Prayers that Move Mountains

I encounter seasons when prayer comes as naturally as breathing -- when I find myself desiring to talk with God about everything. And then there are times, many of them, when praying becomes so difficult I struggle to find even rote words to say.  Though prayer is simply communication with God,  God uses our prayers to accomplish his purposes on earth.  He doesn’t need them, and our prayers don’t change his decretive will, but he works through them to transform lives and circumstances.

Jesus taught that if we ask anything in his name, according to God’s will, he’ll do it. Using the analogy of casting a mountain into the sea he made his point -- that God is able and willing to accomplish the seemingly impossible through prayers of faith, prayed according to the will of God. When the disciples were praying in the upper room, Peter’s chains were loosed and the prison doors opened. Prayers uttered by Jesus and the apostles brought healing, deliverance and salvation. 

As I walk through the Gospels, following Jesus on an exciting journey from one miracle to another, I watch in awe from a distance as he not only lived out the Word, but as the Word transformed the world and the people in it. And the miraculous didn't end with his death and resurrection. In fact, I put on  walking shoes to journey with Paul and the apostles through Acts and find that I need running shoes instead. Keeping up with their travels, and the miracles they performed as well as the difficulties they encountered along the way is like moving from one climatic event to another with little rest.

Fast forward a couple of thousand years to my own life. Though I  believe that signs and wonders, in the dramatic way they were performed in the NT, have ceased. I don't believe that God has ceased being God! He still has the power to move mountains. And though I may not witness miraculous healings on a daily basis, I see and experience God’s power at work in the world. The impossible becomes possible. A declared atheist embraces Christ. Healing comes to a marriage once deemed hopeless. A loved one receives news that he's cancer free. Friends step out in faith to adopt an orphan. Longtime enemies move toward reconciliation. God amazingly provides for our needs when there’s no logical solution in sight – we’re suddenly offered the “right” job, a raise, and new opportunities. We pray for our church, our communities, our world and we see the miraculous as people come to know Christ, neighbors work together to bring order after a devastating storm, world leaders make a wise decision.

Behind all these actions, people are praying in Jesus' name. We cry out for God to intervene and then often fail to notice when change occurs. Not because we’re indifferent, but because change happens so gradually and in such a different way than we’d imagined that it’s almost unrecognizable. Unless we’re carefully watching each day, we miss the miracle God unleashes through our prayers.  But to the watchful eye, it's like a beautiful sunset unfolding in our sight.

Recently a close friend sent me a video of time lapse photography of nature. The pictures, taken every few minutes over the course of many days, didn’t reveal impressive changes on their own. Yet when melded together in a video they showed an amazing transformation. The fog, which rolled in slowly throughout the day, came to resemble a raging sea when shown in fast forward. The sun, seemingly immoble, danced across the sky.

            I wonder what we’d see if we zeroed in on a specific part of our lives that we’d prayed long and hard about, then placed the scenes together in time lapse motion so that five years was reduced to five minutes or an hour. I think we’d be surprised at the incredible changes.

God is at work in our lives and through our prayers. We can be absolutely certain of his love for us and his ability to move any mountain he chooses. So by faith we persevere in prayer, refusing to focus on the seemingly unchanging circumstances but on the God who is able to change all things. At the right moment, sometimes when we least expect it, he breaks through with the miraculous. Then when we look back, gathering snapshots from the past, we'll  see with clarity the movement, the action, the transformation that was slowly taking place all along.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” Eph. 3:20-21

God is Good All the Time

   “God is good all the time.” Whenever I hear the lines to that song, I think of my sister-in-law who determinedly quoted it when she was diagnosed with cancer, reminding herself and others that walking by faith means taking his character at his word rather than allowing circumstances to determine the truth. For someone to be good all the time, it means that there’s not a single element of darkness in them. God is obviously the only one who can claim this title.  In James, we’re reminded that he "doesn’t change like shifting shadows." He’s the same good God today that he was thousands of years ago and he won’t be any different in the future. His goodness permeates his every thought, intention, plan and motive.

    In his goodness he's devised a plan for each of us. It’s easy to fall into the world’s trap of thinking that we’re all creating our own destiny, forging our own way. There are people, even Christians, who draw up future plans that unfold in story-tale fashion with such great similarity to their initial desires we find it fascinating to say the least. Then there are others, like myself, who try as they might to force future plans end up watching them flop to the ground, where they suddenly, almost miraculously, morph into something different.  

   These foiled attempts at determining my future are the ones that continually remind me that God is not only good, but he has a master plan. He’s the one who determines my steps, my true destiny. I still work and pray, set goals and move toward them, but all the while resting in the promise that he will fulfill them according to his will.

     Holding on and letting go – that’s the tension of the Christian life. We’re commanded to live our lives to the fullest, investing ourselves heartily in all that we do. But we're to do it with a lose grip and a surrendered heart that ultimately, like my sister-in-law, proclaims, “Not my will but yours be done.”

     God is good all the time. I’m in the process of holding on and letting go, remembering as I struggle with releasing my desires that God desires only the best for my life. He is faithful, and I can trust him. 

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Abraham Talked with God

    We’ve been working on describing people in my English conversation class – their hair, height, weight, overall appearance. It’s interesting to hear the different impressions one person can make. In one opinion the man is tall; the other describes him as average height. One says she’s young, another middle aged. Short hair to one is perceived as long in another’s mind. And on it goes.

     In reading through Genesis I’ve come to the story of Abraham. As children we learned songs about him as Father Abraham, the wife of Sarah, father of Isaac, the man who left Ur of the Chaldeans and followed God to a place of promise. We’ve memorized the story of his great faith test as he laid his own son, his only son, on the altar as a sacrifice.  And we’ve been told that it was through him that all the peoples on the earth were blessed, that he’s the father of many nations, a man who trusted God.

     Though he wasn’t always old, my impression of him remains as an elderly man with long white hair, matching beard and wrinkled, sun-dried skin from years of travel. Yet he was so much more --a living breathing person who felt things, had desires and dreams. Waiting almost thirty years for the birth of Isaac impacted his life, transforming him into the mature man we remember with the white beard and steady faith.  Not much is revealed about his emotions, leaving us to fill in the gaps with our own interpretations of how he handled life’s struggles.  Was he angry, frustrated, disappointed? Did he often grow restless or irritable? Or was he good natured, going through the motions of each day with little thought of the future? Did he and Sarah discuss their dreams with doubts or with certainty as they waited year after year? 
     Reading along this morning I came to a verse that caused me to actually think about him differently. He stopped being one dimensional and took on a whole new persona in my mind as I witnessed him not only talking with God but reasoning with him, challenging him to remember his promises. The verse reads, “Then Abraham pressed his request further.” Here I saw Abraham out in the mountains of what would later become Israel talking with the Lord about the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.  After hearing the Lord’s warning that he’d destroy the city if it proved to be infiltrated with wickedness, Abraham’s heart was stirred with compassion. Not only was he concerned about his nephew Lot, but for all the other righteous people, if there were any, who would die along with the wicked.

     In so much of the Old Testament we mainly get glimpses of people falling down in the presence of God, worshipping him in fear. We see them trembling on their faces before the holy God. And while Abraham did the same, worshiping God and giving him a sacrifice, we also see him engaging in discussion with him, much like we witness the disciples doing in the New Testament. He’s having a talk with God about withholding his judgment and, in it, reminds God of his goodness. “Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

     Abraham was calling God to be faithful to his character and his word, something that at first glance comes across as arrogant, absurd. But God wasn’t offended in any way by his boldness, just as he wasn’t put off by the boldness of others who begged for mercy in the New Testament. In fact, God revealed, or unveiled, more and more of his compassion with each succeeding request.  His forbearance is contrary to my human nature which displays irritability and takes offense when pressed too much for mercy. "Enough is enough," I cry when someone dares to keep asking for more. But this wasn’t, isn’t, the case with God at all. Abraham pressed him six times for an extension of his mercy, beginning with fifty people and ending with only ten. “Finally, Abraham said, ‘Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?’” And God responded, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

     Are you getting the same message I am? That God never wanted to destroy the wicked in the first place, and that relenting was as much a relief to him as it was to Abraham. That Abraham had come to know God's heart through years of walking with him and was voicing God’s own desires without even realizing it. God says that he is a God of compassion who doesn’t delight in punishing the wicked. Abraham was discovering this through his conversation with God, just as Jonah did as he encountered God’s dealing with the Ninevites, just as Moses did as he interceded for the stubborn Israelites, just as you and I do as we go to God time and again with the same requests for mercy.

     My husband gave me an article by Tim Keller about the importance of boldness in persevering prayer. In it, he quotes Thomas Goodwin, a Puritan, who emphasizes that God wants us not only to take him at his word but to hold him to it. He writes, “Do not leave him alone. Pester him, as it were, with his own promise. Quote the Scripture to him. And, you know, God delights to hear us doing it, as a father likes to see this element in his own child who has obviously been listening to what his father has been saying.”

     It’s astounding to know that regardless of the day God’s promises are unchanging. If he’s said he’s going to do it, he’s going to do it. Nothing will ever alter that. And God doesn't tire of hearing us pray and ask him for help, for healing, for grace to press on. Do you know anyone else like that in the entire universe? I don’t! Even my husband who's willing to endure mental torture listening to me rattle on and on about concerns and desires reaches a point of frustration and boredom. He’s heard it once, twice, a million times and he’s ready to move on.

     But God doesn’t become frustrated or lose interest. He’s there waiting, even longing for us to come into his presence, to stay there as long as we want, to say whatever is on our minds, to spend time with us. He’s not in a hurry and never will be. We can’t reach him at a bad time. His perfection doesn’t make him despise our many flaws, but rather moves him to greater mercy and compassion. And it's not the kind of mercy that causes him feel sorry for us but the kind that moves him to action to help us dig out of the pits in life. He wants to see us grow and bloom, to spread our wings and fly.

     He didn’t make us plastic creatures who come before him and recite some generic prayers. No, he created us with passion and desires that move us to heartfelt communion with him that sometimes, many times, pleads our case before him with the same passion we’ve seen in our children as they share their longings with us. He’s told us all about himself and his will in his word and he’s excited, I think, when we come to him standing firmly on these promises and reminding him that since he’s promised it, we’re expecting it and we’re holding him to it, in his time. He’s not our puppet and won’t be told what to do. But he’s way, way too big to be offended by our constant needs and requests.

     Abraham was a man who had great faith, who dared to take God at his Word. He wasn’t afraid to speak from his heart. He talked with God, just like we do, and God moved mountains in his life, just like he does, and wants to do in ours, if we’ll ask him.  

  

Finishing Well

    "It’s one thing to start something and another to finish it." I've heard that line throughout my life, but my fourth grade teacher said it the most often. Whenever we’d grow tired of completing our work or would do it half heartedly she’d break into her mantra, “Once a job is first begun, do it well until it’s done. Be it big or be it small, do it well or not at all!” For some reason, her philosophy made an impression on me, and hearing her repeat it only made me more determined to finish what I’d started.

     I’ve experienced my share of quitting, of doing sloppy work, of finishing, but not doing my best. And it wasn’t until becoming a Christian that I was able to somewhat grasp the importance of finishing well, realizing that God’s grace was the essential ingredient needed for perseverance. Before, I’d attempted things in my own strength. As long as my fleshly passion was strong I had the drive to get it done. But as soon as I lost interest in my pursuit, determination vanished.

     Both our girls run cross country, so I’ve had the chance to watch them run many races. One of the things I like best about them is the mass following of spectators from one place on the trail to the other. The crowd forms a wave of motion as we make our way from one location to the next, standing in one spot only long enough to cheer them on and then dashing off to the next visible place along the trail.

There's excitement at these curves and bends, but it pales in comparison to what it’s like to wait for them at the finish line. Anticipation is intense as we stand anxiously waiting, hoping that our runner will be next around the bend.
     The sight of them elicits both thrill and fear. With red faces, shoulders beginning to slump, they look like a wind could easily blow them off course undoing all they've accomplished. That is until their eyes catch a glimpse of the finish line. At the moment it comes into focus, an amazing transformation occurs in their expression, their demeanor. Now instead of focusing on how tired they are and wondering how much further they have to go, they get a glimpse of the victory awaiting them on the other side. Awareness increases, especially of those just in front and beside them. And the last vestige of energy is tapped as they oftentimes sprint with determination for the finish line. Pictures of our younger daughter, just as she’s caught sight of my face and realized she was almost done, are priceless reminders of this intense longing to finish well.

     Lots of people like to say that “life is a journey”. But, I think of it more like the apostle Paul did as a race…that we’re all runners competing for the prize. We’re running with a purpose to live our lives for God’s glory. We’re not just stumbling along, aimlessly going about life. We’re running with determination and drive to ensure that all we’ve been given is invested and used in the greatest way possible for God’s Kingdom. 

    I don’t know about you, but I want to finish well. Not only because I want to please Christ, but also because I’ve already invested so much into following him. I want to follow hard, close and fast. And more than anything, I don’t want to give up and quit before I’ve reached it there. I don’t want to get to heaven and realize that if I would have just persevered a little longer I could have seen fruit in my life or impacted others to make the kind of difference God intended. That's all I'm taking with me -- no possessions, no worldly treasures -- just spiritual fruit and blessings that come from abiding in him. This race called life does have a finish line. Though I can't see it yet, I know it's there -- just around the bend. And I'm certain  he'll be there, just as he is every day, cheering me on as I cross it and claim my prize.

     

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to a get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I don not fight like a boxer beating the air." 1 Cor. 9:24-27