Tag: Pray with me

Ep.262: Psalm 127: Unless the Lord Builds the House.

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

Psalm 127 begins: 

   Unless the Lord builds the house,
      the builders labor in vain.
  Unless the Lord guards the city,
      the guards keep watch in vain.
    In vain you rise early
      and go late to rest,
      eating the bread of anxious toil;
      for he gives his beloved sleep (vv. 1-2). 

The poet has quickly disposed of the myths of the self-made man, the lone ranger, and the workaholic. Success is not the result of human effort alone; success comes when God and people work cooperatively. 

The Taliban recently returned to power in Afghanistan, quickly filling the vacuum left by departing Americans. The United States spent twenty years and billions of dollars building and supplying the Afghan government, Afghan infrastructure, the Afghan army, the house of Afghanistan. But it all imploded in one week in August. As the poet says, unless the Lord builds the house, unless the Lord guards the city, the army and the politicians labor in vain. 

The second half of the psalm talks about family:
  Children are a heritage from the Lord . . .
  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
      are sons of one’s youth.
  Blessed is the man
      whose quiver is full of them. 
  He will not be put to shame
      when he contends with his enemies in the gate. 

In an ancient, patriarchal, agricultural society, it was good to have sons to work the fields, protect the family, and defend the city from enemies at the gates. The poet gives God credit for building the family: children are indeed a heritage from the Lord.

Let’s pray. 

Our father, how often we append a prayer to our plans, asking you to bless them. But the poet sees a more cooperative process, in which we build the house when you are building, or we guard the city you are guarding, or we leave our work undone when you invite us to rest. Give us, we pray, that inner sense of how to cooperate in the work you are doing.  

How different was the poet’s life from ours. We are less patriarchal, less agricultural, more technological. No walled cities. No enemies gathering at city gates. Instead, the threats to our religion and way of life are corrupt ideologies, lying conspiracy theories, and violent fundamentalist movements in Islam and Christianity. The lure of hedonism calls our sons and daughters away from the godly heritage we have tried to give them. Our children are a heritage from you, our city and country a gift from you. Guard our heritage as we try to preserve what is good and resist what is evil. 

Amen. 

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

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.261: When Faith Doesn’t Work.

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

Hebrews 11, the great chapter about faith, says: 

   What more shall I say?
  I do not have time to tell about
    Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets,
    who through faith
          conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised;
    who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of flames,
            and escaped the edge of the sword;
    whose weakness was turned to strength. . .

  There were others who were tortured,
    refusing to be released so they might gain a better resurrection.
    Some faced jeers and flogging, chains and imprisonment.
    They were put to death by stoning; they were sawn in two;
                they were killed by the sword.
    They went about in sheepskins and goatskins,
            destitute, persecuted and mistreated—
            the world was not worthy of them.
                – Hebrews 11:32-38a

There it is: two sides of faith. One is a glorious and victorious side, where the faithful do mighty works to conquer kingdoms, escape death, and turn weakness into strength. 

And then there’s the other side, where the faithful are abused, punished, imprisoned, and killed. 

Which faith outcome do you prefer? Do you think God presents a smorgasbord of options so you can choose your own meal? 

The prosperity gospel emphasizes one part of faith. It says that by faith you can become “all God intends you to be”. Live inspired. Reach your dreams. Don’t associate with naysayers and doubters. Let faith lift you to success and happiness and wealth. 

Fortunately, Hebrews tells the rest of the story. Some by faith faced jeers and flogging, chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, sawn in two, killed by the sword; destitute, persecuted, mistreated–the world was not worthy of them (vv. 37-38).   

I try to live in a safe zone between these two options, these extremes. A place of North American riches. . .but not too rich. A place of comfort. . .but not too comfortable. A tolerant society where I am not persecuted for my faith. A peaceful life where I don’t try to conquer kingdoms, shut the mouths of lions, or quench the fury of flames. 

How does that old doggerel go? 

  The high soul takes the high road and the low soul takes the low,
  And in between on the misty flats, the rest drift to and fro.
          (John Oxenham, The Ways, paraphrased).

Let’s pray. 

Our father, we do not understand our motives. Satan accuses us, as he did Job, of following you because you’ve made our lives easy. We have tried to be faithful, but our faith has not conquered heights or faced persecution. 

Is there room in your kingdom for us average people? For those of us on the misty flats, surviving but not thriving, faithful but not outstanding, honest but not to a fault? 

The apostle Paul’s description of faith includes slaves who work for their masters, women who endure unreasonable husbands, men who try to be kind, church leaders who are helpful and sober. 

O Jesus, are these works of faith? Receive our lives as we live them, our hearts as we offer them, our goods as we give them, and our prayers as we pray, “Your kingdom come”.  

Amen. 

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

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.260: Psalm 126: Song of the Dreamer.

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

Psalm 126 begins, 

  When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
      we were like those who dreamed.
  Our mouths were filled with laughter,
      our tongues with songs of joy.
  The Lord has done great things for us,
      and we are filled with joy (vv. 1-3).  

The poet doesn’t tell us what recent disaster needed God’s intervention and restoration. But he does say how it felt to see God’s work: It felt like living in a dream! Who could believe God had showed up after the awful happened, and changed it all to good. 

And now the poet needs another miracle. He prays,
  Restore our fortunes, Lord,
      like streams in the Negev (v. 4).
Once again the poet’s circumstances require God’s intervention. “Like streams in the desert” he says–streams that most of the year are dry and dusty; but when the yearly rains come, they fill with refreshing water.

Then the poet gives another image of the yearly cycle.     
Those who go out weeping,
        carrying seed to sow,
    will return with songs of joy,
      carrying sheaves with them (v. 6). 

I have always wondered why anyone would sow with tears. I once heard a missionary say: As planting time approaches and the family food supply runs low, the father protects their precious stock of spring seed. Yes, it could be used to meet immediate needs, but the farmer resists the crying of his family, and in sorrow sows the seed in hope of harvest. 

When harvest happens, it is another example of God restoring the fortunes of the poor. The farmer returns with sheaves of wheat, singing songs of joy. He too is a dreamer, who can hardly believe that the long year has brought fruition to his dreams. 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, my dreams of late have been anxious: I am late to class, unprepared, unclothed, and fearful. Where do these dreams come from? Restore my fortunes, drive out my anxieties, bring me back to peaceful dreams. 

Father, I have a small garden this year, with tomatoes I grew from seed and scarlet runner beans and a raspberry bush that has withered in the heat. I did not sow in tears, but I feel the power of the poet’s metaphor. There is a season for sowing and one for harvesting, and a time for weeping and time for joy. 

Be with us in these seasons of our lives. Tend us as we grow, remember us in your harvest at the end of the age.

Amen. 

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

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.259: Psalm 125: A Theology of the Mountains.

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

Psalm 125 moves between two visions of Jerusalem: one is the city destroyed by the Babylonians; the other is Jerusalem, the city of God–permanent, secure, protected. 

I think the poet navigates these two conflicting pictures by focusing on Mount Zion, the rather small mountain on which Jerusalem is perched. Unlike the city, the mountain is settled, unshakeable. It becomes a picture of God’s faithful people, who are also settled and unshakeable in his protection. Like the mountains surrounding Mount Zion, the Lord arranges himself around his people to protect them. 

The poet’s choice of images is instructive. We too want a secure city, a reliable world free of chaos and destruction. But we live in Jerusalem, the city of human culture and civilization, subject to devastation, disease, and decay. So we turn our eyes from the failing city of man to Mount Zion, God’s dwelling place. The earth below, the skies above, and the mountains around are enduring signs of God’s care and protection. 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, on vacation in the Rockies, I saw mountains surrounded by mountains, and mountains beyond mountains. You surround your people like mountains–beautiful, breath-taking, permanent.

And yet, like the city of Jerusalem, our lives keep changing. We live in a pandemic that reorders society, the smoke of wildfires invades our cities, social order fragments, morality declines. Our bodies turn to dust.

We say with the hymn writer,
  Change and decay in all around I see,
      O Thou who changest not, abide with me. (Henry Francis Lyte. Abide with Me, 1847).  

With the poet we pray, 

   May the rod of wickedness not rest
      on the portion of the righteous (v. 3a).
    Do good to those who are good,
      to those who are upright in heart (v. 4). 

Yes, Lord, deliver us from evil. In our lives and in our world, replace the rule of wickedness with your reign of righteousness. Bring your kingdom to our churches, our cities, our world. Renew us with hope, revive us with life, do good to those who are good. 

Amen. 

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

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.258: Psalm 124: The Big If.

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

Psalm 124 talks about the Big If. It says,
  If the Lord had not been on our side
      when people attacked us,
  they would have swallowed us alive
      when their anger flared against us;
  the flood would have engulfed us,
      the torrent would have swept over us,
  the raging waters
      would have swept us away (vv. 1-5). 

That’s the Big If:
   If the Lord had not been on our side (vv. 1a, 2a).        

Occasionally, the Bible encourages us to imagine a different reality than the one we are experiencing. God did this before the flood, when he saw endless evil in his humans. He regretted he had made them (Gen 6:5). Clearly, he imagined a different reality, a reality where people would love him, honor one another, and respect creation. So God decided to start over with the righteous Noah to see if his imagined reality might become real. Sadly, it didn’t. The sin infection ran just too deep in the human race. 

In today’s psalm, the poet imagines a different life than the one he is living. What would have happened if God had not been on the side of his people? What if God had ignored their needs, or sided with their enemies? The poet imagines the disasters that would have come–swallowed alive, like a snake swallowing a mouse. Trapped, like a bird in a snare.  Swept away like a tsunami, destroying life and property.

Let’s pray. 

Our father, our lives are haunted by the Big If.
– What if we were born into poverty instead of riches?
– What if we were born to war instead of peace?
– What if we were born to drug addiction and homelessness?

And what if we had made different choices? Choosing
– Despair instead of faith?
– Hatred instead of love?
– Darkness instead of light?

Our father, with the poet we shift our gaze from the things we imagine to the things that are. You have watched over us so that: 

   We have escaped like a bird
      from the snare of the fowler,
  Our help is in your name, O Lord,
      maker of heaven and earth (vv. 7-8).

Thank you for being our helper and guide, for delivering us from evil that might have occured, for leading us to a place of peace, for promising us a place called home.

Amen. 

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

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube