Stilled and Quieted Soul

Wow! Time slides by way too fast. For those of us in ministry, we move from one "situation" to the next, hoping to find a little time for planning and implementation related to our ministry. But it was like that for me long before being called to the pastorate. Life seems to spiral out of control most of the time. The demands of the day/week/month pile up and you frantically try to meet all your obligations. Then, on Sunday morning, you hear that you need a day off, a Sabbath. You need to create margin in your life. You need to spend quality and quantity time with your family. Oh yeah, and you need to volunteer in the dozens of spots where we have need at the church. It seems like you're being called to conflicting lifestyles. What does God really expect of you?

This post is a week late because I had a crazy, out of control week during the time when I was trying to share a relevant psalm with you. Isn't that the way it works? Whenever I want to explain something from God's Word, He shows me that I need to allow that principle to work in my own life first. So, here's the psalm I wanted to share with you last week, but I was too busy...

Psalm 131 A song of ascents.

My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.
But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore.

A psalm of ascents was a song sung by Jews as they climbed the mountain to Jerusalem to worship God. And look at the message, so short, but so direct:

I don’t value myself too highly in comparison with other people; I don’t consider myself up to challenges that surpass me.

Instead, I find my peace in You and You alone. Like a child who once cried out for a mother’s breast to quench his hunger, but now is satisfied with a mother’s loving embrace, I find satisfaction in You, my God. In You, I have contentment.

Is God your greatest desire? Is the rule and reign of Christ in your own life, in your small group, in our church, in the world the longing of your soul? This is the psalm which the Lord continually places before my eyes and my thoughts. Is He sufficient for us? Is He our heart’s desire? Is He our greatest treasure? Then, tell Him so… pray.

Teach Us to Pray

Are you in a prayer rut? Do you always pray in the same place, at the same time, in the same manner? There are volumes galore on the shelves of Christian bookstores advocating this method or that. What intrigues me is that Jesus gave us a model for prayer, yet we ignore it.

"This, then, is how you should pray:
"'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'
Matthew 6:9-13

Comments on what has become known as the Lord’s Prayer:

Notice that the pronouns that refer to the prayer-offerer are all plural, “we,” “us,” and “our,” not “I,” “me,” and “mine.” Jesus taught us to pray together. Certainly, there is a place for private prayer. Jesus even modeled that Himself. But His instruction to us is for praying as community. We see that practiced in the Acts record of the church, "When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying" (Acts 12:12).

Notice also that prayer begins with God:

God is our heavenly Father.

His name is holy. [The “name” of God has nothing to do with what He’s called (i.e., “Joe”) and everything to do with who He is, especially indicating His position or authority. While we can freely come into His presence, He is the Holy One and it is right to fear Him.]

His Kingdom is breaking through and becoming a new reality.

Finally, after approaching God according to His majesty, do we bring ourselves into the prayer:

Give us today our daily bread. This is for daily sustenance. Think back to the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. God provided them with manna to eat, but they were to only take enough for one day, except before the Sabbath when they were to collect enough for two days. This is not a prayer of want, but need.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. The “debts” are “sins” or “transgressions.” We are forgiven because we have released others of their transgressions against us. Read Mt. 6:14-15. It is clear that God will not forgive us if we don’t forgive others. But this isn’t a works-based salvation scheme. This is simply fruit of our understanding and appreciation of our own sin, the ransom paid by Christ, and that God alone has the right to punish sinners.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. God is not the one who tempts us; it is our enemy, Satan. By the grace of God, we can stand up to his attacks.

So, want to deepen your prayer life? Start by approaching God as He has asked us to approach Him. You’re entering the presence of the Most High King. But He’s also your loving Father.

Next week, I’ll share one of my favorite Psalms. It’s an amazing picture of how God wants to relate to us, His children.

Pray '10

So, 2010 at Grace Church will be a Year of Prayer. That’s exciting! I think that the church, especially in America, doesn’t pray as it should. In fact, I wonder if we even really know what prayer is.

Can you recall a time in your life when prayer was something that you did ritualistically? If someone asked you if you pray, you would say “Sure!” But, if they asked you when you pray, you’d find that it happened before your meals, especially dinner, maybe the others too but probably not snacks. Maybe you also prayed before going to sleep at night. Maybe your nighttime prayers even put you to sleep. I’ve even found myself saying, “Well, it’s morning and that’s the time I’ve set aside to pray so here it goes…”

How about the content of your prayers? Are they a list of things you need or want changed by God? Maybe your prayer life looked very little like the Christian view of prayer and more like the Muslim story of Aladdin and his magic lamp. If you need something, rub the lamp and ask the djinni to grant your wish. Maybe you have moved beyond that phase of prayer and now have a swell acrostic to help you to remember steps of prayer, Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.

Probably one of the things that I appreciate the most about 2010 being the Year of Prayer at Grace Church is that it has forced me to go back and consider what prayer is. And, if I consider what prayer is, maybe, just maybe I’ll find that I’ll begin to do it more often, even “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and that my prayers will be radically different. And how might I be changed through that process?

My prayer for all of us is that God would use 2010 to Move us all closer to where He wants us to be.

More in the weeks to come…