Sin & Prayer

There are times in ministry that you sense and know that God's leading in a certain direction. This, I believe, is the case as we begin our journey into a deeper intimacy with our Savior through the study of prayer. I want to share some of the circumstances that have led me to begin a teaching a series on this important relationship aspect with the Father.

Primarily, I would have to admit that the greatest reason for the upcoming study comes from the impact our last study on sin had on me. The overall thesis was to see sin as God does.  So we began to unpack sin and the effects of sin in individuals, the church and its leadership. This quite frankly, drove me to a time of deep confession and more intense prayer. During all of this, I felt a definite need for a week of fasting and prayer where Psalm 139:23-24 was the focal point of this week and much was revealed by the Holy Spirit.

Prayer is something that I strive to always do better and do it with regularity but prayer and fasting is another matter altogether.  It is a discipline I had infrequently done in the past but not with much fervor or desperation behind it. That has begun to change as I realized how desensitized I had become on sin and the need to experience the fullness of God in my life. This is where I understood that my initial focus was wrong.  I initially was focusing on myself and knew that I had to refocus and start with Him.  Jesus, in teaching His disciples how to pray said start with "Our Father...Hallowed by thy name" (Matt6:9). There I came face to face with His holiness and His holiness is what uncovers us. When you come to that point, there is nothing that can be said or done. Just like every example we have in Scripture - you fall on your face before God and begin to confess your unworthiness. 

Ultimately what I came to know is that my view of God became my view and not His complete revealed truth as He has given us in Scripture. I had an unbalanced focus that concentrated on the God of mercy, forgiveness, love and acceptance. I still worshiped God, I still prayed to the Jehovah (Yahweh) but I worshiped Him through a golden calf that I had conjured up in my mind of who I wanted Him to be. The delivered people of Israel were still worshiping God too (Exodus 34), however, the golden calf allowed them to worship Him in a way that made them feel comfortable. You must understand, the golden calf never would condemn or bring about any conviction into their lives. In all reality, it was where they could worship however they wanted, which is nothing more than man-centered worship.

God's intent is that believers - both individually and collectively, remain in close communication with Him. Prayer is our path to receive understanding from God through Scripture. Only then can we move forward in radical obedience. Radical obedience that will cause us to give our very lives to pierce the darkness with the glorious light of the Gospel. A radical passion to see the holiness of God that causes us to hate sin - hate sin in our lives, in our churches and in our leadership. I truly believe if we as individuals fail in our prayers we fail everywhere.

I praise God for His atonement and covering of our sin. Although the nation of Israel sinned against God by worshiping through a golden calf, God had provided a provision for forgiveness. Yom Kippur is a special holiday that commemorates the forgiveness God provided to the children of Israel after they worshipped the golden calf. No, God doesn't overlook sin and their is always a cost for it, a cost that God willing paid (Rom 6:23). Praise God, for the Son, who is our Yom Kippur, our atonement (John 14:6).