Many names of God in the Old Testament describe His attributes. In fact the name of God is deemed so sacred that the observant Jews do not pronounce His name…..they only call God by his attributes….such as Ha Shem, Adoni, Holy One etc. Jesus called God Father, as do we, since we have become his “adopted” children. We now can come before Him with our requests. We feel free to ask Him for favors as well as admitting our sinfulness.
There is no limit to what we are allowed to say to God. Jeremiah opens up his heart to God and is not afraid to put forward before God his most intimate thoughts about his mission. It reminds us in many ways of Moses’ lament in the wilderness about the difficulties of dealing with a “stiff-necked people”. (Ex 34:9)
This short prayer tells us a lot about how to be daring when talking with God. The prophet starts off with a statement of acknowledging God’s righteousness: “You will be in the right, O Lord”….granted, the Lord can’t be wrong…. yet the prophet will dare to raise questions to God….. “But, let me put my case to you.” So this matter is extremely serious.
Righteous are you, O Lord, when I complain to you;
yet I would plead my case before you.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
In fact this is a type of lament……”why oh Lord do you allow this?” He asks radical questions of God. David also posed laments and complaints to God such as in Psalm 10. “Why standest thou afar off, O Jehovah? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?”
We also can come before the Lord, pleading our case. We live in a world where Satan appears to have the upper hand. The “treacherous” seem to thrive. We have sickness and sadness around us…..a friend with cancer; broken marriage vows; kids on drugs.
But in our honesty with God, we often question Him……Why?? Suffering always raises questions, “How long, Lord will you allow this?” In other words, is there any hope…. any future?
Yes, you can question God. We are all seeking answers. He will answer. He will give us the hope that we long for.
When I have questions about God’s ways, do I trust that God can hear them?
The opening lines of this chapter tell us of a man who has two wives. You can expect trouble already! One of them has several children. Her name is Peninnah. The other has no children and her name is Hannah. Her inability to conceive, causes great distress for Hannah. Not only because she feels God is punishing her for some reason but her nemesis, Peninnah is constantly berating her for her childlessness.
Hannah is definitely a woman of prayer. Every year, in her annual visit to the temple, she pleads before the Lord to open her womb. She makes a poignant petition that God may “remember” and give her a male child. This prayer is offered in all humility and not out of selfishness. Her husband insists he loves her regardless of her infertility but Hannah wants this child more than anything in the world. However, year after year she remains childless.
Her persistence is rewarded. The Lord respects her faithfulness and grants her request. Hannah keeps her vow and returns the child to the temple to serve the Lord all of his life. This child becomes a great man of faith and is one of the mighty prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures. His name is Samuel.
Hannah’s hymn of praise reminds us of the beautiful of poem of Mary, the mother of our Lord.
Hannah and Mary will sing of the great and mighty works of God. Hannah testifies to a “God who exalts the feeble, the hungry, the barren, the poor and the needy, and who brings low the mighty, and those who count on their riches as a reward. (paraphrase)
The God whom Hannah praises, is concerned with human happiness. He cares about the restoration of human dignity in the lives of the poor and lowly. Jesus repeats this theme in the Sermon on the Mount. “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…… Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5)
These are the great themes of the Bible. God is concerned for those who come to Him in humility and meekness, relying on His goodness and great love to supply their needs.
As in Hannah’s case, our prayers are not always answered on our timetable. However, faith and persistence in prayer will always result in God’s perfect answer for us.
It is only fitting that we begin our look at prayers in the Old Testament with a poem celebrating the miraculous deliverance of the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage and the miracle of the Red Sea crossing.
This poem is sung by Moses and will remain the model for future songs of Deliverance.
“I will sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea! 2 The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him. 3 The Lord is a man of war;
The Lord is His name. 4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. 5 The depths have covered them;
They sank to the bottom like a stone.
Moses begins his song of praise with this great event in history.
The realistic account is a narrative of God over throwing the great and mightiest of men……Pharaoh’s chariots and his army sinking in the sea. This illustrates that the great and powerful on earth have no control over the forces that the Lord uses to oppose the wicked.
God has no army and uses no weaponry. It is creation……wind, mighty waters and earth…..that comes to the rescue of His people.
This song of victory is so meaningful for us as well…….read the whole of the song and you will note there are three confessions of faith (Vs, 2-3, 11-12, 18)…… celebrating God as unique and incomparable. “Who is like you, O Lord among the gods?” (note that there were those among the people who had only known Egyptian polytheism). “Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders?” These phrases will become the trademark of biblical prayer.
Can we count on God to be with us as He was with those escaping Hebrews?
Yes, God is on our side when we come to Him in faith and repentance. He can still provide a way of escape for us. He still “divides the waters” that prevent us from reaching His rest…….and He still can defeat the forces of evil that attack us.
What have been the greatest deliverances and wonders for which you want to praise God?
When talking of prayer, our minds usually turn to the “Lord’s Prayer” found in Luke 11:1. Actually we could call it the “Disciples Prayer”, since they asked Jesus…..”Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples.” So prayer can be taught and, accordingly, can be learned.
What amazes me is that Jesus’ disciples had plenty of prayers at their disposal: 150 Psalms plus some 100 other prayers found throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, not to mention, as Luke suggests, prayers taught by John the Baptizer who had his own group of disciples. I’m sure there hundreds of prayers from the various rabbis who were teaching and had their group of followers. Jesus and his disciples grew up in a religion that had a living and rich tradition of prayer. Yet the disciples wanted to learn more and wanted to learn from Jesus how to pray.
Perhaps there are more books written today on prayer than any other subject. Yet there is always more to learn.
We first might ask the question…”What is prayer?” Each of us has our own answer to that one.
I have read where prayer is the “elevation of the mind to God …..to adore Him, to thank Him and to ask Him what we need.”
This is a fairly good definition. The first part covers most of the Psalms. The second part covers major components of biblical prayer; praise, thanksgiving, and supplication. Be sure though, the biblical vocabulary of prayer provides more than one definition of prayer and covers a much wider spectrum: creation songs, wisdom psalms, prayers of trust, lament psalms and confession of sins….both for others as well as personal.
The third one……….”ask what we need”. Don’t we know what we need? I sure do. I don’t mind telling God exactly what I need and why. I know just what would make life perfect for me.
As we start our journey into what might be in part, an unexplored area, we will look at the various prayers….but this time focusing on the Old Testament.
Ultimately, though, it is not the words we use that count, but the sincerity and the truth of the heart. Nice words are not enough and not necessarily fitting. After all, what matters most is not so much the words we use or how we come to prayer, but how we come out of it….hopefully transformed by an encounter and dialogue with God!
I read the book of Hebrews with slight knowledge of the author’s real world. His readers are most likely Jews of the Diaspora or those who are living outside of the land of Israel. These readers are fully aware of the rituals, sacrifices and temple services. But here, the writer of Hebrews, (we aren’t sure who he is) is building up their faith in the Messiah, Jeshua. He most certainly fulfills the requirements of prophecy as well as his perfection in keeping Torah or the commandments of the God.
What does the Hebrew writer have to say about worship? “Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary.” (Hebrews 9:1)
As we can see in this passage, the author is reminding these believers what God commanded for them in order to be acceptable in their worship: The temple, Holy of Holies, lampstand, bread of the Presence, ark of the covenant, urn holding the manna, tablets of the covenant, offerings and sacrifices, rituals of various kinds… all were intended to bring the worshipper closer to God..
Yet at the same time the author tells them that all these, however, commendable and given by God, still fall short of “perfecting” the conscience of the worshipper. However, these rituals were not the ultimate end.
There is one who came who was the “Perfection” of worship. Jesus, is now the High Priest who presents the sacrifices to God……. as well as the ultimate and perfect sacrifice for sin by giving Himself on the cross No animal could, in the end, take away sin.
Therefore, God also provided for us……“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)
Although our worship falls far short, through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit we can come into communion with God in more perfect way, knowing that through the blood of the “perfect sacrifice” our worship will be accepted.
Often we look at people who seem to have it all! We envy their beauty, wealth, brilliance, or talent. We ask why wasn’t I given more? I can handle it, Lord! I will still be my same loveable, humble self. But I sure could use a few more of those gifts that you have given to others!
If we got closer, however, we might read the fine print of responsibility that comes with heightened status or celebrity. Noblesse oblige—-“nobility obligates”…..means that special status requires more from a person, not less. Jesus taught “to whom much has been given, much will be required” (Luke 12:48)
Of all the tribes of Israel, the Levites alone could approach the Tent of Meeting and serve in the ritual worship. Among the Levites, only Aaron’s sons were permitted to handle the sacred vessels and enter the Divine Presence. According to their various ministries, all Levites shared in the tithes, meats and other offerings that the whole community made available as consecrated to the Lord. It might seem that the Levites had it made.
Yet the fine print states that being God’s own portion among the tribes made the Levites special. They belonged to God in a sacrificial sense. Being possessed meant that they could not themselves possess; no tribal lands would be allotted to them. They depended on the grace of God and the good will of the people for their survival. An easy life? Not really.
We are all blessed with riches beyond what we can imagine. Because of our faith, we have the best of everything.
How do we show responsibility for the “much” that has been given to us?
This is good advice. We need priorities in our life. A learned man made the following statement. “We worship our work, we work at our play and we play at our worship.” Perhaps this is true. Too often that which should be first is often last!
We worship our work.This can be said of the workaholic father/mother. They both spend more energy, time and enthusiasm at their jobs than the family. Mothers and fathers are exhausted at day’s end. No wonder we have an over fed and undernourished society. No time or energy to prepare supper. After all, there is still the load of laundry to be done, breakfast dishes to be washed. The kids need their bath. No time for God in this, except perhaps for a short little prayer before bed. We have left God out of the equation. Family time is gone.
We work at our play. Adult recreation is big business. This also includes the kids. Instead of togetherness in our play, the kids now have their play stations, cell phones or TV. Mom and Dad have their golf, football, or shopping malls. Churches have spent thousands on recreational programs for their teens. Is the church reaching families to build up the family relationships…..or are we actually creating less family time?
We play at our worship. Yes, we are dabblers in our faith. We want our worship only in small doses. The attitude of most is “just enough to satisfy me”…..and we don’t want to be too “churchy! Isn’t one hour each week enough?
Perhaps we need to reassess our lives, our family and our time with God.
The Mormons have Monday evening as family night; the Jewish families have Sabbath service on Friday. Where are we??
Have you ever wished for a personal conversation with the Lord? Not like the kind we have in prayer…..that can be fairly one-sided…. but a real sit-down complete with Q & A? What would you ask? What do you want to know; and more over, what do you really need to hear?
Apart from the time Jesus spent in the desert with the devil, He is almost never alone. From the time He leaves home, He’s got the Twelve and the unnumbered disciples, both male and female who believe what He’s telling them and following Him as their teacher. There are crowds everywhere He goes. Even indoors, people sit at His feet or cut holes in the ceiling to get near Him. A quiet conversation seems out of the question. They listen to his teaching and want Him for healing.
One person had that opportunity: a Samaritan woman. The disciples are away on an errand. It’s noon in the desert. No one’s around. It’s the chance of a lifetime. But its’ not what this woman is after. (John 4) She’s already ostracized by the community (why would she come in the heat of the day by herself for water?) and too much disappointment in her life. She would just as soon leave her bucket and go home than have to deal with this Jew.
It’s not only that He’s a Jew or a man…..It’s also the politics. She’s a Samaritan and everyone knows the Jews and Samaritans simply don’t get along. In fact they are almost enemies. What would be the point of talking with Him anyway?
Thirst is the point. A thirst to be seen for who she is ……to be treated like a person of understanding and significance. To be talked to like an equal, with no regard for sex or religion.
This Samaritan woman heard the truth about herself, and did not die of shame for it. She already knew in her own heart….but then she heard the truth about her life from this Jew. The Lord, the Promised One actually spoke with her! She ran to tell others. She became an apostle of the Good News.
God is listening, hearing, understanding. He is providing salvation for you and all of us.
Last month I wrote a short blog on Mary……and why we called her blessed. The Lord used her body in “housing” our Lord. Although she contributed nothing toward his genes she was his mother and supplied the blood that nourished him in utero. Although being young in age she was chosen because of her complete faith. She trusted God. She knew He keeps His promises.
Her older cousin, Elizabeth who was also pregnant with John the Baptizer, called her “blessed” when Mary came to visit her. Like Mary, she too believed in the fulfillment of an improbable prophecy. Here she was, pregnant at an old age.
Elizabeth didn’t enjoy the personal advantage of an angel making house calls. Like many women in the scriptural record, she was not directly consulted about plans God had for her family. But her old body would house the new “Elijah”. She was the mother of the prophet, John, who would baptize our Lord and prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry.
Her old husband, Zechariah, wasn’t prepared for this miracle either. He was struck speechless when told of the pregnancy as he was serving his time in the temple. An angel told him that he was to become a father! What? Didn’t he know the story of Sarah and Abraham? Why, they didn’t have children until both were old…. but God performed a miracle and there was Isaac! Miracles always seem to happen to others…..at least Zechariah felt that way.
In Elizabeth’s “confinement’ period, Mary comes calling. But before that knock on the door, little John, is kicking inside his mother, as much to say, “Here comes the mother of our Messiah. Take care of his mom.”
In this tender period, filled with the Spirit, Elizabeth celebrates aloud with Mary the joy of the ages.
Well before John the Baptist would babble his first word, Elizabeth was already announcing the way of the Lord.
Do I have faith in the fulfillment of what God promises to those who believe?
Of course you already have decided on resolutions for the New Year. But then you know that by February…they will all be broken.
Not to worry. We are simply trying our best. We feel better about ourselves when we at least make an effort to improve ourselves. Good for us!
My granddaughter is enrolled in a wonderful Christian University. She is taking a Bible class from a real Christian scholar. He not only knows New Testament but also is steeped in the Jewish culture of the 1st Century. He knows the times and life styles of the people to whom our Lord spoke. Why is that important to us?
Because the many parables spoken by Jesus could be best understood in the time period in which He lived. That’s not to say the words He spoke are not meaningful to us. But, He knew how to touch the hearts and minds of his listeners and to make the Torah take on a greater meaning. He was the completion of the “law”. In other words, He clarified the true meaning of the Mosaic instructions to Israel.
Read some of the parables recorded in Luke. See what new and interesting aspects of those parables come forth as you read. Do your homework. Perhaps take one of the Lord’s stories and do your research. Renew your mindset on what the Lord is teaching.
What do you really know about the Prodigal Son? (Luke 15:11-32)
Did you know that when the son asked his father to divide his inheritance … he was actually saying….”I wish you were dead!” No father in the 1st century would divide his inheritance with his children until after his death. It was shameful to even suggest such a thing. The community where the family lived would know that this son was bringing disgrace to his family.
Of course, he sold the property and taking the money, he left quickly. He didn’t want to stay where he would be shunned by the people. He spent the money in “loose living” and was penniless when he returned. But his loving father, who represents God, was always waiting for his son’s return.
He (God) loved this worthless fellow. He even gave him a banquet, a royal robe and a ring. Despite the wrongs committed and bringing on the shame of the community, the father welcomed with loving arms the wayward son. Of course there is more to the story. Find out for yourself. How does this apply to us?
Renew yourself in God’s word. More than merely a verse a day, steep yourself in real Bible study. Make it a resolution you will keep and be blessed!
AbideLines 