Spiritual Viewpoints

by Rick Smith

Gratitude

Getting In The Way Of Prayer

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“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (I Peter 3:7).

“It’s hard to be humble when you’re so good.” I know a few men that really think that way. They’re married to unhappy women. When a man treats his wife as though he is God’s gift to women ~ he isn’t. What kind of a lug-headed dimwit would treat the woman he loves like a slave? Do I see any hands?

Consideration is the first thing we must give our wives. Thoughtfulness, kindness, respect, tenderness, warmheartedness, compassion — all of these words illuminate consideration. Husbands need to be attentive to their wives’ needs. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Jesus died for the church — too many husbands have an “undying” love for their wives. The truth is that our wives don’t need us to die for them — they need us to live for them. When chivalry goes out the window, you know consideration went before it. When the husband never opens his wife’s car door, never vacuums the floor, never takes out the trash, never does something thoughtful that shows his love — he needn’t bother to pray because God won’t hear you.

When men wonder why their prayers aren’t being answered, it may be that they are hindering them. God says to be considerate and treat wives with respect. Do it or don’t bother praying. If there were no other reason to treat wives with consideration and respect, keeping prayers from stopping at the ceiling would be good enough. Actually, it’s not good enough. God commands men to treat their wives with holiness, in the form of consideration and respect, recognizing them as having a feminine quality deserving of such dignified treatment. He wants husbands to be aware that wives are heirs with us of God’s gracious gift of life. If husbands ignore God on this — He will ignore our prayers. There, I said it again.

Husbands, we can bring God glory by lifting our wives up to Him in prayer. We can love our wives by the considerate words we speak and by our respectful attitudes. “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord” (Proverbs 18:22).

Shout to the Lord

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There’s an anecdote about a visitor at church one day. During the sermon he shouted, “Praise the Lord!” After his second “Praise the Lord”, a deacon came up to him and requested that he be quiet. He replied, “But, I’m just praising the Lord.” The deacon stated emphatically, “Well, you can’t do that here!” — Ouch.

Have you ever worshipped where you felt like you were part of a funeral rather than honoring the risen Christ? You tend to leave depressed rather than uplifted.

You have to admire Paul and Silas while imprisoned together. Instead of acting like they were in shackles (which they were), they joined hearts in prayer and praise. “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25). Nobody said, “You can’t do that here”.

I understand there are times during public worship when quiet meditation is in order. Our behavior should always be appropriate for the moment. The question is — are there times for expressions of joy, or are have we become so formal that spontaneous “Amen’s” are frowned upon? Have you ever said, much less shouted, “Praise God”, “Hallelujah”, or “Glory” from a heart bursting with praise? “Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard” (Psalm 66:8).

Psalm 63:4 says, “I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.” Paul wrote the young preacher, Timothy, “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing” (I Timothy 2:8).

Wouldn’t that put frosting on the cake if you raised your hands in praise or prayer next Sunday morning? Are you able to reach towards heaven asking God to wrap his loving arms around you? I can tell you when I did that without hesitation. Several years ago, while spending one month in the hospital following a stroke, I began having severe heart pains and extremely high blood pressure. The doctors worked feverishly to keep me alive. I asked the doctor to tell my wife and family that I love them. The next day I was in the Cardiac Care Unit alone in my bed with outstretched hands towards heaven. I was thanking God for life. I didn’t have to force my thanksgiving, I didn’t look around to see if someone was watching ~ I simply reached up towards heaven and said “Thank you, Lord.”

Let’s put this in perspective. There are appropriate and inappropriate times for expressions of joy. Praise can be a quiet prayer with the church or in your closet at home. But, it can also be more demonstrative. It can express a joy that cannot be hidden. I’m talking about times when it is appropriate. Ask yourself, “do I ever jubilantly praise God?”

The Psalmist said, “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy” (Psalm 47:1). Just imagine clapping and shouting with cries of joy to the Lord.

Maybe now I’ve gone too far….

Like Little Children

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It was at least fifteen years ago I sat in a circle with about 45 children from the Tree of Life Christian Elementary School, a ministry of our church. My daughter, Rachel, was the Principal and first grade teacher. At her request, I joined the children and teachers in prayer during our daily chapel time. Before I said the last prayer, each child had an opportunity to pray. I was amazed at the way children, from kindergarten through third grade, were in tune with God. Nearly all of them began their prayers with thanksgiving, “Thank you Lord for my teacher, my mommy and daddy, my goldfish, etc.” Other than asking the Lord to help them “be good”, there were very few requests for anything else, which is different from most adult prayers.

Sometimes I find myself teetering between superficial prayer and serious ones. If I’m in a hurry, I might do a quick “thank you” for a meal. I’m not saying that’s the thing to do, I’m just telling you how it is. During the daytime I pray with people in person, on the phone, or for them without their knowledge. But at times I’m so occupied with busy work that prayer takes a backseat. Finally, at night when my wife and I pray together, we have serious prayers.

Listening to the prayers of these school children reminded me of an occasion when Jesus scolded his disciples. “Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them” (Matthew 19:13). It seems the apostles didn’t have time for this prayer stuff either. But, “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these'” (v. 14). Find opportunity to listen to a child pray. Be sure to pray with your own children ~ teach them ~ or learn from them how to pray. Both they and you will be blessed!

Lord, Jesus, thank you for little children. I want to be like them. I want a heart that expresses my joy and thankfulness for being your child. I love you, Lord. Because of Jesus. Amen.

Cynicism

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CYNICISM
Pessimism, skepticism, distrust, doubt, even scorn are synonyms for cynicism. Some live in a world of cynical attitudes and character ~ glass half-empty as opposed to glass half-full. They live under a cloud, in the shadows, full of negativity. A happy person shys away from asking how they’re doing, because once they tell you, you too may become depressed.cynicism

There are spiritual cynics who delight more in what they are against than what they are for. If the Good Samaritan were a cynic he would have passed by the man beaten by robbers thinking he probably deserved it. (Luke 10:25-27) Instead, the priest and the Levite, religious leaders, seemed to draw that conclusion. Pitiful.

Jesus confronted a cynic when he visited Simon, the Pharisee. He was reclining at dinner when a sinful woman knelt and began wetting his feet with an alabaster jar of perfume and her tears as she stood behind him. Simon was blind to her caring love, instead, in his cynical attitude he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is ~ that she is a sinner” (Luke 7:39).

All types of people can be cynics: Christians, unbelievers, rich, poor, intelligent, foolish. What they lack is a capacity for loving someone other than themselves, and often, loving themselves is a stretch. They get along with other cynics ~ but resist the rights of others to be positive, cheerful, optimistic, and thankful. If anything, they wonder how joyful people milked the system better than they.

Jesus summed up the Pharisee’s cynical problem this way, “Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:44-47).

Isn’t it obvious? I mean, isn’t the difference between a healthy attitude of thankfulness, joy, and love completely the opposite of the doubtful, scornful heart of the cynic! Does not a cynic realize how sad their lives are? Do they not realize they can turn misery into happiness?

How does a cynic change?  Sadly, by himself he doesn’t ~ but Jesus can change him. “Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven” (vs. 48). It seems to me that nothing in all the world can wash away the cynicism and scornfulness of one more than knowing God was still on his side, still in his corner, still offering hope beyond hope. Nobody has to walk through life dragging their chin, being the victim, and resenting everyone else whose found a smile. If I were a cynic, in a heartbeat I would trade my cynicism in on the hope Christ offers. I wonder if the Pharisee got Jesus’ message?

Adoration

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Thanking my wife for cooking a great dinner puts a smile on her face; telling my wife what I adore about her puts a glow in her heart. I am thankful for what she does, but I adore who she is.

Surely, the same must be true of God. We thank him for what he does, and adore him for who he is. Although both are pleasing, one, the adoration, is special.

It seems like my thanking often outweighs my adoration. More times than not my prayers are requests for blessings and thanksgiving for answers, rather than praising and adoring God for who he is. Both adoration and thanksgiving are good, but a lack of balance makes me question my God-centeredness and wonder about my self-centeredness.

King David was a man after God’s own heart. He was a friend of God. Although his life was marred by horrific sins: lust, adultery, murder and lies, his heart went after God, and God forgave him his sins. When I read the words of David, I understand how he was able to touch God’s heart. David was more than thankful, he was full of adoration. Listen to David’s words:

David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
“Praise be to you, O LORD,
God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
(I Chronicles 29:10-13)

Those words demonstrate the highest level of prayer ~ adoration. When we praise God for who he is, and not only for what he does, we will draw closer to him.