Ep.168: Book Review. Boase: The Prayer of Faith.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

Today, let’s look at the book The Prayer of Faith by Leonard Boase (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1976). First published in 1950, the author rewrote, rearranged, and republished in 1976. He comments on his revision: “The more things change, the more they stay the same. The car has been re-upholstered but the engine’s the same.” (p. 9)

Boase describes prayer as a rope. The purpose of the rope is to pull. It is the pull that matters, not the rope’s color or age or hairiness or smell. In prayer, love is the pull, the most important part. We exert the pull by loving God, as we do thoroughly and with due attention whatever we happen to be occupied with–work, play, suffering, or having a time of formal prayer where we pay attention to God’s presence.

Boase says that the first stage of prayer is usually “mental prayer”–that is, thinking about God or meditating on scripture to experience his presence. Mental prayer may succeed for a time, maybe even a long time. But then comes the darkness. (p. 23)

He describes the darkness in a chapter titled “Frustration”, which begins: “There is a crisis in the life of prayer which, for many, spells disaster. There is a desert on this Golden Journey, where nearly everyone wanders lost and parched, and some die of thirst.” (p. 20).

He continues, “We find ourselves lost, irretrievably lost, in the desert. No efforts, however frantic, seem to be of any avail. Not only do we feel no taste for prayer, but even if, spurred by an uneasy conscience, we override the distaste, we seem to have lost the knack.” (p. 24) Boase says about this darkness, “. . .we find that when we try to love God by thinking about him, our thoughts are cloudy and confused, and we cannot focus them on him or anything relating to him. This frustration. . . causes distaste and aversion to prayer.”

I remember an early experience with this darkness. I decided to pray the Lord’s Prayer for a whole semester. But three quarters of the way through that semester, I was still unable to get past the first phrase, “Hallowed be your name”. I tried to pray almost every day, but my prayer was distracted, inattentive, unfocussed. With anger and frustration and disappointment in myself, I said to God, “I guess I’m just not able to pray. It doesn’t work for me.”

I felt God reply “I have enjoyed your prayer this semester. It’s been good to hear you pray, ‘Hallowed be your name.’”

Father Thomas Green makes a similar point. Suppose you plan to spend your birthday with God, he writes. You set aside the day for him and read scripture and pray and try to be present to God. But the whole day is dry and barren. You show up, but God doesn’t, and it feels like a wasted day. Then, Green says, three days later when you’re sitting on the toilet, you unexpectedly sense God’s presence and he fills you with peace and joy and the water of life.

What is it with this darkness and dryness in prayer? Boase says it’s God working in us to build faith, a faith that helps us be present with God in our spirit, rather than our mind or emotions. God wants us to worship in spirit and truth, so he helps us by letting our mind and emotions go dark, and teaches us a new way of experiencing his presence.

The way through the darkness is to keep on praying, to keep listening in silence for God, to reach out to him with our heart, even when our mind is distracted and our feelings are not engaged.

Leonard Boase calls this the prayer of faith, because it is God’s gift, drawing us into communion with him by a hidden way. Teresa of Avila calls this the dry well. St. John of the Cross calls it the dark night of the soul. If your prayer has begun to be dry or dark, you might find this book helpful.

It’s The Prayer of Faith, by Leonard Boase.

Let’s pray.

Our father, wherever we are on the journey of prayer, we ask you to be our companion and guide. Save us from self-deception, from an unhealthy desire for mystical experiences, from imagining we have found the best way to pray. Above all, whether we pray in light or in darkness, lead us deeper into the prayer of faith.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.167: Psalm 74: Crisis of Faith.

Hello. I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Psalm 73 described the author’s personal crisis of faith. He felt God was giving the wicked great success, and making his own life miserable. Today’s psalm, 74, describes a community crisis of faith, as Israel remembers how the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and destroyed God’s temple. It looked like God rejected his people and his temple, and gave their violent enemy complete success.

Feel the pathos as Israel complains to God about the situation:
Why have you rejected us forever?
Why does your anger smoulder against the sheep of your pasture? (v. 1).
Turn you steps towards these everlasting ruins,
All this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary (v. 3).

It is a long, long road from the comfort of Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd, he leads me beside quiet waters” to this psalm which asks, “Why does your anger smoulder against your sheep?”

Feel the hopelessness in Israel’s memory:
Your foes roared in the temple where you met with us (v. 4a).
They smashed the carved panelling
with their axes and hatchets (v. 6).
They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
they defiled the dwelling-place of your name (v. 7).

And feel their despair when God doesn’t seem to notice or care:
We are given no signs from God;
no prophets are left,
and none of us know how long this will be.
How long will the enemy mock you, God?
Will the foe revile your name forever? (vv. 9-10).

But the poet does not stop his journey at the station of despair. The chaos in the temple, the chaos in Jerusalem, and the chaos in his life of faith remind him of creation, when God overcame the forces of chaos to create an orderly and beautiful world.

Let’s pray.

Our father,

As the poet shifts his focus from the destruction of the temple to your power and your kingship, we say with him:
God, you are our King from long ago,
you bring salvation to the earth (v. 12).
It was you who split open the sea by your power. . .
It was you who crushed the sea monster
and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert (vv. 13-14).

You were not weak at creation, God. You wrestled with the waters of chaos, you wrestled with the sea monster, you overcame the beast and cast it into the desert.

You replaced the primordial darkness with order and beauty and light:
Yours is the day, and yours the night;
you established the sun and moon.
You set the boundaries of the earth,
you made both summer and winter.
You are not a God who leaves things in chaos. You are the author of life, you shine light into the darkness, you create a world with dependable boundaries for the seas and dependable seasons for the climate.

We pray then for our lives, our churches, our society, which are overrun with chaos. Make us a new creation, God. Overcome the darkness, wrestle our monsters to the ground, send us summer and winter, light and darkness according to your design, bring your people out of despair into jubilant hope.

We are the sheep of your pasture, Lord. Lead us from pain and doubt and chaos back to the still waters and green pastures of Psalm 23.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.166: How Not To Pray.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

Luke 18 has one of Jesus’ best-known parables. It goes like this: a Pharisee prayed, “Lord, thank you that I’m not like others –robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even this, this tax collector! . Look at me, O Lord: I fast twice a week and tithe ten percent.” But back in a corner, the tax collector beat his breast for shame, and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

Jesus said, “The tax collector went home justified before God. The Pharisee did not. If you promote yourself, God will demote you. But, if you humble yourself, God will exalt you.”

What did Jesus mean that the tax collector was justified before God? Since the root word of justify is “right” or “righteous”, let’s consider who is right and who is wrong in this story.

The Pharisee compared himself with people who were clearly wrong, and explained to God just how right he was. In contrast, the tax collector said to God, “I’m a sinner. I’ve done pretty much everything wrong.” And in a stunning reversal of right and wrong, Jesus tells us that God accepted the tax collector with all his wrongness, and rejected the Pharisee with all his rightness.

That gets us close to the heart of the story. I think “justify” means that God smiled on the tax collector and thought, “Now there’s someone I can work with.” But he shook his head at the Pharisee and thought, “He’s so full of himself, there’s no room for me in his life!”

Here are some things to note in the story:

First, if you feel you’re doing pretty much everything right, and that you are better than those of us who are blatant sinners, be cautious about presenting your brilliant conclusion to God.

Second, if you feel you’ve done pretty much everything wrong in life, do mention this to this God when you pray. Until you become perfect, “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner” is a very good way to start praying.

Third, God’s primary way of dealing with us is not based on our behavior . The Pharisee spent his life studying scripture and improving his behavior, but apparently, God wanted something else.

Fourth, remember this: Prayer is not just the words we say to God, it is also the tone we adopt in our relationship with him. Do you detect a note of arrogance in the Pharisees’ prayer, “Thank you, God, that I’m not like sinners”? Perhaps God isn’t looking for rigorous spiritual disciplines like fasting and praying and tithing. Maybe God wants soft hearts and sensitive spirits.

Finally, Jesus says God deals with us on the basis of forgiveness. It is his pleasure to extend mercy to those who know they are wrong and say so.

Let’s pray.

Our father, we thank you that we are like other people. However far we have advanced in fasting and tithing and praying, we are still at the beginning with you.

Today, we need you to justify us, to overlook what is wrong in us, to hear our prayer for mercy, and welcome us with your smile and affirmation.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.165: Psalm 73: What is God Good For?

Hello. I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

The poet begins Psalm 73 by stating his traditional belief that God rewards the good. But he soon introduces a shocking new perspective. When he sees how successful the wicked are, he decides that maybe God isn’t so good after all.

Here’s what the poet sees when he looks at the wicked. May you sometimes see the same things.
– The wicked have robust health (v. 4)
– They have fewer troubles than the righteous (v. 5)
– They speak arrogantly against heaven, advocating violence and malice, but God does nothing (v. 6)
– They are popular. People flock to their rallies and praise them (v. 11)
– They say, “God doesn’t see or care” so we can do whatever we want (v. 13)
– And they just keep getting richer and richer. Their stocks go up and mine go down.

Their success breeds shocking arrogance.
Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth (v. 9).

Now compare that with me, says the poet. I keep the covenant, I avoid evil, and what does it get me? God sends me trials every day and threatens punishment if I disobey. He doesn’t make me healthy or wealthy. This is no way to live! Maybe, like the wicked, I should declare my independence from God. Maybe I should quit paying his taxes and observing his rules.

But then the poet worships in the temple, where he finds God’s presence and begins to see things differently.

First, he gets a new perspective on himself. He says, “I’ve been thinking like a donkey”:
When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you, God (v.21).

The writer also gets a new perspective on what happens to those he envies. He says:
. . . then I understood their final destiny (v. 17)
Surely God places them on slippery ground;
he casts them down to ruin.
How suddenly they are destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors (v. 19).

And finally, the poet gets a new perspective on what goodness is. Goodness is not the stuff we accumulate or the independence we fiercely defend. Rather, goodness is found in relationship with God. The poet says to God,
…I am always with you;
you hold my right hand.
you guide me with your counsel . . .
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And on earth I desire nothing beside you (vv. 23-25).

Let’s pray.

Our father, like the poet we have envied the wicked.
– those to whom dishonesty and wealth come easily, while we work hard for a bare living.
– those who are rich and popular, while we are socially awkward and poor.
– those who have good looks and robust health, while we are sick, depressed, and hurting.
– those who live comfortably with the status quo while we struggle with issues of righteousness and justice.

With the poet we are tempted to say,
Surely in vain we have kept our hearts pure
and have washed our hands in innocence.
All day long we have been afflicted,
and every morning you correct us (vv. 13-14).

As we come into your presence today,God, we invite you to change our perspective. Thank you that:
…you are always with us,
you hold us by our hand.
You guide us with your counsel
and you will take us into glory.
Whom have we in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing we desire besides you.
Our flesh and heart may fail,
but you are the strength of our life
and our portion forever (vv. 23-26).

It is good to be near you, O God, our help and our refuge (v. 28).

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.164: The Big Banquet.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

Luke 14 reports that a prominent Pharisee invited Jesus to a Sabbath lunch. A sick man was there, probably because the Pharisees wanted to see if Jesus would break their rules about how to behave on the Sabbath.

Of course, Jesus healed the man. Then he sent him away, because the Pharisees just wanted him as a prop and not as a guest. Facing the Pharisees’ disapproval, Jesus said, “Why shouldn’t I heal a man today? If your ox falls in a well, you would pull it out on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you?”

The Pharisees had no reply, so Jesus gave the host some advice. “When you plan a lunch,” he said, “don’t invite important people, and rich people, and relatives. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then you will have a reward in heaven.”

Oooh. Looks like all-around rudeness here. The Pharisees set up Jesus to heal on the Sabbath so they could complain about his Sabbath-breaking, and Jesus replies by criticizing the guest list.

Then Jesus told this story:

A man prepared a banquet and sent his servant to collect the guests. But all the guests had excuses.

The first one said, “I just bought a field and have to inspect it.” Really? Did this man trust the realtor’s description without bothering to look at the property first? Most people prefer to have a look before signing the deal.

Another invited guest begged off by saying he’d bought five yoke of oxen and wanted to try them out. Another lame excuse. When you buy a used tractor, do you test drive it before you pay for it or after?

Still another guest said, “I just got married, so I can’t come.” What’s up with that excuse? Hard to say.

When the servant reported that no one was coming to the banquet, the master got angry and said, “Go out into the streets and alleys, and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” Soon the servant reported back, “All done. But there’s still room in your banquet hall!” “OK,” said the master, “Go into highways and byways and compel them to come in. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will taste my banquet.”

Let’s pray.

Jesus, the Pharisees tried to sign you up for their banquet of rigid Sabbath rules and frequent hand washing and social distancing from outcasts and the unclean. You went to their luncheon, Lord, but you subverted their program. You rudely rejected their social exclusions and violated their system of rules.

And you extended a counter offer, inviting them to come to God’s banquet. But they made endless lame excuses. God’s banquet didn’t suit their interests or their culture.

Like the Pharisees, Lord, we have served you by throwing banquets for our friends, by social distancing from the poor and needy, by building rules to tell us who’s in and who’s out.

Lord, help us lose our desire for social status. Help us relax our obsession with rules. Help us see the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame. We accept the invitation to your banquet. Help us to be friends with everyone who attends.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.163: Psalm 72: Politics and the Poor.

Hello. I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Psalm 72 is a royal psalm, a psalm about the king of Israel. Part of the king’s job was to represent God to the people by keeping God’s covenant and by creating a just political and economic system. The psalm uses hyperbole to express the king’s greatness: he is compared to the sun and the moon and mountains and rain. The poet prays that the king’s rule will extend from sea to sea, and from the River (v. 8, probably the Euphrates) to the ends of the earth. He prays that the king will reign as long as the sun and moon rule the skies.

One of the king’s responsibilities was to show God’s heart for the poor and needy, for the disadvantaged and the oppressed. His God-given goal was to create a government that constrains the greedy rich and sustains those without resources. God’s desire, expressed through the king, was a socially responsible economy, not a free market where the rich lobby the government to protect their acquisitive greed, leaving the poor defenceless and fending for themselves. The king was not to be a power-hungry, narcissistic, self-promoting despot. He was supposed to be God’s servant for the well-being of the country.

How far ancient Israel strayed from that vision. How far our world has strayed from that vision of good government.

Let’s pray.

Our father, with the poet we pray:
May the mountains bring peace to the people,
and the hills the fruit of righteousness (v. 3).
The majestic Rocky Mountains with their green foothills and emerald lakes watch over our land, reminding us that you watch over our lives, bringing peace and prosperity. Be our guard, our guide, our source of beauty.

The poet says of the king,
May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the earth (v. 6).
Teach our rulers that true strength is not acquiring and hoarding power, but in building a nation of peace and justice. May our leaders be like showers that water the earth, not like acid rain that impoverishes and destroys.

The poet describes the king’s care for the poor:
    He will take pity on the weak and the needy
       and save them from death.
    He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
       for precious is their blood in his sight (vv. 13-14).

Our father, in your sight the blood of the poor is precious. Every street person dying of fentanyl overdose, every indigenous person harmed by police violence, every pensioner killed by COVID, every woman scarred by domestic violence: each of these lives is precious in your sight, Lord. Rescue them from oppression and violence. Rescue our society.

We remember those forced by COVID into unemployment. We remember immigrants and the poorly paid working in COVID infected meat packing plants. We remember the aged facing the pandemic in nursing homes.We remember the poor in India and Brazil in crowded slums without money or jobs or food.

As COVID forces millions into desperate poverty, Lord, increase your care for them through wise leaders of the type our psalm prescribed for Israel..

We remember your promise to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3), which Psalm 72 applies to the king:
All nations will be blessed through you,
and they will call you blessed.
Our father, in our time, may the nations bless each other, instead of cursing and blaming and building walls. We look to that time when your king will reign, blessing every nation with wise and compassionate government.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.162: Party-Time Jesus.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

In Luke 15, when the prodigal son returned, his father threw a welcome-home party. When his older brother, who was busy working the farm, smelled the beef barbeque and heard the party music, he was angry. His father was rewarding the prodigal’s evil behaviour instead of censoring and correcting it. Any sensible father would assign the prodigal a stretch of probation with hard labor to ensure he’d really changed.

The brother said to the father, “This son of yours who wasted your wealth with prostitutes shows up and you throw a party? What about me? I’ve slaved away for you all these years, and I don’t even get a skinny little goat to celebrate with my friends. Isn’t my faithfulness worth more to you than his wastefulness?”

At a retreat once, I had a similar feeling. The man who got all the interest and attention was a guy who had been an alcoholic and had wrecked his marriage and finances and family with drink and sex and drugs; and then he’d had an amazing and liberating conversion. What a great story! But was anyone interested in my story of plugging away at this Christian thing for thirty years with no tales to tell of a miraculous deliverance or remarkable results?

Perhaps Party-Time Jesus has a message for me and for other older brothers. We have been busy working in God’s field, holding down a job, supporting the church, raising a family. We’ve been serious about living righteously and avoiding the temptations of alcohol, sex and drugs. Why does the father throw parties for prodigals instead of showing a bit of support for us? Aren’t we the ones implementing his program here on earth?

But Jesus kept showing up at parties and telling stories about parties.
..He made buckets of wine for the wedding at Cana.
..He went to parties with Levi the tax collector and Simon the Pharisee. He partied with almost anybody!

And in his stories,
..The shepherd partied when he found his lost sheep.
..The father partied when the prodigal came home.
..The servants waited with lamps lit for their master to come home from, you guessed it, a wedding party (Luke 12:36).
..Jesus starts one story, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who prepared a wedding banquet for his son” (Mat. 22:1).
..And on the night before he died, Jesus was feasting with his crew.

What is it with Jesus and parties?

Let’s pray.

Our father, we are like the elder son. We resent that we work long and hard for you, but all the attention and fun goes to people with stories of deep sin and miracle salvation.

Ah, Jesus, perhaps we who focus on righteousness need a change of heart. Have we grown bitter, hard, and unlovely in our pursuit of righteousness? (Harry Emerson Fosdick. Meaning of Faith. New York: Association Press, 1917. Cited from Good Press ebooks edition, 2019). Pull up the weeds of resentment that grow in us. Help us to accept our unremarkable lives as your gift. Teach us to party with the prodigals who come home. May we be glad with everyone you welcome into your big house.

And most of all, as we work for your kingdom, help us to know the father. For though we do the father’s work, we are prodigals from the father’s heart. Teach us to come home to the heart of God.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.161: Psalm 71: Praying the Problems of Aging.

Hello. I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

In one of his books on prayer, Father Thomas Green said he expected as he grew older that faith would grow easier. As a younger man, he did not understand the older priests’ experience of new difficulties and new temptations. But, he wrote, his advancing age brought understanding.

My experience has been similar. Things once simple and obvious when my beard was black became confusing and unclear as my beard turned white. I discovered that God accommodates many strange points of view I had dismissed, and that he is patient with many souls who drive me to impatience. I have lost my rigid approach to scripture, and I am moving into the mystery of living in partnership with Christ who lives in me. The God I worship today is bigger and wiser and more merciful than the God I worshipped when my beard was black.

In Psalm 71, the poet shares the same experience. Keenly aware of advancing age, greying hair, and declining strength, he says,
You have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,
. . . since my youth (v. 5).
Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me when my strength is gone (v. 9).
And he also says,
Even when I am old and grey,
Do not forsake me, my God (vv. 17a, 18).

In Psalm 71 the prayer of aging is not a prayer of settled confidence and unshakeable hope. The writer is not rocking away his life on the porch, waiting for a sunset ending. Instead, he prays desperately while his enemies attack; he struggles toward hope and faith. He cries, “My enemies say that God has forsaken me” (v. 11a) They say,
“We will pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue him” (v. 11b,c).

In his fear he says:
Do not be far from me, my God;
come quickly to help me (v. 12).

Let’s pray.

Our father, in my senior years I reflect on 50 years of seeking you. Like the poet,
You brought me forth from my mother’s womb (v. 6b).
Since my youth, God you have taught me (v. 17).
And like the poet,
Though you have made me see troubles,
many and bitter,
you will restore my life again (v. 20a).

Yes, Lord, I have not lived a hugely successful life, arriving at a pinnacle of wisdom and faith. Rather, my life has been dissonant and erratic. I have learned slowly, through many troubles. Sometimes, I felt your great love and care, but often I was angry and desperate and afraid.

But you have been faithful since my youth, and I am confident your faithfulness will continue. As the poet says,
. . . I shall always have hope;
I will praise you more and more (v. 14).
My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,. . .
though I know not how to relate them all (v. 15a, 15c).
Somehow in the midst of the years, the habit of hope has grown strong. The clamor of complaining falls silent as the voice of praise grows stronger.

Our father, I feel the weakness that comes with age. My hairline recedes, my beard turns white, the wrinkle cream stopped working long ago, and my strength begins to wane. With the poet I pray,
Even when I am old and grey,
do not forsake me, my God (vv. 17a, 18)..
Give me strength against my enemies of criticism and gossip and complaining. Instead of reciting my medical history, may I recite your praises. Instead of despairing at the evil everywhere may I trust in you. Instead of disparaging the young for their shallowness and foolishness, may I pray them on the road to wisdom. As the poet says, help me to:
Declare your power to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come (v. 18b).

May I finish the journey with confidence, with assurance that you care, with hope that you will welcome me into your presence forever.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.160: A Drop of Water in Hell.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

In Luke 16, Jesus told about a rich man who lived in fashionable luxury and ate sumptuous food. Camped outside his front gate, with dogs licking his sores, lived the homeless beggar, Lazarus.

When Lazarus died, the angels carried him to paradise and he became friends with Abraham. When the rich man died, he ended up in hell, tormented with fire. Looking across the gulf to paradise, he shouted to Abraham, “I’m in agony in this fire! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool my tongue.”

Now that’s a typical rich man, giving suggestions to another rich man on how to deploy the servants.

But Abraham replied, “It doesn’t work that way any more. You had comforts in life, but now they’re gone. Lazarus had trouble in life, but now he lives comfortably. Besides, there’s no road from heaven to hell, so I can’t send him over.”

This didn’t stop the rich man. He had another brilliant idea to keep the servants busy. “Why don’t you send Lazarus to my brothers on earth to warn them about the fire here, so they won’t have to join me.”

Abraham said, “They have the Bible. They can read it.”

“But they don’t listen to the Bible,” said the rich man. “They need a real shocker, like someone coming back from the dead. Then they’ll listen!”

“Not likely,” said Abraham. “If they ignore the Bible, they’ll ignore someone from the dead too.”

This story leaves more questions than answers.

What did the rich man do to deserve hell? If he left his dead body on earth, why were fire and a drink of water a problem to him?
How did the beggar earn his place with Abraham?
Like the rich man, I’m in the top 10% of the world’s wealthy. Does that give me an uncomfortably hot prospect for life after death?
What does Jesus’ story mean for me, if I’m neither a rich man living in luxury nor a poor beggar with dogs licking my sores?

Let’s pray.

Our father, the accounts don’t add up in this story. What did the rich man do to deserve hell? How did Lazarus become Abraham’s friend?

Still, we feel the weight of your story, Jesus. That our store of wealth and status and privilege will soon vanish, that our rich and narcissistic lives will be burned away. That the lonely and troubled will be comforted.

Jesus, you say that not even someone raised from the dead will convince the comfortably rich to believe. You came back from the dead, Jesus, and how many people listen to you? But we accept your message of resurrection. We believe your plan for the future. We believe that you give our lives meaning, both now and after death. And we believe that you will settle whatever accounts need settling.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.159: Psalm 70: Seekers, Rejoice!

Hello. I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Psalm 70 is a short, sharp and passionate cry for help, with only five verses. The first and last verses ask God to come quickly to help. Verses two and three ask God to reverse the fortunes of the writer’s enemies, replacing their power and success with failure and disgrace. And verse four is an amazing affirmation of those who seek God. It says,
May all you seek you, God
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
‘The Lord is great!’ (v. 4).

I like that. “May those who seek him rejoice in him.” Often the picture I see in the psalms is a fearful believer, hiding in shadows from his enemies, hoping they won’t attack, crying desperately to God to save him before it is too late.

In this psalm, the poet counters that fearful view with the strong remedy of faith. May those who seek God rejoice and be glad in him, may those who wait for his salvation say, “The Lord is great.” The writer’s focus is:

not on the enemies, but on God
the mood is not desperation, but hope
the scene is not fearful hiding, but public praise
the speech that was formerly a desperate plea has turned to confident assertion.

Let’s pray.

Our father, we pray first for ourselves. When we cringe because of COVID, when we dread the disintegration of society, when we are dismayed by violent police and protesters, we look to you for salvation. We rejoice in you. You are great, Lord, in your rule over creation. Great in your kingship over the nations. Great in the salvation you bring to your people.

We think of Brazil, where the president is in COVID-denial, not believing the devastation the pandemic wreaks in his country, suppressing the statistics of death, desperately imagining a quick return to normal. Oh Lord, as your people in Brazil see mass graves, as they seek you and pray for your salvation, sustain them in faith and hope.

We think of Yemen, torn by years of civil war, as Saudi Arabia indiscriminately bombs the Houthi-held territory, as the infrastructure is destroyed and the pandemic runs unchecked. O God, may those in Yemen who seek you and pray for your salvation cling to the faith that you are great.

We think of Russia where 74 years of Communism failed to extinguish the Orthodox church, and of China where 72 years of Communism coincides with growth in the house church movement. O Lord, may those who seek you under repressive regimes everywhere find joy in your help and salvation.

We think of America, where the T-shirt says, “Don’t mess with my faith, my family, my firearms, my freedom”. Where many Christians have a fatal attraction to authoritarian leaders. Where the myth of freedom enslaves the country to violence and the myth of exceptionalism breeds the sin of arrogance. O Lord, may all who seek you in the culture of firearms and freedom find you and rejoice in you and trust in your salvation.

We think of Canada, adrift in a sea of moral and spiritual relativity. We are tolerant of everything, except clear moral values and righteousness. We pride ourselves on social progress, but we are progressing toward anarchy where everyone does what is right in their own eyes. We pride ourselves on a multi-ethnic society, ignoring the racial prejudice that simmers below the surface. May those of us who seek you here find joy in your presence and hope in your salvation.

Our father, this is your world of which we are stewards. This is our world in which we live. Be present and powerful in it. Come quickly to help us. We seek you with hope and joy.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.