Answered prayer
From Psalm 18...
"In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth..."
--verses 6-8
Now that's answer to prayer! One prayer of distress causes the earth to shake and the rousing of God's anger. Honestly, over the course of my life praying I have never expected God to react in anger. Pity? Yes. Compassion? Certainly. Power? Most definately. But anger that mimics that of a dragon (smoke from nostrils and fire from the mouth)? No. Never. I don't know if I could ever pray in such a way to hope God would respond in this way...not in anger toward me but in anger toward others. Maybe it's because I'm afraid of the power of God. Then again, maybe I have a limited view of God too and don't allow God to be God.
A good friend of mine showed me her family crest from Scotland. Two words circled the flying eagle..."Dread God." Can we dread God in a healthy way? Is it possible to have a healthy fear of God? How does a healthy fear translate into prayer? If you, the reader, has thoughts, please share them.
But here's the deal for me. Upon further reflection on the verses from Psalm 18, what I love about them is the reassurance that God wants to defend his people. He cares to hear from us. He wants to hear the despair, the fears, frustrations, and hurts we experience in life, and in his compassion and power, God wants to do something. I'm reminded of Paul's words to the Roman church, "If God is for us, who is against us?" God is for us. He wants the best for us. He is our defender, our protector, our deliverer, our redeemer...the lover of our souls.
There is a place for nice, logical, peaceful prayers...but there is also a time when we cry out to God sometimes at the top of our lungs at the difficulties we face...and we hope and trust that the God for us, will respond...sometimes in powerful and dramatic ways as seen in Psalm 18. Literally? Maybe not. Powerfully? Definately.
Thanks for reading
"In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth..."
--verses 6-8
Now that's answer to prayer! One prayer of distress causes the earth to shake and the rousing of God's anger. Honestly, over the course of my life praying I have never expected God to react in anger. Pity? Yes. Compassion? Certainly. Power? Most definately. But anger that mimics that of a dragon (smoke from nostrils and fire from the mouth)? No. Never. I don't know if I could ever pray in such a way to hope God would respond in this way...not in anger toward me but in anger toward others. Maybe it's because I'm afraid of the power of God. Then again, maybe I have a limited view of God too and don't allow God to be God.
A good friend of mine showed me her family crest from Scotland. Two words circled the flying eagle..."Dread God." Can we dread God in a healthy way? Is it possible to have a healthy fear of God? How does a healthy fear translate into prayer? If you, the reader, has thoughts, please share them.
But here's the deal for me. Upon further reflection on the verses from Psalm 18, what I love about them is the reassurance that God wants to defend his people. He cares to hear from us. He wants to hear the despair, the fears, frustrations, and hurts we experience in life, and in his compassion and power, God wants to do something. I'm reminded of Paul's words to the Roman church, "If God is for us, who is against us?" God is for us. He wants the best for us. He is our defender, our protector, our deliverer, our redeemer...the lover of our souls.
There is a place for nice, logical, peaceful prayers...but there is also a time when we cry out to God sometimes at the top of our lungs at the difficulties we face...and we hope and trust that the God for us, will respond...sometimes in powerful and dramatic ways as seen in Psalm 18. Literally? Maybe not. Powerfully? Definately.
Thanks for reading
posted by Mike Weaver at 7:14 AM
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