03/25/2024
A couple of days ago I wrote about those who are young in Christ, and how they energetically worked in the church and elsewhere but confused this with devotion. Today I would like for us to study a thought that E.M. Bounds wrote, and which takes this a step further as he speaks directly to the clergy, and to church workers. He is concerned about the enthusiasm for the physical activities becoming our focus at the expense of our prayer life and faith in general.
"There may be lots of activities created by enthusiasm. Activity often continues at the expense of more solid, useful elements and generally to the total neglect of prayer. To be too busy with God's work to commune with Him, to be busy with doing church work without taking time to talk to God about His work, is the highway to backsliding." E.M. Bounds
This brought a couple of things to mind. I have participated in church activities that began with a quick prayer and then at the completion of the task ended with one. This is good and reiterates why we do this thing, but that isn't what Bounds is speaking about. He is talking about neglecting that quiet time in our prayer closets where we meet with God in prayer and supplication. He is concerned about the extended time of fervent prayer in which we are embracing, and being embraced by, the presence of God. He is writing about the time when we study the Word to seek and hear God's voice there, and the pursuit of God’s will in what we are contemplating doing for Him.
I have heard pastors confess that they have had times during their lives with the Lord when they experienced a crisis of faith. I wonder in hearing this if the activity of church has pushed away the quiet time with Jesus, at the expense of their relationship with Him?
As for the lay person... There is a saying going around today "fake it until you make it", well that may serve you in some worldly pursuit, but spiritually it is disingenuous and counterproductive. It may very well sentence you to a life outside the will of God. When we act devout by performing works and activities and neglect our prayers, study, and seeking God's will, then we have placed what others think of us above our relationship with God. In the end it is only God who will be our judge, not the pastor, not our Sunday school director, not the church board, and certainly not our Christian friends. If we dedicate ourselves to prayer and devotion to the Lord then the relationships and other activities will be done with a correct heart and reason; in this God will be glorified, and His will served.
It would be easy to brush today's devotional message aside and say that it was directed to clergy and church workers but not me... But it is directed at the lay person, parishioner, and all those who fill the pews each Sunday too. How many times does Monday come and we become so wrapped up in our jobs and other duties that we forego real prayer and study? How many days end with the only prayers we have participated in were "God is great, God is good now we thank Him for our food" or perhaps "Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep" as we prayed with your children? We wouldn't dream of being late to a child's school play, or a meeting at work, yet we have no problem ignoring the God of the Universe, and Jesus who died to save us from sin.
This is a stinging conviction, and realization, of our fading faith when we stop to examine it. We think to ourselves "God knows how busy I am, He can see what my life is like"; and certainly He does know all of this, but we are justifying a practice that will destroy our relationship with Jesus and Him... not because they will move away from us, but because by habit we are moving away from them; and not cultivating a more intimate relationship. In our busiest moments the Lord can give us calm and focus id we will only turn to them as we should.
If this is you, and your life is overwhelming, carve out a time in the early morning or after the family has gone to bed when you can talk earnestly with the Lord. In the still, and the silence we will feel His presence and hear His voice. This is when He will calm our souls and give us peace; this is when we can confide in Him and hear His reply. And, throughout our busy day an inoculation of prayer will make certain that our lives are being directed as they should be. Devotional time should become both routine and spontaneous, just like the routine of eating, or as spontaneous as blinking our eyes. When we have fostered such a relationship then our confidence in God will become as automatic to us as taking our next breath.
This coming Sunday is Easter Sunday and we will celebrate His resurrection and renew our remembrance of the passion of Christ. We will celebrate His victory over death and sin while renewing our faith. Wouldn't this week, Holy Week, be a wonderful time to rededicate ourselves to a time of intense devotion and prayer each day?
Happy Easter to you all, and I pray that God blesses you as you celebrate His Son, and then continues to bless you as we too wait for the Holy Spirit to come by praying fervently together as one.
“And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me…
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”
Acts 1:4-5, 12-14 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for allowing us to serve you with our works, but thank you more for the time we spend in studying your Word, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and in praying secretly with you. Holy Father help us to immerse ourselves in devotion, worship, and prayer, as we form a deep and abiding relationship with you, and use our increased faith to fend off the evil one and his half-truths as he tries to convince us that we should forgo our time in study, and prayer, for our own works, and those things we make with our own two hands. Just as you valued the blood sacrifice of Able over the personal labor and fruit of the ground that Cain offered you, we ask that you show us how much you value our spiritual offerings over our physical works. Strengthen our faith through the time we spend in the spiritual worship Abba, and make it sufficient to withstand the time we spend in labor as we make and offer you the fruit of our hands. Help us to curb the enthusiasm we have for our own efforts, and redirect our attention to those things that are of you. You give us love so that we can give it back to you. You give us lives so that we can give them back to you. And you give us so many wonderful things of character and faith so that we thank you for them in prayer, and can offer them back to you too. Receive our prayers, faith, and belief, and show us the transient and temporal nature of those things we have made with our own hands. Let our faith grow by these things that are gifts from you; our prayers and the spiritual lessons you teach us, then let all the glory of them be returned to you from whence they have come. In this way we come to praise you, and thank you for everything that is of value in us, and our lives. Praised be your name Father. And praised be Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer… He is your lamb, and your dove of peace, whose blood washes us clean, white as snow. This Easter Sunday help us to see our faith through the lens of Jesus Christ, and not through the glasses we have made with our own human hands. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, you are our Lord of Lords, and the God of all eternity. You bless us, and bless us again, as we return to you all you have given us... even the love of your only begotten Son.
Rich Forbes