Gaining perspective

*Scriptures taken from Biblegateway.com

In her song "Where You Go I Go," Kim Walker emphasizes through repetition the importance of following Jesus's example. A phrase she chooses to repeat in her chorus is, "What You pray, I pray." It's funny because she is singing this chorus to God, saying, "What You pray, I pray." I think that there is a problem with Christian society today in that we do not pray as God prays.

That sounds so weird. Can we believe that God prays? Can we understand that He prays to Himself? We know that Jesus prayed when He was here on earth, but I always assumed that He prayed because He was human, and He prayed in order to resist His humanity and embrace His divinity. I guess that's true to some extent, however (or maybe in conjunction with it), I now think He prayed because He wanted to say the words that God wanted Him to say. He would only pray as God prayed.

Let's consider this word "prayer." I remember in a movie, The Preacher's Wife, the preacher tells this ruffian kid that prayer is just hope. So, using his definition, when we tell God, "What You pray, I pray," we are actually telling Him is, "What You hope is what I hope for." In other words, we say, "I am going to work toward Your will. I know what Your general will is, and I am going to submit to it."

We know God's will by reading His word. Recall in an earlier devotional that I wrote of the sovereignty of God and living under His sovereign Word, knowing that if He says it, then that is how it is going to be. I compared it to the Constitution as the supreme law of the land, being able to supersede and at times negate other laws. It simply is what's going to happen. If we know God's will, we should be working towards it because that is what is going to ultimately occur. And if we have that faith, then our hope is assured. It's the certainty of our hope.

Isn't it crazy? That is the most effective type of prayer. It's a prayer that says what God intends for it to say. It speaks using our mouths but His words. How frustrating! It is particularly convicting, especially when I consider my prayers, which tend to be about what I want for myself and what I want for others, qualified with the phrase, "But only if it's Your will." And then I sit and say that I have given into God's hands, but I am still worrying because I do not know if it is God's will. That cannot be the way God wanted us to pray. I can't believe that.

I think God wants us to leave our prayer with an assurance of that we know God's plan. I think of Daniel's fast [see Daniel 10:10-14]. Daniel would not relent in his fast, refusing to get up until God's answer came. This was one man who really knew God and His plans. God revealed incredible things to Daniel. And even he fasted for 21 days! The amazing thing is that an angel tells Daniel that he was sent to him the very day that Daniel "humbled himself." The answer surely comes, but it may take a while before it reaches our ears.

Can I sit there and wait until I know God's answer to a situation? How many of us can honestly pray like that? I should tell you ladies that this is not originally my idea. It is something Philip Yancey writes of in his book on prayer. One of his key points is that we gain perspective when we pray. I want to gain perspective. I don't know about all of you, but I really do not know how this world works. I am very childish - I'm young in my heart, young in my mind, young in my spirit. There is many things left for me to learn. If I can barely figure out how the world works, how much less do I understand the ways of God! Granted, God's ways are always going to be mysterious to us, but I want to know what He is doing.

I am going to tie this to an unexpected Biblical character - Zaccheus. Luke 19:1-10 tells us that Zaccheus was a very evil man. He was a tax collector notorious for taking more money from the already oppressed than the government required, pocketing the difference. He was truly a vile extortionist. And this man dared to approach Jesus because he was driven by his desire to see Him. He had a problem though; he was a very short man, and there was a large crowd surrounding Jesus. He could have chosen to push through the crowd. As a little man, I am sure it would not have been too difficult to maneuver. But that was not what he wanted to do. He was not concerned with the people but Jesus Christ. He decided the best thing to do was to get away from the crowd and go up a tree to see what Jesus was doing. After this, Jesus sees him, calls him down, and Zaccheus's life is forever changed. He even restores fourfold what he illegally took from his fellow citizens.

What was the pivotal turning point? I think it was his choice to go up that tree. If he did not go up to the tree, he would have ever saw what Jesus was doing. If he did not see what Jesus was doing, he never would have changed his ways. Notice Jesus called him after he went up the tree, not beforehand. Maybe Jesus was unaware of Zaccheus being behind the crowd. But the important point is that when Zaccheus took that step, when Zaccheus was determined to see who Jesus was and what He was doing, that is when his life was changed and he started doing what Jesus always wanted him to do. Most of us get it twisted. We think that if we do the things Zaccheus did after his heart changed, then we can come before God and pray and see what He is doing, as we have a right to come before God. But Zaccheus did it the right way. He went away from the crowd and gained a higher view.

I am going to admit something. I am short of stature when it comes to my Christ. I am incredibly short. If I am short, then what right have I to come before Him? I cannot push through the crowds; I have no reason to interrupt what Jesus is doing. But I want so desperately to see Him. I know that I have a purpose in His grand will, and I am going to learn what it is by gaining a new perspective through prayer. I know you can do what I am going to try to do, which is to not leave and get up off my knees until I have the assurance of the answer, until I gained the perspective, until I have learned what it is that Jesus is doing. Then we will pray what God prays.

God bless,
Alisha

A Watching World Wonder Why

* Scriptures taken from Biblegateway.com

Matthew 6:1-18

This is a rather large portion of the sermon on the mount to lump together, especially since there were studies in chapter 5 with as little as two verses. I opted to put these together because they share one common theme. We have the choice to announce our deeds, or to commit them in secret (where the Father sees) and allow Him to reward us openly.

As in all the other parts of the sermon on the mount that we have looked at, we can read Christ's message and instantly know what point He is trying to make. And as in all the other studies, I feel little need to add on to what He said; it really does not need much clarification. So I'd rather take a different angle on this familiar scripture:

Motivation. When I took an acting class, we would joke about the clichéd actor who would ask the director, "What is my motivation?" My professor would explain that, most times, the motivation for a character was his circumstances. Each motion and vocal inflection were a part of his struggle in ascertain a particular goal. I fear that if we were to look inside our hearts and be completely honest with ourselves, we would find that that is, in fact, our Christian walk. We're all actors manipulating circumstances to pursue a goal. This was the sin of the Pharisees. They would use any form of pomp and circumstance to announce their good works. They would pray an elongated dissertation to appear holier than others. They would literally paint their faces white to elicit sympathy and praise from their neighbors so they could "silently" announce their fasting. In this era, such traditions are absurd, but pride has since adorned a three-piece suit. We find more acceptable ways of showcasing our holiness. This devotional is not about condemning the praising and encouraging of one another for our good deeds. But we must ask the question, what is our motivation? Are we sharing our testimonies to inspire others to do likewise, or are we itching for a pat on the back?

If the answer is that you are not sure, then Jesus offers sound advice. Eliminate temptation from the start. Perform good works so covertly that your left hand doesn't know what your right hands is doing [verse 3]. Pray in your "prayer closet", after shutting the door at first [verse 6]. (This is sound advice - apart the humility factor - since in solitude we can be less hesitant to be honest in our confessions and more free to worship however the Spirit may lead.) Fast in a manner that shows you to be strong, not weak, in the flesh [verses 17, 18]. This is, after all, a key concept in fasting - to deny the physical in an effort to focus on edifying the spiritual. A distant relative of mine decided to fight cancer without medicinal therapy. She was a mother of two young children at the time, and it was easy for our church to pity her. But, ironically, as we sat with tears in our eyes, she stood firm, a pillar of strength in the midst of the darkest part of her life. That image of her is forever burned in my head.

Women of God, we are meant to stand firm and shine as lights to this world. How can we do so if we are seeking after the very thing everyone of the world seeks - the approval of others? Would it not be absolutely wonderful if one woman could seek the approval of God first? Would it not be all the more wonderful if a group of say three hundred plus women in a certain Facebook group decided to live up to the title of that very group? What would be the result?

The answer can be found in the lyrics of the Newsboys song Shine, which go:
... The truth is in
The proof is when
You hear your heart start asking,
"What's my motivation?" ...

Shine
Make 'em wonder what you got
Make 'em wish that they were not
On the outside looking bored
Shine
Let it shine before all men
Let 'em see good once again
Let 'em glorify the Lord

I love how this song says that when our hearts start asking, "What's my motivation?" then we can only reach the conclusion that we must "shine before all men" so that they can "see good" and "glorify the Lord." (Does this sound familiar? Matthew 5:16) The good they see can be manifested in quiet acts of service, and these actions can be the most powerful. Quiet acts do not mean we're ignoring the fact that mankind is watching. Rather, we shift our attention to where God alone sees, trusting that He is faithful to reward us openly. And, in the process, we cause the world to wonder why we do what we do the way we do it. We can "make 'em wish they were not on the outside," and wish, instead, to have our motivation.

God bless,
Alisha