Part 4 in our Introduction to Prayer Series
This is our first challenge for ourselves for today. How can we stop thinking about how unlucky or how undeserving we are, and start thinking about how to equip ourselves for work in God’s kingdom? Yes, you are worthy. You are worthy to know God. You are worthy to work for God, no matter what you might say to yourself. What steps can you take to give yourself the tools that you need to do ministry? Do you need an understanding mind? (1 Kings 3) Ask it. Do you need a double share of Elijah’s spirit? (2 Kings 2:9) Ask it. Do you need to try something new? Ask the Lord in prayer to give you the strength and courage.
I will conclude by navigating through the dramatic turn in the psalm’s focus. He says in verse 11: “I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your wonders of old. I will meditate on all your work, and muse on your mighty deeds.” He then goes through over the next several verses to describe why God is such a great God. Is that something that you might need to do? Remind yourself why God is so great. Engage in prayer by coming to God – whether in the silent and/or unexpected ways that we reviewed last week, or in the crying aloud, lamenting, and musing that we reviewed this week. Crying out to God, lamenting, and musing is definitely still connecting with and to God. And deepening that connection is God is our task at hand as Christians. Deepening that connection with God and learning how to better equip ourselves for our calling is our task at hand. Stop mulling about the bad from the past; start mulling about good that can be done in the future.
We often ask, what’s in it for me? We are conditioned to ask this. The act of praise inherently thwarts this vicious cycle and says, “Hey, it’s not always about you!” It brings our focus back from ourselves onto God, which is where it should be all along. It brings our focus back from how we feel mistreated or slighted in the world, and onto how we can be made better through God. We need to be reminded of this often; it is about God, and God acting through us. It is not about us.
As the Psalmist prayed, there was a definite movement from “I” to “Thou” and from “despair” to “orientation.” Perhaps your own prayers can follow the same trend. Start with what troubles you and why you may be angry at God or disturbed. Then slowly, as in verse 11, call to mind the deeds of the Lord, remember the works of old, meditate on God’s work, and muse on God’s mighty-ness. Turn the focus from you, and onto how you may be equipped to be an even more useful part of developing God’s kingdom.
