Turning Our Backs to God

They turned their backs to me and not their faces. (Jer 32:33a)

Ouch! How often am I guilty of this? I realized from this verse there are only two stances toward God. If I am not turning my face toward him I am turning my back to him. I want to think there is a middle ground. I want to think that sometimes, even though I am not turning my face to him, I’m still not exactly turning my back to him. But it is not so. Am I distracted? That's turning my back. Am I forgetful of him? That's turning my back. Do I ignore him? That's turning my back. Do I say I'm too tired? That's turning my back. God has commanded me to seek him, to pray without ceasing, to meditate on his Word day and night, and to walk humbly before him. I must forever be turning toward him continually. Lord, forgive my foolish excuses. I turn my face to you. I will fix my eyes on Jesus. Amen.

Lining up with God's Plan

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Num 23:19)

Balak, king of Moab, called the pagan prophet Balaam to curse Israel. Amazingly, the Spirit of God came on Balaam and he prophesied not curses for Israel but blessings. So what did Balak do? Again he commanded Balaam to curse Israel and again, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, Balaam blessed Israel. He also rebuked Balak with the words of this verse. Balak should have heeded the rebuke, but a third time he commanded Balaam and once more Balaam uttered a blessing, more powerful than the two before.

Balak thought he would be rewarded for his persistence and his many sacrifices, but he missed one basic point. If what we are asking contradicts God’s plan or his Word, no amount of pleading is going to change God’s mind. As a pagan, Balak thought he could manipulate the gods by bribes and flattery, but the one true God is not like that. In him there is no shadow of turning. (James 1:17) God says, “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.” (Is 46:10) He is our Sovereign Lord, and it is our job to be conformed to his will, not the other way around. Lord, help me to see when my desires are out of alignment with your perfect will. I will pray with Jesus, “Yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Lk 22:42) I trust your plan for my life, born of your perfect knowledge, wisdom and goodness. Amen.

Cry of the Poor

If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered. (Pro 21:13)

Lord, I know that I don’t do nearly enough to help people in need. I live a cloistered life. All my family and friends and coworkers are well fed and have good homes. How often do I concern myself with those who are less fortunate – those who are barely making it, or those who have no jobs at all? Lord, could it be that my prayers are not answered because I have hardened by heart to the suffering around me? How can I be a man of God if I have no compassion for the poor? And how can I be compassionate if I fail to act? Lord, I will open my heart to the poor. I will begin to serve those in need. Forgive me for my self-absorption and remind me of the promise I make today. Amen.

Ruler of Men's Hearts

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them.” (Ex 10:1)

God’s plan for Israel from the very beginning was to engineer a miraculous deliverance for them from Egypt. But his plan of blessing for them came at the cost of great suffering and hardship for the Egyptians. Pharaoh was willing to let his people endure ten great plagues before he finally let the Israelites go. After the first five plagues the Bible says Pharaoh hardened his heart, but with the sixth plague something different happened. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. For plague seven, again Pharaoh hardened his own heart, but then God had given him all the chances he was going to get. For the final three plagues God made sure Pharaoh’s heart was hard so he would not relent. Was that unfair? I don’t think so. Everything we have is a gift from God and he gives us many chances to turn our hearts to him. Many chances, yes, but there will be one time that is the last time. I pray for lost loved ones that God will give them many chances to repent, that God will not shorten their lives.

Lord, when I read this grim story of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart a glimmer of hope comes into my mind. I know that if you can harden hearts you can also soften them. Just as you turned Saul from persecutor to apostle in one dramatic moment on the Damascus road, you can change a lost person's heart in an instant. You changed my heart in just that way. Lord, I will continue to pray for your miraculous hand to save the lost. Soften their hearts and grant them mercy. Amen.

Keep on Praying

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. (Gen 25:21)

When we read about the lives of the patriarchs they seem so exciting and filled with miracles. And, of course, God did some amazing miracles in their lives. But the idea that their lives were an exciting pageant of miracle after miracle is an illusion. It only seems that way because all their long years are telescoped into a few chapters. This verse is in two sentences. Sentence 1: Isaac prays. Sentence 2: God answers. But in reality Isaac prayed for twenty long years that God would grant them children. He was forty when he married Rebekah and he was sixty when Jacob and Esau were born. Twenty years of prayer. But he had God’s promise to his father Abraham to cling to. God promised to make Abraham a great nation and told him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” (Gen 21:12) We have God’s promises, too, as we labor for years in prayer. But do we sometimes doubt? Do we get discouraged? I do! At such times let us remember the example of Isaac, dispatched so neatly here in two sentences. Let us remember his perseverance and God’s faithfulness. Scripture is full of those who persevered and lived to see God’s promise fulfilled. Thank you, Lord! I will always pray and not give up. (Lk 18:1)

Praying for the Lost

I urge then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2:1-4)

It’s bothered me for some time that I don’t see the Bible talking much about praying for the lost. I pray every day for lost loved ones. I desperately want to see them be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Verses 3 and 4 in this passage are well known, and because of them I understand that God, too, desires my loved ones to be saved. But I had never connected these verses in context to verse 1 before. People always quote verses 1 and 2 together to illustrate that we should pray for government leaders. And they quote verses 3 and 4 together to show that God doesn’t want to send anyone to hell. But verse 2 is a qualifier on verse 1; it says that not only should we pray for everyone, we should pray for rulers specifically. When you leave it out and skip straight from verse 1 to verse 3 it reads like this:

I urge then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone... This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2:1, 3-4)

Now you see the completion of the main thought, which is that we should pray for everyone because God desires that everyone be saved. So not only is it Scriptural for me to be praying for my loved ones, I should also be praying for everyone else I know who is not saved. Lord, thank you for this affirmation of my heartfelt prayers. Thank you for the reminder that you do love everyone, and have no desire to see anyone miss out on eternal life. I lift them up to you and pray they would realize that you are real and you love them unconditionally. Open their eyes so they can see that they need you and the free gift of salvation you offer to everyone. Amen.

Vending Machine God

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mk 11:24)

When I was younger I believed in a vending machine God. I thought this verse meant that God’s answer was automatic because I was unfamiliar with the many verses that illuminate prayer more fully. I also thought it was somehow my faith that made the prayer come true, as though the power was with me. I forgot that God is an active participant in the process, and that the most important part of prayer is the Father’s will, not mine. And yet, I would do well not to make the opposite mistake, and somehow think that my faith is unimportant. God wants our will to be aligned with him, and our trust as well. The perfect prayer is both fully aligned with his will and completely confident in the power of God to bring it to pass. We know that God is faithful and true, and he has all power to accomplish his purposes. Our faith is not in a prayer or in a plan, but in God himself.

The Foundation of Wisdom

My son if you accept my words and store up my commands within you… and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding…then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. (Pro 2:1,3,5)

This passage directly tells us that if we want to be wise (“understand the fear of the Lord”) and know God we must devote ourselves to studying his word and to prayer. We don’t magically or instantly become wise, but as we lay up his word in our hearts and cry out to him day by day we slowly come to see things the way he sees them. And that is the foundation of all wisdom.

Praying for the Lost

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. (Rom 10:1)

I am struck by how few places in the Bible make any mention of praying for the lost. But here Paul prays for the salvation of the Jews. Surely we, too, can pray for our lost loved ones. Paul was willing to make any sacrifice (Rom 9:3) for the sake of his beloved fellow Israelites. Lord, may I be willing to make any sacrifice to see the salvation of my loved ones, as well.

Don't Give Up

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. (Lk 18:1)

These words stirred my heart: “they should always pray and not give up.” My thoughts leapt immediately to my unsaved loved ones. Here is a verse that says it is ok to pray and pray and pray over and over again. If the unjust judge of the parable will answer the widow because of her persistence, how much more will God hear the persistent prayers of his children? The key here is faith. It takes faith to always pray and not give up: Faith in God and hope for the future. I will continue to pray!

The Father's Delight

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (Lk 11:9-10)

This is such as simple and marvelous promise; no wonder it has been a favorite through all generations. Yet my cynical mind immediately begins to think of exceptions, conditions and limitations, so that it is robbed of its impact. It is as though I am afraid to get my hopes up. Yet this morning I decided to let the simple thrill of this verse wash over me. Do we really have a Father who loves us this much? Yes we do. He will not answer us reluctantly, like the friend in the parable who had already gone to bed (v7). No, our heavenly Father delights to give us good things, if only we will ask. Lord, I know that you desire to give us good things. When we ask for a fish you will not give us a snake (v11). When we ask for a snake, you will not give us one either. You desire to bless us! Help me to grasp that truth at the deepest level of my being.

Jesus Had a Quiet Time

At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. (Lk 4:42a)

In one sense it has always seemed remarkable to me that Jesus, who after all is the Son of God, would need to have a daily quiet time. And yet, think of what he gave up to come to earth as a human being. In heaven he enjoyed continuous, direct fellowship with the Father and the Spirit. Now as God incarnate he still enjoyed the triune fellowship, but he had the new experience as a man of being disconnected and distracted. Knowing as he did in his divine nature the sweet communion of that fellowship, he surely felt the lack of it in his human nature. And thus he was able to model for us one of the core elements of a strong and vital walk with God – setting aside a time of solitude every day for communion with God.

Perfect Obedience

“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mk 14:36)

It is astonishing to me that Jesus himself, second person of the Trinity, would pray such a prayer! If he can pray that way, surely we can as well. He clearly dreaded the agony he was about to endure and longed to not have to go through it. He tells the Father, “Everything is possible with you,” just as I would if I were in his shoes. Yet for all the dread and all the longing, his heart was perfectly submissive to the Father’s will. Lord, may I be so candid and honest in my prayers, and at the same time so perfectly obedient. Jesus was tempted in every way just as we are – yet without sin. (Heb 4:15) Thank you, Lord, for such a wonderful example you gave us.

No One Is Beyond Hope

With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God. (Mk 10:27)

It is harder for a rich man to be saved than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Yet Jesus says, with God this is possible! No one is beyond the reach of salvation – no one. Lord, thank you for the encouragement to keep on praying for the lost people whom you have laid on my heart.

Forget About Plan B

I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him." So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer. (Ezra 8:22-23)

Ezra was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers to protect them on their journey, because he had told the king the gracious hand of God was on them. So they fasted and prayed for divine protection. This is the kind of faith I see and hear about in other believers’ lives. But that kind of faith is rarely seen in my life. I have a hard time thinking of an example where I stepped out in faith without a safety net, knowing that if God did not act I would fail and suffer harm. In this most practical way I fail the “true faith” test. I suppose that too often I really don’t believe God will answer my prayer. I always want to have a Plan B. I always wonder if I have really heard God’s voice. No wonder my ministry and my life have had so little impact for the Kingdom of God. Lord, help me to grow in my faith and learn to hear the voice of my Shepherd.

For the Increase of His Glory

When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." (Jn 11:4)

Jesus knew that Lazarus was sick; he even knew that he was going to die. And when he heard the request of Mary and Martha to come, he still stayed two more days. He allowed Lazarus to get sick and die, and appeared to ignore the supplications of Mary and Martha. All this was so that God would be glorified. As we pray for the lost, that God would rescue them from the path of destruction, we cannot know if perhaps God delays his answer for the increase of his glory. He allowed Mary and Martha and Lazarus to suffer for a season, knowing that their joy would be greater in the end and that he would receive greater glory.