The Lord God is a jealous God and he does not want us to put in place anything that we value more than him! Exodus 20v5 - in the passage where God gave Moses the 10 commandments - says "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God”; there are similar passages in Exodus 34v14 and Deuteronomy 4v24.
The first of these passages says we are to 'break down the altars, smash the sacred stones’ of anything that does not worship God alone.
I am a Christian and do not have any carved idols or sacred stones, so I can race past such Bible passages without seeing any relevance for me.
But one of the ways in which we see whether we are genuine about loving God is when we seek his guidance. For it is here that we often put in place provisos, limitations and loop-holes. When our prayers take the form:
- “Lord, if you will do this for me, then I will do that for you" - then we set up a proviso
- “Lord, I will happily do this for you, but I couldn’t do that” - then we put in place a limitation
- “Lord, please let me know what you want me to do, and I will do it if I can” - then we leave ourselves a loop-hole.
And by so doing we are revealing those things that we value more than God; in effect, they are false gods!
We are very good at setting limits on what we will allow God to do! Sometimes we are directly disobedient, and will not obey what we know is right, but much more often we simply and subtly put in place provisos, limitations, or loop-holes in what we are prepared to do for God. Frequently these sound very good, even ‘Christian’, and much less blatant than the examples above.
For example, I am fairly new working in my current work place, which is a mission counselling centre, and am about to take a leadership role there. So, here are some of the things that I want for this job:
- I want our centre to be successful in supporting people who are going through difficult times
- I want our centre to be an example of what good missionary care looks like
- I want us to contribute to the mission of supporting those who are in the front line of sharing the gospel to those who have not yet heard
- And I want to be a good team leader
These are some of the things I care about - and there is nothing wrong with them. Except that God is a jealous God, and He is not really interested in my ideas, but He is interested in whether I am open and obedient to His plans!
If I am just concerned about what I want, it leads me to praying like this:
- Lord, please help us to be successful in supporting missionaries
- Lord, please make us an example of what good missionary care looks like
- Lord, please make me a good team leader
- etc.
And these prayers all centre around asking God to do my will! I need to tear down these good ideas of mine, these altars in my heart. For God is a jealous God and He will not stand for things that I love more than Him.
Like God testing Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his only son Isaac, God requires us to let go of the very things we love the most.
For it is only when we lay down our good ideas, and the limits we try to place on God, that God will show us His perfect way forward. God will not guide us while we set limits, or if we are just going to consider His leading! Our ideas may be ‘good’, but they are not as good as God’s perfect plan!
God is a jealous God, but He is also utterly loving - His desire is not to thwart us, but to bless us!
When we set limits, we are probably trying to protect ourselves – after all, I am frequently afraid that God will ask me to do something that is too difficult. But God’s purpose is not to curse us, but to bless us! He wants nothing but the absolute best for us – as individuals, couples, as families, and as Christian organisations. He really does not want us to have second best by going after some other goal or god, however good they may look, when we can be truly safe and totally blessed by following wherever He leads us!
So, next time we face some decision, or seek God’s guidance for the way forward, remember that God does not want us to experience anything less good, less safe, less perfect, than He has planned for us. We are to say to Him, "Show me what to do and where to go, and I will do it; I put no restrictions in place. The things I care most deeply about, even if they are good, I will put them aside to follow wherever you lead."
For God is a jealous, and absolutely loving, God.
When we live within the bounds of our normal, comfortable daily lives, prayer is optional. We know that praying is a good idea, but it may well not be at the top of our to-do list. We find time for an occasional quick prayer, or a daily ritual prayer, and perhaps something a bit more concerted when trouble arises, but we can quickly revert to our regular spiritual slumber when life reverts to normal.
The same can apply in our churches. If the normal swing of church activity doesn't require living life on the 'spiritual edge', then prayer is likely to be optional; included because it 'should be' but not at the centre, not essential.
In addition, we can easily become so busy - either with home-life, or with church services and evening meetings, strategies for mission and outreach, and plans for the new website - that prayer gets lost. When we are too busy to pray the devil rejoices!
I have no doubt that the devil would far rather we were busy planning our church outreach - or even getting on with telling people abut Jesus! - than praying. For he knows that it is only through prayer that we are effective as Christians. Without it, the rest is just 'works' and human effort, which are no threat to him.
It is only through prayer that God's work is done. Not just going-through-the-motion prayers, but heartfelt, needy, faithful wrestling in prayer; prayer that is a cry from the heart, is imperative, and comes before everything else.
I'm belatedly discovering that it's only when we start living outside our comfort zone that prayer becomes imperative. Living at God's decree will always be outside our comfort zone, for it involves putting aside our own desires and requires acts of out-of-control faith. (See The Holy Spirit and mess)
If, to be honest, we recognise that prayer is optional or perfunctory in our lives, then we're probably living safe and comfortable lives under our own control. While we stay in the background in this way, well away from the forefront of the spiritual action, prayer is optional.
If we want prayer to be more heart-felt and meaningful, I rather doubt that this comes through trying harder. Perhaps the start is by asking God to draw us closer to himself, and being willing to be drawn out of our comfort zone and closer to the battle-front.
And then we may discover that prayer is -
the air we need to breathe,
the sight we need to see,
the power we need to live,
the strength we need to work,
the faith we need to persist,
the difference between standing and falling,
... and the heart of the work we are given.
So, what is the place of prayer in our lives?
I wonder how you understand prayer.
Of course, we "say prayers", which probably start something like "Dear Lord" and will certainly end with "Amen". Hence we recognise the start and end of prayers. The rest of the time our thoughts are our own, are 'private' and are 'not prayers', as they are not addressed to God.
But I increasingly wonder whether prayer is 'what we set our heart upon'. So, while our public (or even private) prayers may sound perfectly acceptable and very spiritual - that Mrs Jones becomes a Christian, for example - our heart's desire may honestly be for a shinier car; that is what our heart is set upon.
The trouble is, I'm not convinced that God is very good at ignoring the thoughts that are not addressed directly to him. In fact, I don't think he's very good at respecting our privacy at all.
God may well answer the prayers of our heart. Mrs Jones hasn't become a Christian, but in time we do acquire a shiny car. We may be puzzled why our prayers for Mrs Jones have gone unanswered, and we probably don't attribute our new car to God's grace, as we never saw that idea as a prayer in the first place.
I'm not saying that the car is what God most wanted to give us, but if our heart's desire is just for such material things, then that may be all he gives us. And all the while God longs that we would ask for something more important in His Kingdom.
If this is at all on the right lines, then it is a sobering thought. But then we are close to asking for forgiveness, which must be a good way to start praying.
What are we praying for? What are the desires of our heart?
Lord, forgive us.
Charles Darwin who art dead,
Hallowed be your name.
Thy evolution happens
and it will be done on earth.
As I'm fitter than you, I'll get my daily bread
even if I have to tread on you to do it.
Thank god I don't have any sins,
but heaven forbid anyone sins against me.
And lead me not to consider any alternative,
but deliver me from these blesséd Christians, who should be extinct.
For the science, the intellectual high-ground and the intelligence are mine
now, and until we have evolved enough to wipe out all life on Earth.
Amen.
