Kind of an awkward title, but it sums up what I wanted to write about. This past weekend, I went to the beach in New Jersey with Bill, Barbara, and Charlene. Monday night at around 11 or so, we went out to the beach just to watch the waves and enjoy the outdoors. I was kind of surprised at the power I started to feel when we got there. People know me for being a funny guy, but I'm very meditative and reflective as well...so I decided to take a walk by myself down the beach. It was there that I was able to see God very clearly, even through the night sky.
As I'm writing this, I'm sitting on my back porch at home. I'm listening to Christian worship music, it's 76 degrees and sunny, and there's a slight breeze blowing. It's pretty perfect weather, and very easy to see that this is God's day. It's times like this that we're able to see God's beauty. But it's also times like this that we can forget how holy, powerful, and sovereign God really is. I saw that Monday night by the ocean. I'll paint that scene in sharp contast to the scene I'm sitting in right now: I was by myself, standing face to face with waves much taller than me. It was completely dark, but there was still the awesome sight of heat lightning in the distance. Even though it was completely dark, every sense for me was active. I didn't just see God's power through the ocean waves...I could hear it, feel it, and almost even taste it and smell it. It was truly awesome. At first I was just standing in awe at what I was feeling around me, but I couldn't help but take a knee out of sheer reverence. I started singing Agnus Dei, and I could definitely feel God's power around me.
When I was out there, Revelation 1:15 came to my mind "...and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters." When I talked to Bill, he reminded me of a verse in Psalms which I just looked up...29:3 "The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters." And I could definitely relate to that. I could hear God saying "Here I am. I have command over the ocean and the lightning. Bow to me and feel my power." And I did...I bowed and I prayed. I prayed to a God that not only shows us His beautiful creation, but shows us His powerful and even scary creation.
We thank God every day for giving us Jesus, God the Father in human form to whom we can relate. Through Jesus, God showed us what it's like to love and serve. But I feel like we often forget who God the Father really is. We forget Jesus' teaching of prayer, and possibly the most important aspect of it. When Jesus taught us to pray, He said "Our Father who art in Heaven, HALLOWED be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven." Emphasis added on "hallowed". We always remember and preach that God is a personal God and we can all have a relationship with Him. That's true, and it's wonderful that we have that. But we forget that God is also a highly untouchable and infinitely powerful God. When I was praying by the ocean, I could've walked forward about 100 yards to what would've been my death. What would've been my death is something over which God has full dominion. It's a fact we can't afford to forget when we pray.
"Great, so I've been praying incorrectly? How then do I pray?" I don't want to say that the way I pray is better than other ways or that I recognize something that other people don't, but I just want to give an example of how I tend to pray and things I say when I do. I try to follow 1 Thessalonians 5:17 as closely as I can, "pray continually". If I'm in the car or on my own (like I am now), I'll just start praying...sometimes I don't even know what I want to pray about. But I never really need anything specific to pray about, I just talk to Him. That's what God wants..."The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend" - Exodus 33:11. I find that I never need to have something specific to come to God with, but I just come to God. But if I do have something on my heart, I get alone and get on my knees. I am on my knees every morning when I wake up, and every night before I go to bed. It helps me to bring focus to a holy God who deserves my full attention. I also tend to speak out loud so I don't get distracted. When I pray silently, I find that it is extremely easy to start letting my thoughts drift away from prayer. Same thing if I'm praying when I'm laying down in bed...I may even fall asleep without finishing my prayer. I'm not saying that one way or another is wrong, but I think praying out loud on your knees is a much superior way of praying.
The reason I wrote this and the reason that God laid this on my heart is a reminder for myself and for anyone reading this. God doesn't want us to forget who it is we serve. We serve a loving, gracious, and personal God. But perhaps more importantly than that, we serve a holy, sovereign, powerful, and untouchable God. Even Moses, one of the holiest men in the Bible, was only permitted to see God's "back", otherwise he would have died. God isn't just some powerful guy that gives us things if we ask for them. He's an eternal being that breathed life into us and could take it away in a flash if it was His will. The powerful ocean waves are just the smallest of God's power. I'm very thankful that I serve a God that saved me from an eternity in Hell through His son Jesus, because He loved us so much. But I'm incredibly excited and awestruck that I'm ALLOWED to serve a God who is truly all-powerful. Don't forget who we serve and how we serve. We serve the God of the heavens and earth, and we serve this God on our knees.
As I'm writing this, I'm sitting on my back porch at home. I'm listening to Christian worship music, it's 76 degrees and sunny, and there's a slight breeze blowing. It's pretty perfect weather, and very easy to see that this is God's day. It's times like this that we're able to see God's beauty. But it's also times like this that we can forget how holy, powerful, and sovereign God really is. I saw that Monday night by the ocean. I'll paint that scene in sharp contast to the scene I'm sitting in right now: I was by myself, standing face to face with waves much taller than me. It was completely dark, but there was still the awesome sight of heat lightning in the distance. Even though it was completely dark, every sense for me was active. I didn't just see God's power through the ocean waves...I could hear it, feel it, and almost even taste it and smell it. It was truly awesome. At first I was just standing in awe at what I was feeling around me, but I couldn't help but take a knee out of sheer reverence. I started singing Agnus Dei, and I could definitely feel God's power around me.
When I was out there, Revelation 1:15 came to my mind "...and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters." When I talked to Bill, he reminded me of a verse in Psalms which I just looked up...29:3 "The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters." And I could definitely relate to that. I could hear God saying "Here I am. I have command over the ocean and the lightning. Bow to me and feel my power." And I did...I bowed and I prayed. I prayed to a God that not only shows us His beautiful creation, but shows us His powerful and even scary creation.
We thank God every day for giving us Jesus, God the Father in human form to whom we can relate. Through Jesus, God showed us what it's like to love and serve. But I feel like we often forget who God the Father really is. We forget Jesus' teaching of prayer, and possibly the most important aspect of it. When Jesus taught us to pray, He said "Our Father who art in Heaven, HALLOWED be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven." Emphasis added on "hallowed". We always remember and preach that God is a personal God and we can all have a relationship with Him. That's true, and it's wonderful that we have that. But we forget that God is also a highly untouchable and infinitely powerful God. When I was praying by the ocean, I could've walked forward about 100 yards to what would've been my death. What would've been my death is something over which God has full dominion. It's a fact we can't afford to forget when we pray.
"Great, so I've been praying incorrectly? How then do I pray?" I don't want to say that the way I pray is better than other ways or that I recognize something that other people don't, but I just want to give an example of how I tend to pray and things I say when I do. I try to follow 1 Thessalonians 5:17 as closely as I can, "pray continually". If I'm in the car or on my own (like I am now), I'll just start praying...sometimes I don't even know what I want to pray about. But I never really need anything specific to pray about, I just talk to Him. That's what God wants..."The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend" - Exodus 33:11. I find that I never need to have something specific to come to God with, but I just come to God. But if I do have something on my heart, I get alone and get on my knees. I am on my knees every morning when I wake up, and every night before I go to bed. It helps me to bring focus to a holy God who deserves my full attention. I also tend to speak out loud so I don't get distracted. When I pray silently, I find that it is extremely easy to start letting my thoughts drift away from prayer. Same thing if I'm praying when I'm laying down in bed...I may even fall asleep without finishing my prayer. I'm not saying that one way or another is wrong, but I think praying out loud on your knees is a much superior way of praying.
The reason I wrote this and the reason that God laid this on my heart is a reminder for myself and for anyone reading this. God doesn't want us to forget who it is we serve. We serve a loving, gracious, and personal God. But perhaps more importantly than that, we serve a holy, sovereign, powerful, and untouchable God. Even Moses, one of the holiest men in the Bible, was only permitted to see God's "back", otherwise he would have died. God isn't just some powerful guy that gives us things if we ask for them. He's an eternal being that breathed life into us and could take it away in a flash if it was His will. The powerful ocean waves are just the smallest of God's power. I'm very thankful that I serve a God that saved me from an eternity in Hell through His son Jesus, because He loved us so much. But I'm incredibly excited and awestruck that I'm ALLOWED to serve a God who is truly all-powerful. Don't forget who we serve and how we serve. We serve the God of the heavens and earth, and we serve this God on our knees.
