Who am I: My relationship with God through prayer (part 11)

Sometimes I am scared of what God will do to me if he finds out that I am not going to church, not fellowshipping, not reading. My concept is that God will be like a taskmaster and give me a swat if I don’t obey him. So there are times when I throw myself at His feet and ask Him for mercy, as though I was a servant of His that owed Him money. Then later down the line, I don’t treat those around me the way I want to be treated, only the way I expect to be treated (Matt 18:26). If I go into any relationship expecting to be chastised or corrected or judged, then given human beings it will happen. With God, however, I am not treated the way I expect. Oh, true enough Jesus says that if I don’t show mercy, I’ll get no mercy. But God doesn’t look at me the way I expect Him to look at me. He views me as His daughter, His child. And when I treat others with a measure of how I wouldn’t want to be treated, He is disappointed in me, and He thwarts me. I remember an incident in second grade. I had made fun of a girl whose religious background was different than mine. I made a rather ugly drawing and slipped it under her desk. When the teacher found it, she pulled me in front of the class to chastise me. But she did something worse. Made me take the paper home, told me to show my parents and have them sign to show that they knew what I had done. So I took the picture and presented it to my father. I never ever wanted to make him angry again. It was the first time I had seen him lose his temper with me, and I would strive to make it the last time. That is the way God is. When I do something that disappoints Him, He will prick my heart in a manner I don’t ever want Him to be hurt again, in a manner that any guilt-trip would seem like a walk in the park. And so my worship gets back on track. Instead of being the unmerciful servant, I become the giving and merciful one. Because that is what God wants me to do. And because that is worship to Him. When I truly tear down those barriers and find out exactly what God wants me to do, I am in obedience to him as was Lydia in Acts (Acts 16:14). Her heart was opened to God, and nothing was held back from Him.

Who am I? My relationship with God through prayer (part 10)

There was once a blind man who sat on the streets and begged. He was born blind. His blindness concerned his parents, and so they set him on the streets to beg and there he sat. Along came another man, who told him of the Kingdom of Heaven and of the love of God and asked the blind man if he believed. And the blind man said, "Lord, I believe. "That’s all it took, after all he had nothing, no walls of financial security or intellectuality or family ties, all things were gone and the blind man was starting from scratch when Jesus came by. (John 9:38). How much heart did this man have? Enough to never deny that Christ was who he was. Do I have that kind of heart? Is my worship indicative of that heart?

Who Am I?My relationship to God through prayer (part 9)

Once upon a time there were prophets telling of God and the creation and the universe. Fortelling of a time when God’s people were obstinate and refused to follow Him. Some of the prophets were even put to death. And God gave them one more chance, and sent His Son, whom the angels were not remiss in worshipping. And the people killed him. (Heb 1:6) and so God said “Who are you truly serving?” And that question was meant as much for me in my worship, as much as it did in those ancient peoples --  who am I serving when I worship? (Deuteron 32:43) Who is it that I want to serve? When Paul went before Tertullus, he was accused of being a rabble-rouser, of causing mayhem and having no concern for public order, and Paul responds, “But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law of the prophets.” (Acts 24:14) That is some rabble-rouser! In like manner, I am exhorted by Paul to believe those prophets, believe God, and to worship the King.

 

Who Am I? My Relationship to God through Prayer (part 8)

In worship there is reverence, realizing that there is only one God. This is no more explicit as in Matt 4:10 when Jesus’ response to the temptation that Satan put before him was, “Away from me, Satan. For it is written ‘Worship the LORD your God, and serve Him only’”. This reverence comes from not respecting a place or a congregation and picking sides, and not from thinking one-dimensionally with no room for examination, but by worship of God in the truth and spirit (John 4:2-ff).It is my attitude which God is concerned with. It is that same attitude that will bring unbelievers into the fold to become believers and then followers. The attitude of reverence shown in ICor14:25, “And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God and report that God is in you of a truth”; and in Rev 4:10, “The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne...”. This reverence is also shown in Rev 5:14, “...And the four elders fell down and worshipped Him that liveth forever and ever”, and in Rev 7:11, “And all the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts and fell before the throne on their faces and worshipped God”. These are the most direct examples, the most descriptive of what happens in worship and recognition of reverence. But again, that is according to an attitude. How is my attitude when I am prostrate? Do I wish I were some place else? Does my mind wander? Or can I prostrate myself without prostrating myself? That is, can I in my heart prostrate myself and fall on my knees before the King, even if I am sitting in a pew? If so, this is the attitude that Christ and God loves. When I sing “Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all!” am I in fact bringing forth the royal diadem in my heart. It is all in attitude. Do I acknowledge His authority and power? (Matt 9:10)  Do I acknowledge him as the Son of God only after I see Him do His thing, turn water to wine, walk on water? Or do I acknowledge His mastery (Matt 15:25)? In the real and true acknowledgement of Jesus as the Son of God, there will be no doubt of His power. While a weaker person will not necessarily doubt him as the Son of God, he will doubt the power and control he has as Son of God. (Matt 28:9-17). Do I doubt His power, having sung, “I surrender all”? That attitude of surrender is important, if I am to withstand the tiniest of temptations.(2Cor12:8,9)