This morning while doing my daily prayer dog walk…That may need some explaining. See, every morning while it’s still dark or just getting light out, I walk the dog for 2-3 miles and pray before reading my bible passages for the day. I spend roughly half the time in praise, thanks, confession, praying for others and them praying for myself, then the other half I spend listening after saying to the Lord, like Samuel in 1 Samuel 3, “Speak, for your servant hears.”. So, that is what I’m referring to in my “prayer dog walk”.
So, as I was in my prayer dog walk I found myself with this thought (I was in the listening part), “the longer my years get the more I want and need prayer and bible reading.”
It’s true. The older I get, the more challenging my circumstances, the more of my personal broke-ness I see, the more I need prayer and bible reading, and I need more prayer and more bible reading.
It seems counter-world. It would seem “logical” that I should work harder, produce more, focus on self-improvement. Those things are good. They are not bad, but they don’t help me as much as extended time in prayer and Word. They just don’t.
I’m wired to produce. I like to work. I like to write, make video/podcast content, read for outward effect and production, teach, speak, plan, execute. But none of those things “help” me rest in the Lord and make Jesus’ statement feel true, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
I remembered what my hero, George Muller, said when he talked about the need of the orphan houses. He said that when the need was greater, they spent more time praying. His reason? If they published requests for funds, they would get the funds or food, but it would be seen as a result of their hard work. His whole aim was to prove God enough by depending on prayer, so they prayed for what God said he’d provide, and God just provided. They prayed more not less as needs arose. They read more bible not less as needs arose. They also saw the needs met because God met them. Caveat…you can depend on God to supply for His mission when you pray like Muller. Don’t go cast the paying your bills on the Lord because you offer up a 30 second last ditch effort hoping God will bail you out. That’s not quite how it works, nor is that what Muller had in mind.
All that to say, that the more I grow the more I see that I need more Jesus not less. The only way I know to get more Jesus is by prayer and the Word.
You know what? It works.
Luke 18:1-8 is a “go to” for me for prayer…and it comes from the Word…so, the more Word I get the more I’m driven to prayer…Anyway, Jesus tells this parable to the effect that they should always pray and not loose heart, and he ends the parable with the question, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Why that last question? Because our persevering in prayer is a mark of our saving faith.
The older I get the more I need the Word to push me to that kind of exercise of faith in more believing prayer for God’s things in the world and in my life and in the life of our church.
So, join me in more prayer and more bible. You won’t be disappointed.
Theology in the Dirt 