Abba, Father, I …

My son David turned five last December.

Now i know. Late four and early five is the period of immense complaints:

“Daddy, yesterday we prayed in Gracie’s room, why ..again today?

“Daddy i do not like this…”

“But daddy i do not want to go to bed now..”

“But daddy..”

It can wear you out. Today i had just had enough of it. But as i was busy getting annoyed, the Lord reminded me of my own baseless complaints to Him.

So this post is a reminder to myself whenever i am tempted to open my mouth and opine.

Why complaining is a no no

Why do we complain?

Basically, when things are not as we want them to be.

I will give you just three reasons why you should not make complaining a norm in your life.

1. The Lord knows what you need.

Even before you ask Him, He already knows your needs.

²⁴ Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will hear. ( Isaiah 65:24)

And He has taken measures to meet those needs. In fact, it is most likely that He has already met those needs, or is working towards meeting them.

For the  pagans (other people-mine ) run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ( Matthew 6:32)

So if that is the case, from whence cometh the complaints?

Many times it so happens that His solution to our needs and our preferred solutions do not match. And if you happen to  know better than He does, you open your mouth and out comes complaints. I will give you one example.

A couple of years back i sought to work for a certain high flying energy company. After going through a couple of interviews that went well, i failed to land the job. I was distraught. I complained. Soon after, i took a job with a “less glorious” firm instead.

Two years later, the high flying firm went bust. Enron style. My employer is still going strong. The Lord knew the future, i did not. He set my feet on sure footing. Yet i foolishly opened my mouth to opine, craving that which was dying.

2. A sign that you distrust the Lord’s ability
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” ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

Lovely prayer, right?

Do you pray this prayer? How often?

When i was growing up, and attending sunday school, and the “main” church service, this is one prayer we all knew by heart. At home, my Mom and Dad would start or end our prayer sessions with this prayer. We all knew it by heart. Even my brother Tom, who is not born again and believes life is all about fate, knew this prayer by heart.

That is not a good thing. It is bad.

How not to pray.

Christ, when asked “teach us how to pray”, said “This, then, is how you should pray” and gave that model prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.

But before that He had said that prayer should never be a repetitive mindless chant of some choice words, such as those of the Lord’s prayer.

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Matthew 6:7

But, that is exactly what many many people have done with the Lord’s prayer. Do you pray that prayer? How often? Can you say the words without even thinking of the words? That is not something to be proud of. That is bad state of affairs.

Please stop. You are wasting your time. In addition, you are showing signs of “heathen-ness”!

How to pray

So how should you pray?

If you know the Lord, that really should not be a question, but granted, there are times we forget. So let me simply say this:

Do not expect a howto or the n steps to effective prayer from me.

Nor should you expect such prescription to work. Why?

Prayer is talking with the Lord God. The Lord is a person, just like you are.  And, if He is your Father or your friend, does anyone need to tell you how to converse with Him? Do you ever need to be told how to talk to someone you love? No. ( But if you have broken a previously existing relationship, then some counselor may be useful in  assisting  you remember how to communicate with one another)

If you find yourself seeking ways of “howto to pray”, chances are your problem is deeper than mere ineffective prayer. You need a closer relationship with the Lord. Then the issue of how to pray will not arise.

Most effective prayer.

In fact, the most effective prayer is that initiated by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Such prayer is always on target. And this is something spontaneous that  CAN NOT be taught.

To repeat what you already know, you cannot have effective prayer unless you have a relationship and are in fellowship with the Lord.

“Lord are you hearing me?” “Lord, hear my cry?” “Lord, if only i could hear you loud and clear!”

Many a saint have asked these and similar questions.

How do you know that the Lord has heard your prayer?

Here are some common answers to that concern:

“When i get an answer.” “I feel it down in my Spirit” “I believe He hears me“.

All true, but it really boils down to this:

He said He does listen to your prayer, even before you express it. Period.

It is guaranteed.

That is all you need to know. And He does not lie.

Have you been praying for something? And wondering? There is your answer.

“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” Romans 9:13, NIV

Many people who know that verse excuse their hate for things Godly and say they want nothing to do with a “God who hates.” That, even as they themselves exhibit hate!

But, anyway, non-believers can be excused when they are unforgiving about the things of God. Or for seeing so much foolishness with the whole idea of salvation. Why? They are ignorant.

Hear what the Lord says:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” ( 1 Corinthians 1:18-19, NIV)

But, i am sure there are Christians who also sometimes wonder:

“If God is love, how could He say such things?”.

I will not be surprised if soon someone comes up with a Bible translation that changes the meaning of that verse to something more “godly” and more like the “god” we want .

Here is an attempt to shed more light for those saints who wonder and wander at times  because of that verse.

Teachable Moment

The Bible says that the whole law ( Old Testament ) was a school teacher whose purpose was to bring people to a point whereby they would be able to distinguish between life and death. So that when presented with a choice, they would shun death,  and happily embrace life.

So that  people would be able to understand what Grace is. And what love is.

Always remember that about the old testament.

That being said, i am sure most of you are happy you do not have to practice all those rules that were given to the Jews of old. Because you understand that Christ’s coming was a turning point for the whole world. That there was a time before and a time after that point in time.

And you understand what was meant by the saying:

“you heard it said that.. BUT NOW I SAY TO YOU”.

So back to the point. He is a simple revelation i had.

Revelation

It was said that

“Jacob i chose, Esau i rejected”

BUT NOW i say unto you

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Hear that?

I do a new thing.

What the Lord is saying is

“Yes, it is True. In old times, i chose the Jewish people. I showed them my favor. I showered them with love, grace and tender mercies. I “ignored” the other people.”

“You do realize of course that i included many other people who were not Jews but who were willing to relate to me? People such has Ruth or that whore in Jericho.”

“Anyway, i hear what you are saying. ”

“But now i do a new thing. The old has passed away, the new has come. Now, anyone who is interested in a relationship with me can come to me. I will not turn anyone away, no matter how filthy they think they are. And he will be my son. ”

“The Jews were just my people. But now you can be my son. A much better and closer relationship, don’t you think? ”

“I exclude no one. The power of exclusion is in your own hands. I accept all. Would you come?”

Update ( Nov 5th 2008 ): California’s Proposition 8 Passed. Weather you are for it or against it, i am excited. Why? I think this should go along way to show Christians how to truly change the society. Pray. Fast. Pray. In your closest, not in the news, as these brave souls led by Lou Engle did. (Whether it is overturned or not in the future does not matter, what matters now is the encouragement in the answered prayer..)

There are many ideas in this post.

First, i am a big supporter of US Senator Obama. I do not fully agree with some of the ideas he and the democrats stand for. In fact, i do not put any trust or hope in any politician. My main hope and trust is in the Lord.

That said,  there is no doubt Senator Obama will turn out to be one of the great guys of the 21st century. One, we are reminded that you can rise above any adversity and two, as much as a father is critical in the life of a child, no young man should henceforth think “i —– because i did not know my father”.

Second, i do not buy into the crap being propagated by some ( pseudo Christians ) that he is the anti-Christ. From the many descriptions in the scriptures, i think the anti-Christ will be a Jew, not a Kansasan/Siayan. In any case, why would a Christian lose sleep over anti-Christ walking the earth?

But the other day, i got to thinking, and it occurred to me that there is one way in which Senator Obama might be paving the way for that world leader that is to come ( the anti-Christ ). How?

When was the last time you saw a leader of one Nation being loved by almost all the peoples of the world? Think about that.

Dry run with clay

That is why i think, in a way, his success can also be seen in the context of the coming world leader of the apocalypse. Here we are, presented with a very “unlikely” man ( or clay ) that a majority of the world seem to love. This may be the beginning of a new era. Is it really far fetched to imagine that very soon in the future a leader will arise and that he will garner the support of the whole world? And who will even question him, if in the midst of a collapsing economy, that leader offers economic miracles?
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