I've been reading in the Gospel of Mark these days and in Mark 4 there is a story that has puzzled me many times. It is the story of Jesus and the disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee in a boat when a horrific storm comes up and Jesus is asleep in the stern. In alarm, the disciples finally wake Jesus. It isn't clear to me what they thought Jesus could or would do but waking Him appears to be the only thing they could think of to do.
Jesus rebukes the wind and the waves and then chides the disciples for their lack of faith. The question that always troubles me is this: How SHOULD they have responded in that situation? I mean in a practical sense. Undeniably, they were in serious trouble. But Jesus obviously expected a different response from them. And when the storms hit in my own life, what should my faith look like, in an equally practical sense?
While mulling this question, I did a little study looking up all the passages where Jesus rebuked the disciples for their little faith. "Why are you afraid?" "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" "Where is your faith?" "You of little faith!" "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" "You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves...?" Most of these rebukes are in the form of a question. Jesus asks in wonderment, "How is it possible that you can have fear?" In every case there is a juxtaposition of their natural response of fear and His assertion that their natural response should have been faith. I can see that faith would definitely have been preferable but I am still left wondering, what would that have looked like in the midst of that storm?
Three days after I started mulling these "little faith" questions, the Lord directed my attention to Acts 27. Here a few excerpts describing the magnitude of this, another storm story: "There rushed down from the land a violent wind...scarcely able to get the boat under control...let themselves be driven along... violently storm-tossed...neither sun nor stars for many days...no small storm assailing us...all hope of being saved gradually abandoned...long time without food." Truly another situation of genuine peril and this one lasting for many days. But then we see the response of faith as exhibited by the Apostle Paul: "Yet I urge you to keep up your courage...an angel appeared to me...do not be afraid...Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe that it will turn out exactly as I have been told." Paul, instead of panic, was calmly encouraging the others and strengthening them to believe. Fear is contagious, but so also is faith. Even though the circumstances were dire, Paul was fully convinced that all would be well. In spite of eventual shipwreck against a rocky shore not a single life was lost.
I came across some writings from Julian of Norwich recently (more about that in another post) and was struck again by these famous lines that God revealed to her in a vision: All shall be well and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well. There is a profound answer in that to my question of what one should say in those storm-tossed seasons of life. No need for "little faith" for "All shall be well."
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Why Pray?
I think most of us, if asked to answer True or False to the statement "Prayer is important" would say without hesitation, "True!". If the next statement on the quiz was "I spend daily, deep, consistent and concentrated time in prayer" we might be tempted to ask if we could answer on a scale of 1 to 10 instead of a straight true or false. Prayer has always been an area of struggle for me personally. I think the main reason is simply that it is hard work. It's hard work to put aside my Do List and spend time investing my life for someone else's life; to put aside the tangible for the intangible; to wrestle through my undisciplined thoughts, to confess my sin and to do the labor of the kingdom on my knees. Another reason is that the enemy would rather have us do just about anything other than pray and is adept at offering me plenty of alternatives or distractions.
One question that has often niggled at my mind is simply this, "If God knows everything and can do anything He wants, why is it necessary for me to ask Him to do something?" In essence it's a question about how I figure into the equation. Why pray?
THAT God wants us to pray is infinitely clear. So as I go about being obedient I am always looking for answers to the question of why. Over the years I've collected a few of them that do encourage me greatly. Perhaps one or the other of them will encourage someone else.
I love the story of God revealing to Abraham that He was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham, interceding for any righteous people who might be swept away in the destruction, begins to bargain with God. It's almost as if he were in a market, bargaining over the price of an article. He repeatedly asks God to spare the city for the sake of an ever-decreasing number of possible-righteous. And the amazing thing is, that God submits to the shamelessness of Abraham's faith, as evidenced by his requests. Keil & Delitzsch comment that this is the holy "importunity" of Luke 11:8 that does not cease until its point is gained. They go on to say that this would indeed be neither permissible nor possible, had not God, by virtue of the mysterious interlacing of necessity and freedom in His nature and operations, granted a power to the prayer of faith, to which He consents to yield. For some reason the Creator allows Himself to be worked upon by the creation and has given His creation the right to assert itself in faith. If that isn't a reason to pray, I don't know what is!
Another thing that motivates me to pray is knowing that God uses our actions as a gauge of our faith. There are so many examples in Scripture of God providing something but it doesn't become ours until we take it by faith. In the wilderness He provided manna for the hungry people. But they had to go out every day and collect it (humbling themselves to bend over and gather the flaky substance). When the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, God promised that He would fight for them. But they still had to take up their weapons and fight, a definite act of faith. God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt but they had to use their feet and walk out. The fishermen had to cast out their nets and bring in the fish. And God provided a solution for our sin, but in faith we have to repent and receive it. So prayer isn't any different. God is willing to do amazing things for the Kingdom but He is waiting for me to ask in faith. I hope the epitaph of my life will never be "She did not have because she did not ask."
One question that has often niggled at my mind is simply this, "If God knows everything and can do anything He wants, why is it necessary for me to ask Him to do something?" In essence it's a question about how I figure into the equation. Why pray?
THAT God wants us to pray is infinitely clear. So as I go about being obedient I am always looking for answers to the question of why. Over the years I've collected a few of them that do encourage me greatly. Perhaps one or the other of them will encourage someone else.
I love the story of God revealing to Abraham that He was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham, interceding for any righteous people who might be swept away in the destruction, begins to bargain with God. It's almost as if he were in a market, bargaining over the price of an article. He repeatedly asks God to spare the city for the sake of an ever-decreasing number of possible-righteous. And the amazing thing is, that God submits to the shamelessness of Abraham's faith, as evidenced by his requests. Keil & Delitzsch comment that this is the holy "importunity" of Luke 11:8 that does not cease until its point is gained. They go on to say that this would indeed be neither permissible nor possible, had not God, by virtue of the mysterious interlacing of necessity and freedom in His nature and operations, granted a power to the prayer of faith, to which He consents to yield. For some reason the Creator allows Himself to be worked upon by the creation and has given His creation the right to assert itself in faith. If that isn't a reason to pray, I don't know what is!
Another thing that motivates me to pray is knowing that God uses our actions as a gauge of our faith. There are so many examples in Scripture of God providing something but it doesn't become ours until we take it by faith. In the wilderness He provided manna for the hungry people. But they had to go out every day and collect it (humbling themselves to bend over and gather the flaky substance). When the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, God promised that He would fight for them. But they still had to take up their weapons and fight, a definite act of faith. God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt but they had to use their feet and walk out. The fishermen had to cast out their nets and bring in the fish. And God provided a solution for our sin, but in faith we have to repent and receive it. So prayer isn't any different. God is willing to do amazing things for the Kingdom but He is waiting for me to ask in faith. I hope the epitaph of my life will never be "She did not have because she did not ask."
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