DAILY DEVOTIONAL – January 16, 2020
“Say What?!”
Prayer: God of our salvation, You are a God who has spoken. You have spoken all things into existence. You have brought Your word into existence and wrapped it in flesh in Your Son our Lord Jesus Christ. You have given us Your very Word, and Your Spirit who speaks to us through it. Lord, give us ears to hear. Amen.
Scripture: Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Devotional – “Say What?!”
In his book surveying the life of the Biblical woman Esther, pastor and preacher Charles Swindoll recalls a humorous, though likely fabricated story about President Theodore Roosevelt. As the story recounts, President Roosevelt had grown tired of the trite and empty greetings and words spoken to him by politicians. On the night of a state gala, the President decided to try something a little different to see if people were even listening to what he was saying, or if they would continue to simply nod their heads, smile and respond with the usual inanities. Supposedly, on the evening of the great gala, President Roosevelt stood in a receiving line greeting one guest after another. “All of them said the same thing, smiled the same tired smile, repeating the right greetings by rote, talking with their mouths, not their heads or their hearts.”
Tired of the same old hollow routine, Roosevelt did something absolutely outrageous. Convinced that no one was listening to what he had to say anyway, he began to greet the rest of his guests by saying with a smile, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” As expected, almost everyone smiled vacuously and said things like: “Wonderful!” “Lovely!” “Keep up the good work!” One diplomat was listening, however. After hearing what Roosevelt said, he leaned over and whispered in Roosevelt’s ear, “I’m sure she had it coming to her!”
Whether or not this story is true, it is a wonderful illustration that highlights the importance of two things: how we listen and what we say.
When you think about prayer, what do you think about? If you’re anything like me, you probably think mostly about what we do in prayer; what we say and how we say it. How we pray and the words with which we pray are no doubt important. In Matthew 6 verse 7 Jesus says, “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” After saying this, Jesus even took the time to teach us how to pray in the words of the Lord’s Prayer.
Though we don’t talk about it nearly as much as we do the words of prayer, the practice of listening in prayer is equally if not even more important that what we say or how we say it. In verse 6 of Matthew 6, before instructing us not to babble on and before teaching us how to pray, Jesus tells us, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
An effective prayer life is one not only of honest and heartfelt words spoken to God, but effective prayer is also equally focused on listening. Both of these two parts of prayer God has already provided for in His Word. The Word of God gives us words to pray and guides us in knowing and praying for the will of God to be done in our life. It is also through the Word of God that we listen for God’s answer.
I once had a congregation member ask to meet with me to talk about their frustrations with prayer. As this person articulated to me in our meeting, they were becoming increasingly discouraged and frustrated with God because they did not feel they were getting an answer. Those were the words they repeated over and over again, “I don’t feel like I am getting an answer from God.”
I asked this member, “what would an answer from God feel like?” I could tell by the look on their face that they never took the time to really think about the words they were saying or examine their own expectations. “That’s a good question pastor” they replied. I then asked them, “what does the Word of God say about the prayers you have made to God?” They honestly replied, “I don’t know…I haven’t looked into it.”
Let me ask you, my friends, the same question I then asked this person, “If God were to open the sky itself and answer you, either with audible words or a handwritten letter, is there any good reason we should expect Him to say something different or more than what He has already graciously given to us in His Word?”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
As the common expression goes, “God gave us two ears, and only one mouth.” Time and time again after his teachings, Jesus says something very similar, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Friends, make some time this week to enter into God’s gracious gift of silence. The Good News of the Gospel is that because of Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross, our relationship with God is restored and God is constantly speaking to us through His Word. We have a Living God who wants to speak to us and is speaking to us. Take the time to listen to and listen in that Word of God.
Thanks for joining me for another daily devotion, and remember, that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today, and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
