Fervent Prayer Devotional #1: Intro
I came across a quote from Professor Charles Ringma that I think captures a prevalent mindset that we as Christians often embrace as we look to engage in prayer: “Whatever form and shape prayer takes, our first concern is not to press God for the things we think we need or the matters we are concerned about, but rather a quest for God's presence and relationship.”
Prayer ultimately is ‘a quest for God’s presence and relationship’. That is a good thought, an inspiring thought even. That prayer is not about getting it’s about abiding. It’s not simply about receiving from God but it’s about knowing God. If you have been around Mercy Hill for any period of time you will hear me talk about the importance of seeking the face of God beyond the hand of God. The idea that it’s about being in relationship with Him and not simply getting from Him. That’s good, right? That’s a noble idea right? I think about that and it seems like that is the right view we should have. Pray so you can be in His presence.
And yet there is something that is not a pithy quote from a book or from a sermon that gives me some pause on that idea, that causes me to stop and think about that idea a little more. Prayer is about the presence of God and relationship? Then I read Isaiah 6: I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Prayer is about the presence of God? And then I read Revelations 4: After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings[a] and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal…. (8) and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
You see time and time again I read about the majestic, awesome, holy, otherness of God. How he is above us and beyond us, how with a word he spoke life into existence, how Job says His voice thunders and the world trembles, how the song of the Exodus says ‘with a blast of his nostrils the waters of the Red Sea piled up’, how in God’s presence Moses removed His sandals and when he asked to see God’s glory the Lord responded and said: And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,...“you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” Prayer is about the presence of God? Seek HIs face in prayer?
The reason I bring this up is because as we go to prayer I believe we are too steeped in an ideology, a belief about God that diminishes our prayer life. And I am not talking about the idea we said earlier, the idea that we should see prayer as primarily about His presence or we should see prayer as an opportunity to seek His face and not just His hand. I actually think that is true but that we should see the sober meaning of that truth. I think Dr Ringma’s contention that we should see prayers first concern as a quest for God’s presence is right but what I find to be wrong are the quotes that say ‘we should pray to God like we are talking to our friend’. Unless your friend is all knowing, all powerful, perfectly holy and reigns in majesty over all, I don’t think that idea is accurate. The truth that we should see our prayer as primarily about HIs presence is true, we just need to have a true vision of the majestic holy presence we seek. This is important because unless we see the power in His presence our prayer life suffers and when we have a true vision of the presence of God it benefits our prayer life greatly. Let me give you a couple of key examples of why I believe that true vision benefits our prayer life.
A true vision of the holy nature of the presence of God causes us to value the gift of prayer. We have devalued prayer when we don’t understand the profound value of prayer, So many of us treat it flippantly, even as a burden and I think a contributing factor is us not understanding the precious, unworthy, gracious gift that is prayer. Access to the presence of God is a gift given by Jesus Christ that prior to Christ’s work was rare, nearly impossible, because of God’s majestic holiness. When Jesus died Matthew 27 records that the veil of the temple that seperated the people from the Holy of Holies, the place where God’s presence dwelled was torn in two. During the lifetime of Jesus, the holy temple in Jerusalem was the center of Jewish religious life. The temple was the place where animal sacrifices were carried out and worship according to the Law of Moses was followed faithfully. Hebrews 9:1-9 tells us that in the temple a veil separated the Holy of Holies—the earthly dwelling place of God’s presence—from the rest of the temple where men dwelt. This signified that man was separated from God by sin . Only the high priest was permitted to pass beyond this veil once each year to enter into God's presence for all of Israel and make atonement for their sins. The tearing of the veil at the moment of Jesus' death dramatically symbolized that His sacrifice, the shedding of His own blood, was a sufficient atonement for sins. It signified that now the way into the Holy of Holies was open for all people, for all time, both Jew and Gentile. And what makes this such a glorious reality is that the nature of God did not change because of the work of Jesus, only our access to Him did. He is still that Holy God and we, except for the work of Christ, are men with unclean lips living among men with unclean lips. Come before Him with reverence, with humility, with gratitude and with awe. He is still the God of Isaiah, and still the God of Moses, and still the God of Job. It is that same Holy God to whom we have access as we pray.
Another important benefit we receive when we have a true vision of the nature of God is that:
A true vision of the majestic nature of the presence of God inspires us to believe in the power of prayer. Because we have lost sight of the majestic nature of God as we reflect in prayer I feel we have lost sight of His power to answer our. Imagine the confidence Moses brought to Egypt after the the burning bush, imagine the faith Moses had to face the wilderness after getting a glimpse of the glory of God. The power of God did not change because of the work of Jesus only our access to it did. The veil has been tore but the Majesty of God has not been diminished
He is still the God of Isaiah, He is still the God seen in Job and still the God of Revelation. He is still the voice who spoke creation into existence, He is still thunder that shook the foundations of the earth, He is still the pillar of fire that led the Israelites in the wilderness, He is still the hand that healed the leper. The glory and power of God that mesmerized the servants of God is available to us as we go to prayer this week. There is no burden you face today that the arm of God is too weak to carry, no need His arm is too short to reach.
As we go to prayer this weel let me leave you with a quote from Charles Spurgeon: “…prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. It is far deeper than that - it is spiritual transaction with the Creator of Heaven and Earth."
It is to that Creator of Heaven and Earth we bring our prayers.