Tag: Daniel Westfall

Ep043: Psalm 13: How Long, O Lord, How Long?

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

Psalm 13 asks “How long, O Lord?” Here are the first two verses:
    How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
      How long will you hide your face from me?
    How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?
      How long will my enemy triumph over me?

The poet feels that God has forgotten him, that God is hiding. He feels alone with his troubles and sorrow. He has a relationship with God based on the God’s law and God’s promises. But God has forgotten the relationship. God has stopped watching and caring.

The poet’s experience suggests some lessons for our prayers.

First, it is good if prayer expresses feelings instead of theology. Many good Christians would tell the poet that this prayer is wrong-headed. They would say, “Don’t ask God foolish questions like ‘How long will you forget me?’ and ‘How long will you hide from me?’ Don’t you know that God sees everything? He’s not hiding. Get over your immaturity. Ignore your feelings. Show some faith and optimism.”

Helpful advice? Not really. Because the psalms teach us to pray our feelings to God. The poet’s prayer does not start in his head with clear thinking. Nor does it start in his doctrinal statement with carefully defined beliefs. This prayer starts in the emotions. If you feel like God has abandoned you, don’t hide from him until you get those feelings fixed. If you are sinking into despair and sorrow, don’t quit praying until things improve. If you doubt God even exists, don’t avoid him until you figure out the meaning of the universe. Pray your doubts and unbelief to God, tell him you heard that the meaning of life is 42 (Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), ask him what he thinks of that.

The poet has a second lesson on prayer. He says, “Look on me and answer, O Lord my God” (v. 3). After accusing God of hiding and forgetting, the poet remembers a past relationship with God. He calls the Lord “MY God”. Surely God wants to keep up his part of the relationship, doesn’t he? The poet reminds God that they are in this together. Even in the darkness,  God is “MY God.”

As the psalm concludes, the poet’s experience changes. He says to God:
    I trust in your unfailing love
     My heart rejoices in your salvation
    I will sing to the Lord
     For he has been good to me.
Somehow, the process of praying and waiting turned the poet’s heart from despair to trust, from unhappiness to rejoicing, from doubt to praise. God has come out of hiding. God is present again in the poet’s experience and feelings.

Let’s pray.
How long, O Lord, how long?
 How long will our rulers manipulate and kill?
 How long will nations and ethnic groups hate and disparage and dominate?
 How long will cancer and depression and bipolar disorder afflict our friends?
 How long will our leaders create division and hatred through politics, economics, race and gender?
 How long will the rich lobby for tax breaks while the poor cry for help?
 How long will we pollute our rivers and oceans?
 How long will millennials be stuck in the gig economy and the debt we pile up for them?
 How long until our churches love the sinners and prostitutes and outcasts?
 How long until we love you more than we love ourselves?
 How long until the earth is filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea? (Isaiah 11:9)

Our father in heaven, the pain and dysfunction overwhelms us. It crushes our optimism, infects our relationships. All creation groans with us (Rom 8). Everywhere your enemies experience victory.

We bring it all to you — our hurt, our sadness and defeat. But you are still our God, we trust you to do your job. And when you do, we will rejoice in your salvation, we will sing to you because you are good.

Amen.

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

Ep042: Miracle Prayers

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

When Elijah the prophet was ready to move on from this troublesome world, he went across the Jordan River with his disciple Elisha where they saw a chariot of fire drawn by horses of fire. Elijah rode up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elisha picked up his master’s cloak, and began a ministry of miracles that surpassed even Elijah’s astounding record.

What kind of miracles did Elisha do? He helped a widow fill many large jars of oil from one small supply jar (2 Kings 4:5). He prayed over a widow’s dead son and brought the son back to life (2 Kings 4:35). He multiplied food, feeding a hundred men with twenty loaves and some ears of corn (2 Kings 4:42). He healed Naaman of leprosy (2 Kings 5:14). Jesus must have been inspired by Elisha, because he repeated may of Elisha’s miracles.

This brings us to an important and troubling question: Why was Elisha’s prayer life so powerful, and ours is so weak? Here are some possible explanations:

1.    Jesus said, “Ask and you shall receive.” Elisha asked for miracles, and he got them. Maybe we should start asking. But I have asked, and it hasn’t worked for me.  

2.    Perhaps Elisha had more faith than we do. If we had more faith, would God do miracles for us too?
Maybe, or maybe not. I think there’s a spiritual mystery in the space between faith and miracles. It’s not a simple formula like like “more faith equals more miracles.”

3.    Here’s another explanation. God tends to work more miracles in times of crisis and change. In Elisha’s time, the Northern Kingdom of Israel was besieged by foreign powers, so they needed more miracles.

Maybe. But Elisha lived long before the final crisis when Assyria conquered Israel. He lived in the middle ages of the Northern Kingdom, when the people vacillated between God and idols, between military competence and military disaster. Ours is a similar age as western civilization fragments and decays. Much of the Christian church in the west aligns itself politically and culturally with godless leaders, exploitive policies, and unjust economics. If Elisha’s time was ripe for miracles so is ours! But where is the prophet who can bring them?

4.    Here’s another possibility. Perhaps it is God’s fault, not ours, that miracles aren’t happening in our culture. Perhaps in some ages God chooses to deliver his message with miracles. Maybe in our age God wants a different kind of miracle.
– Perhaps he wants people who are free of pornography
– Perhaps he wants people who value inner beauty above fashion
– Perhaps he wants communities who renounce the culture of individualism and learn to live together
– Perhaps he’s looking for a remnant to worship him in spirit and in truth
– Perhaps he’s looking for churches that preach less and love more, that listen to his Spirit

God shares his power freely for the tasks he assigns us. But how can we know what he wants us to do?  We can listen to him in the stories of Scripture, in the fellowship of Christian community, and in the witness of his Spirit in our lives.

Let’s pray.
Our father,
We live in an age of advertising, but your public relations department is silent.
We live in an age of spectacular sports events, but you don’t compete in the Super Bowl and the World Cup.
We live in an age of entertainment, but you aren’t challenging Disney and Fox News for market share.
We live in an age of celebrities, but you aren’t vying with Johnny Depp and Emma Watson for popularity.

What are you doing, God? And what do you want us to do? Help us shut out the clamor of the world and wait quietly to hear your voice. In the silence prepare us to do your work in the world.
Amen.

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

Ep041: Psalm 12: Words, Words, Words

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

Psalm 12 differs from the psalms before it. Here’s how: Most of the first eleven start with doubt or fear and end with hope and praise. Surprisingly, Psalm 12 ends just like it starts. The first verse says, “Help, Lord, for the godly are no more!”  And the last verse says, “The wicked strut about on every side.” Is there no movement in this psalm? Is the poet stuck? Is he unable to climb out of his pit this time?  

The heart of Psalm 12 describes what the wicked say and what God says in response. It’s a poem about how God and people  use words, about how they speak.

First, the poet describes the speech of the ungodly.
– They lie to their neighbours (v. 2)
– They flatter deceptively (v.2)
– They boast (v. 3)
– They say, “We will triumph with our tongues” (v. 4)
– They say, “We own our lips, who is our master?” (v. 4)

The speech of the wicked escalates from simple lies to a world-conquering claim, “We can say whatever we want, we have no master who can tell us ‘No!’”

But the poet has a surprise for the wicked. They did not notice that God, the master of all, is eavesdropping on their arrogant speech. He says, “I think I’d better do something. I will protect the needy from those who speak against them.”

And then the poet gives a moving description of God’s words: “The words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.” (v.6). The heat of the furnace shows God’s words to be beautiful, pure, valuable, and masterful. But the furnace annihilates the arrogant words of the wicked. The last word and the words that last, belong to God. These are words shape our lives.

Yes, Psalm 12 does differ from other psalms because, God’s words are the light at the centre, standing out from a dark beginning and a dark ending.

Let’s pray.

Our father, how careless and arrogant are the words our leaders use.  
– President Trump speaks disparagingly of “Crooked Hillary”, “Lyin’ Ted”, “low-energy Jeb”, “Sloppy Steve” and various “losers”.
– Prime Minister Trudeau talks about “different perceptions” — when the issue is not perception but truth.
–  Innocent people killed in drone strikes are reported as “collateral damage,” not murdered fathers and mothers and children.
George Orwell said, “Political language . . . makes lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and gives an appearance of solidity to pure wind” (“Politics and the English Language”).  

Lord, much of what we say and hear is wind. Our words are like chaff that the wind drives away (Psalm 1:4). O Lord, purify our use of words.
– Help us not to lie and flatter and gossip.
– Help us not to disparage others.
– Help us not to use words to conceal the truth
– Help us not to speak pretty pictures that cover dark motives.
– Remove anger and abuse and violence and deceit from our lips.

Instead
– teach us to think true thoughts and speak them clearly,
– teach us to feel deep love and express it generously,
– teach us to see much beauty and to share it with delight,
– teach us to see evil clearly and denounce it vigorously.

Your words, Lord, are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. Refine and purify our words, so they may share the beauty of yours.

Amen.

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

Ep040: Elijah in Earthquake, Windstorm and Fire

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

We continue the story of Elijah after he won a contest with the prophets of Baal, by praying down fire from heaven. Queen Jezebel, who worshipped Baal, was not amused and she vowed to kill Elijah. Elijah became frightened and depressed, so he escaped to Beersheba where he went into the wilderness, sat under a broom tree, and said to God, “I’ve had enough. Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors.” God sent an angel to feed and refresh Elijah. Then Elijah travelled 40 days and nights to Mt. Horeb, another name for Mt. Sinai, where Moses had received the ten commandments.

Elijah travelled forty days and forty nights?  Google Maps estimates the distance from the modern city of Be’er Sheva to the presumed location of Mt. Horeb as 261 miles, or 87 hours’ walking. That’s a three-and-a-half day walk, not forty. Either Elijah took the long way around, or forty days and nights is a metaphor for a long and difficult journey.The route from Beersheba to Mt. Horeb goes through the desert where Israel wandered forty years on their way to the promised land. The number forty connects Elijah’s wandering to the confused wandering of his ancestors. It also connects Elijah to Moses who spent forty days and nights on the mountain receiving the ten commandments.

Mt. Horeb was a mountain of fireworks. When God prepared to give Moses the ten commandments, thunder rolled, lightning struck, and a trumpet blasted. Exodus says that God descended on the mountain with fire, the mountain was covered with smoke and trembled violently” (Exodus 19:18-19). But after the commandments were given, God showed himself quietly to Moses and promised, “My presence will go with you and I will give you rest” (Exo. 33).

So what did Elijah find at Mt. Horeb?  Did he find the thunder and lightning and fire and smoke and earthquake? The first thing he found was God, who said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Elijah said, “I have been zealous for you, God. Your people have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too!” (Exo 19:14).

God replied, “Stand on the mountain. I am about to pass by.” Elijah stood on the mountain. First, he saw the old-time power and glory that Moses experienced:
– A powerful wind tore at the mountain and shattered rocks. But the Lord was not in the wind.
– After the wind, an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake.
– After the earthquake, a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire.
The signs of God’s presence came to Elijah. But God was not present in the signs.

Finally, a gentle whisper, a still small voice. That was God at last. He showed up for Elijah, and gave him instructions for what to do next.

Let’s pray.
Our father, we see may pictures of Elijah. Elijah the man of power praying fire onto the altar. Elijah, running in fear from Queen Jezebel. Elijah, sitting despondent under a tree. Elijah, in the wilderness, following the footsteps of Moses. We also see you, God, responding to Elijah. You demonstrated your power to him in windstorm and earthquake and fire. But the tumult was trivial, your still small voice was decisive.

Our father, we wait like Elijah waited:
– through the turmoil of our lives,
– through unhappiness, fear, and despondency,
– through wilderness journeys,
– through earthquake, wind, and fire.
Visit us with your still small voice, we pray.
Amen.

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

Ep039: Psalm11: Foundations are Crumbling. What to do?

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

Psalm 11 asks, “When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Wherever we turn, we see foundations crumbling and destroyed.
– society violates the ten commandments,
– politicians lie and scam,
– churches value relevance over godliness,
– celebrities celebrate evil,
– moral relativity trumps old fashioned values,
– standards of conduct yield to sloppiness,
– scholars sow confusion instead clarity.

Decay and fragmentation are overtaking western civilization, permeating politics and business and church life. We smell the rot. We see the weakness. What can the righteous do?

The first verse of Psalm 11 suggests, “Flee like a bird to your mountain” (v. 1). Is that the solution? Run away from the awful truth? Escape from it all? Go off the grid with our guns and all terrain vehicles and build a mountain hideout? Sit in safety while the world goes to hell in a hand basket?

The poet roundly rejects this solution. He has two responses to the escapist option.

His first response: God is still involved in the world. The poet says, “God is in his holy temple, God is on his heavenly throne, God watches the human race, his eyes examine the righteous and the wicked.” God continues to watch over the world. If God remains involved in a world with crumbling foundations, we his servants must also stay engaged. Escape is not an option.

The poet’s second response is to point out the true nature of our foundation. It is
not in rules,
not the ten commandments,
not right interpretation of the Bible,
not family values,
not a just society,
not an honest political system.

The only foundation is God himself. The poet tells us that God hates those who love violence (v. 5). He plans to deliver fiery coals and burning sulphur to the wicked (v. 6). But the righteous will see God’s face. He is our only foundation. It is our privilege to walk with him by faith through the evils of the world, until we meet him in a better world to come.

Let’s pray.

Our father, we hear from many sources of decaying and destroyed foundations.
– Preachers complain endlessly about slipping standards in Bible interpretation, in morality and civility and commitment and faith
– The media report mass shootings, corrupt politics, and salacious celebrity gossip.
– Scientists hypothesize, analysts analyze, philosophers philosophize, commentators opinionize, but wisdom has left the building.
– The wheels of western civilization keep turning, but the  motor has seized and the vehicle is coasting.

We come to you, God, because we are frightened and we want to escape. Wouldn’t it be better to abandon this hopeless situation? But that would deny who we are and who you are. You are still God of our world, you work to preserve good and punish evil. We are still your servants. We represent you. Our job is not to preserve ourselves. Our job is to be courageous witnesses, to remind the world that you still care and judge.

We see the crumbling rot in all our systems: in theology, in moral codes, in our Judeo-Christian values, in our own lives. None of our systems can sustain us while civilization fragments and disintegrates. So we turn to the only foundation that is firm. Be our refuge and strength, God, in the midst of chaos. Come walk with us through change and violence, help us walk with you until we see you face-to-face.

Amen.

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