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July 25, 2010 |
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Psalm 85
Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you pardoned all their sin.
You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us.
Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
Will you not revive us again,
so that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps.
Luke 11: 1-13
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”
And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Question and Answer
It’s a wonderful thing to know that we can have such an open, familiar relationship with God our Creator. Our Maker is certainly aware of, and takes into consideration, our faults, foibles, short-comings, and insecurities. Given that understanding and latitude, we can claim every opportunity to share with our Creator, our concerns and cares; we can vent our anger and frustrations freely, and ask any question, no matter how trite or trivial. Our belief and our assurance is that God is love, and God’s love allows us the confidence to ask, and confidently expect and answer in return.
Dialogue with God is richest and deepest when done regularly, such that the mutual relationship can develop and be nurtured. This dialogue is often referred to as “prayer.” Prayer should always be dialogue, not monologue. Often, in times of distress, we may be tempted to thinks that God isn’t listening, or even, that God is angry. But experience teaches us that God is perpetually speaking to us and answering us; we’re usually just not listening on the right wavelength. Or we’re so busy fussing, venting, and complaining, that God can’t get a word in edgewise.
It is critically important that each of us have conversations with God. The best conversations are honest, frank, soul-searching, and paradigm-shifting. I’m especially grateful that as these dialogues occur, God encourages us to access and employ our knowledge, intellect, and experience, thus informing our faith as it evolves and gets molded in the discussions with God. Our brains don’t need to be in park at all.
Go ahead. Give God the most provocative inquiry you can muster. One of the many lessons provided to us on prayer in the “Lord’s Prayer” is the challenge of articulation of needs. One must perform the difficult and perilous task of self-exploration to discover, and then willingly express one’s deepest and fundamental needs. In the course of the dialogue, God asks us, “What do you need?” To answer, we must muster our intellect, our experience, as well as our faith, so that the answer we give is true and thorough.
We often are guilty of only presenting God with our wants. Our petitions are circumstantial, shallow, and reactive. Unfortunately, we then have short-changed ourselves, and underestimated God. Fortunately, when God answers our petitions, we can expect that our deepest needs will be addressed, not just the superficial and superfluous. Our God loves us so much, and has repeatedly expressed a desire for deeper, richer relationships with us.
Question and answer time with God; what better way for the two of us to get to know each other better.
