I read a quote by Hudson Taylor a couple days ago. He said, 'When we work, we work, but when we pray, God works.' I have been pondering the truth of this statement since. Is working wrong? Should I give up doing everything and just pray that God will do it for me? Does God desire for me to be lazy? But doesn't James 2:17 say, "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead?" At the same time doesn't Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God. ...".
Do you experience the struggle to figure this out? My discipler/spiritual mentor once taught me that when I supposedly hear something 'Christian', never accept it until I have wrestled with it. Many times we will read one piece of scripture and find another that seems to contradict the first. My mentor exhorted me to live in the tension of the scripture, because that's where spiritual growth and understanding are acquired.
So I have been pondering Taylor's quote and wrestling with whether prayer replaces work. So far, what I have begun to understand is that it is a matter of trust in either self or God. I read 2 Chronicles Chapter 20 this week . Here, the kingdom of Judah discovers the pending attack it will face from 3 enemy kingdoms, described as 'a great multitude'.
Naturally, Jehoshaphat, Judah's king, is afraid, but what is odd to me is that the scriptures do not tell us that he prepared to evacuate the city, nor did he begin to ready his army, but he 'was afraid and set his face to seek help from the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.' Moreover, the King, before all the peoples, prays to the LORD acknowledging God's power and rule over the kingdom and gives an account of God's promise to His people. God replies through a prophet that He will be with them as they go out to battle, but they will not need to fight. The next morning they go with Jehoshaphat's exhortation to 'believe in the Lord your God'. He also sends them with people who will sing praise to God as they walk to battle. Please read the marvelous thing that occurs in verses 22-24.
Another verse that came to mind is from 1 Samuel 16:7 that God looks at our hearts, which contain what we trust, our joys, our fears, our worries, and our sin. So prayer is not an act by which I force God to do what I should be doing. Rather it is an act of faith, which ought to surrender to God myself, my strength, my wisdom, my intentions, my sin and declare God's Might, God's Authority, and God's Righteousness over whatever I need to do. And then, do it trusting that God is in control.
This sounds to good to be true. I don't fully trust this understanding. I don't have that much faith. I want it though. I want to fully trust that God is in control and I am not. Now, standing here trying to grasp it and live it, all I have is one thing. What's bringing me closer and closer to trusting God is what He did at the cross. My lack of faith comes from the fact that I don't deserve the privilege of prayer. But Jesus died at the cross to buy me that privilege. As the old hymn sings, 'Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.' What grace is this? I owe him my strength that He would give me His strength to live and serve and see His glory. What grace is this I find in my Lord Jesus? So, I will pray not to see my glory, but his glory.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
What your discipler described is called exegesis and hermeneutics. How you interpret and study Scripture is essential especially in community. When you read commentaries, study in groups, you are joining the body of Christ and wrestling with tradition and interpretation.
One classic example is Jeremiah 29: look at what the exiles wanted to do and what God commanded them to do. Communities can misuse God's word to further their own agenda but ultimately we must challenge ourselves and ask "how is related to my love for God and neighbor?"
Your post also reminded me of 2Chron 16
2 Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the LORD's temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 3 "Let there be a treaty between me and you," he said, "as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me."
...
7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Were not the Cushites [g] and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen [h] ? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war."
Post a Comment