Ep.096: Who is blind?

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

In John chapter 9, Jesus and his disciples met a blind man on the Sabbath. The disciples had a question: “Was this man born blind because of his sin or because of his parents’ sin?” Bad theologians and incompetent managers everywhere still think like that. With the disciples they say, “Something has gone wrong here. Who shall we blame?”

Jesus was not interested in assigning blame. If he had an MBA, he might have said, “This isn’t a problem, lads, it’s an opportunity!”

Jesus solved the problem by mixing spit with dirt, perhaps remembering that God created humans from clay. He put the mixture on the blind man’s eyes, and told him to wash in a pool. When the man did, he could see for the first time in his life. Jesus, the light of the world, had put light in this man’s eyes.

The healing created a local sensation. The Pharisees tried to make spiritual sense of what happened. They listened to the man’s story. Some said, “Jesus can’t be from God because he healed this man on the Sabbath.” Other Pharisees said, “Obviously, God’s power is at work here. Sinners don’t do a miracle like this!”

The Pharisees called in the parents. “Tell us how your son who was born blind can see.” The parents knew the Pharisees hated Jesus, so they dodged the question. “You’re right,” they said, “he was born blind. And yes, he can now see. We don’t know how it happened. Why don’t you ask him? He’s an adult.”

So the Pharisees called the man back and asked him to retell his story. He replied, “I already told you and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become disciples of Jesus?”

The Pharisees didn’t have an answer, so they hurled insults. They said, “You are this fellow’s disciple, but WE are disciples of Moses! We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this Jesus person comes from.”

The man answered, “That’s remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. Nobody’s ever heard of making a blind man see. If Jesus is not from God, he could do nothing.”

The Pharisees said, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us! Get out.”

So he went back to Jesus who said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man replied, “Tell me who he is, so I can believe.” Jesus said, “You see him now. It’s me.” The man simply said, “Lord, I believe.”

Let’s pray.

Jesus, we are the Pharisees, amazed by what you do, and amazed that you break our rules when you do it. You broke the Pharisees rules about Sabbath keeping, you broke their view of scripture as rule-book, you broke their view of God as the one who wants people to be rule-keepers, you broke their social class by welcoming the man after the Pharisees condemned his experience and his simple theology. Jesus, work outside our narrow pharisaical religion that tells us how you ought to work; help us lose our religion of rules and judgments, and learn your religion of relationships and healing.

Jesus, like the blind man we come to you. Thank you for giving us sight. You healed our blindness, lifted our depression, heard our arguments with religious institutions, and invited us to believe in you. Lord, we believe.

Amen.

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

Ep.095: Psalm 39: Life is Short and Unhappy.

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

In Psalm 39, the poet reflects on the transient and troubling nature of life.

We see this first in the tension between silence and speech. The poet begins the psalm with a vow to be silent, to say nothing good or bad (v. 1). That lasts for one short verse (v. 2), until his bottled up questions and emotions burst the dam of silence and pour out in speech (v. 3).

What he says introduces another troubling perspective–life is short and insubstantial. Life is only a breath (v. 5), our years are measured as the width of a hand (v. 5), we go around like phantoms (v. 6). And if we heap up wealth, no one knows who gets it when we go (v. 6).

A third troubling aspect of life is the problem of God’s role in sin and suffering. The poet says to God,
Remove your scourge from me;
I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
When you rebuke and discipline any for their sin,
you consume their wealth like a moth–
surely everyone is but a breath (vv 10b – 11).
The poet feels his suffering is God’s whip correcting him and a blow from God’s hand reprimanding him. Under God’s discipline, his carefully hoarded wealth disappears like a moth eating clothes. But the poet doesn’t understand what it means. He’s not sure what God is saying to him.

Let’s pray.

God, your presence is not always a comfort and joy to us. Sometimes, like the poet, we feel oppressed by what you do and what you don’t do. We feel your frown of disapproval at our sins. We feel your discipline making our lives short and unhappy.

But like the poet, we cannot just shut up and say nothing. We must express what is on our unhappy hearts, we must vent our confusion to you. We state our complaint. We keep asking the questions you never answer. We wait for an assurance that never comes.

Look at us O God. Our lives our short. Our wealth trickles away. Our doctors give us bad news. Our breath is fleeting. And we don’t know how to make sense of it all. What are you trying to teach us? What prevents us from hearing and learning?

With the poet we say,
Hear our our cry for help;
do not be deaf to my weeping.
We dwell with you as foreigners,
strangers, as all our ancestors were (v. 12).
Yes, Lord, we are strangers in the world you gave us, people with no permanent home, wandering in an uncharted land, looking for hope and meaning. Wishing for a map. We weep at life’s troubles. we weep for the poverty of the poor and the injustice of the oppressed. We weep at our own sin.

With the poet we say,
Our hope is in you.
Save us from our transgressions;
do not make us the scorn of fools (vv. 7b-8).

O Lord, in life’s mysteries and confusions, you alone are the quiet centre. We hope in your mercy. We trust you to save us from our transgressions and from the scorn of fools.

We feel your hand heavy on us as the poet did. With him we pray,
Look away from us, God, that we may enjoy life again
before we depart and are no more (v. 13).

Amen.

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

Ep.094: Who is Jesus Anyway?

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

John chapter 8 opens with the Pharisees’ suggestion to stone the woman caught in adultery. The chapter closes when the Pharisees decide to stone Jesus.

Between that unhappy opening and the murderous closing, Jesus made three big claims for himself. Let’s look at them.

Jesus’ first claim was, “I am the light of the world” (v. 12). The people responded, “What? It’s not credible for you to make big claims like that! That’s what liars and insane people do. You need a reliable, external witness as proof.” “Well,” said Jesus, “that external witness would be God. And since I come from him, I can be my own witness.” That didn’t convince anyone.

Then Jesus said, “I am going away, and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. You can’t come where I am going.” “Really?” they said. “Where are you going? Are you going kill yourself? Who do you think you are?” Jesus replied with his second big claim: “I am the son of God my Father.” Some people believed him, but many felt he was delusional.

Then Jesus said, “If you accept my teaching, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” The people responded, “We are Abraham’s descendants, we’ve never been slaves to anyone. We don’t need you to set us free.” Jesus replied, “On the contrary, you’re all slaves to sin. You’re not in Abraham’s family. Your father is the devil!” The people replied, “Who us? No way! You are demon-possessed. How can you know Abraham? You’re not even 50!” Jesus responded with his third big claim, “Before Abraham was, I am.”

Did you hear that? Listen again to Jesus’ words: “I AM.”

“I AM” is an important Old Testament name for God. The people listened when Jesus claimed to be the light of the world. They listened when he said God was his father. But when he appropriated for himself the holiest name of God, the Pharisees had enough. To protect God’s honor, they picked up rocks to stone Jesus, but he walked away and hid himself.

Let’s pray.

Jesus, we believe your claims about yourself.

We receive you as the light of the world. Often, we walk in darkness and confusion, not not sure how to love you and others, not sure how to grow spiritually, not sure of our way through this valley of shadows. Do we need more Bible study? More faith? More service to you and others? Jesus, light our way, show us the way to God.

Jesus, we receive you as the Son of God. Your relationship to God is different than the rest of us humans. As John said of you, “God loved the world so much he sent his only son” (John 3:16). You were God’s son when Abraham was a wandering pioneer; you will be God’s son long after the world spins into its unknown future.

Jesus, we receive you as the only human who could ever say, “I AM” about yourself. You lived as a son of Mary, you worked as a carpenter; but you spoke and taught and died and lived again as one who came from God.

Amen.

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

Ep.093: Psalm 38: Sickness and Sin.

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

Psalm 38 is a psalm of lament for sin. The poet is incurably sick and says,
     My back is filled with searing pain;
          there is no health in my body (v. 7).
     My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds (v. 11).

The poet points to two causes for his pain and sickness.
First, he says to God,
     Because of your wrath
          there is no health in my body” (v. 3).
He thinks an angry God sent sickness to teach him a lesson. He asks God to relent:
    Do not rebuke me in your anger
        or discipline me in your wrath (v. 1).

The poet says another cause of sickness is his own sin. He says:
There is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.
My wounds fester and are loathsome
because of my sinful folly (vv. 3b, 4b).

So what did cause his pain and sickness? Was God punishing him? Was it a natural consequence of his sin? Maybe the problem was not spiritual at all. Perhaps it was an infection that needed antibiotics instead of a psalm. Perhaps it was a mental health issue that needed cognitive therapy and rest.

David Levy, a neurosurgeon for 20 years, prayed with patients before operating on their brains. When an ex-marine was preparing for complicated surgery, Dr. Levy said, “If you want every chance of healing, you also need good emotional health. Stress, anger, and resentment can have powerful negative effects on you. Bitterness is like an acid that eats its container” (Levy, David. Gray Matter. Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House, 2011. pp 134). Levy asked the man if there was anyone he had not forgiven. This lead to the man forgiving an abusive parent, and asking God’s forgiveness for bitterness and resentment. Levy says, “His countenance went from stone to sunlight. There was a bounce in his step as he left” (Levy, p. 183). A week later, the six-hour operation went well.

Of course, the problem in applying this is knowing which of our problems need medical solutions, which need spiritual solutions, and which need new thought patterns. I suspect most of our problems need all three. But who can give us an accurate diagnosis? And who can prescribe the treatment that will heal us? For many of us, it’s a lifelong journey, researching different options and trying various solutions.

Let’s pray.

Our father, we pray with the poet,
All our longings lie open before you, Lord,
Our sighing is not hidden from you ( v. 9).

You see our deepest needs.
– We need a relationship with a god who is not angry at us.
– We need to lose our conviction that we are mostly right.
– We need to see and confess our sins.
– We need deliverance from our enemies:
        from people who hate,
        from sickness that debilitates,
        from selfishness that obstructs our vision of you.
– We need to give up our despair, self-pity, and obsessions.
– We need freedom to love you and worship you with all your people on earth.

And our sickness is complicated by sin which harms our lives and frustrates our search for health. We pray with Rabdula of Edessa, who wrote this prayer 1600 years ago:

My thoughts confuse and cloud my mind. I am in despair because my guilt is vaster than the ocean and my sins more numerous than the waves of the sea. When I remember how I have fallen, I tremble at the thought of your justice. I dare not look upwards, because my sins reach as high as the heavens. When I look down, earth is an accusation to me, for my offences exceed the number of its inhabitants. Have pity on me, Lord.
Van de Weyer, Robert, ed. The HarperCollins Book of Prayers. Edison, New Jersey: Castle Books, 1993. p. 298, prayer of Rabbula of Edessa, d. 435

With Psalm 38 we pray,
     Lord, do not forsake me;
         do not be far from me, my God.
     Come quickly to help me,
         my Lord and my Savior (vv. 21-22).

Amen

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

Ep.092: Woman in a Trap.

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

John chapter 8 opens with the story of the woman caught in adultery. It goes like this: The Pharisees and teachers of the law brought a woman to Jesus and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The Law of Moses commands us to stone such women. What’s your take on this?”

Clearly, the Pharisees had invented the mother of all technical questions to stump Jesus. And in a stroke of genius, they had a guilty woman available for immediate stoning. “Since you teach Moses’ law,” they said to Jesus, “will you obey the law by endorsing capital punishment for this woman? Or are you just playing at teaching scripture, and you wimp out at tough judgments like this?”

When people like the Pharisees and Jesus set out to interpret scripture, I find it helpful to know what they are willing to sacrifice in support their position. The Pharisees, to prove that Jesus was not a credible teacher of the law, were prepared to sacrifice a woman, exposing her to shame and public humiliation and possibly even capital punishment. But their approach ignored relationship and compassion, which are also in the law.

In contrast, Jesus wasn’t prepared to sacrifice the woman. We don’t find out until later in the Gospel of John what he was prepared to sacrifice.

In the end, Pharisees weren’t prepared to sacrifice the woman’s life either. After demolishing her dignity and reputation, they walked away without throwing stones.

Because Jesus turned their argument on its head saying, “Let one who is without sin throw the first stone.” Jesus confronted them with the same problem they had put to him, namely, “Do you take Moses’ law literally enough to implement the death penalty right here?” One by one they drifted away. Perhaps because they understood their own failures . .. perhaps because they knew the law provided mercy as well as judgment . . . perhaps Jesus’ convinced them it was unwise to execute uncompromising judgment on the woman when they themselves needed all the mercy the law could give them.

When they were gone, Jesus said to the woman, “Does no one condemn you?” She answered, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and leave your life of sin.”

Let’s pray.

Jesus, how often we sacrifice others on the altar of our own righteousness. How quick we are to argue our interpretation of scripture. How quick we are to judge the wrong we see in others and in their view of scripture.

Jesus, help us to turn the technical questions on their head. Whether we are right or wrong, teach us not to use scripture as a tool to win arguments or throw stones at sinners. Teach us to use the scriptures as a tool to expose our own narrowness, to expose us as just another sinner in a world full of them, to expose us to God’s judgment and mercy.

Jesus, when we act like Pharisees, help us see the weakness of our arguments, and to walk quietly away from the traps we set for ourselves and others. And when we are caught in sin like the woman, help us to receive your words, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and leave your life of sin.”

Amen.

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

Ep.091: Psalm 37: Land, Logic, and Heart.

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

Psalm 37 highlights three notable topics: land, moral logic, and the heart. Let’s look at these three.

First, the land. Five times, God promises that those who trust him will inherit the land. Jesus borrowed verse 11, “The meek will inherit the land” (v. 11) for his beatitudes, widening it to “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” The land is both local to Israel, and also a picture of God’s gift of the whole earth to the human race. I like this promise, I’d like to inherit some land, but I’m not expecting God to deliver a title deed to me any time soon.

A second striking feature in Psalm 37 is the confidence with which the poet states his moral logic: God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked. Of the righteous he says,
I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread (v. 25).
And of the wicked he says,
   But the wicked will perish:
      though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
      they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke (v.

John Calvin commented his reservations about this moral logic, saying, “It is certain that many righteous men have been reduced to beggary.” He cites Jesus’ story in Luke (Luke 16:20) about the righteous Lazarus begging at the rich man’s door (Calvin, John. Commentary on the Psalms–Volume 2 (Christian Classics Ethereal Library: http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/calcom09/cache/calcom09.pdf, p. 32)). Calvin’s opinion was that life isn’t as logical as the poet describes it: Sometimes God blesses the righteous with health and wealth, sometimes he doesn’t.

To the poet’s credit, he also recognizes shades of grey. In the first verse he says:
    Don’t fret because of those who are evil,
Don’t be envious of wrongdoers (v. 1).
When evil succeeds, we are tempted to think, “Life isn’t working out right. God is supposed to reward good, and punish evil.” But the poet reminds us that God is in charge and we can afford to wait patiently because,
The Lord laughs at the wicked,
               for he knows their day is coming (v. 13).

A third topic in this psalm is the heart. God’s promise of land, his moral logic, and his laws are not simply promoting good behavior. The poet looks beyond behavior to the heart. “Trust in the Lord,” he says (v. 3). Don’t just obey God or submit to him. Open your heart to him. “Delight yourself in the Lord,” he says (v. 4). Our posture toward God is
– not just to believe right doctrine,
– not just to keep his laws,
– not just to be afraid of judgement.
No, our posture is to love him and delight in him.

Let’s pray.

Our father, once again we feel the smallness of our religion. We like the simple formula of moral logic: Obey and be blessed, disobey and be punished. We want our right behavior to earn an inheritance. We want a guarantee that we will never become beggars.

But under the poet’s formula, he describes a heart turned to you. Whether our life is comfortable and well-behaved, or miserable and stumbling, you continue to care for us, God. When we stumble, you help us up (v. 24). When circumstances overwhelm us, you lead us to a future and an inheritance (vv. 6, 11. 37). When we envy the wealthy and comfortable, you offer us lasting delight and riches.

Our father, with the poet we look to you in the present where you are our refuge and strength (v. 39) and we look to you in the future where you will give us the desires of our heart (v. 4).

Amen.

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

Ep.090: Jesus and the Birther Conspiracy.

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

In John chapter 7, every time Jesus spoke, he stirred up controversy. His brothers in Galilee said, “Your miracles are making you a celebrity. You should go to Jerusalem and get wider exposure.” But Jesus replied, “They hate me up there and it’s not time for me to go.” But soon after, he went to Jerusalem anyway.

The people didn’t recognize him, but they found his teaching amazing. They said, “Where did he learn this stuff? He’s not a graduate of any school we know.” Jesus replied, “I’m from God and you are trying to kill me.” Amazement turned to scorn and the people said, “Are you demon possessed? Who is trying to kill you?”

Then Jesus explained who he was, “I healed one man on the Sabbath, and now the narrow-minded Pharisees think I’m such a threat to their religious system, they want to kill me.”

“Ohhhh . . .” said the people. “This is the man the Pharisees hate. Why aren’t they trying to stop him? Perhaps he is the Messiah. Where is he from?” Jesus said, “You know where I’m from. God sent me.” But the people said, “Impossible. The next prophet comes from Bethlehem, not Galilee like you.”

Sounds like the Obama birther arguments! Was the president born in America or not? Did Jesus come from Bethlehem or not? Jesus ignored the conspiracy theories and the furore. He didn’t produce his Bethlehem birth certificate, he just proceeded with the business of being Messiah, and let people be offended if they chose to.

In the midst of this controversy, Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me. . .rivers of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:37-38). Is that your experience? Do rivers of living water flow from within you?

Let’s pray.

Jesus, we don’t know what to make of all the controversy you stirred up. What kind of celebrity are you? When are you going to Jerusalem? Where are you from? Are you thumbing your nose at the Pharisees? Is it necessary to alienate them? Why won’t you answer a simple question about your birth certificate?

In our confusion your promise draws us to you, for you said, “Whoever believes in me, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” We picture a river flowing through dry country, watering trees, irrigating gardens, satisfying thirsty people and animals. Is that what you offer us? To be a source of water that will flow into a dry and desert world? To be people who give your gifts to others–healing of the body, healing of the memories, knowledge of God, loving relationships, wisdom in walking through life?

Jesus, our lives are dry, narrow, constricted, calculating. Open within us the sources of living water, let it flow freely through our lives, let it flow freely to the world around us. May the power of your spirit melt the glaciers that constrain us and burst the dams that constrict us. May it turn our lives from stagnant ponds to flowing, life-giving rivers.

Amen.

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

Ep.089: Psalm 36: River of Delights.

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

Psalm 36 paints a dark picture of the unrighteous. Here’s how the poet describes them. They flatter themselves, not caring about sin or goodness. They operate in post-truth mode: if news annoys them they call it false news, if it flatters them they call it true. They are all image and no substance. Because they do not fear God, their only morality is self-promotion. Whatever enhances their ego and image, whatever get votes, whatever makes money, whatever paints their opponents in a bad light is OK by them. They lie in bed making evil plans.

Against this dark background, the poet sketches a colorful picture of God whose love reaches to the heavens, whose faithfulness is bigger than the skies, whose righteousness is like a high mountain, whose justice plumbs the ocean depths (vv. 5-6). What a contrast to the small minded, self-interested, scheming perpetrators of evil.

God cares for people. We take refuge in the shadow of his wings, we feast in the abundance of his house, we drink water from his river of delights, in his light we see light (vv. 7-9). God’s generous gifts are in stark contrast to the greedy, grasping evildoer who schemes in the darkness.

Given this picture the poet says to God, “Continue your love to those who know you.”

Let’s pray.

Lord, the news we read, both true and false, is often a meditation on darkness and evil. Each month brings mass shootings, crushing accidents, vicious wars, and economic collapse.

But you invite us to turn away from our obsession with evil, and to turn toward evidence of your goodness. The world you have given us is good–each year it produces food for seven-and-a-half billion people. We live on the bounty of your faithfulness: wheat grows and we make bread, grapes grow and we make wine, olives grow and we have oil.

Your faithfulness reaches the heavens; the sun shines each day, the moon and stars rule the night. Like the mountains, your righteousness watches over us. Like the ocean, your justice plumbs the depths of our unjust world. Like the mother eagle, you spread your wings over our precarious lives.

You are at home in this world (v. 8), and you wine and dine us at your table. You are the host who delights us with stories, who gives us gifts of welcome and well-being and life. We drink at your river of delights, in your light we see light (vv. 8-9).

With you is the fountain of life. You teach us to leave our fears and to play in the fountain. Nothing can separate us from your love, so we need not fear sickness or death or darkness or evil. With the poet we pray,
Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart (v. 10).

Amen.

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

Ep.088: Walk on Water.

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

In John chapter 6 after Jesus lectured the crowd about free lunch and spiritual food, he disappeared for a while. That evening, the disciples set out across the Sea of Galilee in a boat and as it grew dark, the wind picked up. The waves grew rough and rowing was difficult. Sometime in the night, they saw a figure walking on the waves toward the boat. They were afraid.

The figure on the water said to them, “It’s me, don’t be afraid!”. They recognized him as Jesus and welcomed him into the boat.

Let’s pray.

Jesus, often we feel like the disciples at night on that rough sea, lost in the dark, making no progress.

We feel this in our bodies as they age and deteriorate. Once we were healthy and carefree, we now know sickness and pain. Some of us survived chronic fatigue, and now row cautiously through life, conserving our limited supply of energy and health. Some of us live with Krohn’s disease or fibromyalgia, rowing through nights of pain. Some of us have mental health issues, caught in bipolar swings or self-harming obsessions. And some of us are fortunate enough to be aging normally, feeling the onset of arthritis and forgetfulness, fearing the signs of dementia.

Jesus, you who had a body, you who walked on water, come to us in our pain and distress. Climb into our boat, take us where our rowing cannot go.

Jesus, thoughts and dreams disturb our nights and take away our rest. We obsess about health, family, jobs, and the politics of our world. We imagine a comfortable life with more money, better friends, a richer love life, and a more fulfilling job. Why does no one see our hidden talents, our inner beauty, our real potential? Is there no end to this lethargy and resistance through which we row?

Jesus, walk to us on the water of our troubled thoughts. Still the storm, steer the boat, take us where cannot row.

Jesus, we rise and fall on waves of emotion. Some waves are high with hope and grace, some plunge us into troughs of despair. Sometimes there is joy and laughter, sometimes pain and loss. We ride the waves and keep rowing, but the harbor is never near.

Jesus, come to us on the sea of our emotions. Join our journey, share our joys, comfort our pain, soothe our losses. Row with us through the rough seas to calm waters.

Jesus, we feel our spiritual life going nowhere. We read the Bible, but it seems dry and tasteless. We say our prayers, but they bounce off an iron ceiling. We try to meditate but our thoughts are lost in distractions. We lift our hearts to worship, but they sink into the waves of busyness.

Jesus, walk to us on the sea of your spirit. Rescue us, live your life in us, take our spiritual lives to places where we cannot row.

Jesus, we sink in many difficulties. But we hear again your word, that our duty and glory is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Oh you who walk on water, walk to us on the sea of life, take us where we cannot row, take us where we need to go.

Amen.

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

Ep.087: Psalm 35: Brandish Your Spear, God.

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

In Psalm 35, the poet asks God to punish his enemies. He suggests that God should:
– Brandish spear and javelin against them (v. 3)
– Turn them back in dismay (v. 5)
– Clothe them with shame and disgrace and confusion (v. 26)
– Make their path dark and slippery while an angel of the Lord chases them (v. 6)
That’s an ominous list of curses. I don’t want this poet as my enemy!

The psalm suggests the poet’s enemies are pursuing false legal claims against him. He says he tried to help his accusers–when they were sick, he wept over their distress (v.14). He fasted and prayed for their healing (v. 13). So much for gratitude–his enemies did not respond in kind. So now the poet is in trouble, his enemies gather gleefully (v. 15), they slander and mock and gloat (vv. 15,-16, 19). They invent false accusations (v. 20). They hate without reason, they sneer and crow (vv. 19, 21) and repay evil for good (v. 12).

In verse 17, the poet calls on God to take action saying,
How long, Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their ravages,
My precious life from these lions.
The poet says, “The lions attack me, God. Rescue me from their jaws.”

If God does this, the poet promises:
I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
among the throngs I will praise you (v. 17).
My tongue will proclaim your righteousness, and
your praises all day long (v. 28).

Let’s pray. adopting the poet’s worldview and language for our prayer today..

Lord, bring shame and disgrace on those who gouge insurance companies to profit illegally. Like the man who needlessly hit his brakes so my relative would rear end him, doing almost no damage to the vehicle but enabling a $20,000 payout.

Lord, bring shame and disgrace to insurance companies and their lawyers who reject legitimate claims from poor people who can’t afford to fight.

Lord, bring shame and disgrace to politicians who game the system for personal benefit instead of promoting the common good. Bring shame and disgrace to citizens who complain endlessly about the politicians but don’t vote or participate.

Lord, bring shame and disgrace to those who profit from soul-destroying businesses like gambling and pornography and drug addiction and violence. Rescue their victims.

Lord, bring shame and disgrace to those who return evil for good: to managers who lord it over employees, to parents who abandon spouse and children, to lovers who violate trust and betray confidences.

Lord, bring shame and disgrace on the promoters of injustice and violence in the world and in our personal lives. Hide us and protect us in the powerful name of Jesus, from divisive politics, rampant consumerism, oppression of the poor, and religious hypocrisy.

And Lord, as you rescue us and our world, we will give you thanks and praise. We will say with the poet,
     The Lord be exalted,
         he who delights in the well-being of his servant.
     We will proclaim your righteousness,
         your praises all day long. (vv. 27-28).

Amen.

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