An Evening Prayer

This morning in a devotional time, I pulled an Episcopal resource, "The Book of Common Prayer" off the shelf.   As I turned the pages, I found an evening prayer that at one time not too long ago I prayed at night when my head settled on the pillow.  The changing seasons of life took me away from that discipline and as I moved forward into what was ahead, I left the prayer behind.  It was a surprise to find it again this morning.  It brought back some good memories and an awareness that I wanted to return once again to making this prayer a part of my evening discipline.  

The prayer from "The Book of Common Prayer" reads, "Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep.  Lord Christ, give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous, and all for Your love's sake." Amen."  The prayer took root in my heart during a season of being a caregiver when sleep was often hard to find.  More than I had been was I aware of people like nurses who worked in the night, of people who were weeping beside loved one, and of those who were watching for the morning to finally come to take the darkness away.   

It was also a prayer that served me so very well in praying for others.  I knew those, and still do, who need rest and blessing, comfort and mercy.  As Jesus prayed, "lead us not into temptation" so is it a good thing to pray that those who live only with its joys to be shielded from the darkness that is ever lurking.  This prayer of days past is going to become a part of the days that are present.  It is a prayer easy to memorize and pray in those moments when we put ourselves in God's hands one more night.

He is Still Here

According the Genesis the devil and the evil which he seeks to do in the world God has created has been around since the beginning.  In the Garden called Eden, he tempted Adam and Eve.  In the wilderness near the Jordan River, he tempted Jesus.  When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He taught them to pray, "deliver us from evil, or "deliver us from the evil one." (Matthew 6:13).  When the Apostle Paul wrote the church at Ephesus, he included an admonition and warning.  "Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil...For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against...the spiritual forces of evil..." (Ephesians 6:10-12).  

Even though we pray that prayer about being protected from evil each Sunday when we gather for worship, no one really seems to take the devil seriously.  The devil C.S. Lewis reveals in "The Screwtape Letters" takes great delight in our quest to make his presence and power irrelevant.  The angels in the Kingdom of God might have had some concern about the God is dead movement decades ago, but the demons of the evil one take delight in our living as if he does not exist.  Given our culture one wonders if anyone, even the church, really regards the evil one as a serious and dangerous threat.  

Actually, the world is full of the chaos of evil.  We live in an age of constant warfare.  A spirit of division permeates our society.  People seem more interested in retribution and anger rather than reconciliation and forgiveness.  Ordinary folks like us who want to do the things that please Christ still find ourselves doing the things we do not want to do.  The ugly and mostly ignored word, sin, is still as present in our world as the evil one himself.  It is not just the world which needs the Savior Jesus Christ, but each one of us for Satan still "seeks to work us woe."  

Hearing the Voice

One of my favorite Biblical stories is found in the third chapter of I Samuel.  It is the story of a boy on his way to becoming a priest who would anoint Saul as the first King of Israel.  In the darkness of night the Lord called out to the young Samuel who was "ministering to the Lord under Eli."  (I Samuel 3:1).  Three times the Lord called his name and each time he went to Eli's bed thinking that it was his voice that was sounding throughout the Temple and into his heart.  Finally, Eli, the priest, told the boy, "Go, lie down; and if He calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.'"  (I Samuel 3:9).  

In our day there are at least a few obstacles to hearing the Lord speak.  The first is becoming convinced that the Lord does speak.  Too many times the sound of His voice is unheard because our hearts are not open to hearing. We no longer have ears to hear what cannot be heard with the ears of birth.  A second obstacle is overcoming our fear of being in the silence.  Our lives are flooded with noise and visual distractions.  It is a hard thing for many of us to put ourselves in a position where the Holy Spirit can filter out the chaos so that we can begin to hear the whispering voice of God.  A third obstacle has to do with discernment.  There are many voices which can be heard when we do enter into the silence and it often takes time to know which voice belongs to God.  

If we are serious about learning to live in a world where God speaks to be heard, it requires that we go forth with a faith that declares His voice can be heard and a spirit that is willing to wait patiently and with expectancy.  There is no need for us to become spiritually tongue tied when we talk about hearing the voice of God.  While that voice is not likely to be heard like the sounds of those voices around us as we practice the disciplines of stillness and listening, there will come that time when His voice is not heard from the outside but from the inner place where His Spirit abides.

Just a Child

After Samson pulled the pillars on the pagan temple built by the Philistines to honor their god, Dagon, the era of the judges ended in Israel.  In that vacuum came a time of  political chaos as tribes vied for powers over others.  As we turn the pages and move away from the book of Judges, we see a time when priests like Eli and later Samuel would hold sway over the forward movement of the nation.  As the story of Samuel unfolds, we see Israel moving away from battling tribal chieftains to a time when Israel wanted a King so they could be like other nations.  

At the very beginning we read the story of the barren woman, Hannah, striking a deal with God. "O Lord of hosts,...if you will give to Your servant a male child, then I will set him before You..." (I Samuel 1:11).  The Scripture says the Lord remembered her prayer and she conceived and gave birth to a son whom she named Samuel.  True to her vow, when the boy was old enough to be weaned, he was as she said, "lent to the Lord, as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord,"  (I Samuel 1:28) and left at the temple of Shiloh to serve under the guidance of Eli.  

Thus, a boy was put in a place where God would prepare him to become a priest and shape a nation.  It is a story which brings to mind a word which the Lord spoke to the prophet, Jeremiah.  "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet..." (Jeremiah 1:5).  I remember many from my college days who were boys as was I when the Lord called:  Tom, Wayne, Gary, Rex, Jack, Jim, and Harold.  Like the boy Samuel, they were each brought to a place which God used to prepare them for what was ahead.  We can never know what God is doing in the heart of some young boy or girl who sits in the place of worship with us.

A Welcomed Break

Anyone reading the Scripture from Genesis to Revelation will find a welcome change when they turn the last page of the book of Judges.  The next book to be read is a story full of the human drama.  There is loss and grief, there is loyalty that goes beyond boundaries normally imposed upon people, there is the drama of a journey, and there is a love story that become a part of God's unfolding plan of redemption through Jesus of Nazareth.  

Ruth, a woman of Moab married a Jewish man who had journeyed from Israel with his mother to her homeland due to a famine in Israel.  When he died, Ruth chose to leave her homeland and return to Naomi's home in Bethlehem.  It makes for an interesting story for a number of reasons.  One, of course, is that Boaz, the Hebrew, marries Ruth and they have a child named Obed who is the grandfather of King David. The gospel of Matthew traces the genealogy of Joseph, the wife of Mary, the mother of Jesus with the words, "Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David." (Matthew 1:5-6).  As the book of Ruth closes, we are catching a glimpse of the unfolding, but not yet, revealed plan of God for the salvation of the world.  

Another thing which makes the story of Ruth so compelling and relevant is the way it illustrates how different  people can live together peacefully, with respect for one another, and even with love for one another.  It is the story of broken barriers. What a change this is from the book of Judges where differences are resolved through bloodshed and power.  In this world of ours so filled with division, here is a reminder that differences need not engender hatred, prejudice, and violence.  People can live together in peace.  It is possible.  It is even possible in the divided communities in which we live.

Afternoon Wanderings

Honestly, I am not sure how I got there.  Or, why.  Nonetheless, I have been wandering around the last few days in the Old Testament book known as Judges.  The historical setting is after Joshua's death.  The people of Israel are entrenched in the Promised Land, but they are surrounded by tribes of people ruled by minor kings who have no desire to share the land with them.  In the centuries after the strong leadership of Joshua, the Hebrew people survive more like a loosely knit society without any centralized leadership.  In this political vacuum, the twelve judges appear one after the other.  

They are not judges as we use the term today; instead, they were military or tribal leaders upon whom the Spirit of the Lord more or less rested.  They were at best a strange lot.  The first one, Othniel, was one whom the "spirit of the Lord came upon" (Judges 3:10) and his leadership gave the land 40 years of peace.  The next one, Ehud, (Judges 3:15) was known as a left handed man who stuck a short sword in the belly of a fat king.  Another is remembered as one who killed six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.  The only female judge was Deborah.  Other than Samson, Gideon is likely the most well known.  All the rest are there on the pages of Judges, as Oliver Cromwell, said, "warts and all."   

To wander in the chapters of Judges is to wonder what God was thinking about if these flawed people were His choices for the leadership of His people. Some of them did terrible things.  I wondered about this until I ran into myself in the mirror.  Who among us can understand the mind of God?  Who among us can figure out why God uses such obviously flawed people to lead people toward His purposes?  Not I.  I do not understand.  Pausing there before the mirror only makes me wonder even more!

Straining Forward

The Scripture has words within it that speak directly to the heart.  There are words that are clear and impossible to misunderstand.  Their meaning is clear.  The Scripture is also a book filled with images which speak surely if not directly.  The images are bearers of truth which require not just a reading, but some pondering.  While some of the words blow us over, the images of the Scripture are more likely to wash over us with a soft and gentle stirring of the heart.  

They come to us in a way that invites us to sit with them and become a part of them.  The images left for us in the Word by the Spirit invite us to be soaked more than shaken.  They invite us to walk slowly into truths not yet seen.  I was reminded of this as one of the images of the Apostle Paul came to mind this evening.  In Philippians 3:13, he wrote about "...straining forward to what lies ahead."  Is this not a word which speaks of Abraham as he left the land he knew as home?  Is it not a word which fits Moses as he led the Hebrews out of Pharaoh's grasp? Is it not a word which describes Peter, James, and John as they moved from being fishermen, to disciples, to Apostles, to missionaries?  

Is not this "straining forward to what lies ahead" what we are all about as followers of Jesus?  We know not what is ahead.  We only know Who is ahead.  As one set on going after Jesus, we are constantly looking in the way He is going for it is the way He is leading us.  Long ago many of us heard and sang that gospel song which said, "Where He leads me I will follow..."  Like Abraham and all the others who came after him, we knew not where His leading was going to take us, but we were bent on following and getting there.  And so, we strain forward to whatever lies ahead.