The Nature of Faith

Do you remember when Indiana Jones was searching for the Holy Grail? He came upon a test, called the leap of faith. In order to reach the Holy Grail, he had to cross a huge gorge--which he knew was much too wide for any man to jump. And, as always with Indiana Jones, time was running out. He had to either trust in the notes left to him by those who went before and step into what appeared to be mid-air, or face death at the hands of his enemies and allow them to capture the artifact (which, supposedly, possessed the power to grant immortality). So, at the last moment, Indiana took the leap--he stepped into mid-air, fearing in his gut that he would plummet to an ugly death upon the rocks hundreds of meters below. But, to his great surprise, he didn't fall. He was standing on an invisible bridge--an optical illusion--a plank painted to resemble the opposite canyon wall. I often think of this scene when the subject of faith comes up, but I have to admit, I don't think of faith in this way. Faith was never intended to be a leap into the unknown. But before we discuss what faith is, here are some things faith is not:

• The effort to convince ourselves to believe in something we kind-of know isn't true. Why deceive myself? Why put on an act? If there is a God and if that God is all-powerful, loving and interested in me, wouldn't He also be able to communicate with me and reveal Himself to me? So, if I want to have a relationship with this God, why should I try to believe in Him before I know Who He is? Shouldn't I first ask Him to make Himself known to me? Shouldn't I humble myself to recognizing that He is more than a belief, but a Being and may have His own way to touch my heart? Shouldn't I seek out what He says about Himself in the Bible rather than follow rumors?


• A hope that when we die we'll be on the winning side. I can't imagine anything more frightening than going to my grave, hoping somehow I'd done enough good deeds to outweigh my bad deeds. If God really loves me, He would have provided a way for me to be absolutely sure about the condition of my soul--otherwise I'm simply living in fear.


• A strong desire for something to be true. No matter how you slice it, I simply can't convince myself to believe that my desires have any effect on reality. I can sit here for hours, concentrating on believing that a large bar of dark chocolate will magically appear, but, sadly, it never works. I'm certainly not willing to stake my soul's eternal condition on that kind of foolishness.


• The decision to follow a certain set of beliefs in exchange for some physical or spiritual pay-off. Some people follow a religion, including Christianity, to escape Hell, make it to Heaven, get blessings from God in this life, etc. However, genuine love for God is about desiring God Himself. God's desire is for us. He wants to be intimately involved in a love relationship with us. And while we should desire the good things this relationship brings, like peace, love, joy, forgiveness, etc., it's a fallacy to assume that knowing God is going to make our lives easier, wealthier, healthier, or free from suffering.


• The decision to follow a certain set of beliefs until they prove themselves false or useless and then to implement plan B. This is not faith; this is a trial run. There is nothing real about this kind of belief system. It's like a marriage that can only take place if there is a signed, iron-clad prenuptial agreement in place, surrounded by a team of beady-eyed lawyers. Not for me, thanks. I want something real.


• Aligning ourselves with a belief system in order to please someone else. As much as I love my mother or my husband or the people in my community, I'm not willing to stake my eternal soul on what they expect from me. I doubt that when I stand before God on the day of my death any of them will be there to put in a good word for me. No. If the truth really is out there, it's up to me to find it for myself. Once I'm dead, it will be too late, and relying on anyone else in the meantime is one risk I'm not willing to take.

Looking back over that list, I see that these ideas of the nature of faith are nothing more than self-deception, fear and foolishness.

So, what is faith?

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith is "being sure"? Faith is being "certain"? How can that be? You know, I've searched over 20 different translations of the Bible and didn't find the phrase "leap of faith" in any of them. In fact, I'm not even sure where that phrase originated or how it ever got applied to Christianity. Faith is not a leap! Faith is taking the hand of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

When I married my husband, that was not a leap of faith. It was the decision to continue and deepen the love relationship we had already begun. I didn't marry him for his money (which wasn't much). I didn't marry him so I would have security or a nice home or a father for my children. I married him for him. I wanted to be with him, to experience his love for me, and to express my love in return. I wanted to know him more deeply. I wanted us to share our dreams, our desires, and our lives. So, when I walked down the aisle, I was walking toward someone--not toward a belief or a cognitive process or a pay-off, though all of those were involved. I was walking toward him.

How does one describe falling in love? How does one calculate its value or plot the mysteries of love on a graph? How does one define the steps one must take to falling in love? We cannot. It is a mystery. And yet, I knew I was in love and I knew he was in love with me. My faith in him and in his love was not a leap, it was a secure knowledge and certainty. My faith in my husband was based in my intimate relationship with him--in knowing him. In fact, anything less would be rather barbaric. What would you say if I married my husband because I believed it would make me rich someday? What would you say if I married my husband because I sort-of hoped it would work out, but really believed it wouldn't. What would you say if I married my husband because my sister had assured me he was the right one for me? Obviously, none of these reasons is good enough to enter into that kind of binding relationship.

Yet, marriage is much less binding than death, is it not? What kind of relationship would it take to carry me through my final journey? It would take a deeply committed relationship to and with the only One Who has power over the grave--Jesus Christ.

So, how does one obtain this kind of faith? If it is falling in love, how does one go about falling in love with Jesus? Well, that's not something that can be defined exactly; however, if you were to hear of a wonderful person who you knew was deeply interested in knowing you, too, wouldn't you go out of your way to meet him or her? Wouldn't you read the letters they send you? Wouldn't you answer their emails and send them messages of your own?

God has given you all you need to learn about Him in nature, in the Bible, in the counsel of wise people--but He's willing to do more. He's willing to meet you exactly where you are, if you are willing to humble yourself enough to make yourself available. He's willing to speak to you and answer your questions, if you are willing to listen for His voice. He's willing to touch your heart, if you are willing to open yourself to His love.

Why Humility is Absolutely Essential for Salvation

"I've tried everything," he said. "I said the prayer, I went to church, I believed, but nothing ever made a difference. Finally, I decided religion doesn't work."

Have you ever heard statements like this one or, perhaps, made them yourself? When I hear this kind of thing, it breaks my heart--every time. I deeply sympathize with the first statements and would even go so far as to agree with the last one. Religion doesn't work.

I have had discussions with people and have heard these sentiments voiced. I have tried to explain how faith in Christ is not a religion, but a relationship. It is not a formula; it is falling in love. And, through all of these conversations, I have tried to figure out what exactly happens to make such a thing possible. How much do we do? How much does God do? What role do we play in that process of our own salvation? Surely, if we indeed have free will, we must do something. So, in thinking of this over the last year and in searching my Bible, I've made a few discoveries that I would like to share with you:

God has given us free will--a choice between life and death--and He greatly desires that we choose life through Him:
"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him...." (Dueteronomy 30:19)

We cannot understand nor accept Christ's sacrifice unless He reveals Himself to us through His Holy Spirit:
"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." (I Corinthians 2:14)

God is trying to reveal Himself to all of us:
"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)

God's gift of salvation is available to all of us:
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13)

Faith Comes from God:
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

In fact, the rest of this stuff (and more) comes from God:

Salvation: Psalm 61:2 & Acts 4:12
Love: I John 4:7-8
Wisdom: James 1:5
Hope: Psalm 62:5
Joy: Psalm 16:11
Competence: 2 Corinthians 3:5
Righteousness: Romans 10:3
Peace: Psalm 29:11
Strength: Exodus 15:2
Perseverance: 2 Thessalonians 3:5

But there is something vital that we must do--We must humble ourselves:
"...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Why is that such an important first step? Why is humility so essential? Why is it that a person can seemingly go through all the steps, say the right prayers and attend church for a lifetime but never really experience a personal relationship with God? I think it is because in order to have a relationship with God, we must allow ourselves (or force ourselves) to recognize Who He is. If we do not humble ourselves, we will never admit that God is above us and is soveriegn over us. We will never submit ourselves to His will. We will never truly exalt His name over our own. We will never recognize His Truth, His Person, His majesty, His glory, His holiness or His power. In fact, we will never move from the concept that we are following a "belief system" into the concept that we are following a Being.

Humbling Ourselves is Very Difficult:
The kind of "humbling" we experience on earth is incredibly debilitating and hurtful. Most of us can recall a time we were embarrased--perhaps in school--when our friends pointed out our faults and laughed. Naturally, we will want to run from anything that seems to threaten such an experience. But this is not humility. This is humiliation and is completely different from what God wants from us.

So, what kind of humilty does God desire?
"Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the Lord. "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word." (Isaiah 66:2)

In fact, Jesus Himself, modeled for us the kind of humility we should have:
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29

Furthermore, God promises,
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:10)

When you humble yourself before God, He does not set your sins and faults up before you so He can accuse you and to mock you with them!
"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." (I Thessalonians 5:9)


"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:17)

When you humble yourself before God, recognize His offer of salvation and accept His payment through Christ for your shortcomings, God brings you into His loving arms of forgiveness! And, let me tell you, there is nowhere else a sinner like me would rather be!

How Do I Accept Jesus?

So, you've discovered Jesus's offer of forgiveness! You've realized He is the most amazing person who ever lived! You believe He was Who He said He was (God), died in your place, and came back to life, and now you're ready to ask Him to extend that payment over your life and take the lead!

How do you go about that? You tell Him that you commit your heart, your life, and your trust to Him. Basically, you do this the same way you would enter a marriage. You fall in love, you declare your love, and you commit yourself and your future to the One you love--in this case, Jesus.

The Bible says, "...if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

Remember, you can talk to God at any time and in any way. He, being all-knowing, can hear your most secret thoughts. You don't have to say anything aloud or stand on your roof and shout. He hears you. In fact, He can read your heart even when you can't come up with the words. In this case, however, it's important that you make a conscious decision and tell Him that you are accepting Him into your heart and your life. Remember, this isn't a magical formula. Your conversation and relationship with God is a private, intimate communication between the two of you, and if you really want Him to be your Savior, Lord, and Friend, you're not going to botch it by saying the wrong thing. If, however, you aren't sure how to start or what to say, I have written a prayer below:

Dearest Lord Jesus,

Thank you so much for loving me and coming to die on the cross for my sins. I know I have sinned and that my sin has separated me from having an intimate relationship with You. I no longer want to face my future alone. Please come into my heart and into my life. I accept Your sacrifice and Your forgiveness from this moment forward. Please teach me to know You, love You, trust You, and follow You. Draw me into a close love relationship with You. I love you, Jesus, and I thank you.

Amen

Welcome to God's family! If you entered into a relationship with Jesus today, I would certainly LOVE to hear from you! I would love to celebrate with you and encourage you and answer any questions you might have.

In the meantime, here are some verses to encourage you in your new life in Christ Jesus:

John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (See Context.)

John 1:12-13 “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (See Context.)

Ephesians 1:13-14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Psalm 118:6 “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

Jeremiah 31:3 "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness."

Psalm 55:22 "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall."

Isaiah 43:1b "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine."

The Nature of Sin

The word "sin" in the Hebrew Bible is: "chatta'ah", which is an archery term. When the archer took aim and missed the bull's eye, the instructor would yell, "Sin!" I have also heard that each ring on the target, as seen below, represented one "sin". So, the further away from the bull's eye your arrow landed, the higher the number of "sins" acrued. In this competition, like in golf, the lower the final score, the better off you are. Now, let's say you're an archer, and your arrow falls short of the bull's eye. What do you do? Do you throw your bow to the ground and give up? No. You take aim and try again. Taking this analogy a little further, would a good archer ever try to hit something other than the target during practice, like, say a tree, a rock, or one of the other students? No. He or she does his/her best to aim at the bull's eye and only the bull's eye.

Sinning against God is also missing the mark. It is falling short, making a mistake, and revealing our imperfections. The Bible says, "...For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23), and: "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

Most people I know wouldn't disagree with the above verses--at least in that everyone has made mistakes. We may disagree about how or why that happened and we may disagree as to the degree of our "lostness" or about what should be done about it, but most people agree that we are a broken people. There is something missing--a hole that needs to be filled. In fact, the inability or the refusal to admit guilt of any kind is indicative of a severe personality disorder. To be able to admit our own sinfulness is a vital part of our character, but hardly an extraordinary one. More importantly, we must decide what should be done about it... and here begins a journey.

Let me ask: Who sets the standard for good behavior? While each of us will adopt a code of behavior we endeavor to follow, none of us actually came up with it. Why is it wrong to steal or lie or gossip? Why is it wrong to commit murder or have an affair or manipulate others for our own self-interests? And, these questions naturally lead to others, such as: Why are these actions considered "wrong?" Why do I have to abide by these rules or any rules? Where did the concept of morality originate? Why is one person's concept of morality any better than another's?

Obviously, the concept of morality came from somewhere. I believe it came from a perfect and holy God. And, herein lies the problem. If there is a God who is holy and perfect and if we are flawed and imperfect, how can there be any communion between us?

Most religions of the world say something like the following: "If God (or, divine force) loves me and sees I am trying my best, He'll understand and let me into Heaven." This is the "weights and balance" argument at work. In other words, if my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds, I'll get into Heaven (or to the next life.) There are several problems with this belief system:

1. There is no commitment required from us. I don't even have to believe in a supernatural being at all. I can live my life, just doing my best, and let this be my fall-back hope for those times I start to fear death. This is why there are so many people who claim a religion but in the same breath say they are "non-practicing."

2. There is no relationship available. If I am trying hard to be good enough, all the attention is on me. A holy God? Why would He want to have anything to do with me? And why would I bother trying to have a genuine relationship with Him? I would fear He would just reject me, or make my life harder than it already is. Besides, I already know I just have to be good. It's better just to focus on that and hope for the best.

3. This is a system that promotes fear. I'm not a gambling person. I don't have the nerves for it, but I'd much rather gamble with my money or my car or my home than with my soul. When I die I want to KNOW where I'm going. I refuse to live my life in the constant fear of what is to come.

4. We make ourselves vulnerable to human manipulation. If I am afraid of death because I think I might not be good enough for whatever awaits, what do I do? I try to be as good as I can be while I can. And, if someone with clout in the religious community offers to show me how to do this more effectively, I would be inclined to follow them. This is how we end up with hyper-legalistic, religious societies that force women into submission, pressure men to perform at a ridiculous level, and ignore or abuse children. This kind of thing has gone on for a millennia and continues today, and there is nothing these people would like better than to add you and I to their number.

5. There is no assurance of salvation. No matter how hard I work, how many old ladies I escort safely through traffic, how much money I give to starving children around the world, and how many hours I donate at the local soup kitchen, I will never, never, never know for sure if it was enough.

6. It is a cosmically flawed game of comparisons. If I am worried about whether or not I'm good enough, I always have one fall-back--to find someone who I think is worse than I am. "Well," I comfort myself, "I know I'm not perfect, but I'm not nearly as bad as that guy!" We can always find someone who appears worse than we are. But is that what God is going to be doing? No. When He makes the comparisons, He's going to be comparing us with Himself--with absolute perfection. Now where do we stand?

Sin is not something we can undo. We are linear and no matter how much we would like to, we can't go back and fix our mistakes. We can pay for the thing we stole, ask forgiveness for the lie we told, and make amends the best we can for the friend we betrayed, but the past remains unaltered. The man who cheats on his wife may say, "I'm sorry," but is that enough to make it all go away? No. Our guilt is eternal and unchanging. More depressing still, no matter how hard we try to be good, we fail. Even our best efforts aren't good enough to make us worthy to enter the presence of a holy God.

Does God love me? Yes.
Does His love mean He's going to let me in? No.

Regardless of His great love for us, God still remains holy. God cannot change His character. He cannot be less than He is. He cannot align Himself with imperfection. Some people think this means God isn't good or isn't as powerful as some claim. They reason, "Well, if He is Who He says He is and if He wanted to let me in, He could." No. Why? Because of what would happen to us anyway. The Bible describes what happens when anything or anyone who isn't perfectly holy comes anywhere close to God's presence. They die. His glory would destroy us unless we are made perfectly clean and righteous first.

Sin is a very divisive thing. You've seen its destructive power in your life and in the lives of everyone around you. It humiliates, separates and destroys. Sin is catching. It is taught and it is learned. Parents pass ugly behaviors and attitudes on to their children and grandparents to their grandchildren. And sin touches the innocent. It's devastating effects spread from the one who commits the act to the victims until we shake our fists at heaven and cry out, "WHY HAVE YOU LET THIS HAPPEN TO ME?!"

The Bible has this to say:

"When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." (James 1:13-15)

Sin is an incredibly dangerous disease and, unfortunately, none of us are immune to it. We have all been infected and our deaths are imminent. But that is not the end of the story. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son [Jesus] sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:34-36) (See Context.)

Is There Life After Death?

A too-brief flame
Grzegorz Wojcik (Wojnicz, Poland)
Photographed March 2006, Wojnicz, Poland


I found that picture at the Smithsonian website. They were having a contest and I really liked this one. It made me realize again how much we don't know about what lies beyond our deaths. Even as a Christian and having the Bible to shed some light on the hearafter, it is still a great mystery. Yet, many people don't believe in life after death, and I can see why. To my knowledge there is absolutely no physical or scientific evidence for such a thing. The only "evidences" (to use the term loosely) we have are deathbed accounts of what is being seen or felt or heard--just before the light goes out of their eyes and they leave this world. I find it interesting that these deathbed murmurings tend to be bright and joyful when Christians die and full of fear and sorrow when non-Christians die. Overall, though, these stories are much less frequent these days since most are doped up on pain-killers during those final moments (for humanitarian reasons, of course.)

Of course, I don't think we really need evidence for life after death to believe in it, since we have so much other evidence to believe in Jesus. Since He said so, I believe it because I believe in Him.

It is frightening, though, to recognize our own mortality--the fragility of our existence on this earth--especially if we believe that our existence will come to an abrupt and bitter end when that last breath escapes our lips. I think this thought is what atheists try most to avoid. It's an ugly, hopeless end, to be sure. No wonder so many of us try so hard to make a name for ourselves on this earth--desperately hoping that maybe, and at least, we won't be forgotten.

Of course, there is the possibility that some things may be very real but invisible and undetectable to us. The fact remains we can only know what exists, not what doesn't exist. Confused? Let me explain: If I wanted to know if there was gold in China, made a search and found some, I would know gold existed in China. If, however, I spent a great deal of time searching and didn't find any gold in China, would that mean it didn't exist there? No. I would literally have to search every single molecule in China, including those that come into the country every second. Only then, would I be able to definitively prove that there was no gold in China. So, in order to know for certain that there is no God and no spiritual presence, I would have to search the world, the galaxy and the cosmos. I would have to know everything. It's just not possible, so if we truly want to be open to truth we must leave that door open. (This is why there are so many more agnostics than atheists. They have wisely recognized this truth.)

So, what if? What if we do have a spirit? What if there is a God? What if, after death, we must make an account to that Being of our existence on earth? Is being a good person enough? And, if it is, how much good do I have to do to outweigh the bad? Are we trapped in some cosmic guessing game? And, what if, after doing my very best my whole life, I come face to face with the Creator only to realize it wasn't enough? I fell short. I am forever lost because although I tried my hardest, there was still sin in my life and perfect holiness cannot coexist with sinfulness. What if, though that Being loved me and offered me a way out, I passed up His plan for salvation in favor of my own minuscule and jaded efforts?

What if?

What if you're right? What do you get? You get to close your eyes and let every thought and memory and desire completely cease to exist. You get a cold grave. You get to decompose until nothing is left.

But, what if you're wrong? You can spend your whole life hoping that the grave will be your final resting place. You can bank your eternal soul on the hope there is no afterlife, for to be sure, if there is and you're not ready... well... who knows what could happen? As ugly as the grave sounds, a cessation of existence would be vastly preferable to what might await a corrupt, unforgiven soul. Isn't it, at least, worth another look? For, if you find Truth, you know it's there. If you don't find Truth, it could very well be out there waiting for you. What do you have to lose if you were to keep searching and keep yourself open to finding Truth?

Here's a great song by Nicole Nordeman called, "What If?"

(To be honest, I don't usually like this argument--the "what if you're wrong" argument, not because it isn't true or worth serious thought, but because it often ignores the basic truth of God's deep love and sacrifice for us. My reason for accepting Jesus's offer of forgiveness and payment for my sin had nothing to do with trying to escape hell, and everything to do with falling in love with Him and desiring to be in an intimate relationship with my Creator, Father, Savior and Friend. "Becoming a Christian" isn't spiritual fire insurance. Repeating a prayer on the back of a Christian pamphlet won't get you into Heaven. Spending time warming a bench in church or giving 10% of your income to charity won't do it, either. This is something that happens in your heart and only you can govern whether or not you will open your heart to falling head over heals in love with Him and make the decision to trust Him with your life.)

Don't let the flame of your life be snuffed out in the face of uncertainty.

When Prayer Doesn't Work

I've heard phrases like this often: "I tried praying, but it didn't work." Mostly, I hear this from atheists, agnostics and those who once claimed some other faith, but also from struggling Christians. I wonder, have you ever felt that way? Have you "cast your burdens on God" only to be met with silence? Have you cried out into the night sky but heard only the echo of your own voice? Have you plead with Someone to hear you only to experience lonesomeness, smallness, and feelings of rejection?

Sometimes we experience struggles that cause us to question even our earliest beliefs. When those struggles come we reach out for help. But if God is silent, what then? I've spoken to former Christians (now atheist or agnostic) who cite this as one of the reasons for their ultimate rejection of Christ. "Prayer never worked," they tell me--and I can't help but wonder: How were you expecting prayer to "work"?

Disappointment--and, in this case, acute disillusionment--is the result of one's expectations or wishes going unfulfilled. We have certain ideas about what God will do or say when we ask something of Him. Then, when those things don't happen, our hopes are dashed, our fears are realized and our faith falters or even fails altogether. We feel cast aside, unimportant or foolish for believing at all. "My prayers aren't working," we reason, and, in a sense, that may be true. But the next supposition, "God must not care about me" or "God must not exist," is a large and unfounded leap. Perhaps our prayers aren't supposed to "work" at all--at least, not in the way we are expecting or wishing. Perhaps our entire concept of prayer is wrong--or, at best, confused.

"Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few." (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

This above verse sounds nothing like how prayer has been taught to me. I mean, if we're supposed to keep silent, how is God going to know how I feel and what I want? But if we consider God's character and what prayer is designed to be, doesn't this make perfect sense? How am I--a created being--supposed to approach my Creator? Should I pepper Him with requests, supplications, and demands? Should I start right off whining about what rotten luck I've had and demanding He take notice, step in and fix everything, like some genie in a bottle? Or, maybe, the real point of prayer isn't to have an ear for my complaints or to get stuff, but to get to know Who God is--His character.

Let's say I made a date to go out with a friend for lunch. The point of the outing is to get to know each other better, but I end up talking non-stop for the entire two hours. My buddy can hardly get a word in edgewise. Then, when it's time to go home, I find myself feeling strangely unfulfilled. I was hoping to get a lot off my chest, and I did... sort of... but now that I think about it, I'm not even sure I was heard because my friend made hardly a sound at all. Did he even understand? Was he listening? Did he care? I don't know because I never gave him the chance to respond. Now, I bet if this happened to you or me in real life, we would recognize our error and decide to be a better listener next time. After all, we've had many relationships in our lives and we know that it's just as important to listen as it is to share our thoughts. So, why, when it comes to our relationship with God, do we treat Him like a slot machine--putting in request after request, hoping He'll eventually pay off and being disappointed when He remains silent? We don't treat our fallible human friends that way; it would be terribly rude. But God? Well, maybe we do that because we tend to think of Him as a belief, but rather as a Being.

God is not a belief. God is real! He has real emotions, real desires and a real personality. He's also all-powerful, perfectly holy, and exceedingly loving.

Job (despite the fact he was perhaps the most godly man in all Scripture) said, "Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong." (Job 6:24) This is the correct attitude we must have when we approach God. It is an attitude of humility.

God said, "...if my people humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14) We want God to hear us and forgive us and heal us... we just don't want to comply with the first part--the part that begins, "if my people humble themselves".

When we think about how to pray, most of us think of The Lord's Prayer Jesus taught in Matthew 6:9-13. It reads:

"...Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

You may notice that the first half of that short prayer is the humbling of the speaker before God. Most of us like to skip that first part and dive directly into the "give us" parts, and while it's perfectly okay to ask God for things, it's absolutely necessary that we humble ourselves first. We must recognize that God is not obligated to do anything we ask. God has a set of plans that may or may not include what we have in mind. In Isaiah 55:8, He said, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways."

God's purposes are not only greater than ours, but His wisdom, foresight and knowledge far exceed our own. Finally, if we want to have a relationship with God and have a part in His kingdom and in His work, we must be aligned with Him, not the other way around. The only way to do this, of course, is for Him to do it for us. He must align us--but He won't do it unless we ask ...and we must be humble enough to ask.

So, if our prayers aren't "working," maybe it's because we have forgotten that prayer isn't a means to get God to do something--it is a way for us to get to know Him. And if we have refused to be silent, to open our ears and hearts to listen to His voice and recognize Him not as a slot-machine god or a genie in a bottle, but as a Person, a Being, a Personality, then our prayers will always seem to fall on deaf ears. You see, that's because, although God is still listening, you are not.