When We Don’t Know What to Do, Do What God Said

Since I write my posts a couple weeks in advance, one of these days the COVID-19 virus pandemic will thankfully have passed, making my thoughts about it outdated. But until then, I continue to ponder what God might be seeking to teach us through this unsettling “season” of our history. Maybe, among other things, He wants to remind of what He’s said all along.

For instance, the significance of prayer. We tend to regard prayer for emergencies only, a last resort. Or as something we indulge in for a few idle moments – which, until we’re engaged in social distancing and staying in place, seem scarce. But prayer is important throughout the Scriptures, and we see repeatedly that when people pray, amazing things happen.

For instance, in Jeremiah 33:3 we read, “Call on Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.” I don’t know about you, but I’m excited about the prospect of seeing “great and might things” these days, especially if the Lord is doing them. When things seem darkest, that’s when the light of Christ shines brightest.

Another of my favorite verses about prayer offers this simple admonishment: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). As I understand it, prayer is not something that occurs only at a certain time, when we’re in a certain place or in a certain position. To pray without ceasing means engaging in it continually, kind of like a face-to-face conversation – which we haven’t had much recently – or chatting with someone over the phone. There might be a pause in the exchange of words, but after a few moments we pick things up where we left off.

Of late, when followers of Jesus have mentioned praying about the coronavirus crisis, skeptics have scoffed, as if to say, “What good will that do?” In actuality, it can do a lot. Praying about any situation doesn’t mean passivity; in fact, the Scriptures teach whenever we have the opportunity, we’re to take appropriate and prompt action. But when we pray, we’re not only acknowledging and praising our God, but also recognizing His power and that He can do what we cannot.

Jesus told us, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). Too often we fret and spit and moan and groan, when the most productive and meaningful thing we can do is pray.

There are some who have suggested COVID-19 is God’s judgment on America, or the world. I don’t know about that; such an idea is far beyond my theological pay grade. But when it comes to doing what God has said, especially when we’re unsure about what we should be doing, we have a powerful exhortation that we rarely consider.

Imagine if the millions of true followers of Jesus were to diligently and intentionally put into practice the instructions from 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Occasionally we see this passage trotted out for a community prayer breakfast or a similar event, but it’s something we all can do – individually and collectively – at any time. On numerous occasions we read about the people of Israel doing this in the Old Testament. They had lost interest in worshiping and following God, choosing instead to go their own way. Much as we’ve done in our nation. 

Then, when things turned bleak, the Israelites seemed to have one of those “Aha!” experiences. They repented, turned back to God, and He restored His blessings and protective care. Maybe that’s what the Lord is asking of us today. Things had been going well overall, seemingly without God’s help, but suddenly we’ve hit a major bump in the road. “What do we do?” we cry out in fear and despair.

Perhaps God is using this time to ask, “Are you willing to humble yourselves, and pray, and seek Me, and turn from your disobedience and rebellion? If so, I’m listening and eager to respond in ways you could never imagine.” Imagine that!

What to Do When All Else Fails

In less than one week, the 2016 Presidential campaign will have finally, and mercifully, come to an end. As they say, it’ll all be over except the shouting. And we can expect to continue hearing lots of that, regardless of the outcome. For each Presidential campaign there’s a lot at stake, but this one has been more raucous and contentious than any we’ve known in recent memory.

Voting is important, but we can do
something even more important.

For those of us suffering from campaign fatigue, Election Day can’t come soon enough. Some of us have already cast our votes, taking advantage of early voting options. (Let's hope there won't be voters that attempt to cast their ballots both early and often!) We’ve all been urged to exercise our right to vote, and I wholeheartedly concur. Even if, as some critics contend, the choices are less than optimal, voting is still our right as well as a privilege that many people around the world don’t enjoy. We dare not take it for granted.

But whether you’ve already voted or are waiting for “the day” to arrive, that’s not all you can do as the day when our next President will be chosen draws near. In fact, one thing we can do, if we believe the Scriptures, carries more weight than a single vote – or all of the millions of votes that will be cast. We can pray.

A verse familiar to many of us explains why this is so important. God makes this promise: “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Too often, rather than pray and seek God, we’d prefer to grumble, complain, argue and contend. We get excited about likeminded people on social media who agree with us and our political and ideological views, and get incited by others who disagree. We expend great energy trying to dissuade people whose minds are made up and are unwilling to reconsider their positions. If only we’d expend as much effort turning to the One who can truly make a difference.

Because whether we believe it or not, whether we agree with how He does it, the Bible asserts God is not in heaven wringing His hands, fretting over what decisions Americans will make at the polls. No, it says He is sovereign and very much in control of not only what will transpire next Tuesday, but also what happens in the days that follow.

Writing to his young protégé, Timothy, the apostle Paul exhorted “that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered on behalf of all men, for kings and all those in authority, so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). This applies universally; he was not writing about the United States, but the principle certainly applies.

But what if the “wrong” person is elected, one whose views and aspirations and intentions disagree with our own? We’re to pray for that individual, too? Yes, and elsewhere Paul explained why: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God” (Romans 13:1).

Reading those passages, it’s hard to find wiggle room. Nowhere does it say, “except this” or “unless that.” There are no exceptions. As someone has wisely stated, in the Bible when God says “all,” He means ALL.

If we’re tempted to argue, “Well, that’s what Paul said,” then look at Jesus as the ultimate example. When challenged about paying taxes to a Roman government that was far from “Christian,” He replied, “’Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they answered. So Jesus said to them, ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s’” (Luke 20:24-25).

And throughout His ministry, Jesus never stood up to the Roman rulers. Actually, that’s one reason many people turned against Him – they became disenchanted when it became evident He had no plan to overthrow the evil and corrupt government.

This, however, doesn’t mean we must take a fatalistic posture about who will be leading our nation, passing legislation and interpreting those laws. No, we’re to pray, as 2 Chronicles 7:14 instructs. We’re to humble ourselves, setting aside arrogant self-righteousness. We’re to pray to the one and only God, approaching His “throne of grace,” as Hebrews 4:16 describes it. We’re to examine ourselves and turn from any wicked ways we may be practicing, even justifying. And we’re to trust that God will hear our humble, repentant prayers and respond – even if we don’t necessarily like or agree with how He does it.

As they say, “When all else fails, pray.” Let’s resolve to pray – BEFORE all else fails.

When All Else Fails . . .

It may seem old-fashioned, but perhaps these are times
when it would help it we remembered to pray.

It’s sometimes said that when you point a finger toward someone else, at least three fingers point back toward yourself. And as I write today, that’s exactly what I’m doing – pointing at myself.

Many of us, in one way or another, carry considerable concern about events transpiring in the United States – and around the world. We fret over terrorism and its ever-present threat to our safety and well-being. Issues of racism and other forms of discrimination weigh heavily on many of our hearts. Every morning the chatty news shows darken our moods, telling us about new dangers looming before us.

There are myriad other matters, ranging from poverty and economics to the present and future leadership of our nation to the incessant, often embittered cultural clashes going on all around us. We wring our hands. We mutter, grumble and complain. We verbalize our views via social media, as well as in casual conversations that can quickly escalate into debates and arguments. But in the end, we often feel dispirited and helpless, powerless to do anything to facilitate changes we believe are so needed.

What’s a person to do? At such times, I’m often reminded of the exhortation, “When all else fails…pray.”

Too often prayer – even for those of us who profess to follow and worship Jesus Christ, not only as Savior but also as Lord – becomes that last resort, something we turn to when nothing else has seemed to work. Admittedly, that’s the case for me. I worry, fret, vent my frustrations, even wonder how I could intervene directly. Then it occurs to me that maybe it might help to pray.

In actuality, prayer should be one of the first things we undertake, definitely something we continue to do as we are pursuing other courses of action. However, this doesn’t necessitate stopping in our tracks and dropping to our knees, or scurrying to some location that seems appropriately spiritual. Prayer should be as simple as the act of turning to a friend to converse, or picking up our cell phone and making a quick call.

One of the first Bible verses I ever learned was 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “pray without ceasing.” (How hard can it be to memorize a passage consisting of just three words?) If you prefer an even more concise version, it’s translated, “pray continually,” in the New International Version.

As I pondered these simple yet profound words, it occurred to me we’re being told to remain in a continual attitude of prayer, rather than restricting it to specific times and places. And I think that’s as God intends. One of the last things Jesus declared before ascending to heaven was, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Yes, prayer can take the form of  comfortable, casual communication, but there’s also a sense of urgency surrounding it. Repeatedly in the Scriptures we instructed to pray. James 5:16 states, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Despite his lofty status as a leader of the early Church, the apostle Paul also understood the importance of prayer: “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel…. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Ephesians 6:19-20).

I’ve made mention of this passage before, but in 2 Chronicles 7:14 God assures, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

The fact is, praying fervently can be extremely humbling. It’s an admission of our need for and dependence on God, and if we’ve waited “until all else fails,” we’re also acknowledging we’ve exhausted all other alternatives.

I know there are some who would disagree, but I’m convinced one of the reasons our great country has reached a crossroads of conflict and dissension, seeing a growing divide instead of unity which once defined our land, is because we’ve eliminated God from the equation. Instead of turning to Him for answers, for His mercy and grace and love to be manifested in us and through us, we’ve determined to do things our own way, apart from Him.

In the coming days and months, if the past is any predictor, divisions and disunity and discord figure to escalate rather than evaporate. Civil discourse seems virtually impossible anymore. So we can give up, conceding all is beyond hope. Or we can pray, humbling ourselves – getting over ourselves – and surrendering to God’s sovereign intervention as He responds to our persistent intercessions.

As we’re advised in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” I wonder what would happen if we determined to do this consistently and continually. When tempted to gripe and moan, instead we would pray. When inclined to type a sharp retort on Facebook or Twitter, instead we would pray. When moved to lash out in anger, instead we would pray.

Let’s face it: As we survey all that’s going on around us, it seems pretty obvious that all else has indeed failed. So let’s pray.