Whatever It Takes

Jon Bloom recently had a tremendous yet daunting post over at Desiring God. To me it is so helpful I wanted to reproduce it here in its entirety and challenge all of us to treasure conformity to the image of Christ (Rom 8:28-29) over any temporal comfort this life can offer.

When visiting my mother recently I was leafing through a well-known magazine and came across an article about a well-known actress who is a professing Christian. The article described her vibrant faith and the role of prayer in her life. I was encouraged by her cultivation of constant prayerfulness. I want to grow in that too.

But the comment that stuck with me was, “I know not to beg [God] for patience, because then he gives me situations in which I have to grow more patient; I learned that lesson!”

God bless her honesty. Over the years many earnest Christians have said similar things to me. Ask God to make you more godly and what happens? You get more difficulty, more struggle, and more pain. Who wants that?

The answer is: we should! Not the pain for its own sake, of course. But if the discipline of pain produces the peaceful fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11), we should plead for the discipline. If it means we will be more like him, more deeply know him, be freer from fearful unbelief, and have more capacity to love others, we should beg for it. “Love is patient” (1 Corinthians 13:4). If we don’t want more patience, what does that say about our view of love?

And what’s the alternative? Shallow love? Half-heartedness? Do we want this description by C. S. Lewis’s to always be true of us?

It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased” (The Weight of Glory).

No! Let’s not be so easily pleased! Let’s not be afraid to ask God to do “whatever it takes” to bring him the greatest glory and us the deepest joy. Let’s really “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). Let’s want the Prize!

Oh Father, whatever it takes, increase our love by increasing our patience! Whatever it takes, increase our delight in you! Whatever it takes, align our rogue desires with yours! Whatever it takes teach us to trust you more! And free us to pray these things! In Jesus’ name, amen.

I do understand our actress sister from the magazine, believe me. God does answer these kinds of prayers. I know it from experience and the discipline is often painful. But what I have tasted of God and his promises during these times are so precious I wouldn’t trade them for the world. And I want more. So I keep praying “whatever it takes,” even with some trembling.

Today Jesus is asking you, “What do you want me to do for you” (Luke 18:41)? Don’t be afraid. Ask (Luke 11:9)! “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”
(Luke 12:32).

Prayer and Faith

So a new semester of PhD work is nearly upon me, and with that comes little time to think about much else. Other guys have greater capacity to do a variety of things effectively, but I find that I must stay focused on a few things to do them well. As such, I want to continue blogging, but for the next several months plan on sharing excerpts from a book that is having a profound impact on my life. That work is entitled The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds on Prayer. Bounds was a 19th century pastor who dedicated the last years of his life to itinerant preaching and intense prayer. There is much we can learn from this man as it relates to the ministry of prayer, every page contains great wisdom and exhortation. The following excerpts come from his first chapter relating prayer and faith. As time allows I hope to also add some commentary to these excerpts, but my prayer is that we would all be affected and driven to fervent prayer that comes from a righteous heart.

“Faith does the impossible because it brings God to undertake for us, and nothing is impossible with God.” (13)

“The faith which creates powerful praying is the faith which centers itself on a powerful person. Faith in Christ’s ability to do and to do greatly is the faith which prays greatly.” (14)

“A praying faith keeps the commandments of God and does those things which are well pleasing in his sight…Obedience helps faith, and faith, in turn, helps obedience. To do God’s will is essential to true faith, and faith is necessary to implicit obedience.” (15)

“Faith does not grow disheartened because prayer is not immediately honored; it takes God at his Word, and lets him take what time he chooses in fulfilling his purposes, and in carrying on his work. There is bound to be much delay and long days of waiting for true faith, but faith accepts the conditions–knows there will be delays in answering prayer, and regards such delays as times of testing, in which, it is privileged to show its mettle, and the stern stuff of which it is made.” (15)

Call Others to Imitate You

I just read a stirring post on Justin Taylor’s blog and had to post it here. Taylor writes, “Gospel-centered discipleship employs both show and tell. In his little book From the Resurrection to His Return: Living Faithfully in the Last Days (Christian Focus), D. A. Carson asks: “Do you ever say to a young Christian, ‘Do you want to know what Christianity is like? Watch me!’ If you never do, you are unbiblical.”

Paul tells his readers numerous times in Scripture “Imitate me and my Christian faith” (1 Cor 4:15-17; 1 Cor 11:1; Phil 3:17; Phil 4:9; 2 Thess 3:7-9; 2 Tim 3:10-11). This is a command we often ignore, and many times out of a good heart as it seems arrogant to say such a thing. However, it may be that we simply do not feel worthy to make such an exhortation to other people due to the lack we see in our own Christian walk. We are not perfect, and neither was Paul, but God is looking for seasoned disciples to lead others not just by word but also by deed. Exhortation and example.

Read the rest here, and be challenged to live a God-centered, grace-driven, Spirit-filled life that, though imperfect, by God’s grace is worthy of imitation.

Prayer and the Need for Revival

Recently I have been reading A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir by Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge. This is an outstanding work that addresses key revivals that have occurred historically in this country and abroad. It is an encouraging read as one is able to get a glimpse at the movement of God in different times, and it is also exhortation that needs to be heeded in our day. We are in need of revival, personally, in churches, in our cities, in our country, and our world. We desperately need to see the Spirit of God move in miraculous ways among us, for the glory of God’s name and the good of His people. We need to see greater amounts of conversions, disciple-making, and life change. Here are a few quotes from the preface and introductory chapter.

“Few of us are tempted today to dream too big. Rather, our vision shrinks to the size of our limited experience. Yet all things are possible for those who believe in the God who created the heavens and the earth. In our disbelief, we can ask God for inspiration to believe. Then he may give us a vision of divine size.”

“The inevitable and constant preliminary to revival has always been a thirst for God, a thirst, a living thirst for a knowledge of the living God, and a longing and a burning desire to see him acting, manifesting himself and his power, rising, and scattering his enemies.”

“We pray with [Martyn] Lloyd-Jones: “Let us lay hold upon Him and plead with Him to vindicate His own truth and the doctrines which are so dear to our hearts, that the church may be revived and masses of people may be saved.”

“Following the characteristic pattern of revivals, recovering Scripture brought conviction, followed by repentance, resulting in rejoicing, because the redeemer God doesn’t abandon those who seek his face.”

“Though God alone can instigate revival, the church need not wait idly. God may choose unexpected ways and times to bless our efforts to preach and teach his Word. We can confess our sins known and unknown and forsake them. Above all else, we can pray.”

I love this final quote. Certainly God blesses the reading, teaching, and preaching of His Word, but He does this in concert with the humbling of our own hearts, a returning to Him in repentance, and in the midst of passionate, dependent, faith-filled prayer (2 Chronicles 7:14). May we be a people who expectantly pray for and labor diligently, expecting, by the power of His Spirit, that God would move in power in our midst for His everlasting glory and our good.

A Tool to Help You Live

If you have never heard of John Piper’s acronym called A.P.T.A.T. I would encourage you to check out this post. This can of use to you in relation to your preaching, killing sin, and hoping in God each and every day. So may we be a people who admit we are incapable of living the Christian life on our own, pray to God constantly, trust in specific promises, act in the strength that God supplies, and thank Him for demonstrable grace.

Prayer and the Glory of God

Our prayers and the glorification of God are inextricably connected. Certainly God does not need us to be glorious, but He chooses to be in relationship with us through faith in Christ and prayer gives Him glory. This is crucial when one considers that God is passionate for His glory (Isa 48:9-11) and our lives are meant to be lived for that very purpose (1 Cor 10:31; Col 3:17), which is the most joyful life imaginable (Phil 1:19-23).

Prayer is about dependency and faith. We are to come to Jesus as dependent children looking to our Father to supply everything we need. And prayer is not just about coming to a cosmic Santa Claus to attain all of our worldly desires, James warns against this (4:1-3). Indeed intercession and requests for particular needs are a part of prayer, and God is happy to be the Giver, but He does not desire to be used as a means to an end. Our prayers must ultimately be rooted in our hunger for God, seeing that He is the ultimate joy in all of our joys (Psalm 43:4). This kind of prayer, regardless of what we are pleading to God for, must be founded in faith that our God is the God of the Bible who has shut the mouths of lions, parted seas, put down mighty kings, struck armies, and delivered in miraculous ways. Read the Bible, know that God, and pray to that God as if the Bible is true (because it is).

When we come to God in dependence and faith He is magnified because the Giver gets the glory. We are dependent, He supplies, we find our joy in Him, His renown is declared throughout the earth. This is an important lesson as it relates to prayer, we must not let it degenerate into a time where we only come to God in crisis to get us out of a bind or to fulfill our own selfish desires. Prayer is for the glory of God, namely, to see Him act on behalf of His needy people who are, above all, seeking the advancement of His kingdom for the magnifying of His great name (Matt 6:33).

Ordering Our Affections Rightly

John Piper has a penetrating blog post today that deals with the issue of idolatry. He asks if we know of someone (and it could be ourselves) who gets more excited about the latest movie, clothing purchase, app, etc., than they do about Jesus, and if so what to do to assist them. Here is a summary of his answer.

“Instead of dampening their enthusiasm for movies, clothing, apps, and events, let that go as an expression of God-given personality. Instead, model expressive joy in Jesus. Over time, if there is no resonance from their heart with your joy, query them humbly:

I love your enthusiasm for the things you get excited about. You’re so free and expressive about good movies and nice clothes and cool apps. It seems odd to me that you don’t seem to be as expressive about the way you feel about Jesus and what he’s done for us. Have you thought about why that might be?

The point of this query is to help them see that the problem is not joyfully loving good created things. The problem is the apparent absence of similar affections for Christ.”

This is an important question as we query our own souls to root out idolatry, as well as in helping others in their walk with Christ. Read the whole thing here.