permission to scream

Rough roads and uncertainty make me wonder how to pray. I know better than to pray for a better road. I know better than to pray for a storm to end quickly. The road you’re on is crucial to you getting to your destination and you learn more through the storms than through the sunny days.

So, how do I pray when I’m tired of the road…tired of getting rained on?

Jesus taught us a prayer to a sovereign God. But, even though I know that God is in control, I still need to scream sometimes. Sometimes I need one of David’s prayers. The writer in me can connect to David’s emotionally poetic outbursts. The confidence that David shows in his writing is always a little surprising to me. He prayed like God was on his side. I should be more like that.

Come back, God—how long do we have to wait?—and treat your servants with kindness for a change. Surprise us with love at daybreak; then we’ll skip and dance all the day long. Make up for the bad times with some good times; we’ve seen enough evil to last a lifetime. Let your servants see what you’re best at—the ways you rule and bless your children. And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us, confirming the work that we do. Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do! -Psalm 90:13-17

who’s driving?

Our faith in God’s sovereignty and understanding of the scriptures give us the type of freedom that removes fear and concern for our well being. A cargo ship that travels to its destination does not fuel itself, it does load itself and it does not fight at the helm with the captain of the ship. A cargo ship is a vessel that is put to work.

Have you given your heart to God or have you also given your life? Do you trust Him? Understanding leads to awe and release. Understanding knows that whether you let go or hold on, the destination is the same, it’s the contentment on the journey that is affected.

Circus act prayers and magic show petitions are unnecessary and redundant of an established truth. They’re evidence of an immature relationship with the One you’re naming while you entertain those around you with your impressive shut- eyed religious cabaret.

“And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

“Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

“The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. -Matthew 6:5-13

The Lord’s prayer is not a petition. It’s a proclamation of faith.

‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Hallowed means ‘HOLY’

My mouth is filled with God’s praise. Let everything living bless him, bless his holy name from now to eternity! -Psalm 145:21

your kingdom come,

The main character in this drama…will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. -Matthew 3:11

your will be done

We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God’s purpose prevails. -Proverbs 19:21

Job answered God: “I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans.” -Job 42:1

on earth as it is in heaven.

“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth has been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be has been loosed in heaven. -Matthew 18:18

Give us today our daily bread.

What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself. -Luke 12:29-32

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

The parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18 is an example of how our forgiveness of others directly relates to God forgiving us.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” -Matthew 18:35

And lead us not into temptation,

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. -James 1:13-14

but deliver us from the evil one.

The spacious, free life is from God, it’s also protected and safe. God-strengthened, we’re delivered from evil— when we run to him, he saves us. -Psalm 37:39

prayer

I once heard someone say that you can tell a lot about a person’s relationship with God by how they pray.

We’re supposed to pray for the people who push us around, talk about us and make our lives a living hell.

‘…pray for those who persecute you.’ -Matthew 5:44

If scripture is right about who God is, then everything happens for a reason. Everything has a purpose because God is sovereign. It’s easy to recognize God in the chocolate cake and rainbow moments, but he’s also in the hollow nights and dark alleys of desperation. The bad in this world shows his submission to God by changing his hat from curse to blessing.

Do you know what sovereign means? It means ’supreme ruler’ unaffected by anything other than his own concerns. His concerns are not your concerns. His concerns are you. A man is short sighted and emotional. His concerns change with the wind. God sees eternity and does not lose sight of direction or reason. You ask God for hope. If you understood who he was and what his sovereignty meant, you would know that God is your hope. Your only hope.

So how do you pray for change when you’re praying to a sovereign God?

Isn’t it clear that they all know and agree that God is sovereign, that he holds all things in his hand— Every living soul, yes, every breathing creature? Isn’t this all just common sense, as common as the sense of taste?-Job 12:7

How do you pray for the hearts of people to change when the story of your life is written already?

‘Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do.’ -Psalm 139:16

When Job was in the presence of God, he learned about sovereignty…

Job answered God: “I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one canupset your plans.” -Job 42:1

It was God’s plan to bring a Messiah out of a particular blood line. Along the line there were at least two women who could not conceive. God didn’t make Abraham pick a wife who could bare children, he showed his sovereignty by doing as he wishes in spite free will, in spite of genetics. It’s the same with Rebecca.

What God did in this case made it perfectly plain that his purpose is not a hit-or-miss thing dependent on what we do or don’t do, but a sure thing determined by his decision, flowing steadily from his initiative. -Romans 9:12

If you look at the way Jesus taught his disciples to pray in Matthew chapter 6, you will see that he knows that God’s say goes. If you want to set the world right, then pray that God reveals Himself. The reason for this is because he is the sun pouring through a darkly lit room.

‘Our Father in heaven, reveal who you are. Set the world right…’ -Matthew 6:9

He can ’set the world right’ however he sees fit. The key is that he sees what we don’t. Our trust in him says we know we don’t see, so we give our will to him.

‘Do what’s best— as above, so below.’ -Matthew 6:10

….Keep us fed. Keep us in this frenzy of forward and backward, receiving and offering dance of forgiveness. Protect us from ourselves and the enemy….

The end of the prayer says it all.

You’re in charge! You can do anything you want! You’re ablaze in beauty! -Matthew 6:13

He’s in charge. You are not at the mercy of another human being. You’re not at the mercy of genetics. You are not at the mercy of your own limitations. We serve a God who can do anything he wants. Out of his sovereignty, he can take what was meant to destroy you and make it the thing that holds you up. When the storms come, you’ll be the one still standing.

Thank you for praying for Justin and his daughter. One step on a very long journey was taken….

justin and his little girl

in light of it

Isaiah is the most important prophet for the Hebrew people. His words were poetry and visions, hammers and chisels. God spoke through him for about forty years. Through Isaiah’s mouth came a poetic banner of God’s holiness. Yet, when he was in the presence of God he cried out that he was ruined because of his unclean lips. Apparently being in the presence of God makes you aware of your sin.

‘I’m as good as dead! Every word I’ve ever spoken is tainted— blasphemous even!’ -Isaiah 6:5

In all that God said through Isaiah’s mouth, Isaiah was still a man who, in the presence of God, saw that he had unclean lips.

According to Matthew 5, we’re supposed to pray for our enemies. In the reality of the Christian sub-culture, our ‘enemies’ are often other believers. If another Christian is hurting you, condemning you or excluding you, then pray for them.

Matthew 5:44, Romans 12:20 and Proverbs 25: 21-22 talk about praying for and showing kindness to your enemies. According to these scriptures, your response to them will ‘heap burning coals on their head.’ I don’t care how much I want someone to pay for the hurt they caused, I can’t say that I want them to experience that kind of torture.

However, if you consider Isaiah in the presence of God, he saw his error and begged to be cleansed. When I pray for my ‘enemies’, I pray that God reveals himself.

‘Then one of the angel-seraphs flew to me. He held a live coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with the coal…’ -Isaiah 6:6-7

He was cleansed with burning coal.

The purpose for praying for and showing kindness to your enemy is so they can be in the presence of God. If Isaiah is any hint of what being in the presence of God is like, then no man can stand. He will ask to be cleansed and God will heap burning coals.

If you want someone to see the error of their ways, then love them. God changes people through love. He saved the world through love. God is love.

When they have been cleansed, you’ve made a friend (Matthew 18:15). Together whole and healed (James 5:16). That has been the goal from the beginning (John 17:20).

“Look. This coal has touched your lips. Gone your guilt, your sins wiped out.” -Isaiah 6:7

...if she listens, you've made a friend. {matthew 18:15}