What Would a Spiritual Oximeter Reveal About My Prayer Life?

I've been pondering two words this week that have shown up quite often in my Old Testament readings. 

"God said..."

To be fair, sometimes it's recorded, "The LORD said..."

But, "a rose by any other name" (right?).

I've read those two phrases so many times through the first half of the Scriptures, I checked to see how often (the word-nerd in me wanted, no needed, to know).

My ESV records 1645 times (and, of course that doesn't count when pronouns are used or other ways to address God).

My point:

God spoke then.

A LOT!

He speaks now.

And, He has not fallen silent.

It's usually a quiet whisper.

So, we need to listen carefully.

Ask any theologian

What is prayer?

And you’ll get the simple answer:

A conversation with the Almighty 

I know that answer, 

But do I HEAR those words?

Because,

what I act on most is the talking part...

(I like to do the talking),

Then forget that God has something to say back to me.

But, conversation implies

Back and forth

Communication. 

Me to Him

Then me stopping

Turning my ear

Opening my heart

Opening my hands

Receiving in return.

Throughout the Scriptures

God spoke in various ways:

Through ordinary men

Visiting angels

Anointed Prophets and priests 

Judges 

Visions

Dreams

Special circumstances

The Law

Miracles

But, in these days

He speaks through

His Son

The Word made flesh

The Logos

Full of grace and truth 

Jesus is the Word

God’s final Word 

And through His written Word, Jesus presses a timely Word into my heart. 

The eternal Word speaks personally.

(The Logos has a Rhema)...

Applicable to me.

Mine to hold.

To comfort.

Guide.

Sustain.

Hold onto when most needed.

How do I hear His Word?

Through the Word...

I'm learning just how important it is to pray with my Bible open.

Praying is more like breathing than speaking.

I breathe in God's Word

I breathe out in Prayer.

His truth fills my mind.

My prayers return to Him.

Probably that's why my prayers can seem a bit exhausting...

I'm doing all the exhaling.

Talking.

Asking.

Pleading.

Processing.

But, very little breathing in.

Very little listening.

Very little receiving.

I need more oxygen.

We are hard-wired to breathe.

In.

Out.

Receive.

Respond.

Listen.

Speak.

The same is true in prayer. 

So, if I feel like I'm running low on spiritual oxygen...

I open the Word.

Sit quietly before the Lord.

Listen.

Breathe deeply.

If there were such a thing as a spiritual oximeter, what would it reveal about me today?

To Kiss God's Lips

#Shift

That’s the only way to begin this week’s blog post.

After weeks and weeks of zeroing in on one topic, it feels awkward and unnatural to switch gears.  But, shift it is...

I'm currently Praying Through the Bible (not just reading it through over this year, but doing so with the intention of praying for the generation coming after us). 

This thought keeps surfacing:

The Lord loves honest praying. 

He doesn't just tolerate it. 

Nor does He simply allow for it.

He's not critical of it.

He doesn't gloss over it.

I'd go so far as to say that authenticity may very well be the starting place of genuine prayer.

A few points to consider: 

The Imprecatory Psalms of David 

Imprecatory: prayers that call for God to rise up and do something, especially, bring judgment. Imprecatory psalms are shocking! 

Here are just a few phrases out of Psalm 109 as David practically curses the wicked and deceitful who have not just betrayed him, but actively, violently opposed the God of the Universe:

May their days be few...their wives be widows...their children be fatherless...wandering about, begging. May their creditors seize all they have and strangers plunder the fruits of their toil. Let there be no one to extend them kindness...blot out their names...

Needless to say, David does exactly what Lamentations 2:19 tells us:

Pour out your heart like water before the Presence of the Lord, lift up your hands to Him...

The presence of these prayers in Scripture doesn’t mean God endorses human vengeance or every raw emotion expressed in the moment. But it does remind us that God invites honesty and vulnerability rather than performance. And, He listens to every prayer of a sincere heart.

The Story of Job

Job railed against his circumstances, wished he had never been born, asked God to take his life, questioned God's justice, and demanded answers. All the while, his "friends" (if you can call them that) gave the proper, polite, safe, currently correct theological response. 

What happens at the end of the story? When God shows up, He sets Job's theology aright, rebukes his friends, then commends Job for sharing his very truthful heart. 

Again, God loves our sincerity.

The Psalms of Lament

Research shows nearly 1/3 of the Psalms are laments. Google will happily share the list with you. Believe me, they are messy. If you read them, placing yourself in the situations of the men who authored them, you'll empathize with their cries, questions, confusion, deep anger, doubt, despair. 

God never censored these Psalms. God preserved these Psalms in His Holy Word to help us process grief, confusion, anger, doubt, despair—and to teach us how to pray when life feels tangled.

XXXXX

I'm of the opinion these honest prayers reveal a far greater faith than we give ourselves credit for... Faith that God...

- already knows what we're thinking, so why pretend...

- is bigger than our messy lives, and who wants us to "cast that mess" before His Sovereign throne, allowing Him to do the sorting. 

- can handle our mixed-up-emotions and won't judge us for them (after all He created us to be emotional people).

- extends grace and goodness that outweighs our performance.

- desires relationship above all - how can there be real relationship if there is no honesty?

- is serious, when He invites us to "Come unto Me...and I will give you rest." 

One last thought, because it's where my passion lies: 

Honesty opens the door to deeper intimacy.

So, toss away the myth (if you believe it) that prayer has to be polite, pretty, calm, organized, and "righteous" in wording. 

I'm choosing honest, disorganized, and heart-felt for my personal prayer time.

No wonder the sage of Proverbs wrote (24:26):

Honest responses are like a kiss on the lips (in Ancient Israel, a symbol of friendship, loyalty and respect).

Did you catch that? 

Honest prayer is a kiss on God's lips.