37:7)

·         Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land, when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.  (Psalm 37:34)

        

·         I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope. (Psalm 130:5)

I’m not good at waiting; I like to have a plan, to know where I’m going and how I’m going to get there. To me waiting seems like a waste of time so when I came across the chapter “Learn to Wait” in Paul Tripp’s book “Broken-Down House” I was challenged to see waiting in a new way. Here are a few things Pastor Tripp teaches about waiting

·         “Waiting is living through those moments when you do not understand what God is doing and you have no power to change your circumstances for the better.”

·         “Waiting will always reveal the true character of your heart, where you have placed your hope, your level of faith, your capacity to truly leave things up to God, your ability to rest in God and God alone.”

·         “Waiting is more than being patient as situations and other people change. Waiting is about understanding that you and I desperately need to change, and that waiting is a powerful tool of personal change. God is using the grace of waiting to change us at the core of our personhood, the heart.”

·         “Waiting is not an interruption of God’s plan. It is his plan.”

·         “When we find waiting a grueling, burdensome experience it is because we are looking for our identity, meaning, and purpose in the thing we are waiting for.”

·         “We can wait productively by being active in prayer; confessing the struggles of our heart and seeking the grace of God, celebrating God’s sovereignty and counting our blessings.

Oh Father, take these truth deep into our hearts and change us from the inside out, teach us to wait in a way that glorifies and honors you.

Seeing but not perceiving, hearing but not understanding!

I’ve been thinking about the truth of this phrase taken from Mark 4:12 because of several stories patients have shared with me over the last few months.

·         The women who said she didn’t realize how bad her mom’s dementia was until her mom couldn’t find her way home from the grocery store

·         The gentleman who said he never thought the shortness of breath and pain in his shoulder could be heart problems

·         The dad who said he had no idea his son was doing drugs until he was stopped for speeding and arrested for the possession of illegal drugs

·         The grandma who said she was floored to find out  her grandchildren’s anger issues were caused by them being abused

In each of these real life situations the person telling me the story admitted that looking back they could see the evidence that pointed to a problem but it just never registered with them.  Aren’t we all that way?   We look right past the facts seeing what we want to see and hearing what we want to hear.  We want easy and happy lives so we believe what we want to believe instead of seeing and hearing and believing what is really true. 

All these stories have made me wonder in what situations am I seeing but not perceiving   and hearing but not understanding the truth? How have I accepted the broken as the norm because I don’t want my easy and happy life messed up?  What am I accepting as true because I’m fearful of the unknown?  

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul."  PS143:8

P****** Contest

One of my dearest friends has some great down home phrases that often describes a situation to a tee. The last one she mentioned was “having a conversation with X is like having a pissing contest” and she was absolutely right.  Almost every time we talk to this person it’s “a contest in which logical rational argument in the search for truth gives way to emotional and/or personal attacks for the sake of power or reputation. Usually such contests leave a feeling of ill-will amongst all involved, and prove nothing.”  Urban Dictionary

When I finally stopped laughing, because I just loved the phrase, my friend asked probably the most important questions, “What am I doing that causes us to communicate in this way? Is it just our personalities or can I do to something to change this pattern? ”

As we talked, laughed and cried through the issues we decided that it’s not just personality that causes us/them to communicate this way because James says “Is not the source (of your quarrels and conflicts) your pleasures that wage war in your members? You are envious and cannot obtain so you fight and quarrel.”  We/they get into a p****** contest because we/they are competing for power and reputation!

Changing this pattern comes by grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us to deal with the sin in our hearts through confession, repentance and faith, learning to love this person more that we need their acceptance and approval and by determining that our words will be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that we may know how to answer them. 

I am so thankful for my friend’s honest expressions about life and her willingness to work through the issues together.  She truly is a Gospel Friend!     

Unanswered Prayers

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. PS 84:11

Today I am so thankful God doesn’t give me everything I ask for but only that which is good and right, according to His holy will. For he has promised no good thing will he withhold from me.  

Condemnation

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Rom 8:1

WOW! What a privilege! What a comfort! According to the law there is much for which I am guilty before God. But the accusations are thrown out and the indictment quashed because Christ perfectly satisfied the law for me. Although the disturbing and vexing sin that remains in me continues to wage war against the Spirit it does not ruin me. Christ is my protector and avenger and has freed me from the guilt (condemnation) and power of sin.

I know these wonderful truths and believe them with all my heart. So why does the condemnation of others weigh so heavy on me? Why do I let their opinions, expectations and disapproval disrupt my peace? Why has my soul become so disturbed within me?  It is because their love, acceptance and approval have become idols of my heart!  When the good desire to be loved and accepted by others – my parents, spouse, children, friends, employer, etc. is elevated to a demand, a must have, or an I can’t live without it, it’s an idol. When the good desire to be accepted and not condemned becomes all consuming and is more important to me than being loved and accepted by God, it’s an idol. And when this good desire becomes an idol it causes anxiety, restlessness, and anger; it robs me of the peace for which I long.

So to get back to the joy, peace and comfort of knowing that there is no condemnation for me because I am in Christ I begin with praising God for all He has done for me in Christ. I meditate on His goodness, love and faithfulness which lead me to repentance. I confess my lack of faith and unbelief and that my heart is an idol factory.  I pray for grace - grace that cleanses and pardons all sin; grace to worship Him as the only one true and living God; grace to fear Him and not man; grace to find my hope, joy, peace and comfort in Him; grace so that when others hurt me with their condemnation (and they will) I do not despair. 

O Father, may your children be so rooted and grounded in your love and acceptance of us through Christ that when condemnation comes our faith is not shaken and our peace is not disturbed.  In our situations and relationships where there is condemnation pour out your healing grace that we might be built-up and encourage with the truth of the Gospel. Teach us to FEAR you so that we can need people less and love them more.   

I am so thankful for the Biblical teaching on idols of the heart in  Peacmaking Women by Tara Barthel  and When People are Big and God is Small by Edward Welch.

Sabbath Rest and Tolkien

“J.R.R. Tolkien gives one of the most entrancing descriptions of the true nature of Sabbath. In book 1 of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, He describes a time of rest and healing in the house of Elrond in Rivendell. The hobbits, along with strider, their guide, have made a dangerous, almost fatal journey to this place. They will soon have to make an even more dangerous, almost certainly fatal journey away from this place. But in the meantime, this:

“For a while the hobbits continued to talk and think of the past journey and of the perils that lay ahead: but such was the virtue of the land of Rivendell that soon all fear and anxiety was lifted from their minds. The future, good or ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have power over the Present. Health and hope grew strong in them and they were content with each day as it came, taking pleasure in every meal, and in every word and song.”

The future, good or ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have power over the present. That’s Sabbath!”    From Mark Buchanan’s book “The Rest of God”

Oh Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit may health and hope grow strong in us and by your grace may we take pleasure in today and not fear tomorrow. Grow our faith that we might have Sabbath rest.