Lord, Teach Me to Pray

Burdens in the World

     This morning I sat in a local coffee shop with my daily Bible devotion as the motivation for how I would spend the next hour.  The Lord, instead, allowed me to observe the human condition as the backdrop to my study.  Generally I meet with a small group of ladies on Wednesday mornings to participate in an informal Bible study we call a Life Group.  I anticipated a solo journey today as I studied passages found in Nehemiah, the Psalms, and Luke.  I decided to go to the coffee shop just in case someone I was not expecting might show up.  My study would have been so much easier sitting at my kitchen table enjoying a steamy Keurig brew.    

     I often experience very uplifting conversations on Wednesday mornings as the Life Group heightens my awareness that God is speaking truth, not only in my life, but also in the lives of those who fellowship with me.  Although we extract many different things from the same text, it is apparent that God is at work teaching us through His Word and through our collective understanding.  Today the Higher Power was present with me, but the atmosphere within the coffee shop was being controlled by the deceiver who rules this world, and noone seemed to be the wiser. 

     As I purchased my hot beverage, the employees were discussing whether they were good or bad people.  I did not offer my opinion that all have sinned, and we all fall short of the glory of God.  The truth is, no matter how good we think we are, we are bad people who have been offered a solution.  Now that I type those words, I wish the Holy Spirit would have planted them in my mouth several hours ago, but today wasn’t about talking, it was about listening.

     Next, I observed a table with one woman and three men.  They were discussing a work-related issue.  The woman was being questioned by three men, possibly supervision.  Whether I was eavesdropping on the conversation is not the point; it was occurring in a public facility and could easily be overheard.  What had transpired beforehand was not clear, but what seemed to be the position of argument is that one only needs to work as hard as those they can easily observe around them.  Would you agree that we live in a society today that believes the measuring stick between good and bad behavior is comparison?  In a state of sleepwalking in the flesh, we may also find ourselves accepting this philosophical idea.

     Sitting at an adjacent table were two women.  The objective for their coffee time appeared to be commiseration.  Both women spoke of very broken lives.  I’m not sure how aware these women were that they had a choice in the matter.  One talked about a friend whose husband wouldn’t work because he could not pass a drug test, which resulted in her friend having to work full time to take care of financial obligations.  They were talking about someone who was not sharing coffee with them.  Since I do not know the identity of their friend, I use this story only as an illustration not as gossip.  This was gossip between the two of them.  One woman began to talk about the state of her own affairs and talked about her husband’s drinking.  She said he often gets behind the wheel of the car in a drunken stupor.  I listened for her friend to offer something of value to this troubling conversation, but she sat in silence until she began to share her own troubles.  Back and forth, the conversation went without hope.    

     In just moments, you can feel the weight of the world, problems without solutions, talking without really saying anything of value.  How sad one can become listening to conversatons such as these when you know that there is a Savior which the world fails to acknowledge.  I saw no easy way to intrude in either conversation, but I took the advice of the Homily  I shared with a friend through text which said, “When We’re Weak, Prayer is Our Guaranteed Protection.”

     As I left this coffee shop, I started the car, and a voice came through the radio reading, “Matthew 11:28–30 (NIV), “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  'Thank you, Jesus,' I said aloud, because I knew I was not alone.  I am so grateful to know the truth.

In Nehemiah

     As I studied the first and second chapters of Nehemiah, I was drawn to the story of Nehemiah’s own grief over the fallen state of his fellow Israelites who lived in Jerusalem.  He was serving the king of Persia in Susa when he received a full report of their condition from his brother who had just arrived from there.  After hearing of their condition, he prayed and fasted for days, and continued to pray until the door of opportunity opened three months later.  

     From previous study I knew that two groups of exiles had already returned to Jerusalem for rebuilding purposes.  About 100 years before Nehemiah, Zerubbabel had been commissioned to rebuild the temple.  It took these first settlers 20 years to complete this project.  The story tells us that at the completion of the temple, anyone who had been vaguely familiar with the splendor of Solomon's' temple, that had been destroyed by Babylonia, mourned because it was a far cry from the temple promised by the prophet Jeremiah.  Whereas, anyone who had not seen the former glory was shouting with great joy that the project had come to completion.  These two experiences caused me to reflect on two very different life paths:  a life that is driven by Divine purpose, and one that is not.  How those with Divine purpose understand that God offers a secure future to the one who abides in Him and recognizes the hopeless state of those who remain lost.  

     Ezra followed Zerubbabel and had been commissioned to re-establish godly rule under the laws of Moses.  Ezra mourned, too, as he discovered that even the leaders he had appointed as officials and chiefs had gone astray and were leading others to join in their sin.  They were following in the footsteps of their ancestors.  Ezra turned to prayer, confessing sins, thanking God for His goodness, and petitioning Him to intervene on his behalf to restore the Israelites from their failings.  In the book of Ezra, one can read a story of man attempting to undo his own sin producing another sin in its wake.  The atonement of sin for us is Jesus.  His blood removes sin and guilt, his resurrection gives us victory over death.      

     Nearly 100 years later, Nehemiah would mourn and pray over his people including himself, in their failings.  Nehemiah invested himself in the solution.  I observed six things  in Nehemiah's prayer.  (1) First he recognized God position, that He alone holds the power to solve problems. (2)  He asks God to hear his prayers.  (3) Nehemiah knew that through sincere confession that God's ears would be open to his petition on behalf of the Israelites in Jerusalem.  He was specific in his confession that they had failed to keep God's laws, statutes, and rule.  He was aware the sins of his people brought consequences.  (4)  After confession, Nehemiah petitioned God, to remember His conditional covenant with Israel.  (5) He acknowledged that God had rescued them in the past, and (6) he asked God to allow him to serve in the solution.  This prayer could be used, as well, to pray for the fallen world we see around us.  Jesus instructs us to pray.  

     As the story goes, three months past before Nehemiah’s state of mourning became apparent to the king of Persia.  Whether Nehemiah had masterfully hidden his burdens or whether God opened the kings’ eyes to see it; the time had come for Nehemiah's request to become known to the king.  Before Nehemiah spoke, we see that he prayed.  This is the prayer that has been recorded in Nehemiah 1:11 ESV, ‘O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” God granted his request and the king permitted Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem with protection and provision.  This story reveals that Nehemiah waited upon God’s timing to involve himself in the work that awaited him in Jerusalem.  This story was written and preserved for our understanding more than 2 thousand years ago.   

In Luke

     Another story regarding prayer involves Jesus and the three disciples that accompanied him into the garden the night of his betrayal.  At the most troubling time in the ministry of Jesus, during his final hours before his betrayal leading to his crucifixion, the intensity of Jesus need to pray was evident.  The Father supported him with an angel to provide strength while he prayed.  Jesus was no more than a stone’s throw away from the disciples whom he had asked to pray as well.  He wasn’t asking his disciples to pray for him, but for themselves.  Twice he indicated that they were vulnerable and that temptation was knocking on their door.  Prayer was the solution.  Rather than diligently follow Jesus' advice, it said they were overcome by sleep due to sorrow.  How many of us could attest to feeling excessively tired when we are overwhelmed or troubled?  

     Earlier in the Luke account, we read that Jesus had prayed for Peter because the devil had demanded access to him, but Jesus interceded.  In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”   Jesus' prayer protected Peters’ faith, even in his failing because Peter would later be called to strengthen his brothers with the command 'feed and tend my sheep' after Jesus' resurrection.  If Peter had prayed in the garden as Jesus had commanded, would he have been able to overcome the temptation to deny Jesus three times?  Peter was not able to hear the wisdom in Jesus' words, but allowed sleep, not prayer, to provide relief.  

     We see that as Peter denied Jesus the third time, he was in close proximity to Jesus observing him.  Although experiencing terrible persecution, Jesus acknowledges Peter with a glance in Luke 22:61.  It says, ‘And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” ’   One can hardly fathom the depth of compassion Jesus had on mankind, knowing that he would soon be forsaken by the Father for the sake of man who had just forsaken Him.     

     So whether it was the reminder from the voice on the radio, “Come to Me, all you who labor,” or the stories found in both Old and New Testaments, God told me our defense is prayer.  It is not within our capabilities to bear the burdens of the world, but it is within our power to seek God in prayer.  He has offered to carry our burdens.  At the coffee shop this morning, God had given me a front row seat to observe the lost souls around me.  Many people, including Christians, have become distracted by this world.  As hard as this life can be, the fate of eternal life rests on decision made this side of death.  I am now all the more convinced that we, as Christians need to be more visible in the world.  It may not be our voice to them He uses.  It may be our prayers to Him on their behalf.  He offers rest to lost sheep.  Are we willing to ask God to help us leave the ninety-nine in search of one?  Are we willing to ask God for our next assignment?