Tag: Prayer

Ep.150: The Annoyers.

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

Here’s a story Luke placed immediately after the Lords’ Prayer (Luke 11:1-4). 

Jesus said, “Imagine a friend comes to town late and stays at your place. But you don’t have anything to feed him, so at midnight you go to the neighbor’s, bang on the door, and shout, ‘Hey! Can you lend me some snacks? I have a visitor to feed.’” 

Your friend will be totally annoyed that you destroy his sleep and wake up his kids. But, says Jesus, if you keep knocking annoyingly your friend will soon enough get up and give you all the snacks you need. 

In Luke 18, Jesus tells another annoying story (Luke 18:1-8). A widow who wants justice against her adversary petitions a hard-nosed judge who doesn’t believe in God and doesn’t care about people. The judge tells her to shove off, but she doesn’t. She keeps on asking. Finally, he gets so annoyed he renders a favorable judgement, just to shut her up.

Some observations on these stories.

  1. First, many people believe I have skills at being annoying, rather like the  householder and the widow in Jesus’ stories. But these days I try to use my skill sparingly. When I annoy people, I’m more likely to arouse anger than helpfulness. Perhaps the people in Jesus’ stories had better skills than I do. 
  1. Second, the judge gave the woman what she wanted. I’m glad I wasn’t the defendant in that case. A judge who doesn’t care about God or people probably doesn’t care that much about the law either. When he gets into his “I just need to make this widow stop” mode, will he deliver a just judgment?
  1. Third, in both stories, the person who receives those untimely and persistent requests represents God. Is Jesus suggesting that God is like the man in bed, unenthusiastic about helping his neighbor? Or is God like the judge who doesn’t really care about people and justice? 

These are wonderful metaphors, not because they teach us that God is easily annoyed, but because they teach us about ourselves. Prayer is the easiest thing in the world to give up on. You know the routine: you ask for something a couple times, but God isn’t listening or answering, so you conclude, “Well, that was a waste of time!” and you quit praying. That’s precisely the attitude Jesus pinpoints in these stories. 

Here’s his message: “The biggest risk to prayer is giving up too soon and too easily.” His suggestion: “Don’t give up. Keep asking, even if your prayer doesn’t work. Even if you feel you’re annoying God.”

4. And finally, I observe that in both stories, the “annoyer” has an element of faith. The householder knows his neighbour well enough to believe he’ll share from his well-stocked cupboard. The widow believes that the judge will help her if she can just motivate him to act. 

Let’s pray.  (scene change)

Our father, we would find it helpful if you were more responsive to our prayers, if we felt we didn’t have to annoy you into action. Teach us to press on in the face of our desperate need and your persistent silence, until we understand that you will give us everything, in your time and your way.

Amen.

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

Ep.149: Psalm 65: You Water the Land.

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

Psalm 65 is notable for what is absent from the psalm and what is present. 

First, what is missing?

  • The poet’s enemies are absent. They aren’t threatening him, they aren’t building traps or shooting arrows, they have disappeared for now!
  • The poet’s desperation has also disappeared. He’s no longer stuck in a dark pit, pleading for rescue and salvation.
  • The poet’s thirst and longing for God? That’s absent too. There’s no hint of his “dry and weary land where there is no water” (Ps. 63:2). This poem is full of refreshing water!
  • And finally, the sense of God’s anger and rejection is absent, very different from Psalm 60 where the poet said,
        You have rejected us, God. . .
            you have been angry–now restore us (Psalm 60:1). 

So. . .if all that is absent from Psalm 65, what is present? 

The most striking presence in the poem is an atmosphere of peace and confidence, because God is redeemer and creator. 

As redeemer, God:
– answers prayer
–  he forgives overwhelming sin
– he gives hope to all the earth
– he welcomes people into his house
– and stills the tumult of the nations.

As creator, God:
– quiets the roaring sea of chaos
– he calls forth joy at morning and evening
– he waters the land with gentle rain
– and dresses the land with grass for the livestock and grain for the people

Let’s pray this joyful psalm.

    Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;
        to you our vows will be fulfilled.
    O you who answer prayer,
        to you all people come (vv. 1-2). 

Our God, we praise you for this work as redeemer. You are the God of answered prayers, the God who receives our good works, who welcomes all people into your presence. 

   When we were overwhelmed by sins
        you forgave our transgressions.
  We are filled with the good things of your house,
        and of your holy temple (vv. 3, 4b). 

Our sins and the sins of the world overwhelm us. But you forgive them all. You replace our overwhelm with joy in your house, with joy as we worship you. Our sense of despair and emptiness gives way to fullness of life under your care.

    You formed the mountains by your power,
        having armed yourself with strength.
    You stilled the roaring of the seas,
        the roaring of their waves,
        and the turmoil of the nations (vv 6-7). 

You are the God of creation. You flexed your muscles and raised up the mountains. You rebuked the primordial sea of chaos and stilled its angry waves. You silence the turmoil of the nations, until all the earth is quiet before you.

       The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders,
            where morning dawns and evening fades,
            you call forth songs of joy (v. 8).

O creator God,  we see in sunrise and sunset the glory in the skies you created. We rejoice in your faithfulness as you call each day into being, then let it pass with a glorious sunset. 

          You care for the land and water it (v. 9a).
          You drench its furrows and level its ridges,
              you soften it with showers and bless its crops (v. 10).
          … the hills are clothed with gladness
          The meadows wear flocks like a robe,
                the valleys wear grain like a garment,
                they shout for joy and sing (vv. 12b-13). 

Each year you continue the work of creation. You water our crops and soften the soil and make grain and flowers grow again. The hills are glad under your care, the valleys shout for joy at the robe of grain you clothe them in.

And we, your people, join all creation in glad song to you, our creator and redeemer. 

Amen.

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

Ep.148: Beaten, Robbed, and Left for Dead.

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

In Luke 10, Jesus told a story about a man who was robbed, beaten and left half-dead. Sounds like an author’s autobiographical first novel to me. Wasn’t Jesus attacked, beaten, robbed, and left to die? 

But I get ahead of myself. When a lawyer asked Jesus how he could inherit eternal life, Jesus said, “You’re a lawyer. What does the law say?” 

The lawyer replied, “It says I should love God with all my heart, soul, strength and mind, and that I should love my neighbour as myself.” 

Jesus said, “Exactly right. Just do it.” 

Still not satisfied, the lawyer said, “OK. But who is my neighbour?” 

What a perfect opportunity for Jesus to explain the text more precisely, to provide a working definition of the word “neighbor” and to clarify exactly what the Bible meant. But Jesus blew it. Instead of doing a word study on “neighbor”, he  told an obscure story about a serious mugging. 

In the story, robbers attacked, beat, and left a traveller half dead. Two religious leaders saw the man and carefully stepped around him. 

Then a Samaritan, from a nation typically unfriendly to Jews, came by. He bandaged the man’s wounds, loaded him on his donkey, deposited him at an inn, and gave the innkeeper instructions and money to care for the man. 

Jesus asked the lawyer, “Which of the three was a neighbor to the man who was mugged?” 

A more astute lawyer would have replied, “I can’t answer the question, because it makes assumptions I disagree with.” But the lawyer in Jesus’ story replied, “The neighbour was the one who demonstrated mercy.” 

I make three observations about Jesus’ story: 

1. Ask most modern preachers about the text “Love your neighbor”, and they’ll define the original Hebrew word using biblical, literary, and cultural context. But Jesus didn’t do that. He told a story that said rather pointedly, “You don’t need to study more. You just need to do it. ” 

2. There’s another way to look at the parable, where we are the victim, religious leaders are heartless bystanders, and Jesus is the Good Samaritan who saves us. Jesus’ message to the lawyer becomes his message to us: Follow me by rescuing the poor, the wounded and the robbed. 

3. Another reading of the parable observes that the most important man ever who was beaten, robbed, and left-for-dead is Jesus himself. Our duty is not to ignore him like the religious leaders did, but to let go of our pride and respectability and to throw in our lot with the dying Christ. In identifying with his suffering we are saved. 

Let’s pray. 

Jesus, you were beaten and robbed and crucified. We choose not to walk past your cross on the other side of the road, pretending we don’t know you, ignoring your hurt and humiliation. We choose not to hide the ugliness of your death behind pretty explanations and carefully worded theology. Instead, we kneel at the cross, letting your pain wash over us and through us, receiving the gifts you give us there. 

Amen.

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

Ep.147: Psalm 64: Hunting the Hunters.

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

Psalm 64 describes the poet’s enemies as hunters and warriors. For example:
– They sharpen their tongues like swords (v. 2).
– They aim cruel words like deadly arrows (v. 2).
– They hide in a blind and shoot at their victims (v. 4).
– Their minds and hearts are cunning as they aim at the righteous (v. 6).

Little do they know that God is also a hunter!
– He will shoot them with his arrows (v. 7).
– He will strike them down (v. 7).
– He will turn their sharpened tongues and cruel words back on them, destroying them with their own weapons (v. 8).

Let’s pray. 

Our father, with the poet we say,
  Hide us from the conspiracy of the wicked,
      from the plots of evildoers (v. 2).

We try not to be overly dramatic, Lord, but we like that word “conspiracy”. Often we feel we are victims of  conspiracy. We know we should pray, but it’s more interesting to catch up on coronavirus news. We want to make better use of our time, but play too many computer games. We want to exercise more and eat less, but we hear the ice cream and the chocolate calling our name. What is this a conspiracy that corrupts us? Are we oblivious to some malevolent influence that causes our failure? 

Our father, in this business of life we reject conspiracy theories. Instead we arm ourselves against our soul’s great enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. With the poet in Psalm 64, we invite you, our God to hunt and destroy these enemies of our soul. 

Our first enemy is the flesh. We confess that our appetites are out of control. We prefer food and comfort to work and discipline, we choose lethargy over exercise, we choose conspiracy theories over personal responsibility. When we look after our own interests, we are strong-willed and diligent. But in our service for you, Lord, we are weak-willed and complacent. Search and destroy the enemy within, strengthen our ability to make good choices and our discipline to follow through.  

Our second enemy is the world. Not the physical world that you created, God, but the world of human culture and philosophy that shapes our values and feeds our desires. This world offers us money, sex, entertainment, food, shopping, travel, sports, not as good gifts from you, God, but as ends in themselves. And we use them to hide from you, to numb our pain, to avoid difficult choices, to escape reality. O God, expose the places where human culture is our enemy. Teach us to value the giver more than the gifts, to love the creator more than things created. Destroy the world’s power over us, tame all things that attract us until we love you with our whole heart, and until we love the world for you sake. 

Our third enemy is the devil, who Paul says schemes against us. Shall we conclude that we fail because “the devil made me do it?”  Rather, with Paul. we put on the armour of God to protect us. There is a battle that rages within us as the good spirit and the evil spirit influence our thoughts and behaviours, as we feel impulses to true love and obsessions with evil. Cleanse us from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit (2 Cor. 7:1). Help us to embrace the good and resist the evil. 

Our father, we invite you who search our mind and spirit to hunt these hunters who hunt us. Strike them down in their cunning evil. Then with the poet we will:
  Rejoice in you
      and take refuge in you
      and praise your name (v. 10). 

Amen.

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

Ep.146: The Man Who Wished His Father Was Dead.

Ep.146: Luke 15:The Man Who Wished His Father Was Dead.

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

One of Jesus’ lost-and-found stories in Luke 15 is about a young man who wished his father was dead. The father lived with two sons on the family farm. The younger son found farm life tedious–a daily grind of chores assigned by a workaholic father who didn’t have a life. The son fantasized about getting a life of his own. All he needed was a bit of money to take him to a happening city.

Unfortunately, the father had to die before the lad could inherit his money, so he said, “Father, I want my inheritance NOW instead of waiting for it.” Surprisingly, his father rolled over, played dead, and gave him the inheritance. 

The son took his money and drew up his personal Declaration of Independence, claiming his right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He dissolved his association with the farm, the family, and his father’s values and opinions. He moved to a country far away and spent his whole fortune on wine, women, food, music, drugs, clothes, and friends. Then he ran out of money and friends at the beginning of a famine. He took a job at a pig farm to survive. His rate of pay? He got to eat what the pigs ate. 

Soon the son thought, “Why should I live like a pig? Back home even the  servants have good food. Maybe I’ll go home and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and you. I’m not worthy to be your son. Can you make me a servant?’” 

When his father saw him coming, he ran and hugged him, ignoring the son’s would-you-let-me-be-a-servant speech. He restored him to full sonship, and threw a  party saying, “My son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” 

I have three observations on this story. In 1886 the philosopher Nietzsche declared “God is dead”. Raised in a strict one-parent German home, in an atmosphere of gloomy Lutheran piety, Neitzsche came to despise the church that used God’s name to impose a cheerless lifestyle. He despised the German politics that used God’s name to build a self-serving empire. He despised the rationalism that used God’s name to oppress minds. 

Like the prodigal, Nietzsche declared his independence from God and home. He went into a far philosophical country where many still follow him today. 

A second observation is that our fantasies about the far country are always better than the country we arrive in. Marx and Lenin built a communist utopia in a country far from God, but the place they arrived in was more confining and repressive than the one they left. 

Our western civilization pursues freedom and justice through education, reason, science, and technology. But our brave new world still has mass shootings, populist leaders, rampant consumerism and massive public debt. This is not the way we imagined it. Perhaps we don’t have the wisdom and resources to build the country of our dreams. 

My third observation about the story is the fact that the owner of the farm did die. A man named Jesus who made the world died one day on a cross because the religious and political leaders had no room for him in their country. But when Jesus returned from the grave and went back to heaven, his Father threw a party saying, “My son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

Let’s pray.  

Our father, with John Greenleaf Whittier we pray,
  Blow, winds of God, awake and blow
      the mists of earth away.
  Shine out, O Light divine, and show
      how wide and far we stray. 

In the words of the Anglican General Confession, 
     We have wandered and strayed from your ways. . .
     We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts.
     We have offended against your holy laws.

Our father, a thousand times we have strayed from you, and a thousand times we have come home. Bring us safely to the time of death, and to our last great homecoming to you. On that day, may we hear you say,
    Rejoice with me!
    My sons and daughters were dead and now they are now alive.
    They were lost but now they are found. 

Amen.

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