Tag: Pray

Ep.184: Psalm 82: God Demotes the “Gods”.

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

In Psalm 82, the poet imagines a court scene where the God of Israel conducts an enquiry into the competence of lesser gods who look after the nations on earth. God, the presiding judge, castigates the rulers of earth for favoring the wicked instead of dealing out justice for the poor and needy. Clearly, these rulers have failed in their role of supervising the nations, so the God of Israel summarily demotes them from god status to mortals who will die (vv. 6-7). 

Author Robert Alter summarizes the worldview of this psalm by saying: “In the ancient world, the multiplicity of nations is associated with a multiplicity of gods: Each nation has its patron god . . . as well as a variety of gods and goddesses who preside over the various realms of nature. But [in Psalm 82] that order has now proven to be judicially and morally bankrupt, and it is the God of Israel alone Who holds . . . all the nations of the earth.” (Alter, Robert. The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary. W. W. Norton & Company: eBook, Chapter 82.) 

Alter continues, “…this poem is concerned with the infuriating preponderance of injustice in the world . . .God speaks out in the assembly of lesser gods and rebukes them for doing a wretched job in the administration of justice on earth.” Alter says this poem transitions from a mythology of multiple gods to a monotheistic perspective, as God rudely demotes the lesser gods from their divine status.

The apostle Paul echoes some of the same themes when he urges Christians to put on the full armor of God, because “Our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12). 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, we thought the problems of our world could be traced wholly to the decisions of humans and their rulers. But we see in this psalm an interplay of visible earthly forces and invisible heavenly powers.

In the 1950s when Geoffrey Bull, a missionary to Tibet, was imprisoned for three years in Maoist China, he underwent a brutal program of torture and indoctrination into Marxist thought. But his faith enabled him to believe the abuse and indoctrination were delivered under a false and passing worldview.  His book God Holds the Key describes the battle for his mind and heart, and affirms you, God, as the source of life and truth. 

As you did for him, our God, we invite you to open our eyes to the false politics, the false gods, the spiritual powers that want space in our hearts and minds. Cast down every ruler but Christ, demote every god but yourself, strip away all our beliefs and all our allegiances to any power but you. With the poet we pray,
    Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
      for all the nations are your inheritance (v. 8). 

Amen

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

Ep.183: The Apostle Paul at Prayer.

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

Over the next few weeks, we will consider prayers from the apostle Paul. But first, a confession: I find Paul’s personilty and his writings difficult. He seems a driven man, first when he persecuted the church, then when he travelled the world as a missionary and wrote hard-hitting theological letters. I might enjoy interviewing him for a news story, but I wouldn’t want to travel with him. And I would not be enthusiastic about sharing his arguments and imprisonments and beatings and shipwrecks.

Even today, his harsh judgments and confrontational style intimidate me and make me feel guilty.

Here’s an example. In Galatians, Paul says, “When Peter came to Antioch I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. . . . I said to Peter in front of them all, ‘You are a Jew yet you live like a Gentile. So why do you force the Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?” Sounds like a Type-A personality–tightly wound, intense, impatient, verging on hostility. “I opposed him to his face,” he says.

And there’s Paul’s lovely little suggestion to those advocating circumcision for Christians. He says, “As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and castrate themselves” (Galatians 5:12). Was circumcision really that big a deal? 

At one point, Paul parted company with his friend and colleague, Barnabus, rather than give Mark, who had deserted him, a second chance (Acts 15:36-29). I would not have fared well under Paul’s supervision. 

And yet, from this hard nosed Type-A personality comes some of the most compassionate and fatherly statements in scripture. He calls Timothy “My dear son” (2 Tim. 1:2). He writes to the Thessalonians, “We were gentle among you like a nursing mother caring for her children” (1 Thess. 2:7). And he writes to the Corinthians, “We have spoken freely to you . . . our heart is wide open.” (2 Cor 6:11).

Perhaps I shouldn’t fear Paul’s volatile emotions and extreme statements. Maybe I should see him as a fellow human and fellow servant of God. If he’s too confrontational, I am too reticent. If Paul is too hard-nosed, I am too soft. If Paul is too driven, maybe I am way too comfortable.

I agree with Peter who said, “[Paul’s] letters contain .  .  .  things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort. . . to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16). God guided Paul’s writings and heard his prayers. Maybe I should listen instead of distorting. 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, there is much in scripture we stumble over. The fifth commandment says, “Do not murder”, but the Old Testament makes a grand exception for the wars that Israel perpetrated and endured. 

The first two commands are “Love God” and “Love your neighbor.” But Jesus engaged in scathing word battles and endless conflict with the religious leaders of his time. Paul did the same, turning a scorching pen on those he felt were enemies of himself and God and the gospel.

But he was your servant, and you heard his prayers, and guided his mission. And like Christ his Lord, you led him to execution by the Roman Empire. And brought him to everlasting life in Jesus’ name. 

May it be so for us.

Amen. 

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

Ep.182: Psalm 81: Worship Band and Obedience.

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

Psalm 81 opens with a hymn of praise, performed with vocals, drums, a stringed instrument (perhaps an ancient ancestor of the guitar) and a unique wind instrument–a ram’s horn. Sounds almost like a modern worship band!

This rollicking celebration at the new moon festival was part of Israel’s constitution–the standard operating procedures given by God when he freed them from Egyptian slavery. God didn’t legislate a culture of dour, straight-laced correctness. He invited people to celebrate, to rock a bit. 

He also wanted a culture that honored him as the God who gives freedom. Author Vernard Ellard in his book, The Mad Morality paraphrases God as saying to Israel, 

   “I’m the God who set you free, right?”
    Right.
   “I’ve adequately demonstrated that your freedom is my prime concern, right?”
    Right.
   “So I’m going to give you 10 suggestions for how to stay free. I’ve dealt with your slavery to Egypt. But beware of other people and other things that offer freedom. Because I’m the only God out there who wants people who are free, not a nation of slaves.” (Paraphrased from Ellard, Vernon. The MAD Morality or the Ten Commandments Revisited. New York: Abingdon Press, 1972. pp. 16-17). 

But the people broke God’s rules and his heart by giving their freedom to false gods. Listen to God’s cry:
    If only my people would listen to me,
      if Israel would only follow my ways,
    how quickly I would subdue their enemies
      and turn my hand against their foes
    I would feed you with the finest of wheat;
      with honey from the rock I would satisfy you (vv. 13-14, 16). 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, we bring to you the false gods that offer us freedom.

Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein worshipped the god of sex, but ended his life hanging in his prison cell. Lord, help us not to offer our freedom to the god of sex. 

We think of the T-shirt that reads, “Don’t mess with my freedom, my firearms, my family, my faith”. Is the wearer confident that if anyone messes with him, he is strong and wise enough to mete out justice with a gun? O Lord, help us not to offer our freedom to the god of individualism, the god of self.

We think of rigid doctrinal purists who are confident they have the right method to interpret scripture, and the right doctrines derived from scripture, and the right morality based on scripture. O Lord, help us not to offer our freedom to the god of rationalism, the god of rigid systems, the god that places our own definition of truth above the command to love you and people and creation.  

We think of people who are slaves to conspiracy theories, waiting anxiously for the next cryptic revelation from QAnon or the next announcement of world-ordering decisions from the Illuminati or the next hint of suspicion about which evil actors developed and distributed COVID-19. Lord, help us not to lose our freedom to anxious thoughts and to fearful imaginings about the great evils that stalk our world.

With the poet we pray, 

  • help us listen to your voice.
  • help us believe your words more than all the clamor on the Internet.
  • help us rest in the fact that it is you, not the Illuminati nor the wealthy nor the powerful, that rule our world.
  • help us hope in your soon coming that will set the world to rights. 

Amen

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

Ep.181: Psalm 80: God of Gardens, God of Armies.

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

Today we look at Psalm 80, a lament for the overthrow of Israel, and a plea for God to make a U-turn, to stop delivering the country to destruction and to begin restoring it. 

The psalm is marked by several striking pictures of God. It opens,
    Hear us, shepherd of Israel,
        you who lead Joseph like a flock.
    You who sit enthroned between the cherubim. . .
      Awaken your might;
      come and save us (v. 1-2).

In these two verses, the poet addresses God as shepherd of Israel, as king whose throne is in the temple, and as a mighty saviour who ought to rescue his people. 

Then follows a refrain that occurs three times in the psalm (vv. 3, 7, 19). The poet says,
    Restore us, God of Armies,
      make your face shine on us
      that we may be saved (vv. 3, 7, 19).

Do you find it odd asking God, the commander of armies, to smile at you? President Trump is the commander-in-chief of the U.S. army, but he isn’t famous for his smile.

As the poem continues, it describes God as a gardener who transplanted his vine, Israel, from Egypt into the Promised Land.There, he carefully tilled the ground and planted the vine, tenderly caring for it until it covered the whole Promised Land from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean. But now, God has let the wall around his vineyard crumble. Wild boars trample the vines, insects infest them, and passers-by help themselves to the grapes. “Why have you let this happen?” asks the poet. “After all the trouble you took transplanting and tending the vine, have you suddenly quit caring about it?” 

Let’s pray the pictures of God from this psalm. 

Our father, God of Armies, the nations of our world look for strongman leaders. 

  • Leaders who project decisiveness and strength in the face of racial and economic and social conflict. 
  • Leaders who express sympathy for the troubles and prejudices of common people. 
  • Leaders who do not care about political correctness or moral values. 
  • Leaders with simple solutions to complex problems. 

God of Armies, it is your strength we need, for the time is coming when the strength of human leaders will fail, when their power will be revealed as weakness, and their wisdom as foolishness.

Our father, shepherd your people in these times. Lead us to wisdom. It is simple to believe in you, but not easy. In much of your church we see rigid theological opinions, strange political affiliations, unscriptural belief in individual freedom, and little understanding of community. Bring us out of our worldly values into the fellowship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Expose our illusions of self-sufficiency and lead us into community.

You who sit enthroned in your holy temple, help us live as holy people, as members of your family, as people set apart to serve you. Anxiety disorders increase during COVID-19, government support for the unemployed draws to an end, the count of sick and dead surges. O God, repair the wall around your garden, care for your vineyard again, look in mercy on all you have created, for the sake of your son Jesus Christ, who shared our human condition.

Amen

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

Ep.180: Making Jesus’ Stories Ours.

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

In recent episodes, we looked at twenty stories Jesus told. Today, let’s think about what we’ve learned from them.

I once asked a missionary, “Has your theology changed in forty years since you graduated?” 

He rightly understood it as a trick question. If I believed theology was fixed and should never change, his answer might make him look like a heretic. But if he hadn’t changed in 40 years, it might look like he wasn’t thinking and growing? 

He replied wisely and honestly: that his main discovery since graduation was that scripture gives us not a system of theology, but mostly stories to believe. 

He was right. The central article of our faith is the story of Jesus. Our English word “gospel” comes from Old English “gōd spel”, which means “good story”. 

In C. S. Lewis’ story, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the children discovered that the back of their wardrobe sometimes became an entrance to the world of Narnia. In the wardrobe of my life, Jesus’ stories serve that function. My closet is full of worn out clothes and dubious ideas. But when I enter life through the stories of Jesus, they invite me into a new world with different characters and different plot. Jesus broadens my perspective to the possibility of new adventures in a new country. 

That’s how Jesus’ stories work for me. They aren’t just entertainment in the crowded wardrobe of my life. Instead, they tell me who I am, they paint a picture of the person I could be, they tell me where I could go if I step out of my wardrobe into the country of grace. 

As I listen to Jesus’ stories, I  am the woman making bread from 60 pounds of flour, using a bit of yeast to make the whole batch rise. In the back of my flour-dusted, doughy, yeasty wardrobe, Jesus promises, “If you let just a little of my kingdom into your life, and soon I will change all of it.” 

I am the prodigal who prefers parties and entertainment to life on the father’s farm. I fill my days with video games and Facebook and YouTube and messaging. But in the back of my cluttered, computer-driven social media wardrobe is a land where the father waits with open arms of welcome and forgiveness. Shall I run into his arms today? 

I am the prodigal’s older brother, regular at church, faithful in service, careful about my duties, insistent that all prodigals deserve law and order, not mercy. I stand with feet firmly apart and pistol ready to protect the family farm and the local religion from wayward and irresponsible and violent prodigals. But in the back of my righteous and well-ordered wardrobe, the father invites me to a new land where forgiveness reigns, where severity and self-protection give way to partying with prodigals. 

In Jesus’ story, I also become the father. If I look out the back of my wardrobe, I see a neighbourhood of people who need relationships and faith and life. Maybe it’s my turn to play the father, to come out of my closet, and kill the fatted calf, and light the barbeque, and throw a party for the whole neighbourhood. 

Let’s pray.

O Jesus, your stories invite us not to refine our theology, but to live our best lives, to move out of the narrow confines we live in, to explore the expanse of your country. O Jesus, touch our hearts with your stories, help us imagine the bigger and better life you offer. Help us find our way through the back of our wardrobe into the country where you are king. 

Amen. 

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