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When you pray, don’t talk on and on as people do who don’t know God. They think God likes to hear long prayers. Matthew 6:7 (CEV)
Two men prepare to enter the sanctuary. One walks boldly to the front. Well dressed and confident he lifts his eyes to heaven and begins to talk. Those around him listen carefully and are impressed with his words. He is, to them at least, obviously a very spiritual man. A few in attendance nod in agreement to his words. Others hope that one day they too will be able to pray like he does.
The second man goes largely unnoticed. He walks, almost stumbles as a drunk, towards the front. His chin rests on his chest. He dare not look up. He quietly finds a place in the corner pew. A few give him a passing glance and look away. He’s recognized but not acknowledged. It’s been years since he was here. It’s been longer than that since he’d prayed. Looking at the floor he looks for the words. They don’t come. How did he get here? More importantly, how can he come back? Will God even accept him?
Finally he speaks. His words go unnoticed for they are quiet, humble and simple words. “Oh God…I’m sorry,” was all he could muster up to say.
Jesus says the second man, not the first will have his prayer heard. The pious prayer, the lengthy prayer full of theological mumble jumble may impress men, but not God. Listen to your prayers sometime. If you talked with your lover the way you talk with God what would your love relationship be like? If during your times of passion with the one who means more to you than life itself you said the same words, in the same tone as yesterday and the day before and the day before, would you be sincere?
There are some that say God doesn’t answer prayer, that he’s distant, uninterested or that their prayers never go beyond the ceiling. The sad thing is, they are probably correct. For unless we have a personal relationship with Jesus, the Father can’t hear our prayers, unless they are sincere, heartfelt prayers of repentance. They are meaningless babble.
Even those of us who are Christ-followers need to evaluate our prayer life. Your Heavenly Father would rather you just talk with him than have you pray to him. I’ve heard parents pray with their children and use it as an opportunity to tell their child what he needs to do. I’ve heard pastors use the ‘closing prayer’ as an opportunity to get the last point of their sermon in. I’m embarrassed to admit that at times my prayers turn into a wandering treatise with no direction.
What would our churches, our homes, our families be like if we as Christ-followers learned how to talk with God as two passionate lovers talk during those intimate times of life? How would we change? How would our view of God change? How would we see God move in miraculous and powerful ways?
One of the most meaningful prayers I’ve ever heard was the time a friend of mine laid his hand on my shoulder and in broken words said simply, “I…I…don’t have words. God, I pray for Mike.” It wasn’t fancy. It was a prayer of love from the heart that rose to heaven like a sweet aroma to the God of the universe.
PRAYER: Father God. Daddy. I come before you humbly. I pray for me. I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ. I ask that you would forgive those of us who have never learned to sit and passionately talk with you. Empower us with your Spirit to have the desire to sit and chat with you so that we can see your power manifest in us like we have never seen before. In your most holy and righteous name, Amen.
All of us were like sheep that had wandered off. We had each gone our own way, but the LORD gave him the punishment we deserved. Isaiah 53:6 (CEV)
Jesus wants each of us to know two things, we are all sheep and we’ve all wandered. It doesn’t matter if you are the CEO of a major company or a Single parent living in low-income housing. You are a sheep. It doesn’t matter if you are a teen struggling to get through school or a leading professor in a major university, you are a sheep. It doesn’t matter if you have a bank-roll the size of Rhode Islandor are unemployed and living on welfare and food stamps, you are a sheep. It doesn’t matter if you are on your sixth marriage (and it’s in trouble) or are celebrating your 75th wedding anniversary with your high school sweetheart, you are a sheep.
Before you conjure up in your minds the picture of a cute little lamb drinking from a bottle and looking all cute and cuddly, take a look at some sheep facts.
- Sheep have to have a leader to follow. Experiments with sheep have shown that usually one sheep is the dominant one. If that sheep is taken from the flock and the sheep are sent out to the same pasture they’ve gone to a thousand times, they will become confused. Some will lie down. Others will wander aimlessly or simply stand in one place and not know what to do.
- Sheep are crowd followers. They rarely think for themselves. They’d just as soon have someone else do that for them. As long as they are fed and comfortable they are happy.
- Sheep become very stressed with change and when separated from their friends. When danger comes they tend to panic and flee in different directions without thought of the consequences.
- Sheep tend to be closest to those who are ‘related’ to them and don’t interact well with sheep ‘of another color’ so to speak.
- Although not considered intelligent at all, sheep do tend to remember faces and voices very well and can differentiate between a familiar voice and an unfamiliar voice.
Consider, for a moment how many times we react like sheep in our daily lives, in our relationships with others and with God and during times of stress. Remember…we are ALL sheep.
Secondly, we have all wandered away. When I was young I remember hearing testimonies of men and women who had been delivered from the most horrendous lifestyle imaginable. I often wished that I could have a great testimony like that. One that speaks of God’s deliverance from terrible things. Of course, since then I’ve learned two things. One is that I’ve made enough blunders of my own to qualify. Secondly, in God’s eyes we are all sheep (have I mentioned that?) and we have all wandered. It doesn’t matter where we’ve wandered or how far or why. We have all wandered away from God. We all have stories of his deliverance.
It’s no wonder then that Jesus refers to himself as the good shepherd. The good shepherd knows the struggles sheep have. He knows they depend on him for protection, guidance and companionship. He knows their ways and they know his voice. Even though we, as sheep, wander we have a good shepherd who constantly looks after us to guide comfort and forgive.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. Thank you for being the good shepherd. Thank you for forgiving me, being patient when I wander and seeking me out when I stray. Help me to follow your voice and not the other voices. In your name, Amen.
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. James 4:4
Several years ago now, I worked in a warehouse driving forklift to load and unload trucks. I’m pretty sure I was the only Christ-follower in my department. This was made evident one day when we were in the foreman’s office killing some time. Soon jokes started flying that became more and more inappropriate. Apparently I didn’t hide my uneasiness with the situation. I said nothing, but excused myself from the office and went back to work.
After that whenever the conversation began to turn onto the ‘dirty side’ my foreman would look at me and, very respectfully, warn me that I may not want to hear the following story. I’d make some quip about having a truck to load and that would be the end of it.
I got along well with everyone in the department. I wasn’t a goody-two-shoe, Bible thumping preacher (at least not then!). I just had standards that were different than the rest of them and we respected those differences…I thought.
Christmas came and the foreman invited the entire department and their spouses to his house for dinner and drinks. In the days leading up to the party I’d overheard others talking about previous parties. I was torn. A part of me wanted nothing to do with the lifestyle that was being portrayed at those parties. But another part of me wanted to show my acceptance of my friends in the department, even though we were miles apart in what we considered appropriate.
The night of the party came and I reluctantly showed up at the party. I was, I admit, very apprehensive and already had an exit strategy planned if needed. I was surprised though. The foreman and his wife greeted each of us when we arrived. We were offered either alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks. I wasn’t the only one that chose the latter!
When it came time for the meal I was really taken by surprise. My cigarette smoking, foul language master and dirty joke coinsure asked me if I’d say a table grace before the meal! I made sure my lord Jesus was glorified in those few minutes of silence and the party went on.
After dinner we played a couple games and I left, knowing full well that some of the others may spend the night because they’d be in no condition to drive.
A few days later I was talking with a friend of mine from church. He said, “I hear you got to pray at the party the other night.” I was taken back! How did he know? Then Don told me another part of the story.
His cousin was Bob, one of my co-workers. I hadn’t known that before. The family had been praying for Bob for quite some time and so far the prayers were unanswered. Bob was very angry with me that night because of my ‘holier than thou’ attitude. I was self-righteous, judgmental and made Bob feel very uneasy.
I began to apologize to Don and told him my story, which was completely different that Bob’s. Don laughed. “I was pretty sure that was the case. Bob is under conviction. He knows what he is doing is wrong and he refuses to change. You weren’t bothering him. HE was bothering him!”
I never heard if Bob ever came to Christ. But I learned a valuable lesson that day. Try as we might to get along with the world, there will be times when we have to take a stand for the right. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an open attack on ‘the sinful lifestyle’. It can be a quiet resolve to live what we know is right.
Not being a friend to the world doesn’t mean we reject those who don’t follow Christ. It simply means we hold to a different standard. At times that standard will put us at odds with others. The true Christ-follower will always choose to please Jesus rather than the world.
PRAYER: Father God, there are so many voices telling me what is right and wrong. So many times I’m forced to make decisions that may go against the mainstream. I ask that you would empower me with your Holy Spirit to have the wisdom and strength to choose your way regardless of the results. May my life be an example of your love and grace. In Jesus name, Amen.
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Philippians 4:12
A friend of mine makes the statement “You can do anything for awhile if you see the end in sight.” There is some truth to this statement. If we know the struggle we are in is temporary we know we can probably endure. For example, a runner will see the finish line ahead and often get a quick burst of adrenaline that helps to cross the finish line.
But what about in the spiritual life? What about those times along this journey we call life when we don’t know the outcome. When the doctor’s report isn’t what we’d hoped. When our children start making bad choices. When our spouse begins to drift from us emotionally. What then? If we don’t see the end in sight what helps us to keep going?
It’s during those times when life seems uncertain that we need to look at the life of Paul and his motivation for moving on. Today’s verse seems like a ‘pie in the sky by and by’ statement until we realize what had happened in the life of Paul. He’d been stoned and left for dead. He’d been lost at sea after a shipwreck. He had spent nights in the cold dark cell of prisons and, on one occasion, lived through an earthquake while underground. Relationally he was hated by many of his closest friends, held in suspicion by his new friends, critiqued for his preaching and leadership styles, and now, sat in a Roman prison awaiting execution!
So with all that history and an uncertain future what was his secret to ‘being content’? Paul had learned the hard way that God can see us through anything. What Paul is NOT saying is that life in Christ is a breeze, and void of any adversity or conflict. What Paul IS saying is that every time he came upon an obstacle he found that his faith in Jesus Christ was powerful enough to see him through!
In Christ you can do anything when you realize that whatever is going on in your life is temporary. Temporary in the sense that here on earth the worst that could happen is death, and, for the Christ-follower the best that could happen is to be transformed from this frail human body into the glorious body we receive when we see Jesus.
Learning contentment comes from seeing how God helps you through adversity. Sometimes you don’t see it until you’ve come through the fire or through the flood. Sometimes you don’t realize it until after the divorce or miscarriage. Sometimes you won’t realize it until you are on the other side of life, looking back as Paul did.
The Psalmist says (Psalm 34:8) to taste and see that the Lord is good. Until we’ve tasted of his goodness through adversity we will never learn contentment in this life.
PRAYER: Father, thank you for the reminder that you know better than anyone what I’m going through right now. I don’t see even a hint of light at the end of this tunnel. I have no idea what lays on the other side. Empower me with your spirit to taste your goodness in the light of this trial. Let me look back on my life to see how you have seen me through. With you on my side I know I can ‘do anything’ because my future is in your hands. In Jesus name, Amen.
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. John 15:4
Have you ever thought of the passion behind the words of John 15:4? Jesus Christ, Messiah, the son of the living God is asking to remain in you. Some translations say ‘abide in you’. Either way, He isn’t asking to be WITH me. He wants to be in me and wants me to be ‘in Him’.
He isn’t telling me to clean up my act and join him when I’m done, like being part of the vine is dependent on performance or is the result of some supernatural occurrence. Branches aren’t add-ons or the result of some afterthought.
Branches, of course can’t survive without the vine, but a vine without branches? Not very practical. So the two of them, branches and vines, are interdependent. Imagine that. Jesus thinks enough of me that he says we are dependent on one another.
Now, me being dependent on Jesus? No question about that. But the thought of him being dependent on me adds a whole new perspective to the story. I’m not something he’s about to set on a shelf somewhere until further notice.
We are together. He isn’t asking me to join him one day a week. This is the real thing. This abiding envelopes my emotional, intellectual, spiritual and being. We are intertwined, interdependent, in constant interaction; constantly touching one another’s heart.
I’ve heard sermon after sermon on this passage. Each one seemed to carry with it a sense of huge responsibility to perform, to live worthy of the calling. Branches don’t have the option of living worthy of the vine. They just are. For a branch to pull-away from the vine is dangerous for the vine and can cause nearly fatal consequences because it damages the vine. Were a branch able to pull itself away from the vine, it is always fatal.
What amazing love he has for me that he would consider me to be so much a part of him. What an awesome position I have in him that I would be so close to his heart! As the vine, he is passionate about giving me everything I need to not only survive, but flourish. As a branch my goal in life is to produce beautiful fruit for his glory.
PRAYER: Jesus I’ve never thought of the passion behind abiding or being ‘in you’. What amazing love you have for me. Yet on a daily basis I seem to try to live apart from the one source of power and love that will help me cope with the struggles of this journey called life. Thank you for loving me so much. Empower me with your Spirit to bask in the glory of being a part of you. In your name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 