Slipping Away to Pray

“But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.” -Luke 5:16

With the advent of cars and internet, the modern human workload and connectivity and soccer practices and binge watching flood our schedules with travel, noise, and busyness. We humans can survive through our days and nights in this noise without rest; however, our Creator made us to worship Him, not simply survive. Without taking rest in God in needy worship, we will press through our schedules while joy and peace fades into anxiety or indifference. We become downcast. 

Christ’s example is set before us to become more like Him. Our Lord had a busy schedule. Many people were coming to Him for healing, massive crowds pressed in around Him hungry for teaching, and Pharisees came with confrontation in attempts to frustrate Him. In the midst of this schedule, the Gospel writer Luke inserts that Jesus made a regular habit to slip away to pray alone. Not with His disciples. He went away alone.

Getting away to pray to the Father, without the company of others or receiving public notice, seems inefficient to the modern person. There are so many things I need to do and needs my attention. Why slip away? What will prayer accomplish? Before we claim that we would never say this, how often do we slip away to pray alone? In practice, we view prayer as useless activity, especially praying without anyone else. Why disconnect? Why slip away? It sounds like driving on a long road trip alone in a car with no working radio.

Spurgeon said, “though infinitely better able to do without prayer than we are, yet Christ prayed much more than we do.” Why? His communion with the heavenly Father, which He won for us. We now enjoy fellowship with God. We can take to Him our troubles and anxieties, our joys and cares.

We are not alone when we slip away to pray alone. If God is simply a subject we talk about in crowds rather than a Person enjoyed in worship of Him, praying alone will seem lonely. 

Prayer is part of a life of worship. Enjoying God, being in His presence to delight in Him, this is cause enough to slip away from the noise and the schedule to pray to my heavenly Father. This means we must see communion with God as more delightful than anything else. To persevere in our slipping away into private communion with God in prayer, even through difficulties and trials, our hearts must be set more deeply upon our delight in God and less absorbed in pleasing ourselves through our leisure and busyness in life.

Heavenly Father, grant us grace to crave a deep, private communion with You in our prayers. Guard our hearts through our days that we may slip away from our noisy, busy lives to enjoy being with You. For truly a day in Your courts is better than a thousand days in our earthly pursuits. We ask for your mercies in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Turning from Dead Idols to the Living Christ

“Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.” -Jeremiah 10:5

The sights and sounds are familiar to me. Joyful singing with shouts of “amen” and “hallelujah” fills the air. A pastor prays and opens the Bible, explains the text and helps his people understand and apply what is read. There is baptism and taking the Lord’s Supper together. Yet, as I sit here in the front row of Nepali Revival Church, I am overwhelmed with the thought that the multitude around me rejoicing in Christ’s gospel together were not long ago devout Buddhists and Hindus. For a few of them, just hours ago.

We sinners have become master idol makers in our running from God. We either craft and carry ornate statutes like Hindus or craft a god with our opinions and emotions. Either way, such idols must be informed of identity and cannot walk or speak. Idols have no quality to be feared; however, idols are dangerous.

The Apostle Paul commands the church in Colossae to put to death the earthly desires in you “which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). What makes idolatry dangerous isn’t simply the moral failure, but that idolatry is the reason the wrath of God is coming (vs 6). Our covenant making God has a holy, pure jealousy demanding our singular devotion and joy (Exodus 20). And Christ’s gospel welcomes those who are far off, no matter their nation or language or tribe, into the Lord’s salvation that the nations would be glad (Psalm 67:4). 

Whether I sit in this room filled with Nepali Christians, or I am back at Allison Avenue, I am surrounded by former idol crafters, carriers, and worshipers. As Paul says “you too once walked” (Colossians 3:7). When our Nepali brothers and sisters call for Hindus and Buddhists to smash their idols and turn to the living God, calling for repentance, they are speaking of the Way in which they have found: Jesus is alive. He does not need to be crafted and carried. He is to be feared. He can do harm or good. Turn to Him and have everlasting life enjoying our gracious God forever.

When we tell the world and each other to smash the idols of “sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness,” we speak as those who once worshiped and carried those idols. Allow me to encourage you, my beloved church family, with the boldness and joy of our Nepali church family. Much like the church in Thessalonica, be encouraged of seeing how they have turned from idols to the living and true God (I Thessalonians 1:9-10). Be bold and joyful as you speak Christ’s gospel to idol worshipers around you. Jesus saves. His gospel is the power of God to save.

Heavenly Father, how we rejoice in Your salvation we enjoy through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! How You have called us to turn from our idols and worship You, the living and true God. Grant us boldness and joy as we proclaim this good news in Christ to the idol worshipers around us that they may turn from their idols and escape Your holy wrath and be invited in to enjoy You forever. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Our Worshipful Thanksgiving Together

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” –I Thessalonians 5:18

Thanksgiving is easy in those circumstances that meet our needs, or when people live up to standards we place upon them. The disciple of Jesus, however, is to have gratitude in ALL circumstances.

We gather each Sunday to sing songs making melody to the Lord with our heart (Ephesians5:20), yet these songs are filled with our thanksgiving to God (Ephesians5:21). Much like Psalm 69:30, “I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify Him with thanksgiving!”  Our grateful songs are to be a shared thanksgiving in all circumstances together.

What about those times our hearts feel low, or we just don’t feel joyful enough? We are tempted to use that to not attend Sunday services or, worse, to go and injure the church with our flaming tongues (James 3:6, 4:1). The temptation keeps us from God’s mercy, the very thing we need most. 

Grief and trouble comes in this life, and these things weigh heavy upon our hearts. I think the hymn writer Robert Robinson says it right, “tune my heart to sing Thy grace.” The prayer of a child to the Father, “Lord, my troubled heart feels low and troubled. Tune my heart to sing with the saints with a thankful heart.” We must be reminded of His rich mercy and goodness. We must hear the gospel. When we hear of the joys we wait for together, we rejoice with thanksgiving together.

Grumbling never builds up the church or encourages the faith; but thanksgiving in all circumstances magnifies the Lord. We can rejoice in God’s goodness, or we can complain about what did not meet our standards; either people or things. Paul told the church in Philippi whom he called “my joy and my crown” that he had learned to be satisfied in all circumstances (Philippians 4:10-13). If I am fully satisfied in Christ alone, I can rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians4:4) and let my thanksgiving and requests be made known to God (Philippians4:6).

When heavy hearts grumble or grieve, let us encourage joyful thanksgiving. When our own hearts need tuning to sing His praise, let us receive admonishment with gratitude before God. When we hear the call to worship, “O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:3), let us resolve to enter Sunday morning with expectation to hear His gospel, tuning our hearts to rejoice, and magnify the name of God with thanksgiving together.

Heavenly Father, our hearts become burdened, pierced with griefs, or cold from our own pride. Help us to cast these weights aside, Lord. Tune our hearts to sing Your worthy praise, songs from the hearts of Your grateful people. In Jesus’ name. Amen.