The God Who Speaks - Oct. 2006

Dear friends,

Thanks for tuning in... I realize that I'm six days into October, but I delayed writing as a discipline. You might ask, "How is being tardy a discipline?" No, I've been tardy before, but this is something else. It relates to the first listening prayer tip that I want to share today:

1. "Don't let deadlines bully you" -- What I mean by this is that, in general, when a deadline for a decision or action is looming, if the Holy Spirit has not given your heart the green light of perfect peace, then don't be bullied into pressing ahead. Often these deadlines are self-imposed: "I need to..." Who says? God? "But I need to know by..." Really? And if God doesn't give you peace by then? What? Normally, the absence of God's peace in the face of a deadline can be interpreted as either a "No," or at least a "Not yet." As I've tested this through the years, staying put until God has led us forward has borne good fruit. Letting deadline-based anxiety lead the way... not so good. This rule of thumb is not an absolute--as always, keep listening.

2. "Read between the prayers" -- On a different note, I've been meditating on the Psalms lately, particularly the ones in which David cries out to God with a complaint, then without telling us God's answer, David has a shift in perspective that is evident later in the Psalm. I am exercising my ears in the art of hearing God through the silence between the prayers. Allow me to illustrate:

a. Psalm 6 - David is lamenting some trial that he's experiencing. In those verses, who or what does David see as the source of his problems? He appears to source his pain in God's discipline, anger and wrath. But as we continue to read, the perspective shifts... in verse 7-10, David locates the problem in his foes and those who do evil, whereas he reckons God as merciful and attentive--his true rescuer. What did God show David after verse 1-3 to cause this shift. What might God have said?

b. Psalm 13 - Again, David is complaining, "How long?" and actually accusing God of forgetting and forsaking him. He groups God in with his tormented mind and voracious enemies. Is he right? Should we make a theology of this experience? Apparently not, for out of the blue (it seems), David has a reversal in verse 6. Apparently God answered him and led him to conclude that God is good and has been good to him. We're missing some revelation here... or rather, perhaps we're meant to listen for it. What might God have said to launch David into this new awareness?

c. Psalm 22 - I lead up to this. I'm currently researching in preparation of co-writing a book on the atonement (i.e. the meaning of the Cross and how it saves us). In Psalm 22:1, we read prophetically about Christ's cry of "dereliction": "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Unfortunately, rather than reading on carefully, for roughly 400 years, theologians have wrestled to develop a theology of this verse. Many of them concluded that while Christ was being crucified, this cry was evidence that God the Father turned his face away. We sing this in the modern hymn, "How great the Father's love." In fact, it became the basis for my now forgotten M.A. thesis.

BUT... as I read the Psalm again, looking and listening for the Father's answer to Christ, much to my surprise I come to verse 24:

For he has NOT despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has NOT hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

And I ask myself, "What did David and then Christ himself HEAR or SEE or FEEL from the Father that would bring them to the revelation of verse 24?" Wow! And I realize (with the help of Bob Ekblad), that the initial cry was a cry of identification with every man, woman, and child that has felt forsaken and abandoned... BUT there is an answer forthcoming! What is it?

I'll leave that question with you to engage with God YOUR Father.
He has some good news for you today!

May God bless you, keep you, shine on you with His beautiful face until you are filled with peace,

Brad Jersak

p.s. Please consider passing this on to others and inviting them to sign up at www.freshwindpress.com.

p.s.s. Within about ten days, you will be able to order my new book, "Shades: Nuancing Listening Prayer" (co-authored with Sean Davidson) from our website. This work thoroughly scrutinizes the theology and practice of my first book, "Can You Hear Me?" in ways that bring out fresh insights on listening prayer and answers some it's critics in a Christian way.