Seeing spiritual things

Our senses, of course, are designed to detect physical, temporal things. For example, we open our eyes, and we see trees, buildings, streets, etc. And that's how we perceive the world.

But an important element of a spiritual journey is training our senses to detect spiritual, rather than physical, things. For an example, consider 2 Kings 6. That chapter finds the Syrian army attempting to capture the prophet Elisha. One of Elisha's assistants reports to Elisha that their camp is surrounded by the Syrian army.

But Elisha responds to the assistant (2 Kings 6:16, KJV),

Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

Of course, the assistant must be confused, because Elisha does not have an army. At least, not a physical one! Elisha then prays (2 Kings 6:17, KJV),

LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.

And after that prayer (2 Kings 6:17, KJV),

The LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

The lesson seems to be this: God's power is greater than any earthly power. And we must, through prayer, train our eyes to see that power!

The nearness of God

Sometimes when we struggle to pray, our prayers can feel like they just evaporating right above our heads, never reaching God's ears. At those times, God can seem very distant.

But the Bible speaks repeatedly that God, despite being the creator of time and space, is very near to those who seek him. For example, Psalm 145:18 (KJV) says,

The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

("Nigh," of course, is an archaic version of the word "near.") Paul expands on this theme in Acts 17:27 (KJV), where he explains the reason that God placed humans at the center of his creation. In Paul's explanation, God wants people to

...seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us.

("Haply" is an archaic version of the word "perhaps.") Essentially, Paul is explaining that, while seeking God requires work on our part, God is near to us as we undertake that work. Keeping that in mind can greatly enhance our prayer lives!

The still small voice

When we inevitably find ourselves doubting our faith, where do we turn? Many people, myself included, turn to 1 Corinthians 15. But in this point, I'd also like to encourage consulting 1 Kings 19.

To set the scene, Elijah, fleeing from Ahab and Jezebel, finds himself in the wilderness at Mount Horeb. He's all alone and in need of God's encouragement. When we need encouragement, do we expect some substantial demonstration from God? Some overwhelming miracle, confirming once and for all that God exists? Elijah probably did.

First comes a great storm, but "the LORD was not in the wind." Then comes an earthquake, but "the LORD was not in the earthquake." Next comes a fire, but "the LORD was not in the fire."

So God spoke through none of those temporal means! Finally, in 1 Kings 19:12-13 (KJV),

And after the fire a still small voice. And ... Elijah heard it

A still small voice -- the exact opposite of the tremendous, substantial sign Elijah might have expected. And just as important, Elijah heard it.

Just as Elijah, we must train our ears to detect spiritual sounds that might be "still" and "small." Why does God speak this way? Why does he not speak with overwhelming sounds of thunder? Perhaps because humans, at their core, are spiritual beings, and therefore humans are more likely to respond to spiritual, as opposed to temporal, stimuli. After all, the book of Revelation makes clear that, even in the face of overwhelming temporal demonstrations of God's existence, many people still rebel against him. But who could rebel against that "still small voice," if their ears were inclined to hear it?

(Note: Charles Spurgeon issued on excellent sermon that explored 1 Kings 19.)

God knows the heart

Acts 5 tells the (uncomfortable) story of the married couple Ananias and Sapphira. After selling some property, they donate some of the proceeds to the church. But they tell the church that they are donating all of the proceeds.

Peter notes (in verse 4) that it's fine if they want to donate just part of the proceeds. In fact, it's fine if they don't want to sell the property at all. The sin is claiming to have donated all. As Peter notes (Acts 5:4, KJV),

Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

Ananias and Sapphira then fall dead.

This story fits into a larger theme: God sees what's in our hearts. We might be able to fool other people with lies and deceptions, but we can't fool God. As noted in Proverbs 15:11 (NLT),

Even death and destruction hold no secrets from the LORD. How much more does he know the human heart!

Amazingly, it can be difficult for us to be honest with God even in our prayers! But recall, God wants us to worship in spirit and truth.