Why Pray To God?

The most difficult realization we can make as human beings is that we're not God.  Our culture and economic paradigm (free enterprise) constantly tell us that we are the masters of our destinies with rights to this and that ad nauseum.  Everything within our culture sets us up to believe that we're in TOTAL CONTROL moment by moment.

How then do we take heed / stay centered on of / how dependent we actually are on God's mercy, provision, and grace?

Well, it's a gift to see this truth.  Actually, it's one of the best gifts ever to receive.

Look at little children and how dependent they are by nature.  This is where we should be as Christians relative to our outlook on our lives.  Jesus made this crystal clear within his teachings.

Dr. John Piper tells a story of himself as a small boy.  He was unexpectedly pulled under via the undertow of ocean current whilst playing in the waves at the beach.  Nonchalant to what might occur, he was going about his business, having a grandiose time prior to this horrifying pivot.  

And we've all been oblivious to reality just as young John Piper was.  Until we're dealt a blow, making us realize just how vulnerable we truly are.

He continues with his story by vividly describing the experience of having his father thrusting his hand down into the water, grabbing hold of his small arm and then pulling him upward into the sunlight and air above, freeing him from the grip of the undertow / imminent drowning.

-------------------------

Reality grows out of healthy fear, but not fear of undertows.  Instead, out of healthy fear of God himself and his awesomeness.  Awesomeness which manifests itself via his ability to not only alter circumstance but actually choose to do so on our behalf.  Dr. Piper's memory is fixed on the effortlessness his father exhibited in rescuing his son.  As if the experience was routine to the point of definition / purposefulness itself.  He ends the story by vividly describing his trembling fear as he realized how fortunate he was to have been rescued as he was.

So this begs the question.  What truly is a father, Earthly or Heavenly?  What defines him?  

Security.  Security.  Security.  Security.  Security.

-------------------------

Years ago, I had a close atheist friend who would sometimes mock me for investing in prayer.  At times, he'd ask me if my god was like a "big genie in the sky".  Honestly, I was so shocked at his arrogance that I never would even attempt to answer him.  But as I took stock of his approach to life over the years that we were close, his point of view made sense.  Everything revolved / orbited around my friend.  His point of view was never from the outside in but the from the inside out.  And as such, this was a seemingly very safe position to be in.  As I've grown older, his point of view has made more and more sense to me despite the fact that I don't take stock in it as my own.

-------------------------

My own earthly father unfortunately didn't demonstrate security for me circumstantially nearly as adeptly as Dr. Piper's did, but still, something from within me came to foundationally understand the significance of prayer as an acknowledgement of my own powerlessness.  I believe it had much to do with my observations of older men around me in church.  Hearing these men pray made such an impact.  Watching them take the time to stand up before the congregation in doing so.  And it's to be noted that it was my father who made a point to see that I was consistently in church on Sunday to witness this goodness.

And I remember these praying dudes being buttoned up, put together, professionals.  Just watching them humble themselves like that resonated with Rob, allowing me to see obedience demonstrated firsthand.

-------------------------

As we age, our dependence on God as our Heavenly Father should increase proportionally.  For our understanding of just how vulnerable we truly are, as well as those around us, ramps up.  Not in order to bring on anxiety but sobriety.  

How cool it is that we have a God that's fully available to us via prayer and petition.  May we take heed of that today and invest accordingly in taking time to pray.

God Sees Your Sin. All The Excruciatingly Horrific Details Are In His Full View. This Should Be Unsettling.

American History books will no doubt document January 6, 2021 in a way that's far different than had the events of that day in Washington, D.C. occurred a few decades ago, and this is thanks to the ubiquity of technological advances relative to the digital realm.  

No doubt, we're seemingly just this close to perhaps being able to record the bent of a human heart.  I suppose that will soon come next no doubt due to where technology is advancing (and people's willingness to embrace it - no questions asked).

Regarding January 6, 2021, thanks to digital video / audio and social media, we can analyze with fervor what went down that day in our nation's capital (as is being done now during the impeachment hearing).  And these images / words / posts are, mind you, in high definition, which arguably is closer to reality than reality itself.  

-------------------------

I enjoy watching television interviews from the '70s and '80s on YouTube.  Old episodes of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in particular.  Obviously, those recordings leave a lot to be desired in terms of video quality / presentation due to the limitations of the tech.  Yet, they're still entertaining even today.

Contrast that with watching a current late night TV show as well as the commodious hardware readily available for us to consume that entertainment content today.

-------------------------

No matter what your opinion is relative to whether Mr. Donald Trump was at all to blame for the events that occurred on 1/6/21, the events themselves were captured unscripted somewhat holistically thanks to what I referenced above. 

It will serve as a record, like no other, of an event like no other (at least within recent memory).

Now, consider the following.  How scary is it to consider our lives - the best and worst moments - being scrutinized as such?  From an infinite number of angles with real-time heart intentions exposed?

This is what God does.  24/7/365.  You can read it over and over again in his word.  

Yet, it's so unfathomable to us.  Perhaps unless you take cues from the cataloging of an event / circumstance as is going done right now within the Senate chamber of the Capitol Building.  And yet, God doesn't need an investigation team or attorneys to "playback" the events.  He's no need for a video editing team or social media sleuths much less eye witnesses.  

His omniscience provides him with instantaneous understanding of both our intentions and how those intentions are playing out.

-------------------------

So much of what we do as humans is kneejerk reaction or some sort of ascent into reflexive acts of boredom.  And so much of our lives are so very mundane and repetitive.  All this portends of tragedy.

It is humanness through and through.

And that's where the hope of the gospel rings true as a solution, both transitional (sanctification) and everlasting (eternity) combined.  

For we must be perfect to gain salvation.  Perfect hearts, perfect mindset, perfect behavior.  Perfect.

Yet to truly grasp that position, and just how difficult it is to reach, we must see ourselves (outside of everyone else around us) outright firstly.  Though that will certainly never compare to God's viewpoint, we should work hard to not candy-coat or dilute it.  

Ask God, through his Holy Spirit, to open your eyes today relative to what he sees when he looks at you.  From there, look with intensity and ponder his position as your God, your creator, and the purveyor of his plan to redeem his children.

 

Recommended Reading - When (& How) To Avoid Contentious People

 When (and How) to Avoid Contentious People (thegospelcoalition.org)

Recommended Viewing - The Loneliness Epidemic

Recommended Viewing. Watch This Husband's Love For His Wife Through His Gaze / Countenance. Beautiful.

Lagniappe

You Are Not Responsible For Other People's Feelings

Let me qualify this statement firstly.

As a Christian, it's your responsibility to manage / take advantage of your influence, always considering its impact relative to Christiandom / the gospel.  And this means being an ardent listener first who's slow to speak.  

So, what about the "Other People" portion of this statement?  Does that include a man's spouse?  His parents?  Siblings?  What about his employer?

This is where things can get tricky.  For this is where we must consider / take into account those infamous expectations.  As such, there are times when we simply must come to grips with just how disappointing we truly are to those around us.

-------------------------

Have you ever been told that you're not respecting enough?  As if respect or the giving of respect were quantitative?  

I have.

And it was from one of those four cited above.  Obviously, I have no siblings, therefore you're left with three choices there.

-------------------------

Just a few months prior to being fired from Delta State University as the institution's Campus Architect / Physical Plant Director back in 2013, I was handed a handwritten list by the newly hired CFO (my superior) of the institution during one of our weekly meetings.  If I remember correctly, it was a list that had to be pieced / taped together from various scraps of paper.  And upon attempting to read it, it was obvious that numerous individuals had written on it in a fast, flowing pen with little thought as to its ramifications.

Per my boss, the list had originated from the newly appointed President of the institution.  In looking back, I'm fairly sure its initial author was the President's daughter who'd been to the university to visit her parents on a few occasions.  She was also an attorney (like her father) who at the time was living in her parent's abode back in D.C. while they were now residing in small town, Mississippi (where he'd been reared long before becoming a bureaucrat in Washington).

The list represented how disgruntled / frustrated the President and his cabinet were with the aesthetics / upkeep of campus.  As such, it featured very specific items, such as specific golf course hole upkeep or peeling paint on soffits and fascia boards on various buildings.  And I'm here to tell you that by the time it had no doubt been passed around to everyone and their brother, this was now a freaking long list.  

I remember my boss telling me as he slid it across his 4-person table there in his office that "this isn't normally how I choose to handle things..."

Nonetheless, my heart fell into my stomach relative to this critique.  I cannot even begin to tell you how overwhelmed that experience made me feel, taking into consideration the fact that I'd only been working there +/-9 months.

From there, this list served as a reckoning for me as it sat on my desk afterwards.  One that read - Your value as an employee of this institution is tied directly to the upkeep / beauty of campus per our specific expectations.

Why?

Because I believed just that.  

-------------------------

The Bible is clear regarding honoring your parents, and it gives instructions too regarding the husband as it pertains to him serving / giving to his wife as Christ does / did to the church.

It also addresses how to behave if you're a slave, but leaves out any specifics relative to being a Campus Architect / Physical Plant Director.

-------------------------

Assertion isn't a topic that's highlighted often in Christian circles.  The Bible doesn't mention it (I don't believe), yet we see this personalized approach in the accounts of Jesus within the New Testament as well as many other Bible characters throughout the 66 books.

Assertion is rooted in confidence in whose you are as a Christian, recognizing the ultimate authority of God within your life and the plan he has for it.  Assertion is also anchored in humility and meekness.  And as such, it's never in bed with haughtiness or pride.

Because of this, I believe assertion or assertiveness grows out of suffering.  Suffering that's been made peace with, if not celebrated.  Therefore, it's relegated to the inevitable passing of time which brings trials, growth (hopefully), and perspective.

And of course, all of this assertion / assertiveness applies absolutely to even those who place their respective demands on us.

What's most interesting to me about assertion or assertiveness is how young a man Jesus was whilst demonstrating this position during his 3-year ministry on Earth.  I think it's what made him - in so many ways - the man that he was / is.

Recommended Viewing