My Favorite Prayer

My favorite prayer to watch the Lord answer is my prayer for wisdom. A prayer for wisdom comes by way of an invitation and a promise, but my favorite thing about it is that I can't imagine how He will answer...because, of course, I'm yet without that wisdom, right?

I've neglected to keep a very good journal about such epiphanic moments in the past, but I remember well the awe that comes over me as I realize that God has been directing my prayers, in His timing, to bring me to an answer that is so principled and relevant that I am perfectly reassured of His love, His complete control and foreknowledge of all things.

I was blessed by another of those moments today. I've been trying to read through R.C. Sproul's The Holiness of GOD; it's slower going than I hoped for when I started a couple of months ago, but as it turns out, I arrived at an answer to a prayer for wisdom today on page 97.

My prayer had been for insight. Let me see if I can explain this properly...

I had asked the Lord to show me why I react as I do to some people, whereas others who might act out the very same offense, misstep, or indiscretion don't bother me deep down at my core. I inquired of the Lord as to whether I was lacking in mercy, forgiveness, or grace in some matters. I wanted to understand when it is right to be bold for Truth and when it is proper to defer to the pursuit of peace. I needed wisdom, and couldn't imagine how the Lord would possibly impart it to me. And that is a good place to be, I think, because His strength is made perfect in my weakness.

And then, to page 97; chapter 4 is called The Trauma of Holiness. After many stirring accounts of men being overcome by the realization of their own unworthiness before God, Sproul moves into the arena of hypocrites.

Hypocrisy is always somebody else's problem, isn't it? I wonder if -- like a crazy person doesn't wonder if she's crazy -- a hypocrite ever prayerfully examines whether or not she is a hypocrite?

And yes, I've asked. And yes, He has been faithful to reveal. Excuses have ceased and habits have been corrected -- and it's all about the blog...and diligence in duty...and practicing what I preach...and expecting more of my children than I'm giving...and that's all for another post on another day.

Back to the book: the page begins with an explanation of the Pharisees cleaning the outside of their cup, so to speak. He refers to the biblical comparison of the whited grave or sepulchre that conceals the ugliness and rottenness of the decomposition inside, and calls it a facade.

Then he says this,

Consider for a moment a few brief epithets that Jesus reserved for the Pharisees: "You snakes!" "You brook of vipers!" "Blind guides!" "Children of hell!" "Blind fools!" These forms of address can hardly be considered compliments. Jesus spared no invectives in his denunciations of these men. His words were uncharacteristically harsh, though not unjustifiably harsh. They were different from His usual style. The normal form of rebuke He made to sinners was gentle. He spoke tenderly, though firmly to the woman caught in adultery and to the woman at the well. It seems that Jesus saved His severe comments for the big boys, the theological professionals. With them he asked no quarter and gave none.

-R.C. Sproul from The Holiness of GOD

Through Sproul's wise and Godly instruction, I've come to realize that Jesus was calling the Pharisees on their hypocrisy. They practiced judgment and He was holding them to account by the bar they, themselves, set. The fact that they did not truly understand the "bar" was the very heart of the problem.

It's really a very natural reaction, I've decided. Think about it: don't we expect more where more is reasonable to expect? I, for one, expect a policeman to submit to the laws of our city as he is paid to uphold them. I assume that a youth pastor or priest who is employed for the betterment of children will not molest them in the course of his duties.

I expect Church elders to do as they exhort others to do. I expect a marriage counselor to practice peace in the home. I expect a physical trainer to be fit in body. I expect one who instructs others about how to eat better and lose weight, to be of a healthy weight themselves.

I want someone who teaches others how to train children, to themselves, have children who are healthy in soul and spirit. I expect that one who exhorts or rebukes others with the Bible actually "eats of it" daily as Jesus clearly directed.

Surely a credit counselor is debt-free. A physician does not ignore the symptoms of his own disease. The dentist flosses. And even in the home, there is the expectation that the older children to whom much is given, will behave with the accompanying responsiblity, regardless of what the younger siblings are doing.

With that, I'm off to give my best to the mothering of my children because I've said it is an important thing to do.