devotion

Wholehearted prayer with mouths wide open

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Deuteronomy opens with an story of rebellion against God that does not go well.

“But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God, and you would not enter the land. You grumbled to one another: ‘The Lord hates us. He brought us out of Egypt just to hand us over to these Amorites, so that they could kill us.  Why should we go there? We are afraid. The men we sent tell us that the people there are stronger and taller than we are, and that they live in cities with walls that reach the sky. They saw giants there!’

“But I told you, ‘Don’t be afraid of those people. The Lord your God will lead you, and he will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt and in the desert. You saw how he brought you safely all the way to this place, just as a father would carry his son.’ But in spite of what I said, you still would not trust the Lord, even though he always went ahead of you to find a place for you to camp. To show you the way, he went in front of you in a pillar of fire by night and in a pillar of cloud by day. – Deuteronomy 1:26-33 GNT

It is my reminder that God is affected by my rebellion and I double down in my prayer and pursuit of wholehearted devotion to Him. It is hard when those around me do to not have the same passion, but if I must do it as an individual, I must. By that I mean I want to be like Caleb. He had a different spirit that enabled him not to be scared. He believed in God and walked with God. That will not mean I am perfect or will not experience unbelief or rebellion – for I do – but it means my faith will prevail. My sins do not have the final word in my life as I persevere in my belief in God, the gospel and His Word. What it means is that I am not sitting back and relaxing and not praying – but rather engaged in persevering prayer and pursuing God.

The Psalmist called this one out himself.

I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you out of Egypt.
Open your mouth, and I will feed you. – Psalm 81:10 GNT

What a promise to faithful people, who in faith, anticipate God’s provision. Of course, a closed mouth means they are not filled as there is no anticipation or faith.

“When the mother-bird brings food she never has to ask the little ones to open their mouths wide; her only difficulty is to fill the great width which they are quite sure to present to her: appetite and eagerness are never lacking, they are utterly insatiable…picture a nest of little birds reaching up their mouths, and all opening them as wide as they can.” – Spurgeon

What an encouragement for me to offer myself wide open to God in whatever I do. I cannot open myself any wider or deeper that God cannot fill me.

 “You may easily over-expect the creature, but you cannot over-expect God, ‘Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it;’ widen and dilate the desires and expectations of your souls, and God is able to fill every chink to the vastest capacity. This honours God, when we greaten our expectation upon him; it is a sanctifying of God in our hearts.” – Case, cited in Spurgeon

I open my mouth wide when I understand the greatness of the God I pray to.

“That great saying teaches, too, that God’s bestowals are practically measured by men’s capacity and desire. The ultimate limit of them is His own limitless grace; but the working limit in each individual is the individual’s receptivity, of which his expectancy and desire are determining factors.” – Maclaren

I open my mouth wide when I pray on Jesus’ merits, not my own.

“Our cup is small, and we blame the fountain.” – Spurgeon

“Wisdom is knowledge with the knower left in; or better, it is knowledge with God left in. True knowledge begins and ends with God.” – Clowney

The value of prayer

the value of prayer

It was interesting to read in Leviticus chapter six this morning and in particular, a new element was introduced – fire. In my research I could not believe how many commented on this passage and its significance was not lost to me. Let me share some of them with you, but first let me allow you to read this one verse in particular.

The fire must always be kept burning on the altar and never allowed to go out. – Leviticus 6:13 GNT 

“No more should our faith, love, zeal (that flame of God, as Solomon calls it, Song of Solomon 8:9), that should never go out; the waters should not quench it, nor the ashes cover it.” – John Trapp

F.B. Meyer observed that the perpetual fire was an emblem of:

· God’s love, because there was never and will never be a time when God does not love.

· The prayers of Jesus for His people, because He forever lives to pray for His people (Hebrews 7:25).

· The ministry of the Holy Spirit, because the fire first lit on the Day of Pentecost still burns among the people of God.

By this law we are taught to keep up in our minds a constant disposition to all acts of piety and devotion, an habitual affection to divine things, so as to be always ready to every good word and work. We must not only not quench the Spirit, but we must stir up the gift that is in us. Though we be not always sacrificing, yet we must keep the fire of holy love always burning; and thus we must pray always. – Matthew Henry

Charles Wesley brings several of these interpretations together in his hymn – O Thou Who Camest From Above

O thou who earnest from above
The pure celestial fire to impart
Kindle a flame of sacred love
On the mean altar of my heart.

There let it for Thy glory burn
With inextinguishable blaze
And trembling to its source return
In humble prayer and fervent praise

In considering what prayer may look like, I am encouraged when I read Psalm five.

Listen to my words, O Lord,
    and hear my sighs. – Psalm 5:1 GNT

It is not about keeping our eyes closed and speaking prayer continuously – it could be very much a simple or deep or exasperated sigh. It is about God listening and in this case hearing from my heart. I believe God can answer prayer even before I speak them.

In no means does this take place of the spoken prayer for we are taught of its importance.

However, when I do not know how to pray or the exact words to pray I know the Holy Spirit will help me pray.

His next statement matters.

Listen to my cry for help,
    my God and king!

I pray to you, O Lord – Psalm 5:2 GNT

When David uses the word “cry” I believe it is for the sense of urgency involved in the need.

You hear my voice in the morning;
at sunrise I offer my prayer[b]
    and wait for your answer. – Psalm 5:3 GNT

I am a morning person so I like the habit starting my day with prayer. Who knows what the day will be bringing? Who knows what decisions and temptations will be coming my way? What kind of leadership will I be called on to perform? I am feeble, helpless, sinful, prone to making mistakes, living in a world of temptation and surrounded by dangers I know nothing about. When people talk about fitness, I practice my spiritual fitness looking to God each morning for His guidance and protection.

How can I be expected to follow God if I do not have instructions for the day? It is my time to declare Him as Lord when I do. My time with Him in the morning becomes my “tithe” of the day. He knows my sincerity when I do.

 It is not unexpected to read the apostle Paul urging the Christians in Colossae to pray and to do so persistently.

Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray, giving thanks to God. At the same time pray also for us, so that God will give us a good opportunity to preach his message about the secret of Christ. For that is why I am now in prison. Pray, then, that I may speak, as I should, in such a way as to make it clear. – Colossians 4:2-4 GNT

He adds two other elements that increase the value of prayer – “keep alert” and “giving thanks.” It is about being spiritual aware of what should be prayed about – to my needs and the needs of others. I love the idea of giving thanks because I know the temptation to fill my time of prayer with asks more than praise. The idea of keeping alert is something I practice before prayer – during prayer – after prayer – I need to be aware of God’s leading.

Paul also asks for prayers on his behalf – a bit unexpected. But as a man with passions there was no special spiritual elevation. He was tempted, capable of weakness and fatigue and faced the challenges that I face, that we all face, trying to do what is right.

However, I do love the specific prayer request he made – “Pray, then, that I may speak, as I should, in such a way as to make it clear.” He wanted good opportunities – he wanted open doors – he wanted success to have the gospel preached and ultimately he wanted to see changed hearts and lives. 

Everything in this passage highlights the value of prayer and how it relates to the gospel. If I ask God to help me, to guide and direct me will doors open for me in ministry?

He had been comparing Himself to a vine, His disciples to the branches in the vine. Some branches continued in the vine, that is, remained in living union with the vine, so that the sap or life of the vine constantly flowed into these branches. They had no independent life of their own. Everything in them was simply the outcome of the life of the vine flowing into them. Their buds, their leaves, their blossoms, their fruit, were really not theirs, but the buds, leaves, blossoms and fruit of the vine. Other branches were completely severed from the vine, or else the flow of the sap or life of the vine into them was in some way hindered. Now for us to abide in Christ is for us to bear the same relation to Him that the first sort of branches bear to the vine; that is to say, to abide in Christ is to renounce any independent life of our own, to give up trying to think our thoughts, or form our resolutions, or cultivate our feelings, and simply and constantly look to Christ to think His thoughts in us, to form His purposes in us, to feel His emotions and affections in us. It is to renounce all life independent of Christ, and constantly to look to Him for the inflow of His life into us, and the outworking of His life through us. When we do this, and in so far as we do this, our prayers will obtain that which we seek from God. – Torrey