God's power

An important part of prayer is acknowledging our lack of power or cleverness. And along those lines, we also must acknowledge the only thing that does possess power -- God.

Therefore, in our prayers, let us recall God's words in Deuteronomy 32:39 (NLT),

There is no other god but me! I am the one who kills and gives life; I am the one who wounds and heals; no one can be rescued from my powerful hand!

Hearing those words, we should feel a combination of fear and joy, which brings us to the famous words in Psalm 2:11 (NLT) that should always govern our prayers,

Serve the LORD with reverent fear,

and rejoice with trembling.

Meaningful sacrifice

God does not require that we sacrifice animals, and other stuff, to please him, but he does require a sacrifice a praise and obedience.

Now, if we wish to offer further sacrifice, such as fasting, that's fine, but we must do so correctly. In Isaiah 58:3-5 (NLT), God highlights incorrect sacrifice,

Even while you fast,

you keep oppressing your workers.

What good is fasting

when you keep on fighting and quarreling?

This kind of fasting

will never get you anywhere with me.

...
Is this what you call fasting?

Do you really think this will please the LORD?

The rest of the chapter notes that, first and foremost, we must obey his commandments. And if we do (verse 11, NLT),

The LORD will guide you continually,

giving you water when you are dry

and restoring your strength.

So let's offer God our praise, and obey his commandments. Whatever spiritual exercises we do beyond that, let's not lose sight of our primary spiritual requirements.

Pour out your complaints to God

In Psalm 142:2 (NLT), David says

I pour out my complaints before him

and tell him all my troubles.

In our day-to-day interactions, we likely try to avoid doing this to other people. After all, who wants to hear our constant complaining?

But God does not become annoyed with us the same way other people might. In fact, pouring out our complaints to God is a useful way to ensure that we are praying in "truth and spirit," and not just rattling over elegant sounding pray-like sentences.

And if we pour out our complaints to God, he will guide us. As David says in Psalm 142:3 (NLT),

When I am overwhelmed,

you alone know the way I should turn.

"Sinners in the hands of an angry God"

I previously posted about unpleasant Bible verses. In this post, I draw attention to an unpleasant sermon by famed American preacher Jonathan Edwards. The sermon, entitled "Sinners in the hands of an angry God," was first delivered in 1741, and is widely considered the most famous sermon ever delivered on American soil.

This Wikipedia article provides a good summary of its content, including the sermon's famous line,

"There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God."

Many people struggle with Bible passages that command us to "fear" God. What does that mean? Does that conflict with the concept of a loving God? Indeed, the very idea of a God we must "fear" seems ... unfashionable.

Well, "Sinners in the hands of an angry God" makes it very clear why we should fear God. (Audio readings and pdf transcripts of the sermon can be downloaded here.)

Make sure to read (or listen to) the whole sermon, because, as frightening as much of it is, the ending provides hope, and it explains why "fearing" God remains consistent with the idea of a loving God.

A road map for righteous living

Despite the apparent complexities of the Bible, many passages distill things down to simple advice on how we should live. Here's an example from Psalm 50, here's an example from Isaiah 33, here's an example from Ezekiel 18, and here's an example from Hebrews 2.

This post notes another example from the prophet Micah. Now, Micah is most famous for Chapter 5, which, approximately 700 years before the birth of Jesus, predicts tiny, insignificant Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah.

But turning to Micah 6:8 (NLT), we find an excellent road map for righteous living.

O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
    and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
    and to walk humbly with your God.

If you seek a Bible verse to write down and memorize, Micah 6:8 is a good candidate!

Don't focus on the perishable

Sometimes we struggle to advance spiritually because we focus on the wrong stuff. But how can we tell the difference between right and wrong stuff? On one hand, drawing that distinction should be simple, but, on the other hand, our sins often cloud our ability to tell the difference.

To tell whether our focus is right or wrong in God's eyes, a useful metric comes from Jeremiah 10:11 (NLT), where God says,

Your so-called gods, who did not make the heavens and earth, will vanish from the earth and from under the heavens.

So we should ask ourselves: Will the thing or situation occupying my focus exist in 1 year? 5 years? 10 years? 100 years? More generally, is the thing I am focused on perishable?

If we focus more on perishable things or situations than we do on God, then that misplaced focus prevents our spiritual advancement.

Instead, let's focus on the unperishable!

The final chapter of Hosea

The book of the prophet Hosea definitely qualifies as unpleasant Bible material! Using Hosea's promiscuous, adulterous wife as a metaphor, God, speaking through Hosea, spends thirteen chapters chastising his followers for their unfaithfulness.

But then we arrive at the final chapter. It's only nine verses, so read the whole thing. But I see verses 2, 4, and 9 (NLT) as the highlights.

Verse 2

Bring your confessions, and return to the LORD.

Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us,

so that we may offer you our praises."

Verse 4

The LORD says,

“Then I will heal you of your faithlessness;

my love will know no bounds,

for my anger will be gone forever."

Verse 9

Let those who are wise understand these things.

Let those with discernment listen carefully.

The paths of the LORD are true and right,

and righteous people live by walking in them.

But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.

These verses summarize so much about what faith, and prayer, are all about. Let us reflect upon Hosea chapter 14, and especially these three verses, today in our prayers.

Seeking God with urgency

The Bible commands that we actively seek God. The Bible also advises that our spiritual journey is an ongoing process, one that requires constant vigilance. That much is fairly familiar to consistent Bible readers.

But the Bible also stresses that we seek God with a sense of urgency. Turning to Isaiah 55:6 (NLT),

Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.

Implicit in those lines is that our chances for repentance are running out. We shouldn't punt on the opportunity to grow spiritually.

Today, let us adopt this principle of urgency into our prayer lives. If we have a chance to pray right now, then we should pray right now!