Pray always

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Leviticus chapter 13 provides a physical illustration of a spiritual problem through leprosy. It symbolizes the clinging, corrupting influence of sin on humanity. Splotchy, swollen, or boil-infected skin vividly illustrates how sin takes hold of us and ruins our health. As such, the people who lived in the midst of a holy God needed to address leprosy and other skin diseases immediately. Even more, lepers were powerless to do much to cure themselves except to watch, wait, and pray that God would heal them. And because they didn’t know much about the causes or cures of these skin diseases, other people could only wait in fear and pray that they would not contract those diseases from their fellow Israelites.

To this end we serve the Lord prayerfully.

That is why we always pray for you. We ask our God to make you worthy of the life he has called you to live. May he fulfill by his power all your desire for goodness and complete your work of faith. – 2 Thessalonians 1:11 GNT

Prayer must permeate my service for the Lord. I need the Lord’s help and we need His help.

Be glorified among all nations as thou art glorified among us, and Let your prophets be proved true, what else is one asking than Hallowed be thy name?  –  Augustine 

 

Incense

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Incense used in worship throughout the Old Testament was symbolic of one’s prayers before God. So what happened that caused Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu to die as they presented incense before God?

Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord was speaking about when he said, ‘All who serve me must respect my holiness; I will reveal my glory to my people.’”[a] But Aaron remained silent. – Leviticus 10:3 GNT

Prayers are not disrespectful in and of themselves and neither is burning incense, but the manner in which it is offered can be disrespectful if not done with the right heart. In other words – it is not what you do it is how you do what you do.

It reminds me of the difference between Abel and Cain’s offering – one was acceptable and one was not.

I am challenged in my prayer time to respect God’s holiness.

Hallowed be Thy name.

This is, indeed, somewhat obscure, and not expressed in good German, for in our mother-tongue we would say: Heavenly Father, help that by all means Thy name may be holy. But what is it to pray that His name may be holy? Is it not holy already? Answer: Yes, it is always holy in its nature, but in our use it is not holy. For God’s name was given us when we became Christians and were baptized, so that we are called children of God and have the Sacraments by which He so incorporates us in Himself that everything which is God’s must serve for our use.

Here now the great need exists for which we ought to be most concerned, that this name have its proper honor, be esteemed holy and sublime as the greatest treasure and sanctuary that we have; and that as godly children we pray that the name of God, which is already holy in heaven, may also be and remain holy with us upon earth and in all the world.

But how does it become holy among us? Answer, as plainly as it can be said: When both our doctrine and life are godly and Christian. For since in this prayer we call God our Father, it is our duty always to deport and demean ourselves as godly children, that He may not receive shame, but honor and praise from us. – Luther

Lifting up hands regularly

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There are many examples where individuals have lifted up their hands in prayer, especially as a form of blessing.

When Aaron had finished all the sacrifices, he raised his hands over the people and blessed them, and then stepped down. – Leviticus 9:22 GNT

It is also a sign of surrender if I raise them up high. It comes with a prayer that is a humble petition of a reasonable prayer for one going through oppression.

Why are you so far away, O Lord?
Why do you hide yourself when we are in trouble?
The wicked are proud and persecute the poor. Psalm 10:2 GNT

Paul delivered a prayer that I would like to look at.

Day and night we ask him with all our heart to let us see you personally and supply what is needed in your faith.

May our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus prepare the way for us to come to you! May the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow more and more and become as great as our love for you. In this way he will strengthen you, and you will be perfect and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all who belong to him. – 1 Thessalonians 3:10-13 GNT

He asks God to be the instigator – he asks God to do something – he recognizes God as sovereign – how often do I pray for people to move instead of praying for God to move?

Paul is praying for the church – how often am I praying for those in the church? Sometimes I find myself mentioning myself more than God and for my desires instead of God’s desires.

“Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that he will provide the help we need.⁠” – Piper

When I pray, I admit that I am dependent on God and need Him in my life.

Praying “with all our heart” shows how prayer is not flippant, but intentional and genuine. May I pray consistently and fervently for the people I love.

Paul prays for the opportunity to come alongside and disciple. He is concerned with their growth, for them to know what the implications of the gospel has in their lives. I want to find ways to help others grow.

His key prayer point when it comes to outcomes – make your love for one another and for all people grow more and more and become as great as our love for you.  

When it comes right down to its root – love is not something I am in control of – God is. Prayer is the key to changing my attitude towards others.  Love is a defining trait of those who follow Jesus.

The outcome is what I believe we all want to experience – you will be perfect and holy. It is not about circumstances changing or sufferings to cease and it is definitely not about doing, it is all about my heart (motives, desires, thoughts).

Holiness is a mark – our salvation is all of grace – but holiness is important when we stand before the God. Just thinking about this keeps me praying with eternity in my mind. I noticed that there was not much consideration given to their physical well-being as the spiritual one – again attention to eternal consequences and holiness.

There is a connection here between being holy and loving others – being interested in the lives of others – seeking the good of others – and that means I am challenged to turn from myself to serving. I understand that it may cost me to do this – it may be a sacrifice of my self-comfort.

“By the great sweetness of this name he frees us from all distrust, since no greater feeling of love can be found elsewhere than in the Father.” – Calvin

 

 

Invoking God in prayer for help even when feeling prayers are not being answered

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Oil – never bluntly stated in the Old Testament but we know from the New Testament that it is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.

Then Moses took the anointing oil and put it on the Tent of the Lord‘s presence and everything that was in it, and in this way he dedicated it all to the Lord.He took some of the oil and sprinkled it seven times on the altar and its equipment and on the basin and its base, in order to dedicate them to the Lord.He ordained Aaron by pouring some of the anointing oil on his head. – Leviticus 8:10-12 GNT

The idea I get is that “without God, I can’t.” If I put my trust in rituals, and God is not in the picture, it is a waste of time. More importantly, maybe more specifically, if the Holy Spirit is not working in the background “lubricating the machinery,” it is a waste of time.

How can I help someone without invoking God in prayer for help? How could I teach God’s Word without asking God for help? There is a danger in relying on my own strength.

Being dedicated places everything in God’s hands. The tabernacle is no longer just a building – it is a building whose sole purpose is to help people intercede to God. Aaron is no longer an ordinary person, but “ordained” as one fully committed to dedicating his life to interceding for people to God.

I am ordained to help others too. I have been “anointed” for the purpose of helping other Christians.

I use the Psalms as they turn into a prayer for help and relief in the middle of trouble.

Be merciful to me, O Lord!
    See the sufferings my enemies cause me!
Rescue me from death, O Lord,
     that I may stand before the people of Jerusalem
    and tell them all the things for which I praise you.
I will rejoice because you saved me. – Psalm 9:13-14 GNT

I want to be one who seeks to live a godly life even to the very gates of death. The good news is that God is the One who lifts me up from those very gates. I can pray for help and receive it so that I might praise God for His deliverance and salvation. My deepen joy and praise to God are the end results of my prayer for help. As God increases my joy in Him so do my praises to Him increase.

God’s help is not given just because He favours one over the other. It comes because His people have a relationship with Him. They know Him. They trust Him. They come to Him.

Those who know you, Lord, will trust you;
    you do not abandon anyone who comes to you. – Psalm 9:10 GNT

It must be a serious trial for anyone to feel abandoned by God. I know that I feel that way sometimes when I have sinned, face more trouble than I can handle, have a job to do that is weighed with responsibility or when I feel my prayers are not being answered.

I come back to God, seeking Him, because I know Him.

“We never trust a man till we know him, and bad men are better known than trusted. Not so the Lord, for where his name is poured out as an ointment, there the virgins love him, fear him, rejoice in him, repose upon him.” – Trapp

“Men complain of their little faith: the remedy is in their own hands; let them set themselves to know God. . . .  But for all this, you must make time. You cannot know a friend from hurried interviews, much less God. So you must steep yourself in deep, long thoughts of his nearness and his love.” Meyer

“O Almighty God, in your unmerited goodness to us and through the merit and mediation of your only beloved Son, Jesus Christ, you have permitted and even commanded and taught us to regard you and call upon you as one Father of us all.” – Martin Luther 

 

Pray and give thanks

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Have you ever wondered what prayer would look like when we are in heaven? What about the millennium period of peace? I am thinking that the one practice involved with my prayer time – thanksgiving – will still be an active part of  my everyday life.

If you make this offering as a thanksgiving offering to God, you shall present, together with the animal to be sacrificed, an offering of bread made without yeast: either thick loaves made of flour mixed with olive oil or thin cakes brushed with olive oil or cakes made of flour mixed with olive oil. – Leviticus 7:12 GNT

When David was praying for protection from those who were gossiping and slandering him (he compared them to a lion), we know that with the sense of urgency he prayed there would be an equivalent passion for giving thanks.

O Lord, my God, I come to you for protection;
rescue me and save me from all who pursue me,
or else like a lion they will carry me off
where no one can save me,
and there they will tear me to pieces. – Psalm 7:1-2 GNT

“It will be well for us here to remember that this is a description of the danger to which the Psalmist was exposed from slanderous tongues. Verily this is not an overdrawn picture, for the wounds of a sword will heal, but the wounds of the tongue cut deeper than the flesh, and are not soon cured.” – Spurgeon

David knew he was not guilty of the charges made up against him and he knew God would vindicate him. I know that with a sense of humility that comes with matters of salvation, I might accept that wrong against me as some sort of deserved action. That is not true of course, and being thankful for what God has done in my life allows me pray and ask God to step in as a shield.

You are the judge of all people.
    Judge in my favor, O Lord;
    you know that I am innocent. –  Psalm 7:8

Here, in the midst of my failures are my successes in life. An honest person, a follower of Jesus, is more than others can imagine or know. Little do we realize how honest a person must be to pray, urgently, simply and with total sincerity meaning what they are praying for.

For those who say they pray a lot and yet God does not answer, I can only say you may be trusting something else, but not God. There may be some traitor in your soul that is being kept there and carefully fed. Thankfulness can root that out.

“With what confidence would anyone address God as ‘Father’? Who would break forth into such rashness as to claim for himself the honour of a son of God unless we had been adopted as children of grace in Christ? He, while he is the true Son, has of himself been given us as a brother that what he has of his own by nature may become ours by benefit of adoption if we embrace this great blessing with sure faith. Accordingly, John says that power has been given to those who believe in the name of the only-begotten Son of God, that they too may become children of John (John 1:12).” – Calvin