Jason's Blog

Have you ever been through one of those heavy times in life?  When the dust settles and life begins to crawl along again, it can be difficult to reconnect with God.  After you’ve walked in a traumatic place for a while, everything will seem a bit off.  I find this really true when it comes to prayer and devotion with God.

When you’ve been around death, or sickness, tragedy, the idea of curling up in a chair with the Bible may feel a bit cold.  You might not want to admit it, but “regular prayers” or even a prayer routine may feel the same way.

• So what can we do in times like this?
• Do we just wait around for our feelings to settle back down?
• What if that doesn’t seem to come after a few months?
• Then what?

Let me suggest that you take up the Psalms in a new way.

The writer of Hebrews offers a unique perspective on the Psalms and Prophets.  He highlights the truth that Christ was speaking through the prophets and David.  Consider for example Hebrews 10:5 –

“Therefore when Christ came into the world he said:  ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.  then I said, ‘Here I am – it is written abut me in the scroll, I have come to do your will, O God.’ ”

Though these words were spoken by David, they were in fact Christ speaking.  I like how Dietrich Bonhoeffer explains this principle:

“The same words that David spoke, therefore, the future Messiah spoke in him.  Christ prayed along with the prayers of David or, more accurately, it is none other than Christ who prayed them in Christ’s own forerunner, David” (DBW Volume 5, Prayerbook of the Bible (Fortress, 1996): 159).

Can you believe it?  Christ prayed in David.  How could this be?  How could the future Messiah articulate a prayer in and with David?  A partial answer might be found in 1 Samuel 16:13 where we learn that the Spirit of the Lord came upon David after his anointing.

So what does this mean for you and me?  I have two suggestions:

1.  We can take comfort from the fact that when we don’t know how to pray and commune with God, the Holy Spirit can take up the slack.  Take comfort in the fact that the Spirit can be at prayer in you on your behalf.  He can express what you don’t have words for and fill in every blank (Romans 8:26).

2.  We have a record of Christ praying in David — we call them the Psalms.  All of the words of prophecy and the Psalms were inspired by the one and same Spirit that dwells in us as believers.  We can rest and read the Psalms and allow Christ to pray them in us and for us.  When we take up the Psalms, Jesus is praying and interceding for us.  All we have to do is listen.

In my next post, I’ll show an example of Christ praying Psalm 15.

I find that historic prayers can be helpful in remembering what is important.  Here is one from the Celtic tradition that I found in Tracy Balzer’s Thin Places: An Evangelical Journey in Celtic Christianity (Leafwood, 2006): 39.  I find that the Celts have a way of seeing the world with fullness– a way of living that I deeply desire in my own life.

God be with thee in every pass,

Jesus be with thee on every hill,

Spirit be with thee on every stream,

Headland and ridge and lawn;

Each sea and land, each moor and meadow,

Eachi lying down, each rising up,

In the trough of the waves, on the crest of the billows,

Each step of the journey thou goest.

Growing in our discernment is an important topic because we are either drifting or searching.  There’s really not much middle ground.

So what are the characteristics of searchers?

• Searchers are hungry – for a better way of life
• Searchers are dissatisfied or have certain amount of restlessness (or anxiety)
• Searchers are uncomfortable
• Searchers are looking for guidance
• Searchers are asking questions
• Searchers are ready to face fears
• Searchers take responsibility

Have I been a searcher today?
Are you willing to take a long look at where you are with God?
Do you need to turn the TV off for a little while?
Do you need to unplug from the net so that you can plug back into God?
Are there some habits that you have formed that need to change?
How many of your habits take you into communion with God?

Scriptures on Seeking

Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always (Psalm 105:4).

Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you (Hosea 10:12).

Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you (Amos 5:14).

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well  (Matthew 6:33).

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others (1 Corinthians 10:24).

Prayer

Lord,

Make me a seeker today—someone who loves Truth, who loves questions, who desires to grow, who loves You and wants to know more of You in all Your glory. – Amen

If you want to read some other thoughts on drifiting, check out this older blog post.

We see the phrase “filled with the Spirit” once in Paul’s letters (Ephesians 5:18) and repeatedly in Luke & Acts.  What does this actually mean?

• “Choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3).
• “Stephen full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the Glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55).
• “The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52).
• “Jesus full of joy through the Holy Spirit said, ‘I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children (Luke 10:21).

1. To be filled with the Spirit is to be someone who is empowered of God
2. To be filled with the Spirit is to be a person of ministry and service.
3. Those who are filled with the Spirit usually have wisdom, courage, and joy.

The Reality

The world that we live in contains plenty of negative emotions and dispositions can can fill us:

• Jealousy (Acts 5:17, 13:45)
• Bitterness (Acts 8:23)
• Deceit (Acts 13:10)

The story of Ananias and Sapphira is a living reminder that Satan can fill our hearts and lead us to lie against the Holy Spirit even to our own deaths (Acts 5:3).

In Us

1.  When the Spirit of God is at work in us – we experience a ‘lightness’ about us.  This is a joy in being delivered from darker things.

2.  We also have a deep sense courage.  Peter and John’s courageous actions in the temple and under a thumb of persecution revealed Jesus to the Sanhedrin.  They could well recognize that these men were “unschooled and ordinary.”  But they could recall Jesus:

He had healed the hurting in the synagogue on the Sabbath – a timely act of kindness (Luke 13:10-17).  They in turn healed a cripple at the hour of prayer at the temple.  They stood with resolve proclaiming Jesus when it was uncomfortable and dangerous to do so.  This was only possible because the Spirit was with them (Acts 4:8-13).

When they were released, the congregation began to pray.  They asked for boldness.  They asked for God’s hand to be with them.  The answer from heaven was swift.  They were filled with the Spirit and they spoke with boldness (Acts 4:31).

Lord,

Enable us to do the work that is needed.  Help us to be receptive to your Spirit.  Open our ears.  Fill our hearts.  Give us courage.