Scripture
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” Psalm 27:8

Observation
More is recorded in the Old Testament about David than any other character and his name is the last name mentioned in the Bible. The reason why is condensed in this one verse: My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” What causes David to stand out among the three greats of the Old Testament was his relationship with the Lord and his ability to communicate that with others. Abraham had a friendship with God, but he related to God more like a business partner and we don’t see much of his heart. Moses saw God face to face, but we read more of the laws God gave him than their personal relationship.

David, however, left the windows and doors open to his most personal experiences of God so that we can enter into the same relationship ourselves.

It begins with God’s pursuit of David and of us. We are naive to think that we think of God first. The fact is, whenever we consider the Lord and desire him it is because he has been lonely for us. God desires conversation with us. He wants to talk with us.  He who is limitless wants to know about our finite lives; we who are bound are to be stretched into the boundless mind of God. God stoops low to meet with us and crouches into our existence because of his great love for us; we are carried further than the most distant star and deeper than the earth’s core when we enter into the mind of God.

What set David apart from most human beings is that he answered the call of God. He said, “Lord, I am coming.” He did not dismiss God with a yawn or place him on hold. He spontaneously bounded toward the Lord even as the Lord sprinted toward him. That is a relationship of love.  It was William Barclay who said, “The kingdom of God is not for the well intentioned but for the desperate.” There is one phrase that will keep us from knowing what David knew: “just a minute”. The presence of God is like a sunrise or sunset, for we have just a brief window to enjoy it. Often he will not linger to pander to our indifference.

Application
How many times in a day does the Lord nudge me with his presence? More than I consider. I cannot be passive; I must be active.  I must pursue him even as he pursues me.

Prayer
Father, today as I sense you playing tag with my soul, let me bound toward you. Amen.

Scripture
The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them. Exodus 2:23-25

Observation
I wonder if a baby thinks that parents disappear when they leave a room, for their cries sound so frantic. It’s been years since I’ve lived with crying babies, but the memories are still fresh. We would hear the cries from our bedroom in the middle of the night. Sometimes we would spring to action because we discerned the sound of the cry. But other times in kindness we let our children cry because we knew that the process of waiting would be good for maturity.

Crying does not sound dignified, but it is incredibly significant to God. If we want something to change he calls us to cry out to him. But he won’t answer as quickly as we think he should. Our Father is a good parent, so his delays have a purpose. He knows when to intervene.

Even if nothing seems to be happening, God is listening. The Jews cried out to God in their slavery but nothing changed. In heaven, however, God was listening like a parent laying in bed at night. Oftentimes we give up praying just when God is preparing to answer. There are times our relationship with the Lord is one way: he can hear us but we cannot hear him. It is in those times when we think our prayers are making the least difference that they seem to make the very most impression on him. Our persistence to ask even without answers brings out of us a faith that matters very much to the Lord.

When we cry out to the Lord we should not always expect his immediate action, instead we should be aware that we do have his attention. God heard the Israelites groan and so he looked on them. Often when we cry out to the Lord and nothing changes we can begin to doubt him and grumble to others. We should remember at those times hat the Lord is watching. It is as if he is the Invisible Man in the room. Our words and actions in difficult times matter much to him. We should watch our actions for the outcome may depend on our faithfulness.

When God meets human problems he usually works through people. There is often the reason for the slow down. The lack of response from God may have nothing to do with the willingness of God but rather the slowness of humans to say “yes” to him. Moses was the answer, but it would take a process to bring him to the rescue. God is at work bringing the answer to our cries, but we may have to wait on someone to say ‘yes’ to him. What should we do? Continue to cry out to him.

Application
May the Lord find me crying out to him when he brings the answer from heaven. This continued desperation is the greatest sign that I trust him. May I continually remind him of his promises because it is the promises that he has made that move him even more than my problems.

Prayer
Father, I continue to ask because I know you are listening. But do remember that while you are invisible, I am not. There are real problems I face that stare me in the eye. Show up and work on my behalf to rescue me. Amen.

Scripture

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God. Genesis 28:20-21Observation
Three times in his prayer Jacob used the word “if”. “If” he said, “if…if…then.” It was an iffy prayer. Jacob would not call the Lord his God until God had proved himself.

His attitude was very different from his grandpa Abraham. Abraham followed promises not explanations. Jacob wanted evidence first. I’ve heard it said that by the third generation after a great religious revival that the grandchildren of those who were saved in the revival build successful lives but have little interest in a heartfelt relationship with the Lord. The first generation know the Lord face to face. The second know the Lord through obligations and rituals. The third generation glean all the benefits of godly living in education and business but they leave the Lord behind.

Unless first a child, or grandchild, loses his parent’s faith and finds his own. Jacob was on a journey that would do just that. He would be swindled, wrestled, and hassled, but years later he would return to Bethel and acknowledge the Lord as his own God.

But he could have taken a better road back to Bethel if he had inverted his prayer. He could have prayed:

Since the Lord is my God, I trust him to watch over me, to give me what I need to live and to bring me safely back home. Abraham lived life that way and could know God as his friend. Jacob prayed iffy prayers and didn’t even know God’s name.

Application
I want to scrub the word “if” from my prayers. It annoyed Jesus. He said, “‘If you can!’ All things are possible for those who believe.”

Prayer
Father, because you are my God, bring your kingdom today. Especially be with my children that they may know you face to face and not second hand. Let them find you as their God. Amen.

Scripture

“Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” Acts 13:2

Observation

It was not enough that two pastors walk out on a new adventure. They needed to wear the hand prints prayer left on them from their home church.The request for the prayers of the church do not come from two trembling missionaries. It is God who asks the church leaders to pray for them. The prayers of the church were significant to the Lord because somehow it gave him elbow room to bless these two new traveling pastors.

To many a missionary is just a faded fridge magnet. For about six weeks sent ones are remembered but within six months the memory of their work is run over by the freeway of daily busyness.

But God never lets the memories of missionaries fade. The finger prints of prayer left by praying leaders are like a tattoo residue on a Christian worker’s life to remind the Lord to keep blessing them.

Application

I’ve had many hands laid on me over many years. They were prayers prayed in the front of a service and then life rushed on. If I were to visit those churches now few would remember who I am. Yet from God’s perspective the residue of their prayers still lingers on my life. I am a sent one representing many churches that have sent me. I trust this day that the prayers prayed will be answered through my life in blessing many, many people.

Prayer

Father, remember the prayers prayed for me over many years. Remember the prayers of my ordination. Remember the prayers at my wedding. Remember the prayers at churches I have left that have blessed me. Today let me see the answer to those prayers. Amen.