Successful Communication With God
Thy Kingdom Come
When I consider the grand scheme of things, what was made, what will be, history past, the future, the nations, the laws, the people, the poor, my family, my work, my schedule, my bills . . . it is amazing how my thoughts become so distorted and my life so narrowly focused. So much concentration is spent upon the temporary and I neglect the things eternal - I miss opportunities to direct my thoughts upon God. Is there anything else but God? Solomon instructs us to "fear God and keep His commands, for this is the whole duty of man." [Ecc 12:13] To glorify God is the reason we exist.
As I rose from my knees in prayer one recent morning, I heard God say if I knew Who He was, I would have no desire to get on with my day but would cling to His feet. He is all that would matter. I know what He says is truth and that I should be content in Him alone. But the day brings obstacles and hurdles and I find I am obsessed with tasks and goals and plans. If not impossible, it is at least difficult to lay all things at His feet and wait.
One thing on my mind was that I needed to finish my reading of Isaiah. This year, I had committed to reading the book of Isaiah through every month and I was behind for the month (which ended the day before and I still had five chapters left). As I rose from prayer, I responded to God's voice, "Lord, I hear You and I know it is true but I am behind in reading Your Word (surely, He would agree this is was a good and worthy goal). In fact, I am behind in everything that I do but I will try to pray more."
The last portion of the book of Isaiah, which deals with Israel's rebellion and restoration, God reminds His chosen people of their rebellion, His willingness to forgive, His wrath and the future restoration of Jerusalem. This message is woven throughout the book, but it is especially catechized within the last half. My reading this morning began in chapter sixty-two, where God promises to restore righteousness and salvation to Jerusalem during the millennial kingdom. Six verses into the reading, God hit me with a big stick:
...You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem... [Isaiah 62:6-7]
As I read through this text, the Lord impressed upon me the importance of these words. My mind immediately went to 1Thessalonians 5:17, "Pray without ceasing," but I knew in my heart God was trying to tell me something even more important than that. How many times, have we been instructed that praying without ceasing, or praying continually, is the practice of keeping a prayer channel open to God throughout the day, so that as things come up, we can offer our petitions to Him? But this verse is different. Through Isaiah, God makes it clear we are to give Him no rest until He establishes His millennial kingdom, which is seated in Jerusalem. I had to think about this some more.
I have a habit of beginning every day with prayer, on my knees. This doesn't make me a super Christian by any measure. I wish I could tell you that all my prayers are successful communications with God but I think most times I succumb to reciting a litany of wants and needs. As my pastor told us in his sermon that same morning, I might as well be praying, "my kingdom come."
When God communicates, He repeats Himself - He has to because we don't listen. Just like He reiterated Israel's rebellion, His willingness to forgive, His discipline and wrath and the future restoration of Jerusalem, over and over in the book of Isaiah, He gave me the same message three times, that morning. First, there was His voice - I needed to spend more time with Him and that if I truly knew Him, I would cling to Him. Second, was the Scripture admonishing me to give God no rest until He establishes His kingdom. Third, pastor's morning sermon was on "Thy kingdom come" and praying for God's kingdom instead of our own.
Pastor was preaching from Matthew 6:9-10. He asked us to consider how we begin our prayers, do we exalt the Lord God or do we get right into our problems. You see, we either serve the Lord, or we expect Him to serve us. We pray to build His kingdom or we ask Him to build ours! He talked about the problem of Christians who quit praying because they don't see God answering their prayers. I know of several Christians who have become bitter against God for failing to answer their prayers they way they wanted. It is easy to lose sight of what we are here on earth for but if we are the children of God, we are here to build and pray for the kingdom of God. And, according to Isaiah 62:6-7, we are commanded to give Him no rest in this matter!
I must confess, lately I have been spending a lot of prayer time with my problems. Even when I do begin my prayers with praise and prayers for the kingdom, it is often muffled by the cares in my heart. Often I have had to confess to the Lord that my cares were taking priority over His kingdom and I was afraid if my life were called today, I would have little eternal fruit to show Him for my labor.
The Fruit of Your Hands
As I worked to finish the reading of Isaiah that morning, the Lord caught my attention to another verse:
...My chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune... [Isaiah 65:22-23]
I immediately attached myself to this verse as a promise. To enjoy the fruit of my labor has been a driving force in my life (I'm easily swayed by the temporary and immediate). As I considered this verse, I asked God to bless the work of my hands that my labor would not be in vain. But I knew in my heart that God does not have a policy of "name it; claim it," nor does He favor the modern evolution of that movement marketed via the prayer of Jabez. God has impressed upon me throughout my trials, these problems we face on earth are nothing in the grand scheme of things and good health and great finances are not necessarily indicators of whether we are within the Lord's favor. I must accept the Lord's discipline and the trials He sends into my life. My acceptance of His will in my life is absolutely an indicator of whether I view God as my Lord or my servant.
We live in a fallen world rife with corruption and decay. How can we expect to have a life of comfort and ease while working for the kingdom of God within this environment? We need to be content where God has placed us, not losing sight of our real goal - the building up of God's people and praying for His kingdom.
If I experience little of the fruit of my labor on earth, I know that in God's future kingdom I will enjoy the work of my hands for a thousand years and forever. Furthermore, I know that all the work I do for His kingdom will have manifold rewards in the age to come. But for now, I need to spend more time with God...
[©2003 Dean Isaacson ]