The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The Prayer of the Upright"
Conclusion - "Design… Delight"
"The prayer of the upright is His delight."
(Proverbs 15:8)
"We must seek to understand fellowship with God in Biblical terms of truth. We must also seek to marvel regarding prayer in its potential of delight, God's delight in our fellowship through Christ."
What if the Bible depicted the Creator it proclaims as dispassionate and unemotional in how He views His creation, particularly regarding ourselves as members of the race originally created in His image? If so, Solomon would not have declared God's delight in the prayers of His trusting sons and daughters in Christ. The wise man might rather have written, "The prayer of the upright is His design."
If, however, the living and true God finds our humble and trusting communication with Him personally dear to His heart, then "delight" perfectly defines His joy in our fellowship. This we believe, as those devoted to the truth and authority of the Bible. However, I must admit that despite having pondered this truth for decades as a believer, I still find delight more challenging to comprehend than viewing prayer in the technical terms of doctrine - design - also proclaimed by Scripture. It seems fanciful to believe that creatures such as ourselves could bear the potential to deeply affect the heart of a God far more wondrous and glorious than eternity will allow us to fully discover. "His greatness is unsearchable" (Psalm 145:3). The Bible nevertheless declares delight as blessing the heart of our Heavenly Father when the Holy Spirit blesses our hearts by leading us to pray.
The design of prayer, as it were, must never be neglected or minimized as we seek to commune with God "according to His will" (I John 5:14). His righteous character and nature means that not every prayer uttered by the human race pleases Him, nor does He respond to all attempts to approach Him. "When ye make many prayers, I will not hear" said the Lord to wayward Israel. To born again believers in the Lord Jesus, James also warned that we can "ask amiss" when we pray according to the flesh rather than as led by the Spirit (Isaiah 1:15; James 4:3). Thus, we seek to know, interpret, and act regarding prayer in accordance with the principles and patterns set forth in Scripture. To "walk in truth" most certainly involves praying in truth (III John 1:4).
Genuine prayer involves both instruction and inspiration. We must seek to understand fellowship with God in Biblical terms of truth. We must also seek to marvel regarding prayer in its potential of delight, God's delight in our fellowship through Christ. This involves our proper perception of Him and of ourselves. The hymnwriter pondered such mystery:
"And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood?" (Charles Wesley).
In terms of our current consideration, let us take the matter further. Can it be that we so matter to God that we have gained not only an interest through Christ, but also the potential and possibility of eliciting joy in our Father's heart? We have. Is it possible that in this moment of time, we can bring a particular and personal joy to the eternal God He will not know unless we pray? It is. May the Spirit of God therefore grant much grace in often reminding us of such a wonder - including this moment - and in leading us to please the Heart so worthy of all the delight we can bring to it…
"The Lord taketh pleasure in His people."
(Psalm 149:4)
Weekly Memory Verse
"In Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
(Psalm 16:11)
7144
No comments:
Post a Comment