John-David’s Monday Morning Back Page
Psalm 23 and The Prayer of Paul for Us
July 27, 2009
It is interesting to see where my mind goes when I step outside of my comfort zone,
and discover what Spirit, through scripture, has to say about the spaces I have chosen to live in.
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture passages are from The Message Translation.2
In the past few weeks, I have been having new experiences with old friends. Passages of scripture that I have known and studied have come to life in unexpected ways. It started with looking at the 23rd Psalm. At the time I was studying that familiar passage I was going through a large measure of stress and depression.
One morning I work up and asked myself “For what am I thankful today?” Instantly, I heard myself repeating the Psalm as a declaration of thankfulness.
ü I am thankful that, because I choose to be a believer in Jesus the Lord IS my shepherd.”
ü I am thankful that BECAUSE the Lord IS my shepherd I shall NOT be in Want.
ü I am thankful that BECAUSE the Lord is MY shepherd, I am lead into still waters (where I can be still and know that God IS God).
ü I can be thankful that BECAUSE the Lord is MY shepherd, in the face of physical, emotional, or psychological death I need not be in fear because HIS rod and HIS staff will protect and provide comfort as I go through the experience.
As I spoke that Psalm with that thankful spirit my stress level diminished and the depression faded. The challenges that brought that spirit into being were still there, but my attitude about them changed. Whew!
This past week I took a look at the third chapter of the book of Ephesians verses 14-21. Having studied what is usually called “The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)”1 It is interesting to note that this chapter lifts up the prayer of the writer for the church at Ephesus and, by extension, Westchester and beyond.
It is also interesting to see how making the mission and vision statement of my church a more conscious part of everything I do is bringing Spirit directed ideas and plans into the church and also into my personal life. I am increasingly aware that better decisions are made by the people in that organization for an organization when there is a strong awareness of the purpose of that organization as expressed in the mission and vision statement.
The writer is concerned about the church at Ephesus but rather than give them a list of “do’s and don’ts, we read that he is praying for them -- praying for them in a very wonderful and special way. The Message translation speaks of it this way: “14-19My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in.2
What does he pray for? That the people will be strengthened from the inside to the outside, and do it only as we invite Christ to become an integral part of our being. I loved the fact that this was all about action -- OUR action and God’s response to that action. When we do our part, invite Christ into ourselves, God is ready to do the transforming work within us that leads to a transformation in how we see and experience the world around us. Wow!
He goes on to tell us: And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. 2
The result of this prayer is that I will, via my choices, be solidly grounded in the essence of all that God is – LOVE. The invitation then is to DO something. I can’t “reach out” with my arms folded. I can’t be the “living laboratory” of our mission statement if I don’t experiment by testing Spirit led ideas and theories. I can’t live a full life without engaging in an understanding of what it is that I was designed by my creator, to be. I am called to be action oriented. A wise Rabbi said, after marching with Martin Luther King, that he felt like he had, by his actions, put “legs” on his prayers.
The challenge at this point was to rate my life “satisfaction index.” After coming up with that rating and determining my happiness with that rating I had a decision to make. If I was OK with that rating it was “business as usual.” If I was not happy with the “satisfaction index” the question becomes, “What am I willing to do to improve that rating?” The answer to that question will impact every aspect of my life.
The Bible tells me the sixth chapter of Matthews Gospel that if I get my priorities straight and put first things first I can expect a wonderful result. There is no exception clause in that phrase. A companion scripture tells me that if I “Ask” in the manner prescribed in scripture, it will be given to me. I also read that if I am willing to “Seek,” again in the manner prescribed in scripture, I will also “find.” In short, if I am willing to step into a spiritual laboratory of life, I will go though the life experiences that are necessary for my prayers/seeking/asking to come to life. If I am willing to work through each one of those experiences “Yea though I walk THROUGH the valley of (emotional, psychological, spiritual, and yes, physical) death,” I need fear no evil because with a heart of thanksgiving (In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18) the ALL that was spoken of earlier WILL come to pass.
Imagine that. The Bible, read as a commentary on itself, is a guide for practical, relevant life as we experience it today. Not bad for stuff that was written thousands of years ago, eh?
The passage concludes with a powerful assurance: 20-21God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us2. Wow. When John-David chooses, (another action step) to align himself with the purposes of the Divine Designer (that would be God) the plan is already in place to give more than can be imagined. Talk about AWESOME? Oh yes.
It fits that the passage reminds me, as I think about what will be left behind when I am no longer on this earth, what the results of taking all of this in and doing the appropriate work that goes with it, will mean. “Glory to God in the church! Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus! Glory down all the generations! Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!2
Thanks God. You have given me the plan.
I choose to get busy and work YOUR plan.
1) Note: This it really is our prayer. It was the model for prayer that Jesus gave for us to use. The prayer of Jesus for US can be found in the 17th chapter of the Gospel of John.
2) The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
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