Ep384. The End of All Things.
Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.
“The end of all things is near,” says Peter (1 Pet 4:7).
Wow. What will he tell us about the end? A vision of Armageddon? New insight into the rapture? A prophecy that the world will self-destruct?
Nope. Listen to the rest of Peter’s statement.
“The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray” (1 Peter 4:7).
Pray? What a letdown. I want to know what Peter knows about the end of the world. But he’s not telling. Just pray, he says. So today, let’s consider what he says about the motive and two requirements for prayer.
Two thousand years ago, Peter said our motive for praying should be because the end is near. It must be a lot closer now. Sometimes watching the news, I wonder how long the world can last.
But Peter is’t peddling conspiracy theories about the end. He’s not suggesting we become preppers, or take hard-line positions on vaccinations, or build fortified retreats in the wilderness. He doesn’t lecture on how to read the signs of the times. No, he suggests we pray.
So what are his requirements to pray? He says: Be clear-minded. Be self-controlled.
First, clear-minded. I’m not sure why Peter thinks mental confusion might hinder prayer, though I agree there is much unclear thinking among Christians. I’ve read Christian books on biblical inerrancy, sexuality, abortion, political tribalism, and what the gospels really mean. It’s all a bit confusing.
In my twenties, a friend raised in the same conservative evangelical culture as I rejected Christianity. His take: legalism, an anti-intellectual stance, and the insular culture made Christianity irrelevant in a modern, scientific, evolutionary era.
I said to him, “We were not taught historic Christianity. Not at all! It was a version based on changeable cultural norms and intuitions that suited the way they thought and the way they wanted to live . Even their scripture interpretation was based on an early 20th century conservative way of thinking, not on timeless truth.”
I continued, “Before rejecting Christianity, look at two thousand years of Christian history and thought, not just a recent, culturally conditioned version of the faith.”
For me, thinking clearly about Christianity has been a life-long project. Trying to separate truth from culture. Wheat from chaff. Gold from gravel.
Peter’s second requirement for prayer? Be self-controlled. This is a problem for moderns like me. Being self-controlled means not overeating, not watching internet porn, not surrendering to empty despair. Not giving way to anger in relationships, or to hate in politics.
To be clear-minded and self-controlled is to choose what I think about and to choose how I act. To follow Paul’s advice to think about what is noble, right, pure, and lovely (Phil 4:8). To choose a way of life that follows Christ.
Let’s pray.
O father, Peter tells us to pray because the end of all things is near. He urges us to be clear-minded and self-controlled.
We ask for the gift of clear thinking. Give us discernment when we surf the net and watch the news. Help us see the difference between truth and lies, between news and opinion, between sober judgments and baseless accusations.
Help us see the difference between our weird and wandering culture and the kind of Christianity you would have us follow.
Give us the grace of self-control. Help us eat healthy, without overeating. Help us to avoid doom scrolling and mindless surfing. Form us, shape us, mold us by your word and your truth and your love until we become fully human, restored into the image of Christ.
And at the end of all things may we find our refuge in you.
Amen.
I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.
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