Deepening Prayer

In his book, Hamlet's Blackberry, William Powers likens our digital age to a gigantic room.

And in the room, there are more than a billion people.

And despite its size, everyone is in close proximity to everyone else.

And at any moment, someone may come up to you and tap you on the shoulder.

A text, a hit, a comment, a tweet, a post, a message, a thread.

Some people come up to talk business, others to complain, others to tell secrets, others to flirt,

others to sell you things, others to give you information,

others just to tell you what they're thinking or doing, whether you want to or not know it.

It just never stops.

And for a while, you enjoy that room immensely.

Eventually, you go tired of the constant noise where you struggle to find a personal space.

Someone taps you while you're eating.

Someone taps you while you're sleeping.

Someone, for goodness sake, even taps you while you're sitting on the toilet.

And eventually, we decide we want to take a break, just a short one, just pause for 30 days or one week.

And we decide to exit.

But no one seems to know where the exit door is or even cares where the exit door is.

In fact, they all seem really annoyed that you might not want to stay in the room with them.

And when you eventually find the exit, you see the enchanting world through the opening,

but you're not sure what life is like on the other side, stepping out of the digital room.

It's a leap of faith.

It's a leap of faith.

You jump out and see what happens.

Now, the point of his parable is fairly self-evident.

We love the room, but we hate the room.

We want to breathe the undistracted air of digital freedom,

but increasingly, this room is all we know.

How can we walk out when everyone else is staying in?

How will we pass our time and occupy our thoughts without the incessant tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap?

For many of us, the digital age is like the Eagle song, Hotel California.

You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.

The scariest part is that we may not, in fact, want to leave the room.

What if we, in fact, prefer the endless noise to the deafening sound of silence?

What if the trivialities and the distractions of our day are not, in fact, forced upon us by busyness or not forced upon us at all?

What if we choose to be busy so that we can continue to live with trivia and distraction?

Power suggests that digital busyness is the enemy of depth.

Digital busyness is the enemy of depth.

And that we are bound to be stuck in the shallows of life as long as we are connected.

In our age of distracted busyness, there is the threat of Assyria.

The word Assyria had its origins in the 17th century and is roughly equivalent in meaning to the word sloth or listlessness.

And in particular, the word means a spiritual and a mental apathy.

Richard Newhouse explains,

Assyria is evenings without number, obliterated by television.

Evenings neither of entertainment nor of education, but of narcoticized defense against time and duty.

And above all, Assyria is apathy, the refusal to engage the tragedy of our lives and of God's life with them.

For too many of us, the hustle and bustle of electronic activity is a sad expression of a much deeper listlessness and apathy.

We are busy with busyness.

Rather than figure out what to do with our spare minutes and hours, we are content to swim in the shallows and pass our time with passing the time.

How many of us, growing too accustomed to the Assyria of our age, feel this strange mix in our hearts and of our emotions,

the strange mix of busyness and yet lifelessness at the same time?

I won't ask for a show of hands.

Busyness and yet lifelessness.

We are always engaged with our thumbs, but rarely engaged with our thoughts or our hearts.

We keep downloading information, but rarely get down into the depths of our hearts.

That is Assyria.

Purposeness disguised as constant commotion.

But then again, we want to be harried.

We want to be hassled.

We want to be busy.

We don't have to.

We want to.

Unconsciously, we in fact want the very things we complain about.

Because if we had a stillness, if we had a silence, if we had a rest, we would look at ourselves, we would listen to our hearts and see the gaping hole.

And we would be terrified.

Because that hole is so big that nothing but God himself can fill it.

The hyperactivity of today's contemporary society and our cultural attention deficit disorder makes slow reflection and meditation a lost art.

And it's the enemy of depth.

It's one of the biggest roadblocks of us deepening our prayer life, deepening our spiritual life, deepening in such a way that we might encounter God.

Because it requires time.

It requires attention.

It requires discipline to deepen our prayer life.

Because the doorway to a deeper prayer life is sustained, careful meditation on the word of God.

And way too many of us are just content to have a daily devotion pop up on our screen, read a Bible passage, cook a couple of notes, say the prayer.

A Bible a day keeps the devil away and I'm sorted.

So meditation is the doorway to deeper prayer.

The Psalms are the prayer book of the Bible.

But it is noteworthy that the first Psalm, and in fact the first and second Psalm, which scholars would argue are one Psalm,

is in fact not a prayer per se, but a meditation on meditation.

Psalm 1, if you get your Bibles, it would be good if you have it open in front of you.

Psalm 1 has the prime place at the beginning of the Psalms, and it's not an accident.

And yet the introduction to the book of prayers is not itself a prayer, but it is preparing us to pray instead.

It gets us ready to pray.

Two weeks ago, I defined prayer for the Christian as continuing the conversation that God has started with us through his word and by his grace,

which eventually becomes a full encounter with him.

But there is this middle ground between Bible study and prayer.

There is a middle ground between Bible study and prayer.

And it's a kind of, if you like, a bridge between the two.

While deep experiences of the presence and the power of God can happen in innumerable ways,

the ordinary way for encountering God according to the scriptures is going deeper spiritually into prayer through meditation on the word of God.

And according to Psalm 1, meditation on the word of God promises at least three things.

First of all, it promises stability.

The person experienced in meditation is like a tree rooted so that wind cannot blow it away.

Those who meditate on the word become people of substance, people who have thought things out and have deep convictions,

who can explain difficult concepts in simple language and who have good reasons behind everything that they do.

Now, notice in Psalm 1 that this tree is planted by streams of water.

Now, trees by streams of water go well even if there's little rain.

And you look at all the pictures of drought-stricken western New South Wales and Queensland,

and you will see barren paddocks except where the river courses.

And there's green trees still there.

This is an image in someone of someone who can keep going

and in fact even grow in hard and dry times.

Meditation on the word is how we get stability,

how we get peace and courage in times of great difficulty and adversity and upheaval.

By contrast, in Psalm 1, there's the chaff.

It's the husk.

It's the waste bit around the seed of the grain.

And it's lightweight.

It's a little puff and a breeze and it just blows away.

Anything can move it.

And the way to avoid being the chaff rather than being the tree

is through meditation on God's word.

Meditation also brings the promise of character.

Chaff cannot produce anything because it's not a growing thing.

It's in fact dead.

The tree can produce fruit because it is a growing thing.

Those who meditate on the word don't just have stability

and firm convictions about truth.

They in fact have the character to match it.

Meditation bears fruit,

which in the Bible means character traits.

Galatians 5, 22 and 23.

Character traits is love, joy, peace, patience, humility, self-control.

Biblical meditation then does not merely make us feel close to God.

It's not just about having an encounter with God.

It results in the transformation of our life.

It changes who we are.

Finally, meditation brings blessedness.

It means peace and well-being in every dimension.

It means character growth.

It means stability.

And according to verse 2, it means delight.

Delight.

See, biblical meditation moves us beyond a mere duty of reading to the word to joy

in encountering God and his word.

Which takes me to my next point, meditation and the mind.

Many forms of meditation,

such as particularly stuff from Eastern religions,

but not just Eastern religions,

such as transcendental meditation,

have the goal of emptying your mind of all consciousness.

You get every noise and every thought out of your head

so that you are an empty vessel

in order to discover meaning within yourself.

Empty yourself and then you'll find meaning within yourself.

Seems a little strange to me on one level,

but biblical meditation, on the other hand,

is the exact opposite.

Biblical meditation fully engages the mind.

When the first psalm calls us to meditate,

it uses a word that literally means to mutter.

It refers to the fact that,

particularly in ancient times,

the scriptures,

the word of God was recited aloud.

And it was recited aloud from memory.

And there is no better way to meditate on a passage of the Bible

and draw out all of its aspects,

all of its implications,

and all of its richness,

than in fact to memorize it

and to chew it over like a good piece of steak

or something like that.

Other words translated as meditate in the psalms

mean to ponder and to question thoroughly,

such as you've got Psalm 77 in front of you,

verses 3, 6, and 12.

The first stage of engaging the mind

is to study the passage.

It's to study and interpret the passage

so that we get to know something

about what the passage actually means.

You cannot reflect on or enjoy

what you do not understand.

And so to understand a section of scripture

means answering two really basic questions.

There's more questions to ask than this,

but two really basic questions about it.

First of all,

what did the original author intend to convey

to his original readers about in this passage?

That's the first question.

Not what does it say to me first,

what does it say to them,

the first recipients?

And secondly,

what role does this passage play

in the whole message of the Bible,

of God's unfolding plan of salvation?

How does it contribute to the gospel message

and a move along the main narrative arc of the Bible,

which climaxes in salvation in Christ Jesus?

Unless you first do that hard work

of answering those questions about a passage,

your meditations on the passage

won't be grounded in what God is actually saying

in the passage.

Let me say that one more time.

Unless you do the hard work

of studying the passage

in its original meaning

and where it fits in the Bible,

your meditation on the passage

will not be grounded in what God is actually saying.

When we do that,

what we are doing

is we are listening to our own heart

or the spirit of our culture

and imposing that on God's word

instead of listening to God's voice in the Bible.

Martin Luther said

that before he could turn a biblical text

into praise,

he first needed to understand it as instruction,

as truthful information.

So biblical meditation is founded

on the work of sound biblical interpretation

and study.

But secondly,

meditation and the heart.

Biblical meditation

is, however,

more than just intense thinking.

It's more than just Bible study.

The Bible contains information,

but it's so much more than just information.

It talks about itself

as living and an active agent

in Hebrews 4.12.

Biblical meditation involves

not just mind work,

but heart work as well.

When Paul talks about the word of God

dwelling in us richly

in Colossians 3.16,

he's clearly talking of something

which is beyond mere ascent to information.

He's talking about deep

and penetrating contemplation

that enables the Bible's message

to have transforming power in our life.

Biblical meditation is,

if you like,

tasting that the Lord is good.

It's tasting the scripture.

It is delighting in it.

It is sensing the sweetness of the teaching,

feeling the conviction

of what it tells us about ourselves,

and thanking God

and praising Him

for what it shows us about Him.

It's taking the truth

that we are engaging with our minds

and pushing it

into our hearts

until it catches fire

and begins to melt

and shape

and mould our lives

in such a way

that it shapes and moulds

our reactions to God

and reactions to ourselves

and reaction to the world around us.

It is taking the truth

into all of our relationships.

It's to ask the question,

what does this mean?

Now that I've understood

what this passage meant

for the first hearers

as God intended it,

what does this passage mean

for my relationship with God?

What does it mean

for my relationship to myself?

What does it mean

for this person,

my relationship with this person

and that person

and this group of people?

Is this or that behaviour

or habit,

what does it mean for that?

What does it mean for my friends?

What does it mean for my culture?

Is there something

that I need to stop

because of this passage?

Is there something

I should start

because of this passage?

Why might God

be showing me this passage

on this day

in this moment?

What is God doing

now in my life

would make this passage

relevant to me?

You know,

if I'm constantly

engaging in God's word

and he's constantly,

for instance,

bringing out passages

about prayer,

is he trying to tell me

something about that?

If it's sin,

is he trying to tell me

something about that?

These are questions

that are very searching.

And as you work

a truth in,

you may be convicted,

you may be humbled,

you may be troubled,

you may be calmed,

you may be comforted,

you may be excited,

you might be filled

with uncontainable joy.

And once you've worked

out the truth

and then worked it

in to your heart,

the immediate results

may, in fact,

vary.

Martin Luther was quite realistic

when he said that

sometimes the Holy Spirit

begins to immediately

preach to your heart

and sometimes

he does not.

Sometimes,

no matter what we do,

we simply cannot

concentrate

or we find our thoughts

to not become big

and we find our thoughts

not to become affecting

but rather we

sometimes will feel bored

and we will feel hard

and we will feel distracted.

In fact,

I even think Psalm 1

is a passage

that is

realistic.

it's a tree

by streams of water

sucking in the water

consistently.

It's a tree

that will always

be green

but it only bears

its fruit in season.

There are seasons

where the fruit's

just not coming.

And when that happens,

that's when we should

just simply turn to God.

Martin Luther said

we just simply turn to God

and ask for help.

And he says

that even if your meditation

give you only

a renewed

gracious sense

of your own dryness,

your own weakness,

your own insufficiency,

that's not a waste

of time.

This is hard work

and hard work

is always

hard work

and that is why

most prefer

the noise

of busyness

and distraction

and entertainment

to the deafening

silence

of being alone

and searching

the depths

of our hearts.

So how do we

get the energy

and the motivation

to do this

hard work?

Some of us

may have been

studying the Bible

for decades

but the hard work

thing,

we're being content

in our biblical

knowledge

but the hard work

thing,

that's even right

now to think

about it,

it's hard work.

How do we get

the energy

and the motivation

to do hard work

and especially

when we are

in a season

where it seems

there isn't much

fruit being produced

or in fact

we actually

don't like

what we see,

we don't like

what we see.

Someone tells us

that the godly man

or woman

meditates on the

law of the Lord

day and night

and delights

in it.

The answer

for us

in that moment

is to look

at the central

figure of the

entire written

word.

The one that

John 14

1 calls

the word

made flesh.

Jesus Christ,

the ultimate

expression

and communication

of God

and to find

our delight

in him

while we're

doing the

hard work.

Last week,

this is off

text,

sorry John,

just feel

late I should

say this,

James took us

through the

Lord's Prayer.

Let me tell you,

my general

experience when I

go through the

Lord's Prayer

prayer is I

don't get much

beyond our

Father.

And that

normally breaks

me,

our Father.

And all the

implications with

that.

And I have

moments where I

just want to

praise and

thank God

that I,

who I am,

minuscule as I

am,

get to call

the almighty

God of this

universe,

Father.

And I have

this image

of little

John Jr.

in the

White House

under the

desk as a

two-year-old

while JFK's

having a

meeting with

all the

heavies of

the world

and the

heavies of

his

administration.

No other

two-year-old

gets to go

into the

Father's

presence like

that.

And yet I

do.

But I've

gone through

this Lord's

Prayer a few

times recently

in the last

number of

months.

And it

happened to me

again last

Sunday.

As I was

sitting here

in church,

go through

the Lord's

Prayer.

Bang,

bang,

bang,

bang,

bang.

And I

got past

our Father

without tears.

But inside

of me what's

been happening

lately is I

get to the

bit,

forgive us

our sins

as we

forgive those

who sin

against us.

And it's

that second

statement,

those who

sin against

us,

that's right

now is where

my heart's

leaping.

And I

think,

hear what,

what God's

saying.

I just

prayed a

prayer,

forgive me

my sin

as I

forgive those

who sin

against us,

sin against

me.

In the

same way

that I

forgive others,

you forgive

me.

sin against

me.

And I

don't get

any further

than that.

No,

God,

don't do

that.

Don't

forgive my

sins like

I forgive

other sins.

And he's

been working

in my

heart about

unresolved

issues of

resentment

towards other

people.

God,

please don't

forgive my

sin like I

have forgiven

their sin

because I

haven't.

what's the

solution in

the moment

there?

The son.

Jesus,

dwell on

the word

who became

flesh.

Jesus delights

in doing

God's will.

He's the one

who prays day

and night,

who meditates

on his word

day and night.

He's the one

who, when he

looks to God,

experiences the

light in his

father.

he's the one

who meditated

so profoundly

on scripture

that he

literally bled

scripture,

quoting it

instinctively in

the most extreme

moments of his

life, using the

word of God,

even when enduring

the infinite agony

of the cross.

And yet Jesus

is not just

simply a good

example for us

to follow.

If that were

true, his life

would crush us.

If he was just

an example,

his life would

crush us with

guilt and with

failure, since

no one could

meditate on the

scripture as he

does or live up

to what it

reveals about God

and about us.

Jesus is not

just an example

within the Bible.

He is the one

to whom the

Bible points.

And the main

message of the

Bible is salvation

by grace through

Jesus.

He forgives me

my sin.

It's all about

him.

The written

word and its

law can be a

delight because

the incarnate

word came and

died for us,

securing pardon

for our sins

and shortcomings

for not living up

to God's law.

You cannot

delight in the

law of the

Lord without

understanding

Jesus' entire

mission.

conviction.

Without

Jesus, the

law of the

Lord is

nothing but a

curse.

It is a

condemnation.

It is a

witness against

us.

He obeyed

the law of

the Lord

fully, so

now it can

become a

delight to

us, even

when we've

been brought

to conviction.

Jesus is

supremely the

one on

whom we

meditate

because he

is the

meditation of

God.

He is God's

truth becoming

real.

He is God's

truth made

concrete and

applied.

Meditate on

Jesus who is

the ultimate

meditation of

God.

Look at him

loving you.

Look at him

dying for you.

Look at him

rejoicing in

you.

Look at all

of that.

And he will

be a delight

to you.

And the

law of the

Lord will be

a delight to

you.

And you

will be like

a tree

planted by

streams of

water.

And you'll

bear your

fruit in

season, no

matter what

happens, your

leaf will not

wither.

John Calvin

wrote, the

word of

God is

not received

by faith

as if it

flits about

in the top

of the

brain, but

when it

takes root

in the

depth of

the heart.

heart.

We must

not settle

for an

informed

mind

without an

engaged

heart.

If we

do, the

New Testament

calls it

Pharisee.

the great

prayer by

the Apostle

Paul in

Ephesians 3

suggests that

Christians have

blessings in

Christ that

we don't

experience.

Paul prays

for his

readers that

Christ may

dwell in

your hearts

through faith

in verse

17.

That they

would know

this love

of Christ

in verses

18 and

19.

And finally

he prays

that they

would be

filled with

all the

fullness of

God in

verse 19.

They are

his three

petitions for

the church

at Ephesus.

And yet

this church

at Ephesus,

these Ephesians,

were all

Christian believers.

In Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1:22

verses 22

and 23,

he teaches

that by being

united with

Christ,

they already

have the

fullness of

God in

them.

So why

is Paul

asking God

to give

Christians

things that

they must

surely already

have?

Why is he

doing that?

Well, at

one level,

Christians have

these things

and at

another level,

they haven't

experienced

them yet.

It is one

thing to

know of

the love

of Christ

and to

say,

yeah, I know

he did all

that for me.

I know he

went to

the cross,

he died,

and he's

forgiven my

sins.

It's another

thing to

grasp how

wide and

how long and

how high and

how deep is

the love of

Christ.

The difference

is this.

Right now,

I've got

three daughters

in kids'

church,

in somewhere

out there,

I'm

assuming.

They're my

girls.

They're my

children.

I'm their

father.

And that

is a status

that always

exists.

It will

always exist.

I'll always

be their

father.

They'll

always be

my girls.

If I

walked in

there right

now,

and if one

of the

leaders of

kids'

church said

to them,

ah,

Steve's your

dad,

they'd go,

yep.

That's

true.

But if I

walked into

kids'

church right

now,

said,

just excuse

me for a

minute,

walked in

and picked

up one

of my

girls,

and hugged

her,

and said

to her,

I'm proud

of you

and I

love you.

Don't

care what

anyone else

is doing

right now,

I just want

you to know

that.

Give them

a kiss

and put them

back down.

They would

know that I

am their

father in a

slightly

different way.

objectively

and legally,

there's no

difference in

my fatherhood,

in my

relationship,

whether I'm

here or

whether I'm

there.

It makes

no difference

objectively

or legally.

But in

my arms,

my daughters

experience that

they are my

children.

And what

Paul is

talking about

is the

difference

between having

something to

be true of

you in

principle,

all and

fully

appropriating

it,

using it

and living

in it.

In your

inner being,

in verse

16,

in your

heart,

in verse

17,

it is

possible for

Christians to

live their

lives with

a high

degree of

phoniness,

of

hollowness

and

inauthenticity.

reality.

And the

reason is

they have

failed to

move that

truth that

they know in

their mind

into their

hearts and

in such a

way that it's

not actually

changed who

they are and

how they live

from the

inside out.

It's not

until it

drops that

internal change

happens.

up here,

external

change of

behaviours may

happen,

but that's

just called

pharisaism.

pharisaism.

It's not

until the

affections are

moved from

the heart,

internal

change happens

and outward

change happens

as a result.

And in

Ephesians 3,

Paul is

praying that

by the

Spirit's

power,

we may

have our

hearts and

our affections

engaged and

shaped by the

truths of the

faith that we

hold in the

mind.

Paul says,

I pray that

out of his

glorious riches,

he may

strengthen you

with power

through his

Spirit in

your inner

being so

that you

may grasp

how wide

and long

and high

and deep

is the

love of

Christ.

The word

grasp there

is so

important.

It's

more than

just

believe.

It means

to get a

secure hold

on something.

And

Paul's

prayer

suggests that

Christians

need a

spiritual

grasping,

a spiritual

sensitizing,

all the

truths that

we mouth

and assent

to make

no difference

at all in

how we

live.

If you

are exposed

to the

light

of the

Christian

truth that

God is

holy,

and if the

Holy Spirit

has sensitized

your heart,

then you

not only

respond with

emotion,

with tears

or trembling

or joy,

but you

permanently

change the

way you

live and

behave in

the world.

Now,

no one

expressed

this better

than

Jonathan

Edwards.

In his

sermon,

some would

say the

great

sermon,

divine and

spiritual

light.

Now,

at the

heart of

his

sermon

was a

famous,

what is a

famous

illustration

about

honey.

And

he says

there's two

ways to

know that

honey is

sweet.

You can

read the

ingredients.

I can

tell you

it's sweet.

Probably

there's three

ways to

know.

One way

is the

ingredients.

which is

here

somewhere.

Ingredient.

100%

pure

honey.

That's

not telling

me a

lot.

What if

I said

to you

100%

bee

spit?

Not

compelling.

But I

could tell

you another

thing is

I replace

this stuff

with shoo.

This is

sweet.

This is

really

sweet.

And I

could go

through a

chemical

compound

of why

the bee

spit is

a lot

more

tasty

than

mine.

I could

talk to

you about

chemically

how it's

built up

and you

could sit

there and

go,

well, I

know that's

true.

It's

fantastic.

But what

Edwards said

to make it

absolutely

undisputable,

you take

the lid

off and

you get

a spoon

and you

put it

on your

mouth.

And he

said,

in that

moment,

if you

do not

sense that

honey is

sweet,

I can't

do anything

for you.

I can't

help you

in any

other way.

you

can

know that

honey is

sweet because

people tell

you about

it and

you believe

them,

but when

you actually

taste it,

you know

fully,

mentally as

well as

experientially.

when you

move from

just mentally

knowing about

the sweetness

of honey

to directly

tasting it,

you go,

oh,

now I

know.

Now I

know.

Honey is

one thing,

but God's

another.

There is a

difference between

having an

opinion that

God is holy

and gracious

and having a

sense of

the loveliness

and the

beauty of

that holiness

and graciousness

in the

heart.

And Paul

is asking

here in

Ephesians 3

that the

Holy Spirit

will sensitize

the hearts

of the

Ephesian

believers so

that they

taste the

truths,

spiritually

speaking,

and when

they taste

the truth,

they encounter

God

for who

he is.

And it's a

prayer for us

too.

this is a

prayer for

us,

that we

don't just

know,

but that we

really know,

we taste

that the

Lord is

good.

So I

want to ask

you,

have you

grown too

accustomed to

the

acedia of

our age,

where the

purposelessness

is disguised

as constant

commotion?

Maybe you,

in fact,

something happened

to you in

that moment

when I

said and

repeated,

do you

feel the

strange mix

of busyness

and yet

lifelessness?

The

hyperactivity

of today's

contemporary

society and

our cultural

attention

deficit

disorder

make slow

reflection and

meditation a

lost art.

Friends,

there is no

quick fix,

there is no

simple formula

to going

deeper in

prayer.

It takes

time,

it takes

planning,

and it

takes constant

attention.

And there

is little

more than I

can say

time.

If you

have a

time,

then stop

it.

Take back

the time.

Don't tell

me you

haven't got

time.

Take back

the time.

Turn off

the TV.

Put down

the phone.

Start saying

no to your

children.

Or whatever

it is that's

filling your

diaries.

Put down

the novels,

put down

the magazines,

put down

whatever it

is,

and seek

the face

of God.

There's no

other way

than to

take back

the time.

Only he

can fill

the hole.

Keep buying

new cars,

keep searching

for more

information on

Google,

look at,

see what's

happening with

the weather

for the

tenth time

today.

Today,

only he

can fill

the hole,

only he

can be the

delight of

your heart.

And you

will only

discover the

delight of

your heart

as you

meditate

on his

word to

you.

Only he

can fill

the hole.

That's

because in

the Garden

of Eden,

we

sinned

and we

lost the

face of

God.

This was

the greatest

disaster

possible for

humanity

because we

were designed

by God

in his

image to

live in a

unique,

perfect,

in the

marvelous light

of his

presence.

presence.

We were

designed to

exist in

his

presence.

We were

created to

be constantly

encountering

him.

And ever

since the

Garden of

Eden,

humanity

has wandered

empty and

destitute,

looking for

every kind

of substitute

to fill the

gaping hole

in our

hearts

because we

do not

have an

encounter

with God.

We do

not exist

in his

presence.

In

Exodus 32,

Moses

realized that

if I could

just get

once again

that encounter

with God,

if I could

just see

God face

to face,

he said

all of my

longings

would be

fulfilled.

And so

he asked

to see

it,

but he

couldn't

because sin

was a

barrier.

And in

Jesus,

that sin

has been

taken away

and we

can begin

to see

again.

Though

only

partially

this side

of heaven

and by

faith,

we can

see again

the light

of the

glory of

God in

the face

of Christ

and when

we meditate

and we

pray the

gospel

and its

auxiliary

truths

into our

hearts,

those longings

for the

face of

God

are slowly

satisfied

and other

things in

life

become

gifts

rather than

God's.

And we

slowly but

surely and

radically change

in our

character

and in

all of

our

relationships.

relationships.

So take

back the

time and

encounter

God by

meditating on

his word

and prayer.

prayer.