Tag: prayer

When You’re Facing an Impossible Situation, part 3 (Daniel 2:17-19)

What do you do when you are facing an impossible situation?  If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you probably know the answer to this question.  It’s easy, right?  You pray.  Unfortunately, that is far too often the last thing we do.  We try everything else we know to do first.

Now, in this passage in Daniel 2, the advisors of the king had struck out, enraging the king by holding their position that they would be unable to interpret the king’s dream if he wouldn’t tell them what the dream was.  He was fed up with their fraud.  But Daniel heard about it.  The first thing he did was to respond to Arioch, the captain of the guard, with “prudence and discretion,” which won him an audience with the king.  From there Daniel, “went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king” (Dan. 3:16).

But then Daniel prays.  Recently we were in a church situation in which we didn’t know what to do.  We had tried talking, writing letters, some people even resigned from their positions.  It did no good.  The other side was unwilling to listen.  So we did what we should have done from the beginning, we prayed about it.  This was Daniel’s first resort; why is it so often our last?

“As Daniel made his way back there, mixed thoughts must have whirled through his head. He had just been in the very presence of Nebuchadnezzar, high and mighty as he was, and he had told him that he, Daniel, young as he was, would reveal to him what mature wise men had not been able to tell.  Furthermore, at that moment, he had no idea what this information was.  He did not know what the king had dreamed.  Would God really honor him so much as to tell him?  He had never experienced this kind of miraculous contact with God before.  Would it really happen now?” (Leon Wood, A Commentary on Daniel)

17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

First, it is vitally important that we see that Daniel’s God-given ability to interpret dreams was nothing that he depended upon without spending time in prayer asking for God’s help.  Just because God gave Daniel the gift so that he “could understand visions and dreams of all kinds” (Daniel 1:17) doesn’t afford Daniel the excuse to just rely upon himself and his own understanding.  The possession of giftedness does not alleviate us from consciously and purposefully depending upon the empowering work of God’s Spirit (1 Peter 4:10-11) so that He will receive the glory.

Daniel will do two things that demonstrate his dependence on God’s gracious provision: (1) he urges that God be sought for needed answers (vv. 17–18), and (2) he gives God credit—in private and in public—for the revelation of the king’s dream (vv. 20–23, 27–28).  Because for Daniel the demonstration of God’s glory took precedence over his own safety, Daniel was confident that God would answer his prayer” (Gleason L. Archer Jr., Daniel, vol. 7 in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, p. 43).

Daniel was practicing Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

That’s the key!  We ALL tend to lean on our own understanding; we ALL depend on our own strength; we FAIL to acknowledge him, which is why we get so confused and start to question things; and we DON’T trust in the Lord, but we trust in ourselves.  Before doing anything, try this: pray before you do anything.

When Hudson Taylor was sailing to China to begin his missionary work, his ship was in great danger.  The wind had died, and the current was carrying them toward sunken reefs which were close to islands inhabited by cannibals—so close they could see them building fires on the shore.  Everything they tried was to no avail.  In his journal Taylor recorded what happened next: The Captain said to me, “Well, we have done everything that can be done.”  A thought occurred to me, and I replied, “No, there is one thing we have not done yet.”  “What is that?” he queried.

Of course, the answer was, “We need to pray.”  Of course, they all survived this situation.

Daniel was willing to take a stand and risk his life for God’s glory.  But what lay behind all that and what gave power to it, was a life of prayer in which Daniel regularly acknowledged his utter dependence upon God and sought God’s help.  He knew “I can’t” but “God can” because he had experienced it many times.

Notice that what Daniel did first was to go home (“Daniel went to his house…” v. 17).  He didn’t escape into the wilderness.  He didn’t run away.  He went home where he regularly practiced his spiritual life (cf. Dan. 6:10), his spiritual disciplines.  Matthew Henry says, “He went to his house to be alone with his God, for from him alone, the Father of lights, he expected this great gift” (Commentary on the Whole Bible, p. 1085)

Daniel made the matter known to “Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions.”  Notice the use of their Hebrew names here.  Not only does it reveal that these were the names they used amongst themselves, apart from their official capacity in the kingdom, but it may also reveal that in these moments they reminded themselves that they definitely needed to focus on the LORD’s grace, uniqueness and willingness to help his people in distress—attributes to which these names allude.  It is good to remind ourselves of the attributes of the true God as we pray.

Amir Tsarfati, in his book on Daniel, says, “These teenagers knew what most Christian adults forget.  When you have a problem, the very first thing you do is get on your knees and pray.  You don’t work out the numbers.  You don’t Google opinions.  You don’t make a list of pros and cons.  These options may all come into play later, but the number one action we must always take when faced with a difficulty of whatever magnitude is to immediately put it in the hands of God who can do all things” (Discovering Daniel, p.43).

Even more significant is the fact that he called his friends together and “made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, his companions.”  Well in advance of Jesus’ teaching in the New Testament (Matt. 18:19-20), Daniel was aware of the advantages of corporate prayer.  Once again, he was not a lone ranger.  Daniel was not prideful or over-confident.  He didn’t try to do it all himself.  He wasn’t using this situation to seek after his glory and get all the credit for himself.  Neither did he place confidence in his own powers.  Instead, he surrounded himself with a team, sharing with them the details of the situation.  They, in turn, could help him share the load by praying together.

“The prayer meeting is the pulse of the church… The prayer meeting is the rallying point where the power of faith in the church concentrates, and takes hold on the arm that moves the world… The spirit of prayer, and the love and practice of the prayer meeting, will so give organic strength to the church as to make her terrible as an army with banners” (Edward Hulse, The Prayer Meeting and Its History).

Richard Strauss notes: Praying friends are a blessing, and “In prayer meetings such as this history has been made.”

Edward Dennett notes that this “is the first instance of united prayer recorded in Scripture; and the fact that these children of the captivity resorted to it, discovers to us the secret of their holy and separate walk” (Daniel the Prophet: and the Times of the Gentiles, p. 22).

Throughout this book, Daniel and his friends are presented as men of faith and prayer (Dan. 6, 9).  As Matthew Henry says, “Whatever is the matter of our care must be the matter of our prayer” (Commentary on the Whole Bible, p. 1085).

Again, one of the ways that Daniel was able to practice a non-anxious presence is that he had a community of friends with whom he could share his burdens.  He knew he needed their prayer and support (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).  Also, he had a consciousness of God, God’s presence and power, and his need for God.

These facts are what allowed Daniel to maintain a non-anxious presence in the high-anxiety world of Babylonian politics—regular practice of spiritual disciplines, and some good friends.

And what did they do?  They prayed together.  Daniel “told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven, concerning this mystery.”  Daniel knew that only God, the true God, could provide Daniel with the interpretation of the king’s dream and this is the only way that their lives would be rescued.

They believed what the Psalmist had proclaimed:

“The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.  He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.  The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy” (Psalm 145:18-20)

Daniel and his companions placed confidence in such a passage because they had demonstrated their faith by avoiding defilement during their training and by refusing to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s idol.  They had proven themselves to be among those “who fear Him.”

They knew that they needed mercy, to escape the punishment demanded by the enraged king, they needed God to show mercy and deliver them from their miserable plight.  In making this request, they were echoing Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple in 1 Kings 8:50, that in the times to come God would cause their captors to show his exiled people “mercy.”  They knew that their hope rested on God alone and they needed Him to come through for them.

Iain Duguid points out: “It is particularly amazing that they echoed Solomon’s prayer at this point, for the temple for which Solomon prayed was then in ruins, abandoned by the Lord and destroyed by the Babylonians.  Yet even in the complete absence of earthly signs of God’s favor, they nonetheless trusted in his bare word of promise to be their God in the midst of their distress, no matter where they might find themselves” (Daniel in Reformed Expository Commentary, p. 23).

I love the way C. S. Lewis puts it in chapter 5 of the Screwtape Letters, speaking of the Law of Undulation, which pictures our normal experience as consisting of both the highs of victories and God’s manifest presence and the lows of defeats and experiences of God’s seeming absence.  Screwtape, warning his Nephew Wormwood, a junior demon, says, “Our cause is never more in danger, than when a human, no longer desiring, but intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”

This is what Daniel and his friends were doing—taken captive in a foreign land, with their lives in danger, seemingly forsaken, they kept on obeying and kept on depending upon their God for mercy.

Trusting in God is never a comfortable situation to be in, for by definition it means that all human means of support have failed.  But because we have a God who does attend to us and has promised to protect us and provide for us, we can trust Him.

In this case, God answered Daniel’s prayer by revealing to him Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation.  This was the way that God showed “mercy” to Daniel and his friends, by revealing the dream and its interpretation to Daniel.

It is not clear whether Daniel was asleep or awake (2:1), as God gives visions during both states (cf. 7:1; 9:20-23); possibly Daniel and his friends remained fervent in prayer until God granted understanding.

Christianity begins with the principle of revelation.  We depend upon things revealed to us.  What we know about God is what He has revealed to us.  We do actively seek Him, but we seek what He has revealed.  Our job isn’t to figure things out about God on our own, but to understand what He has revealed to us.

These men knew that their lives were at stake and so you can imagine the urgency and fervency of their prayers.  Whether the other wise men knew anything about Daniel’s supplications to God and how they were prayed for the purpose of sparing their lives, we don’t know.  Many people benefit from our prayers.

Warren Wiersbe encourages us to see in Daniel and his friends an apt example for us.  He says, “When God’s people today face a crisis, they need to follow the example of Daniel and his friends and take the matter to the Lord in prayer.  Faith is living without scheming, and faith brings glory to God.  Daniel and his friends couldn’t take credit for what happened because it came from the hand of God.  ‘Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you shall glorify Me’ (Psalm 50:15 NKJV)  ‘Whatever God can do faith can do,’ said A. W. Tozer, ‘and whatever faith can do prayer can do when it is offered in faith.  An invitation to prayer is, therefore, an invitation to omnipotence, for prayer engages the Omnipotent God and brings Him into our human affairs’” (Weirsbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1350).

Apparently, after they had prayed and gone to sleep, God “revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night” the mystery of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.  Possibly God gave Daniel the same dream He had given to Nebuchadnezzar.

The only way for us to know the plans, thoughts, and hidden things of God, is if He reveals them to us.  Philosophers can sit around a table and theorize, but they won’t be able to understand the mind of God.  A visionary can lay under a tree and meditate, but he won’t be able to discover God’s plans.  Scientists can identify how the laws of nature work, but they won’t be able to plumb the hidden things of God.

However, God didn’t leave us in the dark. He has revealed Himself to us so that we can fully know and understand Him.  While His primary revelation about Himself is through the Scripture, He also reveals Himself to us through creation and our conscience.  In Daniel’s case, it was through a vision.

I find it amazing that Daniel wasn’t up all night pacing the floor, worried about the king’s edict and what might happen.  He slept in peace, trusting God to answer.  He entrusted himself to the sovereign plan of God.

In Psalm 4:8 David said, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”

This is one of several passages in the book of Daniel highlighting the biblical balance between divine sovereignty and human responsibility.  Who can doubt if Daniel and his companions had not fervently sought the Lord things would not have turned out as well?  God is sovereign, yet allows (even expects) His creatures to move His hand through the power of prayer.

I also find it amazing, to my chagrin, that Daniel immediately started praising God for his answer.  Even with his life in the balance, Daniel took the time to give thanks to God for the answer he had received.  I often wait until I see the answer or I forget to thank Him altogether.   In fact, what I probably would have done is gone immediately to Nebuchadnezzar with God’s answer to prove my importance to the king!

This is where we often fall short, isn’t it?  We pray passionately and diligently for a deliverance from our trials, but when that deliverance comes, we fail to return our thanks to God.  Like the nine out of ten lepers healed by Jesus (Luke 17:12-19), we go on our way rejoicing that our problems are solved.  Eager to get on with life, we forget the one from whom our blessing comes.  But Daniel knew better.  He takes the time to praise God for the awesome deliverance he has received, before he brings the answer to the king.

“Daniel’s first response was to bless the Lord for hearing and answering their petitions.  They asked for wisdom and God gave it (James 1:5) and His mighty hand stopped the execution process and gave the four men time to pray” (Warren Wiersbe, Commentary on the Whole Bible: OT Volume, p. 1350).

In vv. 20-24 we have Daniel’s prayer of praise and thanks to God.  This is the second thing most of us forget to do, to thank God for His answer.

Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.  Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might.  He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.  To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”

And we will dive deeper into this prayer of praise next week.

They Keep Watch Over Your Souls, part 2 (Hebrews 13:18-19)

Last week we talked about the obedience and submission that congregations owe to their spiritual leaders: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb. 13:17).

But that is not all we owe our leaders. Verses 18-19

18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. 19 I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.
If we don’t pray for our leaders, they will certainly be preyed upon. Satan would like nothing more than to destroy the lives and testimonies of our spiritual leaders and he seems to be having a field day lately.

Jesus told Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32).

Peter didn’t know how vulnerable he was to Satan’s attacks and most of us are not vigilant enough to successfully avoid his deceptions and temptations. The only way that Peter survived this ordeal and didn’t end his life like Judas did, is because Jesus prayed for him. That same thing may be true for any pastor today: Unless people are praying for you, you will fall and fail. The situation is that precarious. If you don’t want to see your pastor fall, then be praying for him.

Fortunately, we know that both the Son (Romans 8:34) and the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26) are constantly interceding for us—that is one of our assurances that we will persevere to the end and be saved. But we need the intercession of other believers to help us from falling into particular sins or making grievous mistakes in ministry. We need others praying for us and to know that they are praying for us.

If Apostles needed the prayers of the churches, how much more ordinary ministers! “Brethren, pray for us.” (John Brown, Geneva Series Commentaries: Hebrews, 713) Charles Spurgeon indicated that the success of his ministry was not really due to his own giftedness or earnestness, but the prayers of his congregation.

Spurgeon was a19th-century English preacher and pastor of the New Park Street Chapel in London, England, later named the Metropolitan Tabernacle.\

The church held 5,000 people. With no sound system, it was said that his voice could be heard by all.

A group of young ministers called on him one day to see the large preaching place. After showing them his massive sanctuary, Spurgeon offered to show then his “boiler room.” The guests declined but the pastor insisted.

Spurgeon led them to the basement. They found about 100 people in prayer. “This,” Spurgeon said with a smile, “is my boiler room.” Whenever Spurgeon was asked the secret of his ministry he always replied, “My people pray for me.”

The thought occurred to me: “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every church had a boiler room; an asking place in the building where people would seek the will of God.

Nothing warms a preacher’s heart more than to have a faithful member say, “Reverend, I want you to know that I pray for you.”

Thus, Mark Labberton says, “I’m convinced that the dynamic life of the congregation I serve is explained by God’s grace answering the humble prayers of ordinary believers who seek God’s blessing for all we do. That is the story of power and prayer. I am utterly dependent on the way the prayers of such saints have changed my life and ministry. I think the same is true of our whole church. We are what we are by the grace of God at work through the prayers of these saints who lean on God for our sake and for the sake of all we long to see happen in our ministry, both locally and globally” (Mark Labberton, The Dangerous Act of Worship, 129).

So our author asks his hearers to pray for him, as Paul often does as well (Rom. 15:30-32; Eph. 6:19-20; Col. 4:3-4; 1 Thess. 5:25; cf. Phil. 1:19). Paul knew that if he was not prayed for, he would be preyed upon. The world, the flesh and the devil are our constant enemies, seeking to bring us down. Again, seeing how many pastors have fallen just in the past five years is a warning to us to keep our pastors in our prayers.

The reason that our writer wanted his readers to pray for him is because “we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.” Previously the “cleansing” (katharizō) of our consciences by the blood of Christ referred to the objective result of forgiveness, which immediately removes defilement and disqualification to approach God’s presence. Now, however, a (lit.) “good [kalos] conscience” reflects the subjective transformation God’s grace produces in believers’ motivations and desires over time.

I think this first of all points back to all that he has communicated to these Hebrew Christians, saying that his conscience is clear in all that he has written—it was done with honorable intentions and for their good.

The writer’s conscience is clear because he has performed well in his spiritual duties toward his friends. His conscience has made him confident toward both men and God. Similarly, Paul could write, “For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you” (2 Corinthians 1:12). And, “By the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 4:2). What a blessing a clear conscience is! When the conscience is clear, one can ask wholeheartedly for the prayers of all the saints.

Likely this refers to the warnings that he has given his readers. Like Ezekiel, who was a watchman for old covenant Israel, the author of Hebrews was tasked with encouraging his audience away from apostasy and with telling them what would happen if they abandoned the Lord (see Ezek. 3:16-21). Having fulfilled that role with this letter, the author and his fellow workers could rest, knowing that they had done their duty.

But I also think he is wanting their prayers so that he could continue to live with a good conscience. It not only points back to previous ministry but forward to potential ministry. He doesn’t just want to preach the gospel to them; he wants a life that’s lived in line with the gospel. He knows how important it is to practice what he preaches. He knows that he needs the gospel preached to himself every day and asks that they would pray that he could live in line with that gospel.

Paul David Tripp has written a book entitled Dangerous Calling, which is written to pastors with the realization that we can go through the routines of ministry without having a genuine, deep relationship with the God we proclaim. In other words, in the words of John Piper, we have become “professionals.” In that book Brothers, We are Not Professionals, Piper writes:

We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry … Professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and heart of the Christian ministry. The more professional we long to be, the more spiritual death we will leave in our wake. For there is no professional childlikeness (Matt. 18:3); there is no professional tenderheartedness (Eph. 4:32); there is no professional panting after God (Ps. 42:1).

Professionals can stand apart from a congregation and speak dispassionately. A true pastor cannot. A true pastor gets personal. A true pastor is real before his congregation. A true pastor practices what he preaches. A true pastor knows that the most important thing he can give to his congregation is a holy life. A true pastor knows that he deeply needs the prayers of his congregation in order to live faithfully before them.

God’s leaders face temptations that most other believers do not face to the same degree, because Satan knows that, if he can undermine the leaders, many others will go down with them. If he can get them to compromise, to weaken their stand, to lessen their efforts, to become dejected and hopeless, he has caused the work of Christ great damage.

Paul did not hesitate to ask for prayer. “Pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6:19). How much more do God’s ordinary ministers need the prayer of their people. (John MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur NT Commentary: Hebrews, 448). If the apostle Paul was that aware of his need for prayer, how much more the rest of us who attempt to serve the Lord! As Paul exclaimed, “Who is adequate for these things?” (2 Cor. 2:16).

Our author’s request honors his hearers, implying that they have the priestly privilege of access to God’s throne of grace (Heb. 4:14-16). He wants them to realize how vital this is for his success in ministry and in life. Maintaining a good conscience means that he can confidently stand before the judgment seat knowing that he will be rewarded for the “gold, silver and precious stones” with which he has built his ministry.

The verb “pray” is present tense, showing that our writer recognizes his need for their prayers constantly, not just occasionally. It also graciously indicates that he knew that they had already been praying for him. Notice also that he asks pray for “us.” Up until now Paul has sometimes placed himself in the same status as his readers, but he is probably referring to Timothy, who may be able to come with him when he next visits (Heb. 13:23).

Also, the fact that he asks them to pray for him indicates that not all of them had apostatized. He hardly would have asked for prayer from them if he knew that all of them were unbelievers. No, he was confident that at least some of his readers would persevere, so he turned to them for spiritual assistance. His readers, in turn, were to pray for him and his fellow workers, believing that God just might allow the author to visit them sooner. After all, we know that prayers do much in the purposes of God, and through our prayers He often works out His will (James 5:13-18).

Our writer makes one simple request, “that I may be restored to you the sooner” (v. 19). This is why he wanted them to “more earnestly” (v. 19). Like the Apostle Paul, he loved his followers so much that he longed to be with them. This shows his great affection for them. He wanted to see them face to face and have fellowship together. If they fail to pray, his return to them may be slowed or possibly never take place. But if they pray, he expects that their prayers will speed his restoration.
Some obstacle stood in Paul’s way; some difficulty blocked his path. We don’t know if it was a health problem, persecution and imprisonment or something else. Possibly some critics voiced the idea, “If he really cared for us, we would have seen his face by now!” But the author’s heart was to visit them, and so he asks them to pray.

His request shows that God is bigger than any circumstance we face, and that prayer is our means of laying hold of God’s power. Prayer is not just a polite gesture that shows brotherly concern. God has ordained prayer as one of the ways that He pours out His power and blessing on His people. Prayer shows us that we are not competent people who just need a little boost from God now and then. We are totally inadequate, unless He works, and He has chosen to work through our prayers. If more people prayed more regularly for their pastors, maybe there would be fewer church splits and fewer people leaving churches over petty matters, fewer pastors quitting. (adapted from Steve Cole’s sermon Your Duties Toward Church Leaders).

As far as the writer to the Hebrews was concerned their prayers determined if and when he is reunited with them. This shows how seriously he regarded their prayers for him and how important prayer is as a secondary cause of God’s will being enacted. God is sovereign, but prayer makes things possible that otherwise would not be possible. (John MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur NT Commentary: Hebrews, 449)

He knows that if the readers pray for him, the bond of unity between himself and the recipients of his letter is strengthened. And if they pray, they indicate that the message he conveys has been well received. (William Hendriksen & Simon J. Kistemaker, NT Commentary: Hebrews, 428)

His desire to be “restored” to them implies that he had previously ministered among them. This explains his detailed knowledge of their previous experience (Heb. 6:9-10; 10:32-34). Like other NT authors, he prefers ministry offered in person to written correspondence (Gal. 4:18-20; 3 John 1-14). He has urged them to encourage each other daily as they meet together (Heb. 3:14; 10:24-25), and he is eager to join them in that interaction. In the second cycle of closing news he will indicate that Timothy may accompany him “if he comes soon” (13:23), reemphasizing his sense of urgency to return to them “soon.”

A. W. Pink reminds us pastors: “If ministers desire the prayers of their people, then let them see to it that they are not backward in praying for those God has committed to their charge. This is an essential part of the minister’s functions. It is not sufficient that he faithfully preaches the Word: he must also fervently and frequently ask God to bless that Word unto those who have heard him. O that all who are called to the sacred office may feelingly exclaim “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you” (1 Sam. 12:23). (Arthur W. Pink, An Exposition of Hebrews, 1265-6)

If you want to hear a better sermon Sunday, then pray for your pastor throughout the week. R. Kent Hughes encourages us: “How different the modern church would be if the majority of its people prayed for its pastors and lay leadership. There would be supernatural suspensions of business-as-usual worship. There would be times of inexplicable visitations from the Holy Spirit. More lay people would come to grips with the deeper issues of life. The leadership vacuum would evaporate. There would be more conversions. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Hebrews, vol. 2, 239)

This passage emphasizes the mutual ministry between the pastor/preacher and the congregation. For the pastor to be able to remain faithful in his life and ministry he vitally depends upon the prayers of the people. This is the body image that Paul expounds upon and to which the author of Hebrews frequently alludes. So Philip Ryken says:

The metaphor of the church as a body is employed by the NT to represent both our union with Christ and mutual dependence: “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’” (1 Cor 12:21). We need each other: “We, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Rom 12:5). We need each other’s gifts (Eph 4:11-16; 1 Cor 12-14; Rom 12). We need each other’s graces (as in the many “one anothers” found throughout the NT: love one another, be kind to one another, bear one another’s burdens, etc.). We need each other’s fellowship. So we are warned, “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together.” The writer to the Hebrews sees the public assembly as the primary place in which the mutual stimulation to “love and good deeds” takes place: “Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Heb 10:24-25). (Philip Graham Ryken, Give Praise to God A Vision for Reforming Worship, 330-1)

The simple truth is that we need each other. We are not independent titans who can conquer the world on our own, but a band of brothers who together, each fulfilling our God-given roles with the gifts God has graciously given to us, can accomplish great things together.

On one of his visits to the Continent, Charles Spurgeon met an American minister who said, “I have long wished to see you, Mr. Spurgeon, and to put one or two simple questions to you. In our country there are many opinions as to the secret of your great influence. Would you be good enough to give me your own point of view?” After a moment’s pause, Spurgeon replied, “My people pray for me” (in Iain Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon [Banner of Truth], p. 44). Maybe we should listen to him.

Remember: Your pastor, if you won’t pray for him, he will be preyed upon. Satan would love to discourage him, to make him fall, to bring about some moral failure, because Satan knows, the bigger they are, the harder they fall, and more people fall in their wake. In other words, if your pastor falls, many people will be disillusioned. Of course, to be disillusioned, that means that they had to have the illusion to begin with that their pastor was a superman who could never fall. So pray for your pastor, pray diligently, pray earnestly for him.

Quotes to Ponder

This first quote is about prayer from Ray Ortlund’s Christ is Deeper Still blog…

“Maintenance prayer meetings are short, mechanical and totally focused on physical needs inside the church or on personal needs of the people present.  But frontline prayer has three basic traits: a) a request for grace to confess sins and humble ourselves, b) a compassion and zeal for the flourishing of the church, and c) a yearning to know God, to see his face, to see his glory.”

Tim Keller, “Kingdom-centered Prayer,” Redeemer Report, January 2006.

Here are some quotes about idolatry:

“Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God, your functional savior. ”
― Martin Luther

“If you uproot the idol and fail to plant the love of Christ in its place, the idol will grow back.”
― Tullian Tchividjian, Jesus + Nothing = Everything

“By giving us control, our new technologies tend to enhance existing idols in our lives. Instead of becoming more like Christ through the forming and shaping influence of the church community, we form, and shape, and personalize our community to make it more like us. We take control of things that are not ours to control. Could it be that our desire for control is short-circuiting the process of change and transformation God wants us to experience through the mess of real world, flesh and blood, face-to-face relationships?”
― Tim Challies, The Next Story: Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion

“Mindset of the man too busy: I am too busy BEING God to become LIKE God.”
― Mark Buchanan, The Holy Wild: Trusting in the Character of God

“Idolatry’ is the practice of seeking the source and provision of what we need either physically or emotionally in someone or something other than the one true God. It is the tragically pathetic attempt to squeeze life out of lifeless forms that cannot help us meet our real needs.”
― Scott J. Hafemann, The God of Promise and the Life of Faith: Understanding the Heart of the Bible

“Could it be that desire for a good thing has become a bad thing because that desire has become a ruling thing?”
― Paul David Tripp

“Idolatry is attached to everything. All of our bitterness, all our impurity, all our malice, all of our problems, everything that troubles us is a result of idolatry. And what is idolatry? It’s taking a good thing and making it an ultimate thing.”
― Timothy Keller

“Possibly the most debilitating deception of all is to create a god of my own making, fool myself into believing that this limp god of mine is the true God, and then construct the entirety of my life on this flamboyantly fictional character. Possibly the most devastating realization of all is when the real God shows up, and in the showing up all of this come crashing down.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“Detecting and destroying idols is an ongoing battle.”
― Brad Bigney, Gospel Treason: Betraying the Gospel with Hidden Idols

“The true god of your heart is what your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding your attention.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

“If your deepest feelings are reserved for something other than Almighty God, then that something other is an emotional idol… if you get more excited about material things than the simple yet profound fact that your sin was nailed to the cross by the sinless Son of God, then you’re bowing down to Tammuz.”
― Mark Batterson, All In: You Are One Decision Away From a Totally Different Life

“If we love someone more than we love God, it is worse than inordinate – it is idolatry.
When God is first in our hearts, all other loves are in order and find their rightful place.”
― Elisabeth Elliot

“Images of the Holy easily become holy images — sacrosanct. My idea of God is not a divine idea. It has to be shattered time after time. He shatters it Himself. He is the great iconoclast. Could we not almost say that this shattering is one of the marks His presence? The Incarnation is the supreme example; it leads all previous idea of the Messiah in ruins.”
― C.S. Lewis

“People make crummy gods.”
― Matt Chandler

“We are molding Jesus into our image. He’s beginning to look a lot like us because, after all, that is who we are most comfortable with. The danger now is when we gather in our church buildings to sing, and lift up our hands in worship, we may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead, we may be worshiping ourselves.”
― David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

“Idolatry, like all sin, is devastating to the soul. It cuts us off from the comforts of grace, the peace of conscience, and the joy that is to be our strength.”
― Elyse M. Fitzpatrick, Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus

“To the extent that we are trapped by the overvaluing, idealizing tendency, we are not free fully to celebrate the limited but real goods of creation. Idolatry by definition is not an accurate assessment of creaturely goods, but an overvaluing of them so as to miss the richness of their actual, limited values. If I worship my tennis trophies, my Mondrian, my family tree, my Kawasaki, or my bank account, then I do not really receive those goods for what they actually are – limited, historical, and finite – goods which are vulnerable to being taken away by time and death. When I pretend that a value is something more than it is, ironically I value it less appropriately than it deserves. Biblical psychology invites us to relate ourselves absolutely to the absolute and relatively to the relative.”
― Thomas C. Oden, Guilt Free

“Suffering always reveal idols of the heart.”
― James MacDonald, Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling: Changing Lives with God’s Changeless Truth

“Shall I say of you that you worship the image of your God that you have in your mind, but not your God?”
― Margaret Landon, Anna and the King of Siam

“The greatest idol I will never truly remove is self.”
― Pastor James Wilson

M’Cheyne Bible Reading, January 7

Today’s readings are from Genesis 7, Matthew 7, Ezra 7 and Acts 7.

Genesis 7 records the flood.  That it was global is clear from verse 19, where it says…

19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered.

flood chart (genesis 7-8)

Noah and his family, and the animals that gathered to the ark, were the only ones who survived.  Note in verse 16 that it says that “the LORD shut them in.”  God made them safe and secure in the Ark, just as He makes us safe and secure in Jesus Christ.

Matthew 7 finishes Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  It begins with the verse that has superceded John 3:16 as the most well known verse in American society–“Judge not lest ye be judged” (Matthew 7:1).  Of course, from the context we know that this was not meant to exclude all judgment, but to be careful in our judgment.  To get the speck out of our brother’s eye, we have to judge.  There is judgment being made in not casting one’s pearls before swine.

What an encouragement to pray is verse 11, “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”  Since our earthly fathers give us good gifts, “how much more” will our Heavenly Father!  All we have to do is ask!

I’ve always thought, when comparing the narrow and broad paths (Matthew 7:13-14), that the narrow path led in one direction and the broad path in the opposite direction.  But in reality, the broad path could be all around the narrow path, on every side, since upon the broad path are religious unbelievers who look, act, dress and speak a lot like true believers.

It is scary to think that people in ministry, who do even miraculous things, can be unsaved.  It is possible to be deceived about one’s salvation (Matthew 7:21-23).

Ezra 7 speaks of the return of Ezra (and others) to the land of Israel.  Even though the book begins with the first return under Zerubbabel, Ezra doesn’t come until 57 years later.

Ezra’s priestly pedigree is first established (Ezra 7:1-6a), then his spiritual credibility (Ezra 6:b, “and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him.”), then his teaching pattern (Ezra 7:10).  And lastly, a letter of recommendation from the king (7:11-26).

This is a great pattern for any teacher of God’s Word…

10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

Study…do…teach.

“The order is very significant, for you cannot effectively practice what you have not thoroughly learned, and you cannot convincingly teach what you have not practically applied.” [Note: Laney, p52.]

Ezra then gives thanks for all the “loyal love” God had shown to him (Ezra 7:27-28).

Acts 7 is Stephen’s speech before the Sanhedrin.  He first recounts Israel’s history.  I wonder if his mentioned of Moses (their hero) being rejected (Acts 7:24-28) and then again in the wilderness, was meant to set up a statement about them rejecting their Messiah.  But Stephen didn’t get that far.  He directed a stinging rebuke against them that they did not even keep their own law (reinforcing the bad news that they were sinners) and they rushed him and stoned him.

51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit.  As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?  And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

In his death, Stephen imitates our Lord, surrendering his spirit (Acts 7:59) and asking God to forgive his murderers (Acts 7:60).

M’Cheyne Bible Reading, January 1

Today’s readings are from Genesis 1, Matthew 1, Ezra 1 and Acts 1.  All of them focus on new beginnings–of creation, the gospel (birth of Christ), Israel returning to the land, and the church.  This is the beginning of a new year, a time to start something, to take a new path.

All of these events were also miraculous, or at least far beyond anyone’s imagination.

“Evening and morning,” “evening and morning,” six times in Genesis 1, reminding us that the pattern from the beginning has been to rest first and then to work.  And that is just like the gospel–we rest first in the finished work of Jesus Christ, then we work for Jesus Christ.  It is not that we do not work, but that we put work in its proper place.  Through resting in Christ we gain the strength to work for Christ.

Joseph had to trust God (Matthew 1), that this child in Mary’s womb was really sired by the Holy Spirit.  It was not obvious, but something that the angel declared to him.  Trust God and wait for Him to fulfill His promises.

Here is another “unbelievable miracle” in Ezra 1.  The people of Judah were in captivity in Persia (the recent conquerors over Babylon).  They had been in captivity nearly 70 years and some had never seen their beloved land.  They had almost lost hope.  But God “stirred the spirit of Cyrus” to release them to build a house to the Lord, rebuild a lost temple.  He also stirred the spirits of the people to return.  God made good on His promises to Israel.  He “moved heaven and earth” to return them to the land.  Don’t lose faith that God can move the spirits of even the most powerful leaders.

Acts 1:14 says “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”  They were awaiting the promised Holy Spirit in prayer.  How I wish this were true of the church today!  People united in prayer–what a wonderful sight.  God was about to do something new, and His people were united in devoted prayer.  Keep praying in faith for God to do something new.

Your Pastor, Prayed For or Preyed Upon

Lamar Austin, November 8, 2018

How the mighty have fallen.  Over the past several years a number of big-name pastors have fallen and are no longer in ministry or have changed ministries.  All of us pastors are susceptible to moral improprieties, abusive power, lack of self-control, burnout and all the struggles which come from being set upon a pedestal.

Sometimes pastors quit the ministry because they have been chewed up and spit out by a congregation of people who were supposed to love, support and pray for him.

So pastors fail and congregations fail.  One of the best ways to keep either from happening is by praying for one another.

Several years ago Terry Tekyl wrote a book entitled Prayer For or Preyed Upon.  In it he asks the question, “Could the pastor be the least prayed for person in the
local church today?”

In Luke 22 Jesus tells Peter:

31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you,that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

Jesus begins by warning Peter that he is much more vulnerable to Satan than he knew.  Jesus clues us in to this as a rebuke of Peter by using his former name, “Simon, Simon.”

The word “behold” can mean “pay attention” or “watch out.”  The reason he needed to watch out is that Satan was on the prowl and wanted to “sift you like wheat.”  Sifting is part of the agricultural process that began with plowing of the land,  sowing/planting of the grain; reaping and threshing or trampling of the stalks of grain.

It is the threshing stage that is being referred to here.  After reaping the corn or wheat, stalks would be placed into threshing floors constructed in the fields.

Animals then drug threshing equipment over the stalks of corn or wheat in order to separate the grain from the husks/chaff.  The husks and grain would then winnowed by tossing into the air to allow the wind to blow away the husks/chaff.

The grain would then remain, but it would be mixed with  stones and lumps of soil which clung to the roots when it was reaped.   A sifter or sieve would be used to separate the grain from the stones. The grain would be tossed into the air during this process.

Sift like wheat

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi1suOtwcbeAhUh54MKHSZRAbcQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DYOvaZe-yL_Q&psig=AOvVaw3GFXlYPPkyVMHoT6-rRnCs&ust=1541824871792163

What Jesus is saying is that Satan wanted to agitate and throw him around violently.

John Piper illustrates:

We can imagine a picture like this: Satan has a big sieve with jagged-edged wires forming a mesh with holes shaped like faithless men and women.  What he aims to do is throw people into this sieve and shake them around over these jagged edges until they are so torn and weak and desperate that they let go of their faith and fall through the sieve as faithless people, right into Satan’s company.  Faith cannot fall through the mesh.  It’s the wrong shape.  And so as long as the disciples hold to their faith, trusting the power and goodness of God for their hope, then they will not fall through the mesh into Satan’s hands. (The Sifting of Simon Peter, April 26, 1981)

We get a clue what Satan was attacking by looking at Jesus’ prayer “that your faith will not fail.”  What Satan wants to destroy is Peter’s faith.

However, the good news for Peter (and for us, Romans 8:34) is that Jesus was praying for him, actually had been praying for him.  And that made all the difference for Peter and will for us as well.

Peter did not realize how valuable he was to Jesus.  Jesus had been praying for him that his faith will not fail and that after he returned he would strengthen his brothers (would retain his leadership position).

And Jesus’ prayer was answered.  Peter did fail, but his faith did not.  Earlier that night we see Peter’s bravado and self-confidence on display when he would say in response to Jesus..

“Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33)

It’s almost as if Jesus was saying, “I don’t need your prayers.  I’m perfectly capable of standing with you to the end.”

Years later, when Peter would look back on God’s work in his life, he wrote in chapter 1 of his first epistle:

6 In this [ultimate salvation] you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith–more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire–may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

“The tested genuineness of your faith” is what Peter experienced that night.  His bravado and self-confidence were shot to pieces, much dross was eliminated, but what was left was “more precious than gold,” real faith, true faith.

What causes Peter’s faith to be refined instead of destroyed and what ultimately made his leadership stronger?  Undoubtedly the pray of Jesus Christ.

Your pastor (me included) seldom realizes how vulnerable he is to Satan or how valuable he is to Jesus.  Won’t you join Jesus in praying for your pastor?  His very life and leadership depend upon it.  Your pastor needs prayer partners.  Tell him you will be one.