“What have you done for me lately?” is an implied question that politicians, entertainers, and athletes hear from time to time. To be appreciated, it appears that celebrities need to continually provide new offerings to the public.
“Once you’re off the scene, they will forget you in two weeks” is a good reality check for those who seek to capture the attention of the crowd.
It is well and good for people in the public eye to be treated in this fashion, but it is tragic for humans to act similarly with God. How can humans treat God like a heavenly vending machine? This is God’s complaint through His prophet:
Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
but you have been weary of me, O Israel!
You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings
or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings
or wearied you with frankincense.
You have not bought me sweet cane with money
or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
Rather, you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities. (Isaiah 43:22-24)
One of my favorite spirituals is “Jesus on the Mainline”:
Jesus on the main line, tell him what you want,
Jesus on the main line, tell him what you want,
Jesus on the main line, tell him what you want,
Call him up and tell him what you want.
What an opportunity! Humans can place a call to God and know that He is ready to listen to our prayers. It is sad to say, but today, as in 700 BC, Isaiah’s words ring true: “You did not call upon me” (verse 22).
Why is it that Jesus is on the main line, but we either forget Him or don’t value Him enough to call on His name? There are many reasons, but let’s explore one of them in this article.
John writes, “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.” (John 3:19-20)
Prayer brings us into the light of God’s presence. Prayer that is more than “saying prayers” connects us with God. That connection exposes the dark and evil corners of our lives.
John Bunyan, the author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, observed, “Prayer will cause us to stop sinning, or sin will stop us from praying.”
If God were nothing more than a heavenly vending machine, where we put in the right words, get what we want, and go our way, we might pray more. But that isn’t the way prayer works.
When we pray, God reveals our innermost thoughts and motives, as Isaiah describes in verse 24. Either we will surrender our plans to God’s purposes, or we will not come to the light.
God’s Grace That Waters Us
If you are like me, the above paragraphs are quite convicting. We know of times when sin and lack of prayer have led us into the wilderness where we weary God with sin and iniquity.
God is unwilling to leave us distant from His presence. Jesus defined His mission like this: “For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
Here is how Isaiah describes God’s gracious action toward prayerless and sinful humans:
But now hear, O Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!
For I will pour water on the thirsty land
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your descendants
and my blessing on your offspring.
This one will say, “I am the Lord’s”;
another will be called by the name of Jacob;
yet another will write on the hand, “The Lord’s,”
and adopt the name of Israel. (Isaiah 44:1, 3, and 5)
I recently sat with a group of men at a Bible study. They live in a recovery house and would be the first to tell you that they have hit rock bottom.
I have joined these men on several occasions and know that they are earnestly seeking the Lord. It was my privilege to tell them that God knows who they are and loves them to the max.
They may be part of America’s marginalized, but God has chosen them and desires for His Spirit to dwell in their lives.
They know the wilderness of sin, but they also know what it means to be chosen by God, filled with His Spirit, and counted as one of the Lord’s.
Praise God for His grace that sinful preachers like me – and everyone else.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 