Stephen
Terry, Director
Teach
us to Pray
Commentary
for the January 13, 2024, Sabbath School Lesson
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken
me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God,
I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. "
Psalm 22:1-2, NIV
Like our opening verse, there
are times when the heavens seem like brass toward us. We pray, and nothing seems
to happen. Why? Is it because God feels we are not perfect enough to expect an
answer? Then if we accept that lie, those who teach this, though sinners
themselves, are more than happy to lead us down a rabbit trail to perfectionism
with the promise that following that trail will lead us into a perfect
relationship with God. It won't, because it is based
on fear and not love. It was already tried thousands
of years ago in the desert of Sinai. An entire generation died because they
could not achieve perfection as demanded by the law. The sacrificial system
that was institutionalized at the same time bears witness to that. For if
perfection could be possible through obedience, why were such sacrifices
necessary? Thousands upon thousands of birds, goats, sheep, and bulls would
love to know the answer to that. What a pitiless waste of life for something
that was useless.[i] If anything, it only
revealed the prevalence of disobedience. It did not produce obedience.
This was the type and Jesus was
the antitypical sacrificial lamb. He is also the light of the world,[ii]
therefore his life should shed light even upon the sacrificial connection
between type and antitype. The Gospel According to John shows us that
connection: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not
send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through
him." (John 3:16-17) Several things are apparent from what John has shared.
First, God is only interested in a relationship based on love, not fear. The two
cannot dwell together in the same heart.[iii]
This is why God offers to change our hearts from the darkness of fear to the
light of love.[iv] Fear turns our hearts to
stone toward one another and toward God. Love restores our hearts to flesh
capable of feeling love, compassion, and empathy in our relationships.
Second, John's use of the word "condemn"
indicates that though our disobedience may invite condemnation, God chooses a
higher path, a path that saves us from the consequences of lives lived in fear.
Fear drives anger, and when it is fully grown, we harvest a crop of violence
toward one another. When anger threatens to rise in our hearts, we should ask
ourselves of what we are afraid. What fear is driving that anger? Is there something
about that other person or even God that inspires fear in us? I heard on the news
this last week that one third of the vehicles on the road are carrying weapons
in their car, because their fear of others is so great. We have become a nation
of fearful sheep, arming ourselves so we can go play the violent game the
wolves would have us play. But no matter how we arm ourselves, the wolves still
seem to come among the flock at will and cull whom they will. Sheep becoming
wolves is not the answer. If it were, Jesus need not have died. He could have,
as the Jews of his time expected, simply rode in as a conqueror, slain all the
bad people and put an end to evil. This is the same thing that many of God's
followers are still expecting today - not restoration, healing, and peace, but
bloody revenge, retribution, and condemnation. This creates a quandary, however.
How does God slay all the bad people when everyone is bad? Especially if his purpose
is to save not condemn, to replace fear with love. How does bloody destruction
not fill people with fear?
The problem with this view of
God is it creates a raging anger in the hearts of humanity. When they hear that
God is promising to do all manner of evil to them if they are disobedient, then
they look around and see all the evil and injustice in the world that God
appears to be doing nothing about, how can they not be angry? Too many wolves among
the flock are happy to drive them to this anger by constantly warning them that
God is going to get them. But the reality the Apostle John shared is that God
is love.[v]
John lived the longest of all the Apostles. Could this be because his message of
love was important for the world to hear?
Despite those who like to speak
of "righteous anger," there is no such thing for there is no righteousness for
us in letting fear and anger reign in our hearts. When we do that, the noise of
that fear, of that anger, prevents us from hearing those who are speaking love,
including God. We can pray and pray, desperately seeking an end to the fear and
anger we feel, but never receive the answer because we could not be still and listen.
When our ire rises over the evil that we fear is having its way in the world,
the words of Moses speak eloquently, "The Lord will fight for you; you need
only to be still." (Exodus 14:14) If we have not chosen the path of love that
God has offered, we will be looking for bombs and bullets to rain holy hell
down on those we deem miscreants. In doing so, we would be acting as though God
would slay many of the innocent along with the evil.
But if we could still our anger, quash our fear, and replace it with love
through the grace of God, we could begin to see his intervention already
working toward justice, peace, and mercy. We would understand that food can be
more powerful than a bullet, medicine more powerful than missiles, and water
more powerful than tanks. How do we see God at work in these horrific
scenarios? Fred Rogers used to say "Look for the helpers. You will always find
people who are helping." This invites us to go a step beyond, not just looking
for the helpers, but being helpers, not out of anger over injustice, but out of
love for its victims. Every action motivated by fear and anger is a curse. Every
action motivated by love is the blessing of God answering the prayers of the
helpless.
This is why when I pray, I never
pray evil for another, no matter who they are and what they have done.[vi]
Justice is best left in God's hands. We have spent millennia here on earth
trying to achieve justice by coercion. Every attempt at stopping injustice by
force only seems to have eventually made it worse. This is because we instill fear
in their hearts, and the anger that sprouts from that fear, like a weed, crowds
out any crop of love that might otherwise grow.[vii]
Love prays for blessings, even on one's enemies. This is the perfect love that
God models and that he puts in our hearts if we are willing.[viii]
When a farmer who loves the soil plants his crop each spring, he will always
raise a better crop than the farmer who sees the soil as a foe to be conquered
and forced to bring forth a yield. It is the same with each of us. If we want
peace and compassion in the world, it must begin with us. And it often begins
with prayer.
If we have prayed in the past
and have not seen nor understood an answer for that prayer, we cannot use that
as an excuse not to pray. We may feel we are getting back at God for what he
did not do, but in the end, we are refusing to pray for another's benefit. That
says more about what is in our hearts toward others than we may want to believe.
In closing off our connection to God in this way, we may be continuing the cycle
of unanswered prayer. We then turn the heavens to brass for another,
perpetuating fear and anger in lieu of love. Putting it simply, pray not because
you enjoy a perfect relationship with God. That is unlikely in this life
anyway. Instead, pray because you love others enough that even if something
seems useless to you, you love them enough to do it anyway. That is prayer
enacted.