“Your hands shaped me and made me.
Will you now turn and destroy me? Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.”
Job 10: 8-12
I'm not sure that I will ever figure out prayer. Recently at Radiant we have began walking through the Lord's Prayer and wrestling with God's heart for our relationship with him. My Friend and mentor, Mike Bradley shared with us that God wants us to tenaciously stand up in prayer and not roll over at the first sign of resistance. Yet there is this line in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done" that another friend, Bill Dogterom, taught us as a prayer of surrender. How on earth do I put these two together?
As I have been reading Job, this time around, I am struck by the honesty and tenacity of Job's prayers to God and interactions with his friends. He boldly defends himself before both, asking God to speak and "remove his hand" from Job, and roughly telling his friends to shut-up as they imply that Job is at fault for his current situation.
Ever had a friend that, though well meaning, made a situation far worse with their words of comfort. It happens all the time. There are times I've been on the receiving end of someone else's theological "go sit in the corner with the dunce cap on" pep talk. Sadly, there are also times where I have met another's struggles with those same kind of consolations. Left to our own devices, don't we usually think we can live others lives better than they can? By the way... If I have ever done that to any of you reading this, I'm really sorry. I annoy myself just typing about it.
When Job stands up in prayer I've noticed that even when he is pointed with God it is always rooted in affirmations of God's core character. For example Job says things like;
“Keep silent and let me speak; then let come to me what may. Why do I put myself in jeopardy and take my life in my hands? Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.”
Job 13: 13-15
First he tells his friends to keep silent, then turns his address to God. He knows that God can destroy him. He has awe in his awesome power, but he also knows that God is one whom you can put your hope in. With each volley of conversation between his friends and prayer with God, Job affirms the core character of who God is. Even when he shares his frustration, he begins and ends with statements about the Character of the one he puts his hope in.
My wife and I made a commitment when we were first married that in every argument we would have, that we would always push ourselves to come back to the core character of the other. Reminding ourselves, despite the present circumstances, who God created the other to be and call that out through our actions and words. Though we don't do this perfectly, it has been a helpful tool in our life together.
I wonder if prayer might require the same thing from us, that despite the present circumstances, we work to bring ourselves back to God's core character and to our own in light of who he is. May we be reminded of God's great compassion for us, and presence with us in our prayer. May we comfort others with that same encouragement.
In Jesus' Name
Amen
