Pray When You Don't Want To.

I am re-reading a book by Cole Casey, a Franciscan Friar, entitled, “Called: What Happens After Saying Yes to God.” He has great insights into walking with God and growth in the Christian life.

His chapter on prayer is wonderful and yet simple. He said that even though he loved God, he hadn’t made prayer a priority in his life before his first year as a friar. But when he started his lessons, one of his teachers said, “Unless prayer is the foundation for everything you do, you will not become good Franciscans.”

Here is an excerpt from his book:

“While I knew I could not control how tired, distracted, interested, comfortable or happy I was going to be during prayer, nor could I affect the outcome of the experience, I knew I could control my attendance. Within the first couple of weeks of novitiate, I made a commitment quietly sit in the chapel for thirty minutes a day. All I had to do was show up. And let me tell you: a lot of mornings, that’s all I did. There were days that getting out of bed to sit in a cold chapel was the last thing I wanted to do. There were days when I could have spent that time doing “more important” things. There were days when I was angry at God, my brothers or myself and didn’t want to deal with them. There were days when showing up, literally, was all I could have done. And yet, in the past I wouldn’t have even done that.

What I came to realize was that showing up, having fidelity to prayer, was in fact a prayer in and of itself. I found that it offered an insight into God’s fidelity to me, that God was always there, showing up for me, not because I deserved it, was particularly enjoyable to be around, or offered a fulfilling experience, but because of his commitment to my life. Showing up, even when I didn’t want to, offered me the opportunity to return that love, to emulate the God who had never failed to love me.”

Although, I have done this kind of praying for years, I hadn’t thought about how important it is that God is always showing up for me, whether I’m aware of it or not. He is right beside me, a word away, a breath away. His faithfulness to me is constant. After reading this chapter, I felt the weight of the privilege we all have in Jesus. What a wonderful and amazing God he is!

Shall I Wring My Hands, Cry with Fear, or Trust God?

Photograph: Luis García (Zaqarbal), 

In ancient Judah there was a king named Jehoshaphat. Unlike some kings before him, he believed in God. One day 3 kings from 3 other countries decided to join together to war against Jehoshaophat, take his city and country and share the riches.

Jehoshaphat called all the people together to the city and the temple of God. He prayed about their situation and ended his prayer with, "Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

After the prayer, a prophet named Jahaziel told everyone God had heard their prayers, he said:

“Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s."

"Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel.

"You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ ”

The ending to this story will be the ending of our life stories if we praise God and wait for him to fight our battles and to defend us from our enemies.

As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord,

for his love endures forever.”

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah to this day.

Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.

The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side."

The key lesson is trust God and praise him as you are trusting. This is all God asked of the king and his people. Don't wring your hands and wonder why God is letting this thing happen to you. I used to do that and there is no good in it. Trusting and praising God brings power, peace and happiness.  

Saturday or Sunday Worship. Does it Matter?

I was reading a book yesterday and the author said the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday), was given to the Jews. He said we no longer have to follow that day; we now celebrate Sunday as the day of rest to commemorate Jesus' resurrection.

He is wrong on two counts. The Seventh-Day-Sabbath was given to Adam and Eve. There were no Jews at that time, just two people. The Sabbath was given for a day of rest and recreation for the human race.

"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.   Genesis 2:2,3

There is no place in the Bible where any of Jesus' followers changed the Sabbath to Sunday. They met on Sunday a few times, but they met constantly to talk together about Jesus and preach the word. Jesus went to the temple on the Sabbath and so did his followers until they set up their own churches, which were in people's houses.

The Sabbath was later included in the 10 Commandments and given to Moses for the children of Israel. This commandment is as important as all the others. It isn't something we can change. Churches now say it doesn't matter, but that doesn't make sense. We wouldn't want to change stealing, murder or adultery. Why the Sabbath?

It was changed to appease the pagans, who worshipped the sun on Sunday. It was changed by the emperor Constantine, who also had worshipped the sun. The Catholic Church was also involved and agree even now that they changed the holiness of Saturday to Sunday.

So, I hope, if you are interested, you will study these things. As we near the end of the world and Jesus' return, the Sabbath will be a test. There will be laws passed in the U.S. and other Christian nations to not work on Sunday. There will be laws against keeping Saturday holy. This is the image to the beast written about in Revelation.