I would much rather we pray for the strength to persevere; that we pray for God to come near; that our desire be nothing of this world, and nothing less than God Himself. I think of Job's response to the glory of the Lord: "Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.... I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You; therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." He repents of his frustration over loss once he catches a glimpse of the glory of God. What can stand in the presence of Glory?
This brings me to Psalm 135. It begins by beseeching us to praise the Lord three times. The relevant question is: why should we praise Him? Because of health and wealth? The psalmist answers the question:
"For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel as His own possession." (because He has saved us and made us His - how amazing and glorious of Him!)
"For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods." (He rules over all; He is good)
"Whatever the Lord pleases, He does" (He reigns to His good pleasure!)
"He it is who makes the clouds rise...who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses." (God is constantly and powerfully at work - even in the weather!)
"He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt...who in your midst, O Egypt, sent signs and wonders" (He miraculously provides justice)
"Who struck down many nations and killed mighty kings." (He governs human affairs through our rulers)
"Your name, O Lord, endures forever." (He is eternal; thousands of years after He chose Israel, His name is still adored over anyone/anything else!)
"For the Lord will vindicate His people." (If the Lord is for us, who can be against us?)
The conclusion? "O house of Israel, bless the Lord!...Praise the Lord!" What else could we do?
Looking over these, the praise arises from three interconnected realities: 1) praise about who God is; 2) praise about what God has done; and 3) praise about our relationship with Him. Our praise in prayer should come from these, and not solely and heavily from mere circumstance.
I'm right there with Piper when he desires people to have a high view of God. I think this is the remedy for whatever ails us. What ailment can stand in the face of the glory of God? Those moments when my mind catches a glimpse of His glory erase any complaint I might utter.
And I think this is the only way we can say, like Paul, "I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:11-13
Brothers and sisters, join me in praying like Moses: "Please show me Your glory." - Exodus 33:18
3 comments:
I love the Kevin rants because they are spirit-filled and busting at the seems with scripture. I think you are getting at what all of us see in our lives and in our churches; there is no fear of God in our eyes. We do not have an appetite for God. We love "god-stuff," but we can't stand being alone with just Him. We are bored with him because we don't know him or behold his holiness. We need a biblical vision of God.
Ironically, I was just reading about this topic this very morning in "The Rest of God" by Mark Buchanan. In a short liturgical rant Buchanan speaks of Peter's prayer in Act 4:23-31. He talks about how in the midst of having their lives threatened for "speaking of Jesus" most of Peter and the gang's prayer was about God's sovereignty of the God they love and then almost as an after thought they pray "oh and we had a bit of trouble in town today...could you help with that". He implores us to pray in such a way that our request would be made into proper proportions by how big and sovereign God is, and not by how much we worry about them. Thank you God for scripture to guide our lives!
I think that James' words are particularly relevant here: "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." (4:3) I'm becoming more and more convinced that most, if not all, of circumstantial prayer, besides asking the Lord for the strength to endure (Philippians 4:13), is asking wrongly. We want God to make our lives easier (in other words, we want to be independent of Him). We don't want Him to develop us. We don't often look at tough times joyously as Scripture commands. But how could we when our God is so small and not sovereign over it all?
I think the idea that prayer to God is similar to giving three wishes to a genie is what has had my thoughts about prayer all screwed up for so long, and has led me to doubt the profound words of Jesus about prayer. How can you not doubt the Bible's statements about prayer when you think it says "all will be healed of physical sickness by faithful prayer" and then not all are healed? It can mean one of two things: either there is no God, or something is wrong with our understanding of prayer. Because I have seen Him work, and because I have so often been wrong and done terrible things, I think it's the latter. Lord, please use Your Word and Your Word only to mold our prayer lives!
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