Prayer Emergence
Isaiah 37
1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.
2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
4 It may be the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.
5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
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Matthew Henry Note On This Passage:
“When we are most at a plunge we should be most earnest in prayer. Now that the children are brought forth to the birth, but there is not strength to bring forth, now let prayer come, and help at a dead lift.
“When pains are most strong let prayers be most lively; and, when we meet with the greatest difficulties, then is a time to stir up not ourselves only, but others also, to take hold on God. Prayer is the midwife of mercy, that helps to bring it forth.
“It is an encouragement to pray though we have but some hopes of mercy: It may be the Lord thy God will hear; who knows but he will return and repent? The it may be of the prospect of the haven of blessings should quicken us with double diligence to ply the oar of prayer.
“When there is a remnant left, and but a remnant, it concerns us to lift up a prayer for the remnant. The prayer that reaches heaven must be lifted up by a strong faith, earnest desires, and a direct intention to the glory of God, all which should be quickened when we come to the last stake.”
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As I read Matthew Henry’s notes on this passage in Isaiah, I wasn’t expecting to discover a personal oasis to help quench my rather dry and parched prayer life.
Is that too honest of an admission? Hope not.
It’s no news to God that one of my greatest mental/intellectual/spiritual struggles has to do with the whole concept of prayer. Though I might have mentioned this somewhere in a previous blog, here’s my hangup:
How can an Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent God be moved to action by me making a request to Him to do something?
God knows the end from the beginning. He doesn’t live in time like we do. He inhabits the past, the present, and the future as one consistent and compatible constant. In all reality everything, in the mind of God, has already happened. And yet it will happen. And it is happening.
I don’t know what to do with any of that …
And hence …
My own personal struggle with prayer.
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Over the years I’ve mentioned this to folks and invariably well-meaning answers and suggestions have been related to me. I do appreciate the help that others have found for themselves but … for me to move forward with anything in life I have to come to the needed point of assurance through my own search and struggle.
For me there is never a one-answer-fits-all solution. What works for others doesn’t always work for me. I need my own answers.
Though that is a hindrance at times, in hindsight it was that aspect which helped to fertilize the truth of the Scriptures and brought me to salvation in Christ.
And it’s still that aspect about me which fertilizers the truth of Scriptures and brings me to personal understanding and application of the Word made flesh that now lives within me.
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So … here I am still trying to intellectually and rationally make sense of prayer. Right or wrong, I’m not sure? But that is who and what I am.
But … I have found over these 40+ years of salvation that lasting strength of faith comes to me by having gone through the struggle to finally emerge on the other side. That’s, kind of, where I find myself now:
Prayer Emergence.
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For me to move forward in relation to pretty much everything, I need words that stamp an image of understanding on both my mind and heart. That is what this unexpected note on prayer did, at least in part, for me. It has helped to hasten the needed inner closure to a simple reliance of faith in the written and inspired book of instructions we call the Torah/Word of God.
I can now “see” more clearly with the eye of faith that which I couldn’t hitherto.
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How so, you ask?
Let me tell you then.
*”Prayer is the midwife of mercy, that helps to bring it forth.” Having experienced the birth of my five kids, I can grasp in my head and heart, by way of analogy, the image of what Matthew Henry said.
Meaning for me:
Prayer (the midwife) takes what needs to come out of me …
so that it can be placed into the hands of my Father …
for all the sustainability of my life of faith and trust in Him.
Prayer is the “midwife” that gets me from one side of the need to the desired end of God’s will.
*”Ply the oar of prayer.” Similar imagery.
When I was a kid I sat many times in a canoe or row boat at the lake-cottage of my grandparents. Often I would “ply the oar” to get me from one spot to another. I could choose to sit in the boat and not “ply the oar” and go nowhere. Rather dumb and pointless. Or, I could place in my hand the tool needed to get to my destination. Rather smart and purposeful.
Prayer is the “oar” that gets me from one side of the need to the desired end of God’s will.
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All the theologically correct answers about prayer could not get me where I needed. Neither could all the helpful suggestions.
So being the, perhaps, stubborn hard-headed person that I am … I’ve waited a long time to deliver myself into the hands of my Father in child-like faith and obedience.
But … I would have it no other way. Why?
The experience of this particular journey has wrought other preparatory and lasting blessings with it.
In other words, the journey of discovery to reach the goal is important. It’s all a part of what God uses to conform us to the image our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes the end isn’t as important as the trip to get there. (I’ve learned that through past vacation trips in the car with our five kids!)
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This doesn’t mean I’m going to become some super duper prayer warrior right away. But it does mean, hopefully, that I’m entering into Prayer Boot Camp with the expectation of becoming a better equipped soldier in the army of the LORD.
Closing verses from Ephesians 6 —
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. —
We are warriors in this spiritual warfare God has called us to. And a vital part of our weaponry is “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit”.
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I trow that I do actually train myself with this new awareness of —
Prayer Emergence.
For you I trow so too.