Word of Encouragement (05/09/2023)
"There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty. 27 The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, 'Destroy.' 28 So Israel lived in safety, Jacob lived alone, in a land of grain and wine, whose heavens drop down dew. 29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph! Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs."
Having blessed the tribes of Israel, Moses concludes his blessings with a general praise to God (vv. 26-28) and blessing on Israel (v. 29). It was only right that Moses should conclude his benedictions with praise to God for His greatness and thereby stir up their gratitude and expectation. What does it matter how lavishing Moses’ benedictions were if God were not almighty in power and wisdom to fulfill them?
This provides us with a good example of how we end our prayer, doesn’t it? We know how beneficial it is to begin our prayer by praising God. As we kneel before God with our hearts weighed down with the burdens and cares of life, it would be well for us to remember to whom we are directing our petitions by praising God for His divine attributes and the works of mercy with which He has blessed us. Then, we will be lifted out of our God-less perspective on our problems, which drives us to fear and despair; we will be able to pray with hope and expectation, instead. How wonderful it is to remember and savor the greatness of our God!
If that is the case, why should we do it only at the beginning of our prayer? Why not end our prayer with praise of God so that we can go about doing our work with the awareness of His greatness and the all-sufficiency of His grace toward us? If the goal of our life is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, prayer, of all things, should conclude with an acknowledgment of His glory, shouldn’t it? And if proper theology leads to doxology (praise of God), shouldn’t our prayer end with doxology?
We often ask one another, “How is your prayer life?” because that is a good measure of our Christian walk. Many Christians don’t find it difficult to engage in church activities. But sadly, only some regularly read the Bible and attend Bible studies. But most Christians find it difficult to pray, let alone participate in prayer meetings. Why? Because we cannot be passive in prayer (as in a Bible study). We must engage God with our minds and hearts. We must confront the struggles we are having, not just in our external circumstances but also in our inner being. When we pray, we must wrestle with our confusions and questions and doubts about the ways of God. But I hope we can all see how our Christian walk can be hollow without a consistent prayer life. That is why we measure our Christian life by our prayer life.
But perhaps an even more fundamental question should be about our “praise life.” I’m quite certain that, if our prayer life is suffering, it is because our “praise life” is not going well. Why would we stay away from the throne of grace if our hearts are filled with the love and beauty and glory of God? What can stop us from running toward God with our petitions when the vision of God’s glory stirs up our thirst and hunger for God’s presence and goodness?
How can you capture the vision of God’s glory, you ask? God has already revealed His glory through His creation and His Word, by His works of providence and the cross of Jesus Christ. All we need to do is to bring to our recollection what we know of God from His Word and through our experience of grace. As we do so with the help of the Holy Spirit, the vision of God’s glory will be etched in our minds and hearts, and we will not be able to contain ourselves from praising our majestic God. Why don’t you take a few minutes to praise God for what you know of God and make a habit of it? I trust that you will not be the same.