Could My Tears Forever Flow

Sometimes we tend to forget that Satan is strong and smart.  Jesus called him the “strong man” who is the “prince of this world” (Matt. 12:29, John 12:31).  Peter compared him to a hungry lion on the prowl (1 Pet. 5.8).  Satan is a brilliant tactician (2 Cor. 11:3) who has had thousands of years to become an expert on deceiving and tempting God’s people.  He knows from experience how to look like an angel of light.

Thomas Watson knew that Satan was strong and intelligent.  In his exposition of the sixth petition of the Lord’s Prayer (Lead us not into temptation…) he wrote a brilliant explanation of the many ways Satan tries to trick and deceive God’s people.  In one section of this discussion, Watson noted that Satan tries to hinder us from our Christian duty, discourage us in our duty, or put us too far in duty in order to run us upon the rock of despair.

“If he cannot keep a Christian from duty, he will run him on too far in it.  Humiliation, or mourning for sin, is a duty, but Satan will push it too far; he will say, ‘You are not humbled enough;’ and, indeed, he never thinks a man is humbled enough till he despairs.  He would make a Christian wade so far in the waters of repentance, that he should get beyond his depth, and be drowned in the gulf of despair. 

“Satan comes thus to the soul and says, ‘Your sins have been great, and your sorrows should be proportionate to your sins.  But is it so?  Can you say you have been as great a mourner as you have been a sinner?  You did for many years practice no other trade but sin – and is a drop of sorrow enough for a sea of sin?  No, your soul must be more humbled and lie steeping longer in the brinish waters of repentance.’”

“Satan would have a Christian weep himself blind, and in a desperate mood throw away the anchor of hope.  Now, lest any be troubled with this temptation, let me say that this is a mere fallacy of Satan; for sorrow proportional to sin is not attainable in this life, nor does God expect it.  It is sufficient for you, Christian, if you have a gospel-sorrow; if you grieve so far as to see sin hateful and Christ precious, if you grieve so as to break off iniquity, if your remorse ends in divorcing sin.  This is to be humbled enough.”

“The gold has lain long enough in the fire when the dross is purged out; so a Christian has to be humbled enough for divine acceptance.  God, for Christ’s sake, will accept this sorrow for sin; therefore let not Satan’s temptations drive you to despair” (p. 276-7).

Well said.  Amen.  Jesus saves, not the intensity of our repentance.  Though we must repent to be saved, repentance isn’t a savior.  Repentance didn’t die on the cross to redeem us; Jesus did.  Repentance is not the object of our faith, Jesus is.  We might summarize with the words of the hymn:

Could my zeal no languor (weariness) know, could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone!

The above quotes are found in Thomas Watson’s exposition of the Lord’s Prayer.

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Prayer: Not As The Hypocrites…

I’ve been enjoying Christopher Hall’s study of the early church’s worship.  Though I don’t agree with every point, and though I think sometimes Hall’s comments seem to get in the way of his explanations, this book is an insightful glimpse into the early Christian church and her worship of the triune God.  Here’s one section worth noting.

“The church fathers took Jesus’ instructions to retire to one’s room to pray alone very seriously (Mt 6:5-15).  They seem reluctant to have individuals pray publicly, at least in terms of public, spontaneous prayer, because of the danger of using prayer as a method of self-promotion.  The fathers viewed with wariness exaggerated posturing, speaking loudly in prayer as though we needed to catch God’s notice, and any attempt to draw attention to oneself rather than God in prayer.”

“Tertullian, I think with a hint of humor, advises us to use a ‘subdued’ voice in prayer, rather than a loud one.  ‘For, if we are to be heard for our noise, what large windpipes we would need!  But God is the hearer – not of the voice – but of the heart.’  ‘It is characteristic of the shameless man to be noisy with his cries’ (Cyprian).

[Cyprian:] “‘He does not need to be clamorously reminded, for he sees peoples’ thoughts…Hannah prayed to God, not with clamorous petition, but silently and modestly – within the very recesses of her heart.  She spoke with hidden prayer, but with open faith.  She spoke with her heart, not her voice.’”

“We don’t need to shout to wake a sleepy deity.  God is always listening and watching.  To be truthful, it is we who possess the hardened eardrums and have blinders on our eyes.  ‘Be constant in both prayer and reading,’ Cyprian exhorts, ‘First, speak with God; then let God speak with you.  Let him instruct you in his teachings, let him direct you.’”

“The fathers wisely understood that God is the audience of our prayers, not our family, the members of our small group, the larger congregation or TV spectators.  This is not to say that the fathers forbade public prayer – Tertullian acknowledges that Paul and Silas sang in prison, with wonderful results (Acts 16:25-34).  It is to say that the fathers understood that pride often undetectably infects even the most holy actions.  Human beings adore center stage and the spotlight.  We can deceive ourselves too easily, imagining that we are talking to God when we are only talking to ourselves, sometimes about ourselves” (p. 87-8).

Christopher A. Hall, Worshiping with The Church Fathers (Downers Grove: IVP, 2009).

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“Abba” Is Not “Daddy” (Part 2)

Last week I quoted Philip Ryken’s helpful explanation of why the NT term “abba” should not be translated “papa” or “daddy” (Mark 14:36; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).  We received many comments and questions about that post.  From a different angle, but with the same conclusion, listen to what Eugene Peterson has to say about this.  Perhaps Peterson’s words will shed more light on the discussion in a helpful way – a way that has to do with the history of interpreting Matthew 6:9, Romans 8:15, and Galatians 4:6.

“…The German scholar Joachim Jeremias…tried to provide a fresh appreciation of the childlike spontaneity conveyed by ‘Abba.’  Jeremias tried to make a case for ‘Abba’ meaning something on the order of “Daddy.”  His suggestion was welcomed with enthusiasm by many.  The cozy informality of the term found itself used in sermons and teachings everywhere.  It was made to order – and under such auspicious scholarly authority, the eminent Jeremias! – for a culture that was uneasy with authority, was anti-hierarchical, and wanted to be on a first-name, even nickname basis with everyone.  And now God.”

“Then the Oxford scholar James Barr threw cold water on what he discerned was nothing more than sentimentalizing coziness.  He convincingly demonstrated that Jeremias was embarrassingly mistaken.  But by then it was too late.  The horse was out of the barn.  The mistake, coziness displacing holiness, keeps showing up in both scholarly and popular writing.”

“There is, to be sure, a childlike intimacy and delight in the use of “Abba.”  But the word also continues to carry an element of awe and respect and reverence.  I don’t cease to be a child in the presence of my father.  Otherness is not diminished by affection.  Intimacy does not preclude reverence.  True intimacy does not eliminate a sacred awe: otherness, Otherness.”

“The ‘Daddy’ fad that is still sweeping through our churches is a case of premature intimacy.  We don’t begin by getting cozy with God.  We begin with solemn reverence: Holy.”

“In the first petition [of the Lord’s Prayer], Jesus leads off with a verb that gets us started off on the right foot and places us in a posture of reverent respect, standing in awe – an affectionate awe to be sure, but still awe.  ‘Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground’ (Ex. 3:5).  The first petition protects the third commandment: ‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain’ (Ex. 20:7 NASV).  ‘You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God’ (NRSV).”

Eugene Peterson, Tell It Slant, p. 172-3. 

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“Abba” is not “Daddy”

It isn’t quite right to say that the Aramaic “abba” means “daddy.”  In other words, to call the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob “daddy” at the outset of our prayers is a bit too casual and irreverent.  Philip Ryken explains.

“To call God ‘Abba, Father’ is to speak to him with reverence as well as confidence.  Abba does not mean ‘Daddy.’  To prove this point, the Oxford linguist James Barr wrote an article for the Journal of Theological Studies called ‘Abba isn’t “Daddy”.’  What Barr discovered was that abba was not merely a word used by young children.  It was also the word that Jewish children used for their parents after they were fully grown.  Abba was a mature, yet affectionate way for adults to speak to their fathers.”

“The New Testament is careful not to be too casual in the way it addresses God.  The Aramaic word abba appears three times in the New Testament (Mark 14:36; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).  In each case it is followed immediately by the Greek word pater.  Pater is not the Greek word for ‘Daddy.’  The Greek language has a word for ‘Daddy’ – the word pappas – but that is not the word the New Testament uses to translate abba.  Instead, in order to make sure that our intimacy with God does not become an excuse for immaturity, it says, ‘abba, pater.”

“The best way to translate abba is “Dear Father,” or even “Dearest Father.”  That phrase captures both the warm confidence and the deep reverence that we have for our Father in heaven.  It expresses our intimacy with God, while preserving his dignity.  When we pray, therefore, we are to say, ‘Our dear Father in heaven.’”

Philip Ryken, When You Pray, p. 57-8.

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Short Prayers, Good Prayers

 Ever since I was a younger Christian I’ve heard many godly men exhort me to spend long periods in prayer.  Some recommended waking up early to pray (from 5-6 AM), others recommended taking a day off each month to pray.  I’ve also read many accounts of great Christians who have spent hours upon hours in prayer – which has no doubt benefited Christ’s church.  I have to confess: though I do pray fervent prayers quite often, I find it very difficult to spend hours in uninterrupted prayer.  But I don’t despair for reasons that follow.

As wonderful and beneficial as longer prayers are, I think we have to be careful when it comes to this topic.  We’ve always got to remember not to judge prayers based on how long they are.  The essence of true prayer is a believing heart calling upon the Father through Christ by the Holy Spirit (see Heidelberg Catechism LD 45).  In fact, Jesus told us not to heap up empty phrases when we pray, thinking that we will be heard for our many words (Matt. 6:7).  And the pattern for prayer that he gave us is pretty short (Matt. 6:9-13).  I appreciate how Philip Ryken discussed this in When You Pray.

“Knowing God as Father means…you can keep prayer simple.  When children need something from their fathers, they do not hire a lawyer, draft a formal petition, or get down on their knees, they just ask.  That is why Christian prayers are straightforward.  The prayers of pagans tend to be overly complicated, but when Christians pray, they pray to their Father.”

“As a general rule, the prayers of God’s children are short and sweet.  Martin Luther (1483-1546) once said, ‘Our prayer must have few words, but be great and profound in content and meaning…Few words and richness of meaning is Christian; many words and lack of meaning is pagan.’  Indeed, one of the striking things about most biblical prayers is their brevity.  It is hard to find a prayer anywhere in the Bible that when read aloud would be more than five minutes long.”

“Some Christians measure spirituality by the amount of time a person prays.  True, there is plenty of teaching in Scripture about being devoted to the life of prayer.  Jesus himself spent a great deal of time in prayer, and the apostle Paul tells us to ‘pray without ceasing’ (1 Thess. 5:17, KJV).  However, the effectiveness of our prayers does not depend on the length of our prayers.”

Ryken goes on to discuss Elijah’s short, fervent prayer in contrast to the long-winded prayers of Baal’s prophets (1 Ki. 18).  Elijah’s prayer was brief and simple.  Or consider Isaiah’s prayer in which he confessed his sin (Is. 6:5).  Think about the publican’s prayer: God be merciful to me, a sinner (Luke 18:13).  Thomas’ confession-prayer also comes to mind: My Lord and my God! (John 20:28).  Ecclesiastes even says, 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 (Ecc. 5:2 NIV).

God’s people all have different personalities and temperaments.  Some can pray for hours on end with great fervency.  Others pray short fervent prayers throughout the day.  The point is that we pray often, from the heart, to our Father in heaven.  The saint that prays for hours is not more spiritual than the saint that prays frequent, brief, heart-felt prayers.  My own prayer life has grown since I’ve come to understand what Ryken means in this closing paragraph.  You may want to read it a few times if you’ve struggled in this area.

“God does not need any lengthy explanations.  If you find that your prayer life is too weak, is it possibly that you are trying to make things too complicated?  Our prayers must be fervent, of course, and they ought to be frequent, but they do not need to be fancy” (p. 30-31).

Philip Ryken, When You Pray.

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