Pray – Hope Walking

Let Him In!

Jack was jogging through his local county park one grey afternoon when he felt an intense pain run down his left arm. Slowing his pace he turned down a wooded path that led back to his car. The light grew dimmer, and then, much to his surprise, the sun appeared and he noticed a wall on each side that he’d never seen before. At the end was a white gate, then a green garden filled with sunshine.

When Jack reached the gate a kind-faced woman opened it, smiled and said, “Welcome Jack. I’m Marie. They’re expecting you. Please sit over by the flowering tree and someone will be right with you.”

Then she walked about 30 yards, went through a door in a hedge, and was gone.

Jack knew he should be disturbed by these strange circumstances, yet he wasn’t. He felt uncommonly relaxed. He was wondering what tree produced such colorful and fragrant blossoms, and where his car had gone, when a young handsome man approached him.

“Welcome, Jack,” he said. “I’m Elias. I just want to ask you a few questions and your escort will take you to your room. Do you have any favorite colors?”

“Well, I really like yellows, bright blue and white. But why do you want to know?” asked Jack.

”We’re getting your place ready for you,” Elias said as he made notes in a file folder. “What view do you prefer: woods, fields, mountains, lake?”
“Lake, please,” said Jack. “But tell me, why am I here? Am I dead?”
“Not anymore,” Elias said.“You had a heart attack on the jogging path. When you walk through the door in the hedge you will enter unending life. There is just one thing you will do before you go to that door. It is our custom here to let the newest arrival greet the next arrival, as Marie greeted you. I’ll stay here with you until he arrives.”

Jack couldn’t tell how long they waited. It seemed to him that time was no longer important. He felt content and joyful like never before. He wanted to sit there forever. Then he heard steps approaching the gate. Elias took out another file and said, “This is Mike. Please open the gate and let him in.”

Jack happily walked toward the gate, but when he saw Mike, everything changed.

A volcano of fear, grief, hate and anger erupted inside Jack. He reheard the shouts, the shots, the explosive crash, saw the blood everywhere and felt the cold face of the friend he loved.

“No!” he cried. “No! I can’t let him in. Elias, don’t you know what he did?”

Elias’s eyes spoke understanding, but his voice was steady and low. “No, I don’t know.”

“Don’t you have his record?” insisted Jack incredulously.

“No, we don’t. All records were destroyed by our Lord.”

“There must be a record somewhere,” Jack insisted.

“Oh, yes, there is, but it’s not here. The Accuser has it. He saves everything.”

“The Accuser?”

“Yes, the Accuser. In Hebrew he’s called Satan.”

“Wait, you have some records. When I got here you knew my name and some of my history.”

“Oh, yes, of course we know some things, like when you started to follow the Lord. Let me see. Michael Sullivan. Born again April 18, 2021, McCreary Prison, Lexington, Kentucky.”

“You have prisoners here?!” Jack exclaimed.

“Oh, no! We don’t imprison anyone. That would be the other place. So, are you going to let him in?”

“Look, I don’t see why I am under any obligation to open the door for Mike. That would be like saying I forgive him for what he did to me.”

“Precisely”

“But I never agreed to that.”

“Oh, but you did. Thousands of times.”

“Thousands of times? When?”

“Did you ever pray the prayer the Lord taught his disciples?” Elias asked. “You call it the Lord’s Prayer.”

“Of course I’ve prayed it. Ever since I was a kid. We even used to pray it in school when I was little. What’s that got to do with this?”

After a pause, Elias continued, “Did you pray ‘forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us?’”

After a long silence Jack admitted he had.

“Well, then,” Elias said. “Forgive Mike the way our Lord has forgiven you…totally.”

“But that’s impossible,” Jack wailed.

“God never asks us to do impossible things. Hard, but not impossible.”

“But, can’t I ask God to forgive me even if I can’t forgive Mike?”

“Let me ask you something, Jack. Do you remember the story of the prodigal son? Even when his father begged him, the older son refused to join the party.”

Jack quickly glanced at Mike, waiting to be let in, and nodded.

“Do you still have the letter?” Elias asked.

Jack knew what letter Elias meant, the letter from the Victim-offender Reconciliation Program at the prison.

“Look,” continued Elias. “the door to unending life is right over there. It’s called forgiveness. It’s not called, “I forgive” or “I’m forgiven” it’s simply called “forgiveness.” You either want to go there, or you don’t. As soon as you let Mike in you can go together.”

Jack shook his head. “I can’t. I’m not ready. I need more time.”

“You want more time, Jack?” Elias asked.

Jack nodded.

“Granted.”

Jack felt his body lift and fall. Glaring lights blinded him. He heard a “beep, beep, beep” over his head.

“He’s back,” exclaimed a woman in blue scrubs.

‘Oh, no!” thought Jack. “What have I done?”

***********************

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. Mark 11:25

A Crumby Prayer

What if there were prayer screeners in Heaven – maybe a panel of judges that rate your prayers from zero to ten before they are sent on to the Throne Room? How would you do? No doubt you have heard some eloquent, beautifully spoken prayers at churches, ceremonies, and formal events. Would you give them a “10”? Would Heaven?

What if you were at the end of your rope, or sick, or depressed, utterly exhausted and could hardly put three words together, would God listen to you?

One day such a woman harassed Jesus. Matthew calls her a Canaanite woman; Mark calls her a Syrophoenician woman; I call her a mom – a mom with an incurably sick little daughter. She hears Jesus is in town and she has no time to compose a winning plea for his help. She rushes to the house where Jesus is trying to remain unseen and starts yelling for Jesus.

“Have mercy on me, Lord,” she cries, “My daughter is horribly demon-possesed.”

Falling on the floor at his feet she begs, “Lord, help me!”

But there seems to be a problem. This mom is a Gentile and Jesus was sent to the children of Israel. He tells her it wouldn’t be right to take the bread from the children and give it to the pets. The children have to eat first.

Whenever you are tempted to give up praying, remember this woman!

“But,” she says.

“But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

What a crumby prayer! She admits she will settle for whatever bread will fall to the floor. Well, after all she is already down on the floor.

But much more than that, she knows who is making the bread.

When she started yelling for Jesus she called him “Son of David.” That’s the title of the heir to the royal throne, the Messiah, God’s anointed. These are no ordinary crumbs.

“Woman,” Jesus told her, “your faith is great! You may go. The demon has left your daughter.”

What bread do you need today?

In the prayer Jesus taught, we pray, “give us today our daily bread.”

We don’t need eloquence to ask God for what we need – we need confidence in who He is.

By all means, when you can, compose beautiful songs and prayers of praise to God. But when you can’t find words, that’s okay.

“Lord, help me” is enough.

************

Scripture reference: Matthew 15:22, Mark 7:25

Father In Heaven

Where is Heaven?

You’ve probably prayed these words thousands of times, “Our Father who art in Heaven.” Where do you imagine Heaven is?

We throw the word heaven around a lot in our modern culture, naming ice cream, pizza parlors and ski resorts after it. Folks often say, “I was in heaven when ……” I doubt they mean anything close to what the followers of Jesus thought when he taught them to pray.

First century people had a simple understanding of heaven and earth. Earth was where they lived, walked, grew crops and buried their dead. Heaven was everything above earth, and who knew what all lived there? They easily perceived that powers and forces out of their control lived in the heavens. Thunder, lightening, hail storms and whirl winds, they thought, were the work of spirits, or gods, who had to be appeased or placated.

We have left behind the idea that Baal is hurling lightening at us, but the heavens are still very much mysterious to us. And somethings, like the recent polar vortex that froze all of Texas, remind us that we are not in control either.

Neither do we know very much about what is beyond earth. For the first time today NASA released a recording of wind on the planet Mars. Getting that sound recording was very impressive. But Mars is not far at all compared to what is out there. Take a look for yourselves on an imaginary trip through the heavens by clicking here.

If the heavens are of such magnitude that we cannot even imagine how big they are, did Jesus want us to imagine God is out there, somewhere, distant and unseen? Absolutely not!

If you were a Jew listening to Jesus teach you might have thought of God as the one who came down with thunder and lightening to give Moses the Torah on Mount Sinai. If you were a pagan listening to Jesus, you would have believed a multitude of gods and goddesses lived above the clouds, and, being afraid of them, you would have build altars and offered gifts to make them favor you. Either way you would not have been relaxed to be in the presence of Heaven.

And then Jesus spoke:

“Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven’

“I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

So, next time you look up at the sunny sky or peer out into the sparkling stars say this to yourself, “Wow! My Father made all that. And he’s bigger than all that. But he told me he knows me and cares about me. How awesome is that!”

Matthew 6:8-9, 25-26,7:7-11(ESV)

Calling God

What do you call God?

What words did Jesus use to refer to God? Stop and think a minute. Can you recall? I word-searched through the Gospels and this is what I found: God, the Lord, the father, my father, your father.

When you need him, what do you call God?

My friend recently gave me a lovely prayer shawl, complete with blue stripes and tassels. When I tried it on I noticed the word Abba was woven into the cloth over and over. Abba is Hebrew for father.

In my neighborhood we have a family that moved here from Israel. One afternoon Annie, their little girl, climbed an exercise structure and made her way out onto a horizontal bar. She hung there but soon realized how high up she was.

Frightened she yelled“Abba! Abba! Abba!” I watched her father sprint across the playground and grab Annie.

“Abba, Abba,” I cry when I am afraid or stuck.

My little neighbor knew her father would come. How do we know our Father will come?

In my previous blog I introduced the Hebrew name for God, Yahweh. When Moses first met God he asked God what his name was, and God told Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.”

Yahweh means the existent one. When you’re reading your English translation of the Old Testament and come to LORD, lord printed in all capital letters, you know the name Yahweh is there in Hebrew.

In ancient cultures a name told you something about that person. God’s Hebrew name tells us he is the one who existed before all other things.

But we need to know more, so Moses, later on, asked God to show him who he was so we could know him.

And this was God’s answer to Moses, and to us:

The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

Will God care when you are afraid and call him? Yes! He is merciful.

Will God take care of you, as Annie’s father did? Yes! He is gracious.

Will God be patient with you? Yes! He is slow to get angry.

Will God pay attention to you? Yes! His love for you is bigger than you imagine.

Will God be there when you need Him. Yes! He is always faithful.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray “our Father,” inviting us into relationship with God.

The invitation is clear. God says, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you.”

What are you waiting for?

Scripture references: Exodus 3:1, 34:6, Psalms 50:15

The God Who Answers

What is the name of the God you pray to? We know it’s important to identify who we’re talking to; that’s why we have caller ID. If I don’t know who it is, I don’t pick up. Would you like to know God “picks up” when you call?

A long time ago in Israel the people had a choice of which God to call on. They were in a desperate situation. No rain had fallen on the land in over 3 years. They were running out of food to eat, and they had to turn their farm animals loose because they couldn’t water them.

The prophet Elijah told the people Israel’s God, the Lord, Yahweh, was the true and living God and they needed to worship only him. But the people were not so sure. There were hundreds of prophets telling them to worship Baal. Baal was known as the god of storms, rain, lightening and thunder. The people were afraid that if they stopped praying to Baal it would never rain. They couldn’t make up their minds, so God told Elijah to help them.

Elijah set up a contest on top of a mountain and called all the people to come watch. The prophets of Baal came, all 450 of them. Elijah brought two bulls. He gave one to the Baal prophets to kill and burn as an offering to their god. BUT they could not light the fire; no matches or lighters. They had to call on Baal to come down and consume the bull. Elijah would call on Yahweh to light the fire under his bull. Whichever god sent fire would show he was the true god.

This should have been easy for Baal, because he was supposed to be the god of lighting. One bolt would do it. So Elijah sat down and watched them call on Baal to light their fire.

Elijah sat and watched all morning, and so did the huge crowd, but nothing happened. Around noon Elijah started to ask them where Baal was.

“You better yell louder,” Elijah said. “Maybe he’s asleep and you need to wake him up.”

The prophets yelled as loud as they could, dancing around the altar. But nothing. No one answered.

“Do you think he’s away? “ Elijah taunted. “Maybe he’s on vacation. Or maybe he had to go to the bathroom.”

Finally the prophets got knives and cut themselves until their faces, arms and legs were covered in blood. They thought that would bring Baal, who liked the smell of blood. But nothing happened.

When it was time for the traditional evening sacrifice to Yahweh, Elijah told everyone to come watch him.

Elijah had gallons and gallons of water poured all over his bull, sticks and stone altar until the water ran everywhere. There was no way anyone could light that fire. What was he thinking?

Then Elijah prayed, “O Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Yahweh, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Yahweh, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”

When he finished praying fire from Yahweh fell. It burned up the bull. It burned all the sticks and the stones of the altar. It even licked up the water. Nothing remained, not one drop of water. The people fell down and worshiped Yahweh. And the bogus prophets ran away in fear. A few hours later it started to rain hard.

Once in a village just outside Jerusalem Jesus stood in a contest. The people could not decide who he was, even though he had told them. So he stood outside the tomb of his friend Lazarus who had been dead for four days. There was a large crowd, and when Jesus asked for the door to the tomb to be rolled away, everyone expected a horrible stench to come out.

But Jesus prayed, ““Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”

Then Jesus yelled, “Lazarus, come out!”

The surprised crowd fell silent. But the silence was pierced by the joyful shrieks from Lazarus’ sisters as they ran to embrace him.

Some persons standing there believed in Jesus, that he was the Messiah, the Son of God. But the sad thing is, others didn’t. And some even plotted to kill Jesus, which they did.

We all have to choose to whom we pray. And it matters.

God says to us, “Call on me in a day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor me.” (Psalms 50:15 ,CSB)

I hope you will read the details of these events. Click here for the story of Elijah (1 Kings 18) and here for the story of Jesus and Lazarus ( John 11.)

You may wonder if God is still doing amazing things today. I recommend these books: The Case for Miracles by Lee Strobel and Miracles by Eric Metaxas.

Why Pray?

How many persons can you name whose prayers are recorded in the Bible? Stop now and make a list. Then note where and why they prayed.

STOP NOW and make your list.

Did anything about your list surprise you? Maybe you are surprised by how few prayers you can remember.

I can help you. In the Bible the first person who prayed was Adam: then the man (Adam) said, “This at last is bone of my bones!” Prayer is talking to God, and Adam is expressing his delight with Eve to God. I am sure Adam is talking to God, because there is no one else there. Our prayers, too, can be spontaneous exclamations of joy or sorrow.

Here’s another famous prayer story: Daniel in the lions den. Did you know Daniel was thrown in the den of hungry lions because he was praying and giving thanks to God? Then it was the King, who threw Daniel in, who prayed the lions wouldn’t eat Daniel! You can read it in Daniel chapter 6.

See if you can guess who prayed this: “In my distress, O LORD, I called to you, and you answered me. From deep in the world of the dead I cried for help, and you heard me.”

Give up? Here’s another hint: “The water came over me and choked me; the sea covered me completely, and seaweed wrapped around my head.” That’s right; it’s Jonah. Who else would be praying with seaweed around his head?

As you can see, we can pray any time and our prayers can express, joy, thankfulness, desperation and terror.

And we can pray anywhere. Jesus prayed publicly and he prayed alone. (see my blog on praying in secret.) Even in our noisy world we can get with God and talk. Susanna Wesley, mother of Charles, John and a bunch of other kids, was known for praying with her apron thrown over her head so she could be alone with God and pray.

Pray because you are thankful. Pray because you are loved.

Pray because you are lonely; God always listens.

Pray because God invites you to: “Call to me when trouble comes; I will save you, and you will praise me.”

Pray because God cares for you. ”Praise him, you servants of the LORD!……He does not neglect the poor or ignore their suffering; he does not turn away from them, but answers when they call for help.”

Scripture references: Genesis 2:23, Jonah 2:2, Psalms 50:15, Psalm 22:23

Home!

Dark, cold, seemingly endless interstate roads were a large part of my life for over a decade while I moved around the country for school and military service. Indiana to Bergen County: 750 miles. Denver to Bergen: 1777 miles. Missouri to Bergen: 1147 miles. Mile after miles, and I remember very little of them except for one spot, the lights of Paterson, NJ.

The lights of Paterson are hardly notable but for one thing – when they appeared I knew I was almost home. They’d appear out of the dark in the wee hours of the morning giving me a surge of joy and relief knowing I had made it. When I see them now I still feel it – home!

Home, where I can exchange vending machines and lukewarm coffee for a fridge full of my favorite foods.

Home, where instead of cold, dirty commodes I get my mom’s sparkling bathroom and hot shower.

Home, where weary hours of clutching the wheel turns into a soft mattress and my favorite pillow.

Home, where I feel welcome and safe because my parents love me.

Home!

If we expect all this good from parents, why would we ever expect less from our Father in Heaven?

Jesus told the story of the farmer and his two sons so we know exactly what to expect when we go to our Father.

Remember, the wandering son, as a last resort, was going home to beg his dad for a job as a hired hand. He would have been happy for a bowl of soup and some hay to sleep on. Instead his dad charged down the driveway to meet him, showering him with the best he had: clothes, shoes, ring and a giant party. Your Father in Heaven does the same.

Jesus said, “Which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

How do you think the farmer would have felt if his son had said, “I don’t want all the stuff you are giving me. I want to live away from you in the barn. Send me some bread and water, and I’ll start work in the morning.”

His dad would have been so heartbroken.

We often turn our heavenly Father into a stingy god who doesn’t want to care for us. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Jesus said, “Come to me all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Head for home. Pull in the driveway. Get out of your car and let the Father embrace you. He’s waiting for you.

***************

Scriptures quoted: Matthew 7:9-11, Matthew 11:28

Pray Like This….Our Father

The house was ablaze and John, having escaped, searched for his young daughter in the dark street. When he could not find her he raced back into the building.

He never came out. She had been outside, but he had not seen her. I was told this story by John’s neighbors. His heartbroken daughter mourned for her courageous dad. But she knew without a doubt one thing many daughters and sons never know – her dad loved her so much he would die for her.

Years ago I worked in an inner city neighborhood and would help out at the local children’s ministry. When I started volunteering I was asked not to tell the children God was their father. Their environment was filled with absent or abusive fathers. Why would any child want to know a God like that?

What is your picture of a father?

It doesn’t matter if you grew up with a great dad, bad dad or absent dad, your heart still wants the care and protection of a loving father.

It doesn’t matter how old you are, either, does it? You still want to know the dad you want wants you. You want to know your father would run into a flaming deathtrap to rescue you.

Amazingly God did just that. God came to us as Jesus, who told his puzzled disciples, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Twelve hours later he was dying on a Roman cross to save your life.

If you want to know what God the Father is like, look at Jesus.

If you want to know what the Father does, watch Jesus.

If you want to know if you are loved enough to die for, ask Jesus.

Paul tells it this way:

He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, …..

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

and through him to reconcile to himself all things,

whether on earth or in heaven,

making peace by the blood of his cross.

It may be difficult to understand God loves us so passionately. But look at Jesus. You will see the God who wants a loving relationship with you. You will see the God who dies for you.

If you haven’t read my last blog, it may help you, so check it out now and do the little exercise. Please follow me so we can meet again next week.

Scripture reference: Colossians 1:15,19-20

Pray Like This…..”Your”

I tell my granddaughter brilliant profound things. She smiles, laughs, and walks away. Of course she does; she is 20 months old. She doesn’t understand what I am trying to say.

Do you believe God understands what you are trying to say?

The first important thing when we speak is to know who we’re talking to. When we pray your (your kingdom come; your will be done) what do we think this you is like?

Let’s stop now to consider who we believe God is. Get two pieces of paper and a pen. At the top of one sheet write “God” and at the top of the other sheet write “Jesus.” Begin with God and write a list of all the words you can think of that describe God. Take a couple minutes to do this. Then turn over that sheet, take your second sheet and write a list of words that describe Jesus.

STOP! DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER UNTIL YOU HAVE YOUR TWO LISTS.

Now take your two lists and put them side by side. How are the words you chose for God different than the ones you chose for Jesus? How are they the same? Whom are you more comfortable praying to? If your picture of God is very different from your picture of Jesus, why might that be?

In the Gospel of John you have read this:

In the beginning was the Word….and the Word was God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

The Creator of the universe put on skin just like your skin and lived with folks just like us. He grew up in a town with neighbors who were nasty or nice. He had favorite foods and danced with friends to music they played. He had parents who loved him and younger brothers who thought he was crazy. He walked on rough roads that tired his feet. The bright sun made him squint and burned his cheeks. He grieved the deaths of his family and friends. He was disappointed when those he trusted let him down. He knows what it is like to be in skin like yours.

When you pray, God understands what you are trying to say.

I hope you will keep thinking about who God is. And I hope you will sign up to follow my blog, because I will be back next week ……..

Pray Like This…..”Our”

Saying our means you are with someone. You belong to a group. That group may be as large as the earth (our planet) or as small as just two (our marriage.) Size doesn’t matter; our means you are not alone.

Loneliness plagues our planet, and, as we are hearing now, may be more devastating than our current viral plague. Even before COVID-19 Great Britain saw a need to have a Minister of Loneliness to fight the pandemic of feeling isolated and lonely.

God, himself, told us from the start, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” (Genesis 2:18)

Take a look now at the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. Read it and then count the first person plural pronouns us and we.

Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored,

may your kingdom come,

may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

God does not desire us to live alone and lonely. Jesus in many ways and in this prayer invites you to be with him and all his followers.

There are Christians all over the world right this minute praying this prayer. Some are parents teaching it to their little ones. Some are followers in empty churches or prison cells. Some are in full churches. Some are soldiers and sailors far from home. Some are at weddings. Some are at funerals. Some are nurses holding the hand of a dying grandfather. All are praying it together. All are praying it with you. You are not alone.

True story: During World War II my father was on a Navy vessel half a world away from my mother in New Jersey, They had always prayed this prayer together before they went to sleep. Then thousands of miles of land and ocean separated them. One night my mother awoke from a vivid dream. She had dreamt she was kneeling by her bed with my father praying the Lord’s Prayer. The dream was so real she wrote to him about it. He wrote back that the very hour she dreamed, he was leading a service on deck and praying the prayer.

I hope you will go back now and pray this slowly, thinking about every our and we, and who is praying with you. You are family. You are not alone.