Tag: prayer

Daniel 9:1-14

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
          There is no evidence in Scripture that the prophet Daniel was anything but godly.  He was a wise man with a high level of integrity and spiritual acumen.  Yet, when he prayed he identified himself fully with his people and their sins.  Daniel was not one to exult in his own private faith while railing against the sins of others.  Instead, when sin abounded he practiced lament.  When Judah landed in exile Daniel did not complain about getting a bum rap from God because he himself was not like the others.  Daniel did not try and claim the moral high ground and distance himself from his fellow Jews.  Notice how Daniel’s prayer of confession is a very “we” thing:
“We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.  We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name….  To us, O LORD, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you….  All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice.”
             At the beginning of this season of Lent, let us as God’s people realize our mortality, our dependence upon God, our sinfulness, and our desperation for the Lord.  Let us lay aside all pretensions to godliness and confess our sins together.  Grace can only really be received by being profoundly in touch with our private and corporate complicity in the sins and abuses of the world.
             Gracious God, hear our prayer.  We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed in those things we have done and the things we have left undone.  Yet, your mercy is eternal through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever.  Amen.

The Rhythm of Jesus

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            Rhythm is more than enjoying a B.B. King blues song; everything in life is done with rhythm.  Our hearts beat in rhythm.  When we walk, our gait is in a distinct rhythm.  We cannot survive without healthy rhythms of waking and sleeping.  And, of course, we could not sing or have music without rhythm.  Indeed, we cannot survive without healthy rhythms of life.
 
            Yet, there is something off with our rhythm.  Our busy lifestyles can insidiously drag us away from God and his ways.  The spiritual rhythms we need for healthy living have been disrupted and we may not have noticed.  Someone has said, “Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car you are still paying for, in order to get to the job that you need so you can pay for the clothes, car, and the house that you leave empty all day in order to afford to live in it.”  Our lives are often fashioned more by shopping for the super sale, by sporting events, or by the demands of work than by our connection to Jesus.
 
            We seem to have bought into the lie that we can never slow down or take a break.  Many of us know we are out of sync with God and his ways.  We intuit that there is something amiss between our lives and the priorities of God. But we are not sure how to change our situation.  I would implore us to imitate Jesus in his way of life.
 
            Jesus had a rhythm in his life of outward ministry with people and inward time alone with the Father.  If Jesus needed regular, dedicated time for solitude and prayer, then how much more do we!?  (Mark 1:35-39).
 
            Let’s not think that we know better than Jesus on this.  If we persist in continually putting off spending generous portions of time with God, he has his ways of getting our attention and putting us in the place of solitude.  And we may not like it, which is why sometimes God is not so quick to heal us or answer our prayers because he has some things to say to us.  We might be so stinking stubborn that we refuse to slow down long enough to listen to Jesus.  For such people, human suffering is a great way to meet Jesus.  We simply cannot rush from task to task and expect to live a healthy spiritual life.  We absolutely need time with Jesus.
 
            Only through a healthy rhythm of life that includes solitude and prayer will we have clear direction for our daily lives, and wisdom for sound decision-making, not to mention being more relaxed and happy.  Jesus came away from his times of solitude re-connected with his purpose for being on earth.
 
            Both overwork and prolonged withdrawal from others is unhealthy.  To always be working and serving eventually leads to bitterness, exhaustion, and burn-out.  Conversely, to always be alone (and one can be alone even in a crowd of people) and not serving leads to a kind of spiritual constipation that makes us sick.  It might be counter-intuitive for us to break away from work, but solitude and prayer will actually help us be productive.
 

 

            What is the kind of healing and restoration you need in your life?  How might you be a part of fostering healing in another and in your church?  Do you need to make a plan for solitude and prayer?  Do you need to make a plan for ministry and service?  Let your rhythm of life be consistent with Jesus and his ways.

Psalm 46

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            For centuries the psalms have been the beloved prayer book of God’s people.  Pious Jews would know all one-hundred fifty of them by memory; medieval monks would recite them all over the course of a week, going over each one fifty-two times a year.  The psalms do more than present sound theology for modern humans; they give voice to our deepest feelings and greatest fears.
             Psalm 46 is one of the finest pieces of Hebrews poetry you will find.  Its message is one of comfort; its God is one who is in control; its prose is simply beautiful.  “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”  The psalms inspire trust in God, and help relieve the chaos that seems to envelop all around us.
             It is therefore a small thing to recite this psalm many times, and allow it to become part of memory.  Being able to draw from its well in times of trouble and meditate on it can be significant in the heat of a situation.  Knowing this psalm intimately is not a shot that inoculates us from difficulty and brings instant deliverance.  But it can point us to a faithful and trusted God who knows what he is doing and is always with us, even in the cataclysmic events of our lives.
             O God, you are my refuge and my strength.  Bolster my faith in all the difficult situations around me so that I might not fear, but trust you.  I will be still and wait for your deliverance without trying to orchestrate my own.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Psalm 86

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            This psalm is a prayer of David.  David was a guy who knew what it was like to have evil men pursuing him and hating his life through no fault of his own.  I don’t know about you, but, although I have never faced adversity to such a degree as David, I do know something about people who, to put it bluntly, just flat-out hate my guts.  It is not a good feeling, and it can be terribly draining emotionally and even spiritually.  Having disrespectful and rude people who talk behind your back (and sometimes even to your face) is in direct contrast to who God is.
 
            God is described by David as merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.  Whereas insolent people objectify others and do not seek their best interests, God always acts in accord with his basic character of love and grace.  Based upon the nature of God, we can choose to cry out, just like David did, to show us a sign of God’s favor.  That is, we can pray for God to provide us with some tangible communication of his love on our level that we can grasp and understand so that we can be helped and receive the kind of comfort we need through our adversity.
 
            We can be assured that God will not only hear, but that such ungodliness will not go unnoticed.  While we receive divine guidance and help, we can trust God to address the insolence that exists around us and toward us.
            O God, I cry out to you!  Give me a sign that you are with me, that your love and grace are my twin companions through the difficulties I face.  Help me, strengthen me, and comfort me so that I can keep going for the sake of Jesus, my Savior.  Amen.