Today, I'll share with you a verse that has been a great challenge to me. Perhaps you will find a challenge in it as well.1 Peter 4:7 - “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.” (NIV)
“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” (ESV)
This exhortation is especially challenging to me because of the phrase “clear minded”. Do you ever find it difficult to be clear minded? Living in the culture we do, with myriad opportunities and distractions available to us, how is it even possible to be clear minded? This is a great struggle for me. I am someone who likes to dabble. A hobbyist in general; I like to try everything. There are so many wonderful things in creation to test out and to become mediocre at - which I do. I am also a person whose mind contains gears that are always running. I wake up in the morning and my brain is instantly whirring. So the idea of having a clear mind is a very inviting one, even if it sometimes feels out of reach.I find that to achieve a clear mind, I have to focus on it. Typically, meditation works best for me. I use a technique I learned from my naturopathic doctor. She advised me to close my eyes, sit in a relaxed position, and to imagine all my thoughts floating by like boats on the water. Rather than letting any one thought grab a hold of my mind, I need to acknowledge each one and let it float by, in and out of my view. She also recommended taking one word or thought and focusing on that. So as I watch my thoughts float by, I imagine far out in the distance that I see the light of Jesus. I imagine that he is standing there in his radiance, noticing me and loving me. I will sometimes think or utter the word “Jesus” repeatedly to keep my focus.Even 5 minutes of that kind of activity will calm the mind to some degree. The only problem is, I have a hard time getting into a place where I can focus like that. 5 minutes isn't very long, but sometimes there aren't 5 quiet minutes in my house to meditate, with small kids ever present. Many of you who are parents know what I mean.One other trick I have employed is to align my focus from the get go each day. When I wake up, I try to make God my first thought. I try to send up prayers of worship, acknowledging his sovereignty. I think through verses like Lamentations 3:22-23:“Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (NIV)
I think that self-control is a discipline that Peter knew to empower clear mindedness. The two go hand in hand to prepare an adequate mental state for prayer. We have all experienced at some point the loss of focus during prayer. Maybe we've even become drowsy or fallen completely asleep. Maybe our minds turn toward everyt other issue in our lives, taking our mind away from those moments with God. I don't think the self-control here needs to refer only to clearing our mind for prayer. Rather, I think it beckons us to a day-to-day lifestyle of self-control in all things, so that when we settle into a time of prayer, we are already well-practiced and acquainted with self-control.How many times have we offered half-baked prayers because we lacked a clear mind and/or self-control? Thank God for his mercy.But, this verse ought to remind us of the urgency with which we need to focus. Scot McKnight writes:“Thinking that the end of history is at the door and the Judge is about to enter through it can energize one's prayers and lead to a specially effective focus in those prayers. “ (The NIV Application Commentary: 1 Peter. Zondervan, 1996.)
Like Peter, we should remember that this life on earth, from a perspective of eternity, is coming quickly to a close. Every minute, we draw nearer to that time when we will stand before God in judgment. Oh, how wonderful to receive words of joy and glory from him at that time!Peter knew how easy it was to have a mind full of distractions. He knew that the mind is easily filled with endless streams of running thoughts. He knew how difficult it is to focus, and how easy it is to approach the sacred practice of prayer with only half-hearted attentiveness. How would he react if he could see the world today? In this light, my own constant failure is quite stark before my eyes.Let us continue disciplining ourselves in lives of clear mindedness and self-control, so that we can pray. Holy Spirit, help us.
When you pray for something, which model sounds more like you?1. I doubt my prayer will be answered, but I hope it
will.
2. I expect my prayer will be answered, but if it isn't, I trust the sovereign God to bring about the perfect alternative.The first option is really easier, isn't it? This approach to prayer is safer for us. What I mean is, we have a very powerful innate ability to defend ourselves in every aspect. When we pray, we are putting ourselves out there, becoming vulnerable before God. With emotional and mental vulnerability comes caution.The difficulty with the second option is that we are forced to - either consciously or subconsciously - ask ourselves one or more of the following questions.- What if God doesn't answer as I expect?
- What does an unanswered prayer say about me?
- What does it say about my faith?
- What does it say about my method of prayer?
- What does it say about God?
These are all valid questions, and certainly worth asking. But often, I think we don't want to face questions such as these. We might not like the answers. The answers may require us to change, and change is certainly not an attractive prospect. Change means stress, and stress is what we work hardest to diminish in our lives.You may have prayed with expectation, devoting hours of energy to what you were certain God would answer. You could see it in your mind, waiting joyfully for God's glory to be known through the answered prayer. And yet, he didn't show up. You were left feeling cold, dry, weak, tired, and wondering.So how do we deal with this?First, let me quote Foster from his chapter on petitionary prayer.“Another reality to keep in mind is the simple fact that many times our prayers are indeed answered, but we lack the eyes to see it. God understands the deeper intent of our prayers and so responds to this greater need, which, in its time and in its way, solves our specific prayer concern. We may ask for greater faith so that we can heal others, but God, who understands human need far better than we do, gives us greater compassion so that we can weep with others. A part of our petition must always be for an increasing discernment so that we can see things as God sees them.” - Richard Foster, Prayer, p.183
Foster is right. God's wisdom and sovereignty are beyond our own. When we trust and live as if our prayer will be answered, it will be. But we don't always see the answer exactly as we had imagined it. We must keep confidence that if God answers in a way other than we had precisely asked, that it is probably a better answer.
Issler also deals with this very issue in the last chapter of Wasting Time With God. I will briefly share with you a useful table Issler devised regarding unanswered prayers of the saints. In this table he includes 4 types of “alternative affirmative answers” to prayer. In the table, he includes the manner of the answer (same as our asking, or different/better) and timing of the answer. Here is a simplified version of the table:(Klaus Issler, Wasting Time With God, p.238)| Manner | Timing |
| same | now |
| same | later |
| different / better | now |
| different / better | later |
He also sites examples of each type, if you would like to investigate the book further. While I recommend reading the entire book, I encourage you to specifically take a look at the section of chapter 8 entitled “Wasting Time with God: Faith Stretching Prayer” in regard to this matter.We have all experienced the emotional injury that results from being denied our expectations. Maybe a trusted friend promised something and didn't deliver. We are very cautious about “getting our hopes up” because we know that the let down is emotionally difficult. And so, we treat God as we would people. The difference is, humans are fickle, God is sovereign. If God doesn't answer us for any reason, either it's for the best good (Romans 8:28) or because he has an alternative that we haven't seen yet.We also receive encouragement from Paul's words about Jesus in 2 Corinthians 1:20:“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” (ESV)
Looking at this passage, Piper says:
"We see that prayer is a response to promises, that is, to the assurances of future grace. Prayer is drawing on the account where God has deposited all his promises of future grace. Prayer is not hoping in the dark that there might be a God of good intentions out there. Prayer goes to the bank every day and draws on promises for the future grace needed for that day. . . . Prayer is the confident plea for God to make good on his promises of future grace for Christ's sake.” - John Piper, Future Grace, p.107
I have come to believe that God, in giving us the duty of prayer, has given us a responsibility to pray with expectation. Our role in prayer is not to doubt. Our role is not to second guess God. Our role is not to make empty wishes. Our role is not to protect our emotions. Rather, I think our role in prayer is to step out with true hope. We should believe that what we ask for will come about. We should look forward to God's gracious answer as if it is reality. The outcome of the prayer is irrelevant. God's Yes or No is irrelevant; he may decide as he will on the matter. Nothing changes our responsibility to trust with hope. God longs to give and to answer. Anyone who is a parent will certainly understand the desire to pour out your love on your children in various forms of blessing. Our Father is the same, I think. If he says no, it is because he has an even better way.Let's continue in expectant prayer, always hopeful for what God will do by his future grace.I will end with a few passages from scripture:“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” - Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” - Hebrews 4:16
“And Jesus answered them, 'Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,” it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.' ” - Matthew 21:21-22 (ESV)
“In [Jesus] and through him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” - Ephesians 3:12 (NIV)
“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.” - 1 John 3:21
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him.” - 1 John 5:14
“ 'I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard see, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.' “ - Matthew 17:20-21
