Tag: prayer

The Trouble Is Turned (Esther 7:1-10)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
The Coronation of Queen Esther, from the 1617 Scroll of Esther, Ferrara, Italy.

So the king and Haman came to have dinner with Queen Esther. On the second day, while they were drinking wine, the king asked Esther, “What is your request, Queen Esther? It will be granted to you. And what would you like? Even if it is up to half of the kingdom, it will be granted.”

Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, Your Majesty, spare my life. That is my request. And spare the life of my people. That is what I ask for. You see, we—my people and I—have been sold so that we can be wiped out, killed, and destroyed. If our men and women had only been sold as slaves, I would have kept silent because the enemy is not worth troubling you about, Your Majesty.”

Then King Xerxes interrupted Queen Esther and said, “Who is this person? Where is the person who has dared to do this?”

Esther answered, “Our vicious enemy is this wicked man Haman!” Then Haman became panic-stricken in the presence of the king and queen.

The king was furious as he got up from dinner and went into the palace garden. But Haman stayed to beg Queen Esther for his life, because he saw that the king had a terrible end in mind for him. When the king returned from the palace garden to the palace dining room, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was lying. The king thought, “Is he even going to rape the queen while I’m in the palace?” Then the king passed sentence on him, and servants covered Haman’s face.

Harbona, one of the eunuchs present with the king, said, “What a coincidence! The 75-foot pole Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke up for the well-being of the king, is still standing at Haman’s house.”

The king responded, “Hang him on it!” So servants hung Haman’s dead body on the very pole he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king got over his raging anger. (God’s Word Translation)

“Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.”

Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582)

I sometimes half-jokingly say to people that it’s important for me to keep busy so that I stay out of trouble. The truth is, however, that I tend to find myself in trouble a lot – whether I’m busy, or not. The same could be said for the Jewish people.

If you are anything like me, you have experienced, on more than one occasion, of feeling like you are in a circumstance that’s like quicksand. It’s as if you are stuck with no way out. Queen Esther found herself in such a situation. Through no fault of her own, she was thrust upon the stage of being the intercessor between life and death, salvation and elimination. 

The wicked Haman, a high official to the king of Persia, had it out for the Jews. So, he orchestrated a devious plan to do away with them once and for all – even building a gallows on his own property in the anticipation of hanging one of them on it. That’s how much the guy hated Jews.

The King, Haman, and Esther, by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1660

But God, who is always awake and alert to whatever is happening in this world, had their backs. Even though the book of Esther does not once pronounce the name of God, the Lord’s influence and divine sovereignty are evident throughout the entirety of the story. 

God seems to specialize in hard cases, and in people who keep getting into trouble, despite their good intentions. And through providential means, the Lord inevitably gains the glory, and God’s people are wonderfully saved from circumstances well beyond their ability to save themselves.

Esther, a Jewish girl who became part of the king’s harem, and then the king’s wife and queen, humbly and prayerfully entered the king’s presence on behalf of her people, the Jews. Even though she was exalted to such a status, there was still the very real possibility that taking such an initiative would get Esther into deep trouble.

Yet, because of divine providence superintending the whole affair, the tables were turned, with the Jews being joyously delivered; and Haman literally finding himself at the end of his rope, on his own gallows. 

Prayer, sensitivity to God, and the humility to listen, undergirded Esther’s decision and courage to step out and act on behalf of her people. 

Especially when it comes to trouble, prayer is not optional equipment for the believer, but absolutely essential to facing each and every difficult situation. That’s because it is God, not us, nor any of our skill or ingenuity, that ultimately brings deliverance. 

Saving ourselves from impossible situations and dire circumstances is way above our pay grade; only God can bring true deliverance – the kind that genuinely changes people so that divine purposes are accomplished.

Our discouraging situations, hard cases, difficult people problems, and vexing trouble – whatever the situation – God has your back, and delights to answer our desperate pleas for help and deliverance. 

Like me, you may find yourself in trouble. But you can also find yourself with all the power of heaven behind you; and with an answer to your prayer that is beyond what you can even think or imagine.

Loving God, your Son Jesus Christ came that we might have life and have it abundantly. We humbly ask that you pour out your blessing upon our nation. Where there is illness, bring your healing touch; where there is fear, strengthen us with the knowledge of your presence; where there is uncertainty, build us up in faith; where there is dishonesty, lead us into truth; where there is discord, may we know the harmony of your love. This we are to bold to pray through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit are one God, now and forever. Amen.

We’ve Had Our Fill of the Arrogant (Psalm 123)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

I look up toward you,
the one enthroned in heaven.
Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.
Show us favor, O Lord, show us favor!
For we have had our fill of humiliation, and then some.
We have had our fill
of the taunts of the self-assured,
of the contempt of the proud. (New English Translation)

The patriarch of the Hebrews, Abraham, lived 4,000 years ago. Moses, the lawgiver and leader of the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery, lived 3,500 years ago. By the time the psalmist wrote today’s psalm, there had already been at least between 1,000 and 1,500 years of Jewish history. And, from the point the psalm was written until now, nearly 3,000 years of history have come to pass.

For all these millennia, the Jewish people have had to endure the contempt and hatred of all kinds of non-Jewish groups and nations. Their suffering has been continual and constant. They have endured multiple attempts of others trying to rid the earth of them. Jews have been mercilessly mocked, violently beaten, religiously persecuted, arrogantly humiliated, callously abused, and perennially shamed, just for being Jews.

The Jewish people know about generational trauma and suffering. They’ve experienced endless heartache and soul damage. And yet, the Jews are still here. They survive, despite so many intentions to wipe them off the map. There are few people groups that can say they still exist after 4,000 years of history.

I submit to you that one of the many reasons the Jewish people have survived, even thrived, for so long is that they have a rich heritage of Hebrew poetry and working out their emotions and their musings before God – and put it down on paper.

The Jewish people acknowledge their emotional and spiritual pain to God, lament it before God, and trust in God to handle their oppressors.

For the one who remains silent, and never sets pen to paper, will fade away and be forgotten. But the one who brings their shame to the light, and contends with the Lord about their suffering, shall see generation after generation continuing to struggle onward and upward.

Trusting God

The controlling image of today’s psalm has to do with the eyes looking. The psalmist looks up to heaven where God is enthroned as Creator and Sovereign over all the earth. Specifically, the eyes look toward the throne room of God.

Underlying the trust and faith of the people is the confession that God is the rightful and powerful Ruler of all. Just as servants look to their masters for provision, so the praying community of people looks to God for their every need – whether it be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.

Ultimately, this community looks for a sign of God’s inexhaustible and divine mercy. The worshiper prays, sings, and looks longingly with eyes wide open to the heavens. They look up in confident anticipation, searching for hope and a glimpse of divine mercy.

Here you will not find any sort of rugged individualism, prideful struggling alone, or refusals to ask for help. No! There is a refreshing realism and vulnerability of knowing who you are, where you are, and what you need – without any apology.

Complaining to God

The community of worshipers repeated their heartfelt and strong prayer for mercy from God. The people were facing a relentless stream of contempt from others, and they had more than enough of receiving this.

Those who mocked the Jews are identified as the proud and arrogant. In contrast to the worshipers, the mockers do not look up to the heavenly king, but instead look down on those different from themselves.

The arrogant look only to themselves, not to any master, and certainly not to the sovereign King of the universe. But the followers of the Lord look to their God for mercy because its absent from their experience of being and living on this earth.

Conclusion

The psalm begins with an affirmation of trust, and then, moves to the people’s plea for help from the God whom they place their trust and faith. This psalm was not only befitting of the ancient crisis of Israel’s exile to Babylon and all that happened afterwards in history; the psalm befits us today, as well.

Today, the Jewish people, along with many other religious communities around the world, are experiencing genocidal behavior from mockers who detest them and want to be rid of them altogether.

For all of us who seek the Lord and desire to truly live a pious and penitent life, our eyes look to the divine king for hope. In the midst of oppression by arrogant mockers who operate out of autonomy and independence from the God of mercy, we lift our eyes to the heavens and search God’s heavenly throne room for a glimpse of hope.

In every age – whether ancient, medieval, or modern – the faithful have always needed each other in the community. We have always had to embrace an interdependent dynamic of relating to one another, rather than operate as a mere collection of individuals who happen to be in the same place at the same time.

The faithful understand that life is not something they have earned or made, but is a gift from the Creator and Sovereign who is enthroned in the heavens. And without this perspective, we will continue to see hateful groups of people try to annihilate those different from themselves.

Merciful and loving God, when we are overwhelmed with fear and uncertainty, undermined by the distress of mockery, please love us and grant us patience under suffering.

Help us to love others as you love us; to accept others without judgment; to see difference as your gift of creation; and to remember that love is our greatest calling.

Generous God, you give freely of your love and mercy and grace. Prompt us to share our blessings and respond to the cries of the world.

Encourage us to help those facing the pain of discrimination and prejudice. May they experience healing of both body and soul.

Nurture us in faith, so that we will reach those in need, both near and far.

Inspire us to love all your children equally, without exception; and let us give and receive love, through the One whose name is Love, Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

Paul the Missionary (Acts 13:1-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Elymas the sorcerer is struck blind by Paul, before Sergius Paulus. painting by Raphael (1483-1520)

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. (New International Version)

Most, if not every, follower of Jesus wants to hear the voice of God’s Spirit. Yet, many don’t. Why? Because they have not yet put themselves in a position to listen and learn.

We can only hear if we are attentive. We cannot hear if we are distracted doing other things.

The Antioch Church heard the Holy Spirit speak to them because they deliberately arranged their Christian lives so that they could learn God’s Word and clearly hear God’s voice. Notice what helped them:

  1. A diversity of leaders. The Church purposely had Christians from various backgrounds, races, ethnicities, and cultures, including Barnabas, a Jewish Levite from the island of Cyprus; Simeon, a Black man from sub-Saharan Africa; Lucius, a Roman from North Africa; and Manaen, an upper class Jew from Judea. They knew that the Spirit’s voice was not limited to one particular group of people, and could come to anyone.
  2. Worship and fasting. Together, the prophets and teachers worshipped the Lord and committed themselves to the spiritual practice of fasting. They knew that focusing on God by abstaining from food for a time, and using that time for prayer, would help them be ready to hear and respond to the Spirit.

As a result, the Church heard the Holy Spirit’s instructions for them to send Barnabas and Saul [Paul] as missionaries to the Gentiles. The Christians obeyed God, blessed the team, and sent them off to do their work.

It was the missionaries practice to find the Jewish synagogues wherever they went. There they would proclaim the good news of God’s grace in Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of divine promises to the people. Early on, Barnabas and Paul encountered Elymas, an esoteric individual who had the ear of the Roman authority in Paphos, a city in Cyprus.

Elymas was, frankly, a spiritual pest who kept interfering with Paul’s ministry to the Roman official. Paul, having many gifts of the Spirit, saw exactly who Elymas was – a windbag who deceived and cheated people for his own advantage.

Paul got down to it with Elymas, bluntly informing him that he has finally come up against God himself, and his trickery is over. Paul declared that Elymas was about to go blind for a good long time. And sure enough, the supposed magician was plunged immediately into a shadowy mist; he stumbled around, begging people to take his hand and show him the way.

It was only fitting that a person who promoted dark ways and crooked paths should be subject to that darkness and have to grope around for a time.

When the Roman official saw what happened, he became a believer on the spot, full of enthusiasm over what Barnabas and Paul were saying about Jesus.

So began years of ministry for the Apostle Paul, missionary to the Gentiles. There never seemed to be a dull moment with him around, making gracious waves of good news for those coming to God; and a tsunami of judgment for people, like Elymas, who were stuck in their selfish ways.

Paul, like Jesus, demonstrated his authority over the forces of darkness. He thus proved himself in Christian mission. The conversion experience and the commissioning of Paul became real and complete at the beginning of this missionary journey.

It is from this point on that the former Saul is now consistently referred to as Paul – signifying his change of status as a person who once opposed Christ to one who is dedicated to serving Christ and making him known throughout the Roman Empire.

Years of mature learning, spiritual growth, and discovering Jesus went into Saul’s life before he then became the missionary Paul. Although Paul was an extremely gifted person with a large intellect, he still needed to go through what we all must go through in the Christian life – put the time and effort into spiritual growth and maturity needed within the church, in order to go out and change the world with the good news of Jesus.

Gracious and almighty God, you have given pastors and teachers to equip us to do your work and to build up the church, the Body of Christ. Help us all together to realize unity in the faith, and knowledge of your Son, so that we will be spiritually mature in Christ, in whose name we are bold to pray. Amen.

Our Dwelling Place (Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You turn us back to dust
    and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”
For a thousand years in your sight
    are like yesterday when it is past
    or like a watch in the night.

You sweep them away; they are like a dream,
    like grass that is renewed in the morning;
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
    in the evening it fades and withers…

Turn, O Lord! How long?
    Have compassion on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
    so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us
    and as many years as we have seen evil.
Let your work be manifest to your servants
    and your glorious power to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us
    and prosper for us the work of our hands—
    O prosper the work of our hands! (New Revised Standard Version)

Out of the 150 psalms we have in the biblical psalter, only this one is attributed to Moses. At Mount Sinai, when God was entering into covenant with the Israelites, the Lord had Moses come up the mountain to receive the Law. Meanwhile, the people began to rebel and became idolatrous.

And God was angry with them – so angry that the Lord was ready to do away with them all, and start from scratch with Moses. Yet, at that time, Moses interceded for the people and implored God saying:

“O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. 

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” (Exodus 32:11-13, NRSV)

Moses prayed for God to turn and change his mind. And, amazingly, God did.

In a terrible event of the golden calf experience, Moses had the wherewithal to step back and see the larger perspective.

And it is this view of time which governs the prayer of Psalm 90. This psalm sees the transience of human life and the permanence of an eternal God.  From this perspective, we gain wisdom in order to pray as we ought. The center of Moses’ prayer states:

For all our days pass away under your wrath;
    our years come to an end like a sigh.
The days of our life are seventy years
    or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span is only toil and trouble;
    they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Who considers the power of your anger?
    Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.
So teach us to count our days
    that we may gain a wise heart. (Psalm 90:9-12, NRSV)

Today’s psalm lesson is a genuine prayer that begs for divine wisdom so that we may live with an eternal perspective. Armed with such a view, the psalmist prays for divine mercy so that our lives may be redeemed and we might know joy. And from wisdom and mercy, prayer is offered for divine blessing upon the work of our hands.

God’s presence ought to cause the people’s acknowledgment and obedience. If it doesn’t, then that presence can turn to wrath. This is precisely why we need wisdom to live rightly – to seek the Lord and know the spiritual laws of the universe. Ignorance leads to death, but wisdom to life.

We do not always live as we ought – which is why we need to seek grace and mercy from God. The psalmist trusts that God can redeem times of evil and the darkness of the human heart. The Lord is able to overcome for us what we cannot overcome for ourselves. God can (and will, in God’s own good time) deliver us from our unhealthy spiritual condition.

Moses led the people out of Egyptian slavery. But it was God who delivered the Israelites and was present with them always. Eventually, Moses died because God took him (Deuteronomy 34:5). And, at that time, the people had not yet entered the Promised Land; they were landless and homeless.

God, however, was their true dwelling place; the presence of God was there and continues to be there. The Lord has not taken a vacation. The Lord’s presence and power is still operative in this world. It’s the perspective of eternity.

Home, for the believer, is God. The Lord is our dwelling place, with us no matter where we go. God is the One who keeps redeeming our time, blessing us with joy, and prospering our work.

“O God, Our Help in Ages Past” by Isaac Watts, 1719, verses 1-3

O God, our Help in ages past,
our Hope for years to come,
our Shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal Home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
sufficient is Thine arm alone,
and our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,
or earth received its frame,
from everlasting Thou art God,
to endless years the same.