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I am innocent, Lord! Won’t you listen as I pray and beg for help? I am honest! Please hear my prayer. Psalm 17:1 (CEV)
He sat across the table from me and apologized. He told me the reasons for doing what he did; that he had no intention of hurting me; that as soon as things improved he’d make it up to me; that he was truly sorry for the way things had worked out.
The human mind is an amazing thing. I sat and listened intently. I looked him in the eye, did all the things a good listener should do in a situation like this. But in spite of the sincerity in his voice and eyes, I remember thinking, “I’m so sorry too. I’m sorry because I don’t believe a word you are saying.”
Was this the ‘proper Christian attitude’? Maybe not. But over the previous several months I’d seen him hurt other people by his decisions. I’d heard him say one thing and do another; make promises that he’d later back out of; fly into rage when someone crossed him. The bottom line is that his actions didn’t match his words.
I wonder how often, during my times of prayer the Father looks on my words and asks a similar question. Barnes writes, “True prayer is that in which the lips “do” represent the real feelings of the soul. In hypocritical prayer the one is no proper representation of the other.”
On a simple humorous scale, I remember praying around the dinner table. The simple “God is great” prayer was taboo. My father would lead us in a ‘real prayer’ because ‘God didn’t listen to those little rote prayers where you say the same thing time after time.’ Yet to this day I can recite the prayer my dad would say because he said the same thing time after time.
When my lips pray for my enemy, do they reveal the real agony of my soul? That agony brought on by the wounds inflicted on me? Or do they simply say some religious jargon based on scriptures that admonish us to pray for our enemies.
When my lips pray for deliverance from some secret sin, some hidden addiction, does my heart echo that desire, or am I already planning my next episode?
When my lips pray for my brother in pain, sin or some other distress, do they portray true human agony over the situation or is my heart rejoicing over my own piety in lifting others to the heavenly throne.
Perhaps the reason we often see so few answers to our prayers is because our prayers not only don’t reflect the will of the Father, they aren’t the true feelings of our heart. The prayer of the psalmist was based on his own honesty, his own integrity before the throne. We have the privilege of going before the very throne of a Father who knows our every thought. God doesn’t ask us to be perfect in our prayers, he asks us to be honest with ourselves and him.
PRAYER: Father, all too often my prayers are ill thought out, repetitious and religious in nature. Sometimes they lack sincerity and honesty because of lack of thought or pride on my part. Empower me in my prayer life to be honest with you and with myself. Thank you that you will listen to my heartfelt pain and honesty. Amen.
Lord, who may enter your Holy Tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? Psalm 15:1 (NCV)
You see the signs everywhere. The wording may vary, but the message is the same. Restricted Access. Employees Only. Authorized Personnel Only. No Admittance. All ways of saying that unless you have the right credentials, you are not welcome to enter a particular area.
My son and I went to a neighboring city one day to hear a famous comedian. Just so happens that this comedian married a woman from a church my dad pastured. I knew this guy before he was famous! Our family knew him as a goofy guy who loved Jesus and had a fantastic ministry to youth. I was excited to hear him and excited for my son to meet him.
As we entered the arena where he was to speak to approximately 20,000 men I had an idea. I approached the first security person and explained that I was a family friend of this person and hadn’t seen him in years. My parents knew he was there too and I just wanted to pass a note that I’d hastily written to him.
The guard looked at me warily but took the note and disappeared down a hall. A few minutes later he returned with a smile and welcomed me to follow him. I wasn’t met with a handshake. I was met with a hug. It was only minutes to show time so our conversation was short. However, he turned to his ‘body-guard’ and said, “Make sure these guys get good seats.”
We were ushered down yet another hallway and emerged in front of the stage. We were then escorted to two seats in the front row! The guys we’d traveled with were many rows back, but because of my relationship with this guy, I got preferential treatment!
In Old Testament times, very few people had a personal relationship with God. All of their communication with him was done through a priest.
The Psalmist asks the question, “Who may enter your Holy Tent?” The answer then was a few priests who would pass on your ‘note’ to the King of Kings. The answer today? You can! The forgiveness Jesus offers as a result of the cross and empty tomb allows you access to the most inner thoughts of God. You don’t need a priest. You don’t need a particular set of rules and words. You need only to accept Christ’s forgiveness.
I needed permission to access my famous friend, but the writer to the Hebrews tells us we can approach him with confidence because of Jesus. With Jesus by our side we can enjoy the presence of his Father for all eternity. “What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms; what a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms.”
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you that through your son Jesus I can come before you with complete assurance that you will accept me with open arms. I praise you for the fact that I don’t need a priest; I don’t need a set of rules to be accepted because you accept me as I am. Amen.
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. Psalm 14:1 (NIV)
“Do you believe in God?”
The answer to this question seems to have changed over the years. Used to be that everyone believed in God, or if they didn’t, they would never admit it. It was just too un-popular of a philosophy to think of a world without God. Reality is though, the question isn’t really “Do you believe in God”, rather it would be better phrased which God do you believe in. Those that say there is no God have really set themselves as the supreme deity and their personal view on life as being their ‘theology’.
Others believe in a Supreme Being of some sort. They look around and realize all this must have come from somewhere. Even the most primitive tribes have stories of the origin of man and the universe and all include in that story some great power that gave us all this. Ironically, only our ‘sophisticated society’ has come up with an explanation for origins that doesn’t include some supreme being. But simply believing in some super-power isn’t enough. These people may believe in some supreme being but they deny that this being has any influence in this world. He, or it is a king without a kingdom so to speak.
Perhaps the most dangerous and most numerous people are the many who profess to believe in God on the outside but not in their hearts. They may go to church and have all the religious jargon down. They may not go to church but still believe in God, but stay away because of all the ‘politics’. Their religious philosophy goes something like this, “I believe in God, but I can worship him wherever and however I want. I don’t need to go to church to worship God. Besides, none of us really know what God is like.” They don’t believe in a personal God who rewards or punishes.
The Psalmist has a word for those in the above mentioned three categories. It’s the word fool. He lumps them all together in one need little package. They are all fools. They are all people who don’t know, or refuse to acknowledge the existence of a personal God.
Belief in God begins in the heart. Outward activities offer no proof of inner commitment to him. The fool may say in his heart that God doesn’t exist and show the world otherwise, but a heart that is truly committed to God will show the character of God in thought word and deed.
What God do you believe in? It will show in your actions towards those who mistreat you and who differ from you. The God of the universe, the creator and sustainer of all we see is a personal, graceful and merciful God who earnestly desires a personal, passionate relationship with you through his son, Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you today that you do exist. I pray that you would change my heart to be in tune with you so that others will see you are real because of me. In the name of Jesus Christ my Lord I pray, Amen.
The LORD is my fortress! Don’t say to me, “Escape like a bird to the mountains!” Psalm 11:1 (CEV)
Huddled against a flickering fire, in the darkness of a cold, mountain hillside, a young boy listens to the night sounds while millions of stars flicker above. Alone, but not lonely, his thoughts gravitate towards his God. A song comes to mind and as he meditates on its words a cracking branch in the darkness snaps him back to reality. Taking a torch and his slingshot he goes to investigate. Minutes later, a roar is heard as a lion falls dead just feet from its prey, a sleeping lamb.
Years later, that shepherd boy, now an anointed king waiting his turn in the palace becomes the ire of the current king. His life in danger once again, his friends urge him to flee to the mountains he loved for safety.
The mountains were a place of security and a symbol of strength. The mountains were a place where the oppressed and abused would go because in the mountains it was much easier to protect yourself from your enemies. For David, they held a special advantage. They were home. He knew virtually every cave, every cliff, every hiding spot were danger come. The mountains and his trusty slingshot offered him all the protection he would need.
It seemed logical, to David’s friends, that when Saul began to threaten David’s life he should flee to the safety of the mountains. But when God is involved, logical isn’t the best way. To flee to the mountains would imply two things to David.
Fleeing to the mountains would imply that the mountains were David’s best source of protection. In David’s eyes, it was God that was the source of his protection, not the mountains. The rock on which David trusted was the strength of his God.
Fleeing to the mountains also implied that there was no more safety for David in the palace. To this I imagine David thought back to the day he was beckoned from the hillside to be anointed King by Samuel. David knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt that the palace was where he was supposed to be. When you are where God wants you to be in life, you are in the safest place possible.
The enemy of doubt and its accomplice, fear, want us to believe that safety comes by our own strength and our own cunning. The follower of Jesus Christ knows differently. Safety comes when we are where God wants us to be. Will trouble come? Certainly. But in the face of that trouble we can have peace because we know we rest in God’s arms of strength and safety.
To the world a strong bank account offers financial stability. To the world, good health and good medicine offer the best hope of a long, satisfying life. To the world, protection comes from physical strength. All of these are good, to be sure, but we as followers of Jesus Christ know our ultimate protection comes from a loving, omnipotent Heavenly Father. When we trust in him we have NO FEAR!!
PRAYER: Father the future scares me. The financial picture is bleak. The political atmosphere is terrifying. It seems there are more and more things that cause me to worry. Empower me with your spirit to put my trust in you, not necessarily in the wisdom of those around me. In the strong name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
