Prayer without blemish

In the system of animal sacrifices commanded by God in the Old Testament, he stresses that the people should not take short cuts by offering "blemished" animals (Deuteronomy 17:1, KJV),

Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the Lord thy God.

Jesus, by presenting himself as the ultimate and eternal sacrifice, does away with that system of animal sacrifices. But we still offer "sacrifices" in the forms of our prayers. And to that end, the same warning applies: Our prayers should not be "blemished." That is, our prayers must not be phony, or boastful, or half-hearted.

Unfortunately, we're all guilty of occasionally offering "blemished" prayers, which speaks to our sinful natures. To avoid those blemished prayers, let us try to follow the advice in Psalm 95:6 (KJV),

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

How to live, and how to repent

In Colossians 3:17 (KJV), Paul gives clear, concise advice regarding how we should conduct our lives,

Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

It's not complicated advice, but we seem to fail to heed it every day! What to do when we fail to live according in that manner? We must repent, and Psalm 79:8 offers a model for how to do that,

Remember not [our] iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily [come to] us: for we are brought very low.

This prayer, like Paul's instruction, is not complicated. God does not require that we be complicated! Rather, he requires that our hearts be aligned with his. Let us use the two verses posted here as guidance for how to live, and how to repent.

Avoiding being at ease

My previous post covered the pursuit for spiritual joy. But in this post, I want to mention the need to avoid earthly comfort. That does not mean we should avoid earthly successes, but we must avoid letting those earthly successes crowd out our pursuit of spiritual joy.

Consider, for example, Job, who, at the beginning of the book, has tremendous earthly possessions and successes. Then, as part of a spiritual test, God allows Satan to take it all away. At one point in his lengthy discourses, Job laments (Job 16:12, KJV),

I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.

For many of us, when we find ourselves "at ease," our spiritual zeal can begin to wane. Heavenly afflictions might serve to refocus our spiritual efforts, but let us attempt a spiritual quickening before those afflictions arrive. We can do so by praying along the lines (Psalm 143:11, KJV),

Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake.

Trying to achieve spiritual joy

Sometimes it might seem like other people have found a plane of spiritual joy that we, ourselves, cannot find. At those times, it is helpful to know that David, with his heart seemingly aligned with God's, struggled with the same thing!

To illustrate, consider David's words in Psalm 70:4 (KJV),

Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.

In those words, David articulates the mindset of one who experiences spiritual joy. But in the very next verse he says (verse 5, KJV),

But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying.

Evidently, David struggled to achieve the spiritual joy he saw in others. And if David could experience those feelings, then we certainly can, too. The answer is to pray something along the lines of those words in verses 4 and 5. And do so without ceasing!

The reason for "good works"

Paul makes clear, repeatedly, that we do good works not to earn God's favor. Indeed, God's favor is a free gift that we neither earned nor deserved. In Ephensian 2:8-9 (KJV), Paul states,

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

So then where do good works fit into a spiritual life? In verse 10, Paul explains,

We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

So good works do not cause us to enter God's favor. Rather, the fact that we have God's favor causes us to walk in obedience. This reversal of the cause/effect relationship between works and salvation is a central part of Jesus' teachings, and Paul expands upon it in his letters.

So in our prayers, let us thank God for our undeserved salvation, and then let us walk in obedience as a sign of our thankfulness for that salvation.

Abiding in God

In modern times, it's fashionable to view our spiritual journey as trying to form a "relationship" with God. On one hand, that's not a bad line of thinking. After all, trying to form a "relationship" likely means we are engaging in prayer, which, I believe, is the key to deciphering God's will.

But on the other hand, the Bible doesn't use that terminology of forming a relationship, probably because the meaning of "relationship" is somewhat fuzzy. But then, what are we trying to accomplish in our spiritual journey?

In a recent sermon, John MacArthur argues that, while the answer is all over the Bible, it is most explicitly stated in John chapter 15. Specially, in verse 4 (KJV) of that chapter, Jesus states,

Abide in me.

And then in verse 5 (KJV),

He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

And then in verse 7 (KJV),

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Verse 10 (KJV) hammers home what "abiding" means,

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love.

The idea of "abiding" is more concrete than the tougher-to-define idea of "relationship." And if gives us a specific path to follow, namely obedience to God. 

A prayer God won't refuse

The Bible states that, to be answered by God, our prayers must conform to his will. So praying for money, health, or happiness might not work if our hearts aren't in tune with God. James (4:3, KJV) makes this clear,

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

So what's a prayer that God is not likely to refuse? Consider Psalm 43:3 (KJV),

Send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

It's a simple plead for wisdom and guidance, and a great guide for daily prayer.