Prayer & Praise

by Shannon Winslow

  If cyber criminals successfully hacked their way into an online database, gaining access to all your personal and financial information, you would no doubt feel angry and violated. And rightly so! Your identity has been stolen. Through no fault of your own, you are now at risk for having that information used against you with potentially devastating and far-reaching consequences.

  It is just the opposite with God. We may well feel exposed, embarrassed, even ashamed, when we realize that God knows us inside and out, including our every sinful act and inclination. But have no fear. God does not come to steal your identity or use what he knows against you. On the contrary, His purpose is to see your rightful identity as his child restored and fulfilled.

  For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalms 139:13-16)

  He knew you before you were born. He formed each one of us as a unique creation, giving us distinct gifts and specific work to do in this life (Romans 12:4-8). Regardless of our varied roles in the body of Christ, however, our chief purpose – the one we all share – is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

  This is God’s perfect will for us. Through his complete knowledge and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, he is able to accomplish it. What is our part in the process? To desire and allow our minds to be transformed, to earnestly pray for that to be accomplished.

  Look again at the excerpt from Jane Austen’s prayer above. What does she suggest we should do with the knowledge of God’s absolute omniscience and omnipresence? May the knowledge of this, teach us to fix our Thoughts on Thee, with Reverence and Devotion…

  There is transforming power in fixing our thoughts on God. Understanding God’s character better will always cause his children to respect and love him more. Meditating on his glorious attributes and actions on our behalf will cause our thoughts, desires, prayers, and behavior to continually fall more and more in line with his will – his good, pleasing, and perfect will (Romans 12:2). Through this process of sanctification, the best of an individual’s true identity is ultimately expressed. We become who we were always meant to be, who God designed us to be. We don’t just survive; we thrive, finding the abundant life God has promised us in Jesus.

  What secrets do you carry? Are there bad deeds you hope will stay buried in the past – things you carefully conceal from others, things you have pushed from you own consciousness and have neglected to confess even to God? Lay those burdens down at the foot of the cross and receive God’s gracious forgiveness.

  How freeing to realize that there’s no need to attempt hiding things from God! How incredible that the Lord of the Universe knows everything about us (including all our dirty little secrets) and loves us anyway! He loves us so much that he sacrificed his Son to save us. Jesus paid the price to banish our secret shame as far as the east is from the west, to heal the rift between ourselves and God once and for all, so that we can spend eternity with him. Knowing this should indeed cause our thoughts to be fixed on God with not only reverence and devotion, but with joyful thanksgiving as well!

  Let Us Pray

  Almighty God, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name, through Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Collect for Purity as it is traditionally known and as it would have appeared in the 1760 edition of The Book of Common Prayer used in Jane Austen’s day)

  Let Us Praise

  O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely… Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. (Psalms 139:1-3, 6)

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  Sincere Repentance

  Look with Mercy on the Sins we have this day committed, & in Mercy make us feel them deeply, that our Repentance may be sincere, and our resolutions stedfast of endeavouring against the commission of such in future.

  To repent is to recognize the wrong in something we have done, feel sincere regret over it, and mend our behavior. It is to turn around and go the other way.

  This portion of Jane Austen’s prayer brought Emma to mind – the novel and the heroine of the same name. Emma was everybody’s darling, especially her father’s. Restrained neither by him nor by her former governess Miss Taylor, Emma did and said what she liked. As the opening lines of the book tell us, she …had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.

  Although Emma had many good qualities, she was also self-absorbed and spoiled by privilege. Apparently, Mr. Knightley was the only one who made any attempt to correct her. At the close of the unfortunate excursion to Box Hill, he admonished her for her unkind joke at Miss Bates’s expense. At first, Emma attempted to defend herself, but she soon felt the full weight and justice of his rebuke.

  Never had she felt so agitated, mortified, grieved, at any circumstance in her life. She was most forcibly struck. The truth of [Mr. Knightley’s] representation there was no denying. She felt it at her heart. How could she have been so brutal, so cruel to Miss Bates! – How could she have exposed herself to such ill opinion in any one she valued! …Emma felt the tears running down her cheeks almost all the way home, without being at any trouble to check them. (Emma, chapter 43)

  Emma’s heart was broken. She was cut to the quick by the recognition of her own cruelty and the pain she had given Miss Bates. If Mr. Knightley had still been with her at this point, Emma would probably have freely admitted her guilt to him. Perhaps she did confess her sin to God in prayer that night. Then, instead of becoming uselessly maudlin, Emma took action – a sign that her repentance was sincere. She determined to humble herself and make what reparation she could to Miss Bates, paying her a respectful visit the very next morning.

  Since we often fail to learn our lessons the first time, I doubt Emma was forever reformed by this one experience. But I respect her for what she did and did not do in this case. For one thing, she made it all the way through the repentance process without getting stuck. She didn’t stubbornly hold onto her original denial, as so often happens. Then when she admitted that she had done wrong, she didn’t block the pain or rationalize the guilt away. And finally, she didn’t delay to act or make excuses for not acting.

  By contrast, we often let ourselves off the hook far too easily, soothing our irritated consciences with reasoning like this: What you did wasn’t so bad, certainly nothing compared to other people. And everybody makes mistakes now and then. There’s no use beating yourself up about it. You didn’t really mean any harm; that’s what’s important. What’s done is done, so just move on. You’ll do better next time.

  Worldly friends may support us in this kind of thinking, but it isn’t their job or ours to make us feel better about ourselves. God’s Word says we are to grieve over sin, and that after we humble ourselves in repentance, God himself will lift us up again (James 4:7-10). Sorrow over sin is actually for our own benefit. Paul, after having to rebuke the believers at Corinth in his first letter, wrote this to them in his second:

  …I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while – yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm
, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done… By all this we are encouraged. (2 Corinthians 7:8-13)

  In the Corinthians’ distress, their eagerness to clear themselves, and their readiness to see justice done, I trust they set about making reparations to those they might have wronged. Restoration and restitution are Biblical principles, ones often upheld in our courts even today. However, sometimes there truly isn’t much we can do to repair the harm we’ve caused. As I was writing this, I heard of yet another school shooting. What possible restitution could the gunman make to the murdered children and their families? Such is the terrible nature of sin, that often the damage done is permanent.

  Ultimately, whatever our crimes, God is the judge and the sentence is the same for us all. We are all guilty and under penalty of death without his forgiveness. Thanks be to God that through Jesus Christ even the worst transgressor can be restored to fellowship with him! Let us not delay, therefore. Let us run to him for forgiveness of sins and for the power to make the corrections he desires, steadfastly endeavouring against the commission of such in future, as today’s Austen prayer petition suggests.

  Let Us Pray

  Have mercy on us, O God, according to your unfailing love. May we never add to our sins by taking them lightly, but instead feel the remorse we should. You desire broken and contrite hearts, O God. Through rightful sorrow over wrong, teach us true repentance, that we can be ever more grateful for your forgiveness and ever more diligent to walk closely in your ways through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

  Let Us Praise

  Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death. (Psalms 68:19-20)

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  Faults in Every Disposition

  Teach us to understand the sinfulness of our own Hearts, and bring to our knowledge every fault of Temper and every evil Habit in which we may have indulged to the dis-comfort of our fellow-creatures, and the danger of our own Souls.

  In the previous meditation, Emma repented. Today we have another penitent character. This petition of Austen’s, asking that God would teach us to know our own hearts, our faults of temper and habit, reminded me of Elizabeth Bennet:

  She grew absolutely ashamed of herself. Of neither Darcy nor Wickham could she think without feeling she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd. “How despicably I have acted!” she cried; “I, who have prided myself on my discernment! I, who have valued myself on my abilities! …How humiliating is this discovery! Yet, how just a humiliation! Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind! But vanity, not love, has been my folly. Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other… I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away, where either were concerned. Till this moment I never knew myself.” (Pride and Prejudice, chapter 36)

  What a rude awakening for Elizabeth when she discovered from Darcy’s letter that she had been entirely wrong about him (and also about Wickham)! Not only that, but it was the result of willful prejudice, not an innocent mistake, as Elizabeth here admits. Early on, Mr. Darcy had correctly identified this particular defect in Elizabeth’s disposition (“And yours… is willfully to misunderstand them.”), and yet she couldn’t see it herself.

  Darcy, of course, was no less flawed. Why is it, do you suppose, that we can so easily discover the faults of others (sometime even ones that aren’t really there!), and yet be perfectly blind to our own? It was true of both Darcy and Elizabeth, and you can bet it is just as true of the rest of us.

  “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5)

  The problem is that we like to think well of ourselves. We prefer to keep our self-images serenely undisturbed and polished to a glossy shine at all times. And, consciously or unconsciously, we feel better about ourselves when we view others as inferior. It’s a matter of pride – the kind of pride capable of blinding us to the truth, the kind of pride that deceives us into thinking that (unlike so many others around us) we have no serious flaws to correct, the kind of pride that led Elizabeth Bennet astray.

  Since we are accidentally or willfully blind to our own evil tendencies, we need God to reveal them to us, as Austen prays for here. Only when we recognize and acknowledge that there is a problem can we begin to do something about it.

  But it takes courage to ask God to reveal our failings, especially considering that he may very well answer our prayers and do just that! It’s like praying for patience; we might sincerely wish we had more of it, but we suspect we won’t like what we have to go through to develop it. In this case, we may sincerely want to rid our characters of ugly flaws so that we can represent and serve God better, but we may also be afraid of what God will show us and of the hard work necessary to clean up the mess.

  So why should we take the risk? Why should we put ourselves out there, inviting that kind of unpleasantness when we could just go on as we have been?

  Two reasons, really. First, by making a preemptive strike against the enemy’s strongholds in our lives (every fault of temper and evil habit), we may just spare ourselves and others a lot of pain – the natural consequences of those sins, or a just humiliation as Elizabeth Bennet calls it. Don’t you suppose Elizabeth wished she had avoided that humiliation altogether by correcting her tendency to misjudge people beforehand?

  More importantly, though, we are to strive for personal holiness because God in his Word instructs us to do so. It’s not that we can by good behavior add anything to the salvation Jesus Christ has already won for us; that’s a gift of pure grace. It’s simply that, out of gratitude and obedience, we wish to please him. It’s so that we may live as God intended – dead to sin and alive to him (Romans 6:11). It’s so we might enjoy God’s best for us, living as free from the taint and power of sin as possible. It’s also a way to offer meaningful worship to the God who has done everything for us.

  Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)

  We cannot do it on our own, but God stands ready to assist us by the powerful working of his Holy Spirit within us. Are you ready to receive his help? Then invite him to open your eyes and begin transforming you.

  Let Us Pray

  Give us courage, Heavenly Father, to earnestly seek your help in discovering and correcting every fault of temper and habit in ourselves, so that we may enjoy closer fellowship with you and live more at peace with other people, free from the hindrance of sin. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

  Let Us Praise

  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! …Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 7:25a, 8:1-2)

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  Dangerous Minds

  May we now, and on each return of night, consider how the past day has been spent by us, what have been our prevailing Thoughts, words, and Actions during it, and how far we can acquit ourselves of Evil.

  Thought, word, and deed. We often hear these three grouped together and nearly always in that same order. It makes sense too, because that’s how they usually proceed in real life. What may start as a passing thought begins to tantalize the imagination. Perhaps it gives rise to a recurrent fantasy or a full-fledged preoccupation. If dwelt on long enough, it may
spill over into conversation and even lead to action.

  This progression can work for good or for evil, depending on the character and source of the thought that initiates the process. Nothing much of a creative nature – whether we’re talking about books, art, music, new inventions, or problem solving – would be accomplished without that initial inspiration moving on to something more. But on the darker side, the worst crimes against God and humanity also begin with a single tempting thought nurtured in the mind.

  When I looked for both positive and negative examples in Austen for how thoughts lead to word and deed, Jane Bennet stood out, how she never seems to think ill of anybody. As a result, she never speaks ill of anybody either, and her behavior is likewise kindness itself. On the negative side, I first thought of villains like Wickham, Willoughby, and Henry Crawford, whose scheming leads them to act despicably and cause so much harm to others.

  But these are too obvious. We can probably learn more about the insidious nature of the danger from a subtle example like Edmund Bertram – basically a good guy with solid Christian faith and values, who was nevertheless led astray because of his fascination and preoccupation with Mary Crawford.

  “…all this together most grievously convinced me that I had never understood her before, and that, as far as related to mind, it had been the creature of my own imagination, not Miss Crawford, that I had been too apt to dwell on for many months past… How I have been deceived!” (Mansfield Park, chapter 47)