Prayerful for others

David come to deliver food to Eliah and obtain news about the battle. His older brother is hanging out with some of the veterans in the army. David’s frame of mind was a bit more objective because He had just come from Bethlehem, a place where he spent his quiet time with God and where the roots of his faith had been established. So while the men of war saw nothing but hopelessness, David saw it through the eyes of God. In fact, he probably saw God on the battlefield Himself.  There seems to be no other way to explain how David saw the true point of view that God shared with him.

Reminds me a bit on the founding of modern day missions.

Five Williams College students met in the summer of 1806, n a grove of trees near the Hoosack River, then known as Sloan’s Meadow, and debated the theology of missionary service. Their meeting was suddenly interrupted by a thunderstorm and the students: Samuel J. Mills, James Richards, Francis L. Robbins, Harvey Loomis, and Byram Green took shelter under a haystack until the sky cleared. “The brevity of the shower, the strangeness of the place of refuge, and the peculiarity of their topic of prayer and conference all took hold of their imaginations and their memories.”

In 1808 the Haystack Prayer group and other Williams students began a group called “The Brethren.” This group was organized to “effect, in the persons of its members, a mission to” those who were not Christians. In 1812, the ABCFM sent its first missionaries – to the Indian subcontinent.

Samuel Mills became the Haystack person with the greatest influence on the modern mission movement. He played a role in the founding of the American Bible Society and the United Foreign Missionary Society.

They were young men who decided to pray and offered themselves first to meet the giant forces of the pagan world. Wisdom probably does not dwell in war camps themselves with all the multitude of military might, but rather in the solitary hills of prayer.

Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard David talking to the men. He became angry with David and said, “What are you doing here? Who is taking care of those sheep of yours out there in the wilderness? You smart aleck, you! You just came to watch the fighting!” – 1 Samuel 17:28 GNT

Somehow I have found prayer to be an easy practice in my life. I am thankful that the Holy Spirit has enabled me to pray in the Holy Spirit since I was fourteen years old. I should say that between 12 -14 there was nothing. That probably was the case because I had not given my life to Jesus until I was 14. I do get motivated by stories of Martin Luther being so busy that he had to spend four hours every morning in prayer.

I am challenged to remember to have other pray for me – that does not come so easily. I need to let others understand that my walk with God depends entirely on God.

Not only has God made the accomplishment of his purposes hang on the preaching of the Word, but he has also made the success of that preaching hang on prayer. God’s goal to be glorified will not succeed without the powerful proclamation of the gospel. And that gospel will not be proclaimed in power to all the nations without the prevailing, earnest, faith-filled prayers of God’s people. – John Piper

I will admit that most of my prayer time is spent on my relationship with God and the needs of my own family.

I urge you, friends, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love that the Spirit gives: join me in praying fervently to God for me. Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to God’s people there. And so I will come to you full of joy, if it is God’s will, and enjoy a refreshing visit with you. May God, our source of peace, be with all of you. Amen. – Romans 15:30-33 GNT

Paul has two prayer requests – one that he would be kept safe from those who wished him harm or would put him in harm’s way. Secondly, that the gift he was bringing to Jerusalem, that he had been collecting along the way, would be acceptable.

Paul is teaching me to be aware of my desperate need for God to work His efforts for the gospel.

When I consider who Paul is and the gifts and skillsets he naturally possesses – I mean he had most of it together – and then to see him ask for payer – humbling. It was how he survived.

“You don’t need self-discipline to pray continuously; you just need to be poor in spirit.” In other words, to be motivated to pray, don’t focus on more discipline; focus rather on how needy you and those you pray for really are. Unless God works, nothing will happen of any lasting spiritual significance. – Paul Miller

I love Paul’s invitation to me to pray “by our Lord Jesus Christ.” When I pray in the name of Jesus, with the confidence that He has the power and authority to answer my prayers – I know I am taking the first steps towards praying according with His will.

As a follower of Jesus, I can go directly to the God of the universe through the authority of His Son, who has all authority in heaven and on earth!

I also love Paul’s invitation to pray “by the love of the Spirit.” This refers to the love that the Holy Spirit produces in those who walk by the Spirit. Prayer then is a by product of the fruit of the Holy Spirit we call love.

I am safe in saying that if I love others, I will pray for them. If I cared about someone’s eternal destiny, I would pray about that. I believe the Holy Spirit prompts our hearts to pray for those who need prayer.

I cannot say that I noticed the Trinity in action here before.

Charles Spurgeon wrote this in the context of Lamentations chapter two where we are encouraged to cry out to God.

First, from our text we gather—that it is never too soon to pray. “Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord.” You are lying on your bed; the gracious Spirit whispers—”Arise, and pray to God.” Well, there is no reason why you should delay till the morning light; “in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord.” We are told there that it is never too soon to pray. How many young persons imagine that religion is a thing for age, or at least for maturity; but they conceive that whilst they are in the bloom of their youth, they need not attend to its admonitions. How many have we found who count religion to be a crutch for old age, who reckon it an ornament to their grey hairs, forgetting that to the young man religion is like a chain of gold around his neck, and like an ornament set with precious jewels, that shall array him with honour. How many there be who think it is yet too soon for them to bear for a single moment the cross of Jesus. They do not want to have their young shoulders galled with an early burden; they do not think it is true that “it is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth;” and they forget that that “yoke is easy,” and that “burden is light.” Therefore, hour after hour, and day after day, the malicious fiend whispers in their ear—”It is too soon, it is too soon! postpone, postpone, postpone! procrastinate!” Need we tell you once more that oft-repeated axiom, “Procrastination is the thief of time?” Need we remind you that “delays are dangerous?” Need we tell you that those are the workings of Satan? For the Holy Ghost, when he strives with man, says, “To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart.” It is never beloved, too soon to pray.

Next: we cannot pray too vehemently, for the text says, “Arise, cry out in the night.” God loves earnest prayers. He loves impetuous prayers—vehement prayers. Let a man preach if he dare coldly and slowly, but never let him pray so. God loveth crying-out prayers. There is a poor fellow who says—”I don’t know how to pray.” “Why, sir,” He says, “I could not put six or seven words together in English grammar.” Tush upon English grammar! God does not care for that, so long as you pour out your heart. That is enough. Cry out before him. “Ah!” says one, “I have been supplicating to God. I think I have asked for mercy.” But perhaps you have not cried out. Cry out before God. I have often heard men say they have prayed and have not been heard. But I have known the reason. They have asked amiss if they have asked; and those who cry with weak voices, who do not cry aloud, must not expect to get a blessing. When you go to mercy’s gate, let me give you a little advice. Do not go and give a gentle tap, like a lady; do not give a single knock, like a beggar; but take the knocker and wrap hard, till the very door seems to shake. Rap with all your might! and recollect that God loveth those who knock hard at mercy’s gate.

And now our last remark is—we cannot pray too simply. Just hear how the Psalmist has it: “pour out your hearts before him.” Not “pour out your fine words,” not “pour out your beautiful periods,” but “pour out your hearts.” “I dare not,” says one, “there is black stuff in my heart.” Out with it them: it is better out than in. “I cannot,” says another, “it would not run freely.” Pour it out sir; pour it all out—like water! Do you not notice something in this? Some men say—”I cannot pray as I could wish; my crying out is a feeble one.” Well, when you pour out water it does not make much noise. So you can pour out your heart prayer uttered in a garret that nobody has heard—but stop! Gabriel heard it; God himself heard it. There is many a cry down in a cellar, or up in a garret, or some lonely place where the cobbler sits mending his shoes beneath a window, which the world does not hear, but the Lord hears it. Pour out your heart like water. How does water run out? The quickest way it can; that’s all. It never stops much about how it runs. That is the way the Lord loves to have it.

Most of this dialogue comes from Lamentations 1:19

All through the night get up again and again to cry out to the Lord; Pour out your heart and beg him for mercy on your children – Children starving to death on every street corner!

Praying early in the morning, or ending the day with prayer as I go to bed are the two most likely times that I will pray.

It often happens that I lose myself in such rich thoughts [literally, “that my thoughts go for a walk”] in one petition of the Lord’s Prayer and then I let all other six petitions go. When such rich good thoughts come, one should let the other prayers go and give room to these thoughts, listen to them in silence and by no means suppress them. For here the Holy Spirit himself is preaching and one word of His sermon is better than thousands of our own prayers. Therefore I have often learned more in one prayer than I could have obtained from much reading and thinking.

I repeat again what I said above when I talked to you about the Lord’s Prayer: If the Holy Spirit should come when these thoughts are in your mind and begin to preach to your heart, giving you rich and enlightened thoughts, then give Him the honor, let your preconceived ideas go, be quiet and listen to Him who can talk better than you; and note what He proclaims and write it down, so will you experience miracles as David says: “Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Ps. 119:18). – Luther

Importance of prayer – part 2

Reading the story of how Samuel came to anoint David as king over Israel – with a view on the importance of prayer – I came away with some good perspectives.

It is amazing how much I can get caught up in what I love – to the point that I grieve its loss and fail to move on in the direction God has called me to go.

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you go on grieving over Saul? I have rejected him as king of Israel. But now get some olive oil and go to Bethlehem, to a man named Jesse, because I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

There seems to be a human element of fear in doing some of the things God asks to be done. I think that stops me and so many others in committing their obedience to God completely.

2 “How can I do that?” Samuel asked. “If Saul hears about it, he will kill me!”

Each time though, does the story not have God providing a way through the fear?

The Lord answered, “Take a calf with you and say that you are there to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will tell you what to do. You will anoint as king the man I tell you to.”

I find it odd that the leadership in Bethlehem came trembling to meet Samuel. Was his presence, as a prophet, one of doom and gloom? That is a side of the prophets the Bible has not necessarily shown us but I can imagine that if he were to speak the mind of God to the people, it would definitely be about their sin.

4 Samuel did what the Lord told him to do and went to Bethlehem, where the city leaders came trembling to meet him and asked, “Is this a peaceful visit, seer?”

A lot can be said about Jesse’s relationship with his sons, especially David, during this story. When a man of Samuel’s great importance comes to visiit and specifically calls for Jesse and his sons to come to a special sacrifice, is it not odd that David is not invited?

5 “Yes,” he answered. “I have come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me.” He also told Jesse and his sons to purify themselves, and he invited them to the sacrifice.

What I love about what happens next is that God did not tell Samuel which son it was that He wanted to anoint. Samuel had to stand before each one. His reaction to Eliab makes sense because he looked like a perfect replacement for Saul and yet God was going to a different direction this time. I loved how God knew where Samuel’s heart was and that He took a moment to explain how this man would not work.

6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Jesse’s son Eliab and said to himself, “This man standing here in the Lord’s presence is surely the one he has chosen.” 7 But the Lord said to him, “Pay no attention to how tall and handsome he is. I have rejected him, because I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.”

The fact that God chose none of the sons that were at the sacrifice did not phase Samuel. I would have doubted my ability to hearing God voice. Not Samuel, somehow he figures asking the question of more sons made sense to him.

Then Jesse called his son Abinadab and brought him to Samuel. brought Shammah. “No, the Lord hasn’t chosen him either,” Samuel said. 10 In this way Jesse brought seven of his sons to Samuel. And Samuel said to him, “No, the Lord hasn’t chosen any of these.” 11 Then he asked him, “Do you have any more sons?”

Samuel must have known that this was the one for he was the only son left. His time waiting for David to come must have been spent in prayer. Prayer of thanks that God walked with him in this journey. Prayer of praise for God’s wisdom in how this all took place without Saul knowing about it. Prayer of worship knowing that God’s love for His people was giving them a leader after His own heart.

“Tell him to come here,” Samuel said. “We won’t offer the sacrifice until he comes.” 12 So Jesse sent for him. He was a handsome, healthy young man, and his eyes sparkled. The Lord said to Samuel, “This is the one—anoint him!” 13 Samuel took the olive oil and anointed David in front of his brothers. Immediately the spirit of the Lord took control of David and was with him from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.

It is my prayer that I may hear and listen to the voice of God. I pray that I may exchange thoughts with Him and to obtain clear directions. I pray that I may have the power of patience to wait for the answer I know is coming.

These are the Ten Commandments in their fourfold aspect, n prayer. Take care, however, not to undertake all of this or so much that one becomes weary in spirit. Likewise, a good prayer should not be lengthy or drawn out, but frequent and ardent. It is enough to consider one section or half a section which kindles a fire in the heart. This the Spirit will grant us and continually instruct us in when, by God’s word, our hearts have been cleared and freed of outside thoughts and concerns. – Luther

Importance of prayer

The story of Saul losing his right to be the anointed king was sad as I re-read the story in 1 Samuel 15. He was given a simple task.

Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one whom the Lord sent to anoint you king of his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord Almighty says. 2 He is going to punish the people of Amalek because their ancestors opposed the Israelites when they were coming from Egypt. 3 Go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have. Don’t leave a thing; kill all the men, women, children, and babies; the cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys.”

He started well – pulled an army together, warned the Kenites living in the area to leave because they were kind to the people of Israel.

4 Saul called his forces together and inspected them at Telem: there were 200,000 soldiers from Israel and 10,000 from Judah. 5 Then he and his men went to the city of Amalek and waited in ambush in a dry riverbed. 6 He sent a warning to the Kenites, a people whose ancestors had been kind to the Israelites when they came from Egypt: “Go away and leave the Amalekites, so that I won’t kill you along with them.” So the Kenites left.

Then things went sideways. It is war but not the kind of holy war that God had called for. Somehow Saul failed to describe the purpose of this war to his men because they followed only one of God’s commands.

Saul defeated the Amalekites, fighting all the way from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt; 8 he captured King Agag of Amalek alive and killed all the people. 9 But Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and did not kill the best sheep and cattle, the best calves and lambs,[a] or anything else that was good; they destroyed only what was useless or worthless.

Somehow, I am not too sure how, Saul thinks everything is okay – he might have even thought God was not in the know as to what had happened. He goes and builds monuments for himself in different cities – he is the man and God had nothing to do with him defeating the enemy.

10 The Lord said to Samuel, 11 “I am sorry that I made Saul king; he has turned away from me and disobeyed my commands.” Samuel was angry, and all night long he pleaded with the Lord. 12 Early the following morning he went off to find Saul. He heard that Saul had gone to the town of Carmel, where he had built a monument to himself, and then had gone on to Gilgal. 13 Samuel went up to Saul, who greeted him, saying, “The Lord bless you, Samuel! I have obeyed the Lord’s command.”

Can you imagine trying to pull the wool over a prophet’s eyes? So Samuel does his little dog and pony show trying to act ingorant – feeding Saul all along to see just how far he would go.

14 Samuel asked, “Why, then, do I hear cattle mooing and sheep bleating?” 15 Saul answered, “My men took them from the Amalekites. They kept the best sheep and cattle to offer as a sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have destroyed completely.” “Stop,” Samuel ordered, “and I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul said.

First it was the sound of cattle and sheep – oh they were for a sacrifice – oh let me tell you what God told me – sure go ahead.

17 Samuel answered, “Even though you consider yourself of no importance, you are the leader of the tribes of Israel. The Lord anointed you king of Israel, 18 and he sent you out with orders to destroy those wicked people of Amalek. He told you to fight until you had killed them all. 19 Why, then, did you not obey him? Why did you rush to grab the loot, and so do what displeases the Lord?”

Leadership matters – obedience mattters.

20 “I did obey the Lord,” Saul replied. “I went out as he told me to, brought back King Agag, and killed all the Amalekites. 21 But my men did not kill the best sheep and cattle that they captured; instead, they brought them here to Gilgal to offer as a sacrifice to the Lord your God.”

Serously, Saul begins to argue with God saying in fact he did obey – minus the fact that the king is still alive, all the sheep and cattle are still alive. Then he goes back to his first lie but he thought it worked – that the animals were for a sacrifice. Not a sacrifice to the God of Israel, but a sacrifice to Samuel’s God. Big mistake. The famous words are quoted here and I often quote them – rebellion is withcraft, arrogance is idolatry, you reject God, He rejects you.

22 Samuel said, “Which does the Lord prefer: obedience or offerings and sacrifices? It is better to obey him than to sacrifice the best sheep to him. 23 Rebellion against him is as bad as witchcraft, and arrogance is as sinful as idolatry. Because you rejected the Lord’s command, he has rejected you as king.”

Finally Saul admits his sin and it is so easy to ask for forgiveness because it was not his fault – rather the fault of his men.

24 “Yes, I have sinned,” Saul replied. “I disobeyed the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of my men and did what they wanted. 25 But now I beg you, forgive my sin and go back with me, so that I can worship the Lord.”

There is something brewing here. Saul needs Samuel to go with him to meet his men and worship God – his honour is at stake.

26 “I will not go back with you,” Samuel answered. “You rejected the Lord’s command, and he has rejected you as king of Israel.”

I do not think that Saul even heard what Samuel had even said. Samuel had to say it again and this time with more detail.

27 Then Samuel turned to leave, but Saul caught hold of his cloak, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today and given it to someone who is a better man than you. 29 Israel’s majestic God does not lie or change his mind. He is not a human being—he does not change his mind.”

Saul admitted his sin again, put a distance between himself and the God of Israel, and faked a religious event. Samuel went because he really did need some time to worship God.

30 “I have sinned,” Saul replied. “But at least show me respect in front of the leaders of my people and all of Israel. Go back with me so that I can worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back with him, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

Samuel then shows Saul what it looks like when you are a leader.

“Bring King Agag here to me,” Samuel ordered. Agag came to him, trembling with fear, thinking to himself, “What a bitter thing it is to die!”[d]33 Samuel said, “As your sword has made many mothers childless, so now your mother will become childless.” And he cut Agag to pieces in front of the altar in Gilgal.

Two things I learned from Jude today – do not associate with someone who deliberately tries to move people away from God and find a way to still be merciful (pray for them).

34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and King Saul went home to Gibeah. 35 As long as Samuel lived, he never again saw the king; but he grieved over him. The Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king of Israel.

“Daily prayer should include meditation, not just Bible Study, and in general we should be much more expectant of experience in the full range. We should expect more struggle and complaint and “darkness of soul” but also more awe,intimacy, and experience of God’s reality. John Owen is quite clear that if the affections of the heart are not engaged in prayer, real character change and growth in Christ-likeness is impossible. We cannot settle for less”-Tim Keller

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A different view of prayer

I read a story that I had completely forgot about regarding Jonathan and his armourbearer. The similarities to what David went through with Goliath were there. I sometimes think about what would I do and I would say if I were in a similar situation today, I would find myself in prayer instead of engaging in battle but I assume that is because these days, the battle is not in the physical world but in the spiritual.

So they let the Philistines see them, and the Philistines said, “Look! Some Hebrews are coming out of the holes they have been hiding in!” 12 Then they called out to Jonathan and the young man, “Come on up here! We have something to tell[b] you!”

Jonathan said to the young man, “Follow me. The Lord has given Israel victory over them.” 13 Jonathan climbed up out of the pass on his hands and knees, and the young man followed him. Jonathan attacked the Philistines and knocked them down, and the young man killed them. 14 In that first slaughter Jonathan and the young man killed about twenty men in an area of about half an acre. 1 Samuel 14:11-14 GNT

I believe that Jonathan saw the invitation as indicating that the battle was in God’s hand and that God would use him to fight. He trusted God and moved forward, up a difficult climb, and God sustained him until the battle was completely won. He was looking for God to give the sign and he was prepared. Prayer does that.

Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times. – Romans 12:12 GNT

I can be sharp, prepared, joying in hope and patient no matter the circumstances because of prayer. It does not matter what my circumstances are – I can pray because my hope is in Jesus. Prayer is a precious gift that God has given – it enables me to have hope and patience – especially when my eyes do not see things going well.

Many have found the traditional evangelical Quiet Time—with its emphasis on interpretive Bible study and petitionary prayer—to be too rationalistic an exercise. In response, and with desire for greater experience of God, many Protestants have turned to more Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, including lectio divina, contemplative prayer, and fixed hours of liturgical prayer. – Timothy Keller

In prayer there is no impropriety in praying that “justice” may be done

Romans has another throwback, this time to Elijah.

God has not rejected his people, whom he chose from the beginning. You know what the scripture says in the passage where Elijah pleads with God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me.” What answer did God give him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not worshiped the false god Baal.” It is the same way now: there is a small number left of those whom God has chosen because of his grace. His choice is based on his grace, not on what they have done. For if God’s choice were based on what people do, then his grace would not be real grace. – Romans 11:2-6 GNT

In prayer – we deal with God, commune with Him, discourse with Him. It is said of Elijah that he prayed in praying. We are then likely to pray in praying, to make a business of that duty, when we pray as those that are dealing with God in the duty. Now Elijah in this prayer spoke as if there were one left faithful in Israel but himself. See to what a low ebb the profession of religion may sometimes be brought, and how much the face of it may be eclipsed, that the most wise and observing people may give it up for gone.

When I pray, God has appointed a way to direct my enquiring soul. If it were not so, it would be in vain to ask Him anything. He is my only effectual teacher and He teaches me how to pray.

They will ask the way to Zion and then go in that direction. They will make an eternal covenant with me and never break it.. – Jeremiah 50:5 GNT

I believe I need to remember my own weakness, the strength and power of my enemies and continually watch and pray that I might walk my walk of faith in order to be answerable to my high calling. With that, I may give God all the glory while He blesses me with all the peace that comes with following Him.

Do I know the way to Zion? If I do it is because there have been others who have shared, challenged, encouraged and exhorted me to do so. There have been others who have taken time to give me advice. And there have been others who have prayed for me.

With that I go to God myself so that He can hear me and not be silent in His answer.

O Lord, my defender, I call to you. Listen to my cry! If you do not answer me, I will be among those who go down to the world of the dead. – Psalm 28:1 GNT

I will cry and He will answer.

“Mere formalists may be content without answers to their prayers, but genuine suppliants cannot; they are not satisfied with the results of prayer itself in calming the mind and subduing the will – they must go further and obtain actual replies from heaven, or they cannot rest.” – Spurgeon

I have heard others say how God has become silent to their prayers – it has to be the worse place to be in. To cry means I reach out to God in argument and reason. I must have answers to prayer, out of necessity. Prayer is a two way conversation.

Hear me when I cry to you for help,  when I lift my hands toward your holy Temple. – Psalm 28:2 GNT

When I enter into the spirit of prayer there is no way that I will except anything else other than that God would hear me – I will labour, use importunity, and agonize until He hears me. However, I am reminded that a silent prayer may have a louder voice than the cries of those priests of Baal who tried to wake him up. It is earnest and serious prayer that matters.

When I lift up my hands it is a symbolic posture that represents my heart’s attitude in dependent prayer. I raise them up in praise as a sacrfice of praise to God.

Punish them for what they have done,  for the evil they have committed. Punish them for all their deeds; give them what they deserve! – Psalm 28:4 GNT

This is a prayer asking God to deal justly and though I may look for it, I believe there is no vindictiveness or malice in it. I need to be able to consider, from time to time, there is no inpropriety in praying that justice may be done to the violatiors of law.

“It is fitting each one of us should set apart certain hours for this exercise. Those hours should not pass without prayer, and during them all the devotion of the heart should be completely engaged in it. These are: when we arise in the morning, before we begin daily work, when we sit down to a meal, when by God’s blessing we have eaten, when we are   getting ready to retire.” – Calvin