Praying

I really don’t think most people get up in the morning and say to themselves, “I am going to ruffle a few feathers today. I am going to maximize my stress, minimize my peace, and see if I might find a little devastation in my life today.” Most of the people I know don’t like conflict. Personally, I am a fan of quiet, tranquil days. Ruffled feathers are usually accompanied with the kind of loud squawking and frantic flapping that sends me running for safety.

My recent studies in the book of 1 Samuel have challenged me to examine the way I deal with stress and conflict. And through that challenge, I am discovering an unexpected beauty in vulnerability. And I am seeing inherit dangers in the ways that I deal with it.

In first Samuel chapter 4, Israel was very vulnerable. The nation’s spiritual leaders were reprobate. The nation’s people no longer ascribed to a purely Biblical theology or philosophy. “In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.” (1 Samuel 3:1) God wasn’t speaking. And the mighty Philistines were on the attack.

1 Samuel 4:1-11 narrates the story:

And Samuel's word came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield.

When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the LORD bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD's covenant from Shiloh, so that it may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies." So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

When the ark of the LORD's covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, "What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?" When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid. "A god has come into the camp," they said. "We're in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the desert. Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!"

So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

What?? Israel brought the Ark of the Covenant into their camp. There was great rejoicing. The enemy heard and was afraid. And Israel LOST the battle??

There is something very important about Israel’s “use” of the Ark of the Covenant. God is speaking to today’s church through it. Dale Ralph Davis, in his expository commentary 1 Samuel: Looking on the Heart takes that old story of Israel’s defeat and adds modern relevancy to it. Here are some excerpts from his commentary on 1 Samuel chapter 4:

When we, whether Israelites or Christians, operate this way, our concern is not to seek God but to control him, not to submit to God but to use him. So we prefer religious magic to spiritual holiness; we are interested in success, not repentance. . . Yahweh will suffer shame rather than allow you to carry on a false relationship with him; and Yahweh will allow you to be disappointed with him if it will awaken you to the sort of God he really is. Whenever the church stops confessing “Thou art worthy” and begins chanting “Thou art useful” – well, then you know the ark of God has been captured again.

So, here is what I glean from all this:

When the Philistines came against Israel, God’s people did not respond to their difficulty based upon their RELATIONSHIP with God. They responded to their situation based upon their BENEFITS from God. They didn't wait for God or call upon God or trust God or seek honest, Godly counsel. They just took the ark . . . their most powerful symbol of God’s ability to save them . . . and they used it. Used God. Put that ark out into the battle and expected it to work its magic. They didn’t want relationship. They just wanted success.

We . . . God’s people . . . are susceptible to “using God” and making “magic charms” of spiritual things when we are going through dry, difficult, scary times. These seasons when God seems too slow or too quiet or not attentive to our “needs” leave us vulnerable. Just standing there, vulnerable and waiting, is hard. We want to do something. We want some spiritual power to cover our vulnerability. We just want success.

It is in these times that we usually become most trite. Most desperate. Least discerning. Most likely to take that ark, march it to the front of the battlefield, and expect it to work its magic.
I think we use prayer like that sometimes.

Here are some examples:

“When I start every day in prayer, my day just goes better.”
Really? Does it? Always? What happens if God totally UNDOES your heart during your morning prayer? And then you are UNDONE for the rest of the day?

“I just need to get prayed for.”
So you get prayed for. You cry. The moment is terrific. Everyone involved agrees that something really wonderful happened. But in that very moment, did God do an enduring work in you? Are you really different? Will you still be different tomorrow . . . or will you need to get prayed for again?

“Prayer changes things.”
So what happens if you pray and you see no change? For days or weeks or months or years you see no change? Is that really the highest purpose of prayer . . . to “change things”?

I definitely believe we need to pray. Probably need to pray MORE than we currently do. And I believe we should pray for others. And we should ask others to pray for us. And . . . The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much (James 5:16). However, in difficult times, when we are most vulnerable and feel least powerful, we must be careful to not use prayer as a talisman.

Talisman:
1: an object held to act as a charm to avert evil and bring good fortune
2: something producing apparently magical or miraculous effects

Prayer must be a function of relationship. God's power isn't the point of our prayers, because failure isn't the overriding tragedy in our lives. Separation is.

We need a deeper relationship with Him. Walk with Him. Talk with Him. Study His Word. Let His very nature soak into every vulnerable nook and cranny of our soul.

Then when the Philistines come . . . as they always do . . . we will be found in Him.
And when victory comes it will be His victory.
His way.
His timing.
His glory.

Matthew 11:28 (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."
2 Cor 4:7 (NASB)
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.

Psalms 46:10-11 (NIV)
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 

Psalms 46:10-11
Lesa K. Reid