Looking For a Partner

Ezekiel 22: 30

And I searched for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.

There is so much misunderstanding about our Father’s character and heart. This has never been more true. People still think that a life with God is about what you give up or more to the point, what He takes from you. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of who He is.

We are quite familiar with John 3: 16 but sometimes I wonder if we have every really heard it at all. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” God so loved us that He gave. His love for us causes Him to give, not take away. He is the God of good things and He longs to bless us not curse us. Human beings brought the curse into the world, not God. He created a place of good and of plenty.

In today’s selection we see God trying to find someone who would “stand in the gap” for the land. He didn’t want destruction to come onto the land, He wanted someone to intercede so that He could save it. But … He found no one. You see, humanity has sown seeds of destruction and those seeds are going to produce a crop unless God intervenes on our behalf. Unfortunately, when God gave us the authority over the earth that meant that the power and the responsibility fell to us. He gave His authority to us. He, therefore, no longer had the right to do anything He wished in the earth.

To this day He needs human actors to stand, pray and allow Him to work through them. He wants to save the land just as He did when Ezekiel wrote these words. He is a good God and wants to redeem the lands we live in. He wants to bestow blessings on our countries, towns and villages. He is looking for people who will partner with Him to remove the destruction and bring about healing and blessing. His plans for us are always plans for our good so let’s stand in those gaps and be the conduits of His love, grace and mercy.

Big Guns

Matthew 5: 44

Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

Okay, now we are talking about serious spiritual warfare. This verse doesn’t look like warfare though, does it? None the less, this is where the rubber meets the road. When the enemy is all around you and it feels like even the house is falling down on you then start praying. Sometimes the pressure on you is so heavy that it is hard to pray. I understand that. Just come up with something real simple that you can say each time you feel overwhelmed. Here is an example, “Father, I forgive them and ask you to forgive them. I pray that you bless them and meet their needs.” Then every time that feeling comes in your gut just turn your thoughts to our beloved Father and pray those words.

Jesus gave this scripture for us, not for them. He said “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16: 33 NIV). This is one of the ways that he is leading us from trouble to overcoming. Trouble comes but Jesus is our victory. He has already provided the means of triumph. He spent his time on earth teaching us those means. So when you read that you should pray for your enemies, take heart because Jesus is leading you to the victory. Glory!

Reluctant Warrior

Luke 6: 32 – 35

And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Fore even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

You can know that God did not choose me as the editor of His book because had he, this section of text would have been edited out. This is Jesus speaking and presumably he is teaching from a position of understanding and wisdom. Whatsmore, everything Jesus teaches us is for our own good even though sometimes it is hard to see the spiritual law behind the command.

I suppose everyone has a thorn in their flesh and thorns are usually people. The worst part about it is that the person Jesus is speaking about above is someone you know. I hope it is not your spouse but it likely is someone in your family or church. It is usually someone close to you. That is what makes this so difficult. You can’t get away from them. Maybe it is someone you work with. No matter what a jerk they are you still have to practice your grown up Christianity. That means that we have to love the jerks even though it is to us that they are being unkind. And guess what. You really don’t even get to call them jerks. Verse 36 says for us to be merciful and verse 37 says “Do not judge.” I have to make a judgment in order to conclude someone is a jerk. 

Did you see the part about loving our enemies? How about doing good to them? What!? Are you kidding me? Now I will tell you honestly, you may be a bigger person than I but I cannot love them in my own strength. I feel strong, negative feelings bubbling up from deep within me and I want to give voice to them and they are not nice. That is me in the natural. If I am going to love them and be nice to them then it is going to have to be through the love of God within me. I am going to assume most of you are like me, still struggling a little with the flesh when you are injured. This is where we have to dig deep. We have to fill up on the love of God. We need Jesus to step out front. 

The first thing is not to let the junk come out of your mouth. Your will can help you with that but it really requires the strength of the Lord. Then start praying for the offender. You aren’t going to want to but do it anyway. Jesus wants you to pray blessings over them. It is crazy. Here is the part that is so hard. You pray for God to bless them and because God honors your prayers, even though that person is not walking in the light, they get blessed. Then they act ugly to you and Jesus wants you to pray more for them. “Look Jesus, I was already gagging on the last blessing they got and you want me to bless them more? Did you not see and hear what they just did to me?” That is what my flesh is screaming but then I am reminded of Jesus’ walk on the earth. One of his beloved betrayed him. That had to hurt. Others disappointed him but through it all he remained the picture of grace, love and blessing. And then I am challenged. I say I want to walk in this earth as did Jesus. Well, here is my opportunity. What will I choose? Shall I rant and rave and tell of the injustice done me? Or will I pray? “Okay Lord, you win, I will pray for them but you must help me as it catches in my throat.”

I imagine everyone can relate to this scenario. We have all been through it, haven’t we? So, you pray but a half hour later you find yourself angry again. Stop right then and forgive them and pray for them. Then when it rises up in you again in an hour, forgive them again and pray again. This is a battle but we are not unwise children. We have the might and the wisdom of our Lord. We’ve got to tag him and let him jump in the ring for us. He has already defeated the enemy and given us power to win. Our victory is in Jesus and in taking his advice. If we will let him be our strength and humble our wills before him, we will come through these battles victoriously.

And don’t miss the end of the passage – great will be your reward and you will be honored as a child of God.

Prayers for the Needy

Philippians 4: 19

And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Paul wrote to the Philippians assuring them that because they were meeting his needs God would take care of their needs. That is a good perspective from which to view our needs and our prayers. God meets our needs when we meet the needs of others. Still I suspect most of us spend a good bit of time praying about our needs. I noticed in the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus gave “needs” one line; “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6: 11). When Jesus went up on the mountain to pray, what do you suppose he prayed about? I suspect he didn’t spend much time praying about the things he needed. I imagine he prayed for people and for his calling.

I think what God is showing me is that we need spend very little time praying about our physical needs. In fact, I am beginning to think we need not spend much time at all praying about any of our perceived needs for two reasons. First, Jesus said, “Ask and it shall be given to you” (Matthew 7: 7). So ask and be done.

Secondly, I don’t think we really know what we need. Sometimes we pray (ask) for something that we want but don’t need. In fact, sometimes the thing we are praying for would destroy us if we received it. Take for example the Israelites who prayed and prayed for a king. God told them, “No” at first time saying that He would be their king. He told them that their desire would only lead them to ruin. They kept on and on until finally he relented (read this story in 1 Samuel 8). And if you know the story of Saul, the first ever king of Israel, you know that God spoke to them truthfully.

I think our prayer time is better spent asking God what we need. In other words, I think we should pray about ourselves rather than for ourselves. We need God’s revelation on what we need and it may well be something that He wants to do in our hearts. At least that is what I am finding. If we back up a little bit from Matthew 7: 7 where Jesus said, “Ask and it shall be given to you,” and go to the end of Chapter 6 we find something interesting. Bear in mind that this is all one teaching. When Jesus spoke this it wasn’t divided into chapters so just a few moments before He said, “Ask and receive” he said, “Do not be anxious then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’ For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6: 33).

I believe this is what was happening in Philippi. The people had finally turned their hearts from seeking after their own needs and desires to seeking the kingdom. When they got back into a spiritual state, reconnected with the Holy Spirit within them they sent a gift to Paul for his support and maintenance. Then Paul said that their gift to Him would insure that their needs were met. You see, the Holy Spirit will speak to us about what we need in our lives. He will even lead our prayers. He will also direct our actions so that what we need will be provided for us. The Philippians didn’t send their gift to Paul in order to get their needs met, they were just connecting with God in their hearts. They were seeking the kingdom and the Holy Spirit led them to send a gift to Paul. In that act, their needs were met, as well as Paul’s. So, we need to seek God in our hearts and allow the Holy Spirit to lead our actions. When we do we will not need to pray unceasingly for our needs and wants. They will become a by-product of what God is doing in our spirits. It seems then that the key to the kingdom is what we have all been told time and time again. Seek the Lord, our God and He will take care of everything else.

Incense Offering

Revelation 5: 8

And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Today is a visual day. I want you to look with me at the golden bowls which each of the elders holds. Did you notice that they are full of a substance which gives off a sweet smelling aroma? That substance is the prayers of the saints. Can you see the aroma wafting up from the bowls and filling the throne room? The vapors reach the Father and He inhales deeply of them. Think about when you walk into a kitchen where someone is baking. Don’t you stop in your tracks and take in a deep breath savoring the pleasant smell? Or I think about when I drive by someone mowing their lawn. I take deep breaths letting the scent fill me until I can no longer smell it. 

Those pleasant aromas arrest our attention. You may be in conversation but you immediately take that deep breath so you can enjoy the scent. This is the way our prayers are to our Father. They constantly fill His nostrils with the most pleasant fragrance of all. I like the idea that there is something we can do which brings pleasure to our Father. It is no coincidence that all twenty-four elders hold a harp and a golden bowl. These are the things which please God; musical praise and prayer.

As I read this verse today I found that I immediately wanted to pray and put a prayer in the bowl which would smell exceedingly wonderful as it is offered. Not surprisingly, the prayer was much more about how great our Father is than what I needed Him to do for me. I will confess that I found the prayer very fun and even gratifying for me.

Picture, if you will, an altar in the throne room where we give our offerings to the Lord. Rather than the meat of goats and lambs, we offer up music and prayer. We give to the Lord not something that is external like a sheep but rather that which comes from within us; our praise and our song. 

I wonder sometimes if our Father is tone deaf because I have noticed that He enjoys us singing to Him no matter how cacophonic the sound. You don’t have to have a good voice, just a heart of love for Him. He hears sweet music when you sing and He smells sweet incense when you pray. You cannot sing wrong or pray wrong when you give your offering from your heart.

It is amazing that the God who created Mt. Everest, the Amazon River and every star and heavenly body in the universe can be pleased with something as simple as our prayers. It sure makes one rethink one’s theology. It also reveals so much about our Father. It is delightful to realize that we can give Him joy. Even better, it is really easy for us to do so. We do not have to create a masterpiece. We have only to appreciate that which is. So, let’s fill up those golden bowls and flood the throne room with a sweet aroma.

Eternal Prayer

Ephesians 6: 18

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.

We, the church, need to become people of prayer. It seems that almost every day there is some tragic bit of news. People are struggling with flooding, mud slides, wildfires and every sort of disaster. I have noticed that when we hear bad news on the TV we are moved by compassion and feel sorrow for people going through rough times. The hearts of many people are truly compassionate and caring. The outpouring for Katrina victims was an example of the good heart in the American people.

And while we can be very generous and kind, there is one thing we can do that will really help all people. We can learn to pray. Now that may sound like drivel or may sound cliché but I find that we do not pray as we might. So many times we have built prayer up in our minds until it has become a Holy Ritual instead of an intimate communication. There is nothing wrong with reverence and holiness in prayer but we also need to have more routine communication with God. I think many times we tell people we will pray for them and we have the very best intentions but then we wait until we can get in our prayer closet or wait for our prayer time. By then we forget who we promised prayer.

As we are drawing close to God and becoming really intimate with him, he becomes not only our God but our best friend. During that process it becomes easier and easier to talk with Him all through the day. This is the kind of prayer that Paul encourages us to in this passage of scripture. We can become so attuned to living a prayer full life that when we see some catastrophe on the news, we immediately say a prayer for the people affected. When you talk with someone on the phone and tell them you will pray for them, you either pray for them right then and there while they are still on the phone with you or you pray as soon as you hang up. We need time alone with God when we are in a very prayerful state but we cannot wait until then for all the prayer that needs to be sent up to heaven. There is too much need. Begin training yourself to pray whenever you perceive a need. The body of Christ needs you and your prayers. The world really needs you.

Let it be Me

Ezekiel 22: 30

“And I searched for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”

Many times people ask, “Why did this bad thing happen” or “Why did God allow this bad thing to happen?” Now you have the answer. God didn’t allow it, we did. God saw the inevitability of seeds that were sown and looked around for someone to stand in the gap for that family, nation or person but when He looked He found no one. God would have intervened in the affairs of man many times but He couldn’t find anyone who would pray.

Psalm 115: 16 reads, “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.” You see God has given the earth to us. Recall that in Genesis 1: 28 God gave authority to rule the earth to mankind. While we know that God is sovereign we also should recognize that a sovereign has the right to give his authority to another. Once done, the sovereign must follow the rule of law that he has established. All of this is to say that god can no longer move freely in every context in the earth. He cannot make you accept Him as Lord because He gave you authority over your life and choices. We call that free will. This very principle bars God from intervening at times when He would like to. We have been given the authority in the earth so we must invite God to participate and we do so through our prayers. You can personally keep God out of your life or invite Him to participate with you. You really are the master.

In the same way, He cannot just step in any time He would like. Even when you see something like the tragedy of 9/11 you have to recognize that God wasn’t the one who was asleep at the wheel. He tells us in today’s verse that He looked around for a man to stand in the gap for the land but could find no one. Perhaps He tapped me on the shoulder that morning and asked me to pray for the land. Maybe He had been saying to many of us for months to pray for our nation but we were so full of our own lives that we never heard Him.  

There are two points I believe in this message. First, let us stop blaming God for our failures and secondly, we need to make our hearts and ears more sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit so that God can speak to us and in speaking to us, commission us to pray. He wants to spread salvation but He must have someone who will pray. Let it be me.