Dear Faith Family,
Certain circumstances compel us to pray. While we may or may not be accustomed to everyday conversations with our heavenly Father, two particular conditions drive us to plead our case no matter our daily habits: experience of evil and future aspirations.
We all experience the evil in our world. Whether the sin is perpetrated against us or others (like those in Uvalde, Ukraine, and in so many unnamed places), these experiences evoke a variety of responses. From fear to grief, anger to heartache, disgust to desperation. And, as we learned through Lent, in the depths of these experiences, we both cry out (i.e., pray) and find that we are heard and held.
"GOD met me more than halfway; he freed me from my anxious fears...When I was desperate, I called out, and GOD got me out of a tight spot...GOD keeps an eye on his friends; his ears pick up their cries...Is anyone crying for help? GOD is listening, ready to rescue...If your heart is broken, you'll find GOD right there; if you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath...The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth."
(Ps. 34:4,6,15,17-18,16)
When we experience evil, we pray. Every one of us. But that's not the only time when every one of us prays. We also pray when we can see glimpses of our future. Clouds of complacency lift, fogginess of fatigue dissipate, and our vision is clarified with aspirations of redemption for all that life could or might or will be. Here too, we pray with hopes for tomorrow in the security of God's goodness.
"Who out there has a lust for life? Can't wait each day to come upon beauty?...Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see--how good GOD is. Blessed [already happy] are you who run to him. GOD pays for each slave's freedom; no one who runs to him loses out."
(Ps. 34:12,8,22)
Whether in response to evil or in anticipation of the future, we all pray. And you know what is fantastic, praying in such circumstances, knowing you’ve been heard, your desires known, your petition accepted, your person welcomed, we learn to pray with boldness and vigor.
"Look at him; give him your warmest smile. Never hide your feelings from him...GOD's angel sets up a circle of protection around us while we pray...He's your bodyguard, shielding every bone; not even a finger gets broken."
(Ps. 34:5,7,20)
You could say we pray like young lions in search of our prey. Full of confidence and strength, there is no doubt that what we seek, we will find...and take hold of it--whether justice or success. At least that's what the psalmist in the middle of this "all-of-us-prayer" seems to think!
"Young lions on the prowl suffer want, get hungry,
but GOD-seekers are full of GOD, lacking no good thing."
(Ps. 34:10)
The psalmist, not wanting to temper our passion or courage even a single degree, refocuses our zeal towards its effective goal: “seeking GOD.” No matter what compels us to pray, our aim is nothing less than life with God, God himself. And, as Jesus taught us, when our vigor and confidence are thus focused, we’ll get what we are after:
"And don't you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask him...when you pray!"
(Lk. 11:13)
May we pray like focused lions this week and always. Tasting, seeing, and sharing the goodness of God over evil and in our future. Love you, faith family! God bless.