Scott
Olson, President of International Teams USA, sent out an email this week
that sparked a few neurons in my brain. Unfortunately, in my case, that
can be dangerous. In his message, Scott shared some thoughts about the
woman in Matthew 9 who reached out to "touch the hem of (Jesus') cloak."
His first point - and admittedly I had a hard time getting past it -
was that desperation can be turned into an act of worship when we reach
out to Jesus.
Desperation is not usually seen as a desirable state of being. I doubt many of us wake up in the morning thinking, "I hope I am desperate today." Most people want to be happy, fulfilled, satisfied or, even, "self-actualized" - if they have read too much Abraham Maslow. Beggars are desperate. People with stage IV cancer can be desperate. However, successful people are, well, successful - never desperate.
Still, there is something about desperation that seems to attract God.
Leonard Ravenhill wrote, "Now I say very often - and people don't like it - that God doesn't answer prayer. He answers desperate prayer! Your prayer life denotes how much you depend on your own ability, and how much you really believe in your heart when you sing, 'Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling...'"
Ravenhill's statement made me think (I told you the neurons started firing!) of James 5:16 and 17, "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly... " (NIV) This chapter mentions serious life situations: rotting wealth, suffering, troubles, sickness, sin, and "wandering from the truth." Any one of these could produce genuine desperation in our souls.
Some people believe these verses mean, "If I pray with enough intensity or hard enough and long enough, then God just has to answer my prayers." However, I wonder if it doesn't really mean our prayers need to be empowered by God. Prayers become effective and strong because they are energized by God and not simply by our limited human endurance.
Still, the idea of desperate prayer keeps rattling around in my head.
Desperation is not usually seen as a desirable state of being. I doubt many of us wake up in the morning thinking, "I hope I am desperate today." Most people want to be happy, fulfilled, satisfied or, even, "self-actualized" - if they have read too much Abraham Maslow. Beggars are desperate. People with stage IV cancer can be desperate. However, successful people are, well, successful - never desperate.
Still, there is something about desperation that seems to attract God.
Leonard Ravenhill wrote, "Now I say very often - and people don't like it - that God doesn't answer prayer. He answers desperate prayer! Your prayer life denotes how much you depend on your own ability, and how much you really believe in your heart when you sing, 'Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling...'"
Ravenhill's statement made me think (I told you the neurons started firing!) of James 5:16 and 17, "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly... " (NIV) This chapter mentions serious life situations: rotting wealth, suffering, troubles, sickness, sin, and "wandering from the truth." Any one of these could produce genuine desperation in our souls.
Some people believe these verses mean, "If I pray with enough intensity or hard enough and long enough, then God just has to answer my prayers." However, I wonder if it doesn't really mean our prayers need to be empowered by God. Prayers become effective and strong because they are energized by God and not simply by our limited human endurance.
Still, the idea of desperate prayer keeps rattling around in my head.
Abraham must have been praying "desperately-multiplied-
I hope.
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