Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Tuning fork

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Luke 11:30-32
Jesus said, "As Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation ... there is something greater than Jonah here."

Psalm 51:19
David writes after his friend Nathan confronts him about his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband: "My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn."

Many of the most educated and religious people had/have trouble accepting Jesus. Their skepticism and pre-conceptions kept/keep them on the sidelines or worse. Why? His actions spoke/speak louder than any of their words. Why were/are they/we afraid to say yes?

Sorry about the confusion between past and present, but of course nothing has changed. I struggle with the same issues that assailed the Pharisees, and the best weapon I have against these pride-centered and self-centered enemies ... is prayer.

So let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart become acceptable in God's sight. Or, as Richard Rohr puts it, make me resonate with your words, let me receive what you, Lord, are always sending. Like a big bass drum, I want to resound with your presence and your strength and your grace.

David, after his awful betrayals, was a broken man. But he did not fail to "resonate" God's message. Even in his shame he did not turn away. And because he kept praying, God could show him his position as God's child. As king of Israel, David's humility became more important to him than any crown or throne.

Rohr, a Franciscan priest who leads the aptly named Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, writes in The Naked Now, "True prayer stops promoting its ideas and feelings, lets go of any antagonistic attitudes or fears, and waits for, expects, and receives guidance from Another ... Prayer is something that happens to you much more than anything you privately do ... All you know is that you are being led, being guided, being loved, being used, being prayed through - and you are no longer in the driver's seat" (p. 102-103).

Tomorrow Margaret will lie quietly while a skilled doctor removes a cataract from her eye. Anesthesia will help her let him be in charge. And so will prayer.

Quiet. God's talking. Listen.

All the words I say about you or our relationship mean so little, Lord. And what happens between us in "prayer" means so much. Thank you for always teaching me to show up and shut up and let you be the King.

Devotions Archive

Tuning fork

Wednesday, March 16, 2011