“Vindicate Me, Lord, according to my  righteousness” PS 7.8
This prayer makes us  uncomfortable. Especially when we are  dealing with sin and failure, yet  it is the right prayer.
 
Vindicate has two definitions

1. Clear of blame or suspicion
2. Show or prove to be right,  Justified

David wrote “according to my  righteousness.” My righteousness is the righteousness  of Christ, we are counted as righteous. So to pray that God would clear  us of blame is right. He  did that and continues to clear  us. (Rom 8.1) And to Pray that he would  prove us righteous is simply  to pray that we would live  and demonstrate what we are in  him.
 
“Father prove in my life the truth  of what you have made me”  what a Prayer.

David was more grateful to just be in communion with God than he was in having his requests answered. In fact it is striking how few requests we see in the prayers of the Bible. His prayers were for protection and strength through trials, for faith that God would work things out (without him telling God how), and for intimacy with God. Every Psalm has the worship of God as a key component, not just for what God did for the writer, but for who God is.

When Jesus prayed his central theme was that God was glorified, this was more important than any healing or miracle. In our model prayer, the “Lord’s Prayer”, the first half is recognizing the majesty and working of God while aligning ourselves with his person and plans. The requests are for necessities, forgiveness for sin, relationships with others, and avoiding evil.

In the grand scope of things are not these the most important? Do they not make some of the items on our prayer lists fade a bit? Is winning the sporting event or a sunny day for a picnic really that big in the scope of eternity?

Father, as so often is the case my priorities get all out of order, help me to see that prayer is first and foremost a time to glorify you, then it is to get myself in right alignment with you and what you want. The rest will all fall into place.

Reflection again leads me  to the conclusion that the  barrier to my growth in  knowing God is prayer, the lack thereof. My first prayer then must  be” Lord, teach me to pray”  I have enough theology of   prayer, what I desire is the  experience of prayer.

 Psalm 4 “Have mercy on me and hear my prayer”
 
It is only by the mercy of God that we can pray and expect to be heard. We are told that we can approach the throne boldly, yet never let us forget the price Christ paid for that privilege.
 
God is under no obligation to hear our prayer, yet we are told he does, he listens and we have the assurance that be responds. Every instance of prayer should remind us of Gods mercy. We should be in awe that we can talk with the creator of the universe.
 
Is this not implied in the opening line of the Lords Prayer? “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” Boldness never implies casualness, we are in the presence of the King!

The practice of multiple prayers  bothers me. Does God really take  into account the size of our  network! If I can get enough people  praying does it change his mind? If I have more people praying for
sun than the other person has praying for rain, who wins?  Agreement in prayer is more  about safeguarding that we are praying for Gods will and glory, not just personal desire.  It also creates a unity of fellowship and support in times of need.

“Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt.” (Gen. 39.1 NIV)

Things looked promising for Joseph, at 17 his father was grooming him to take over as general manager. He had confirmation in the coat he wore, the responsibilities he was given, and the dreams he dreamed. Tomorrow looked bright.

Then it all fell apart that day in Dothan; roughed up, stripped of his coat, sold to a caravan on the way to Egypt. No one to help, no way to get word to dad, life took a major change of direction. This was not at all what he anticipated just a day before.

Now 2 months later Joseph is in Egypt, most likely bound, standing before the Captain of the Guard as a slave for sale. This was not what he anticipated just a few months before when his father sent him on a trip to check on the business.

“All things that are, Are with more spirit chased than all enjoyed.” (The Merchant of Venice, Act II, Scene vi, Lines 13-14) Or as my father put it “Anticipation is greater than realization.” Things do not turn out the way we planned them and disappointment is all too common.

Joseph would understand what you are going through today, he could relate to having family members let you down, to false accusations, and frustrated plans. He knew first hand what uncertainty, fear, and loneliness are like. Yet “The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered…” (Gen 39.3 NIV)

Joseph never gave up on God, he must have clung to what he had been taught, the dreams that God gave him – faith in God. As a result God blessed him and he prospered where he was.

Abraham Lincoln said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” True now, true in the 1800’s, and true in Egypt in 2000BC. Joseph made a choice to do what was right, to make the best of where he was. He acted in faith that when nothing seemes to be working,God is.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46.1 NIV)

So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:23-24 NIV)

How long did Adam and Eve live in the light of those flaming swords? How many nights did they lay in bed watching the flames in the distance reminiscing about what their life once was and all they had lost? How long did it take for the events that led to their expulsion and present labor to cease as the main topic of conversation over each meal?

How many times would they explain the flaming swords to Cain and Able, Seth and all the other children? How often would they repeat “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." How often would they talk of the promise that one day God would make it all right again, the flaming swords would be removed and they would walk with God as in the past?

In our quiet moments when we reflect on the past, the present, what really matters, we experience a kinship with Adam and Eve. Though admonished to forget the past, we cannot help but wonder about what might have been, feel twangs of remorse of what was. In those honest moments we consider what is really important in life and the world as Adam and Eve must have done; the fleeting vapor of so many things that occupy our worry and time contrasted with the graciousness of God, the mercy so undeserved.

David said it best, Adam would have understood, and for us it says it all:

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
(Psalms 73:25 NIV)

When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm. (Psalms 75:3 NIV)

Thomas Pain wrote, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” If he could only see us now. A hurricane is headed for the gulf again, first in 3 years to hit land, Libya continues in turmoil, the stock market continues its variable consistency, more people are out of work than should be, …

Yet we take comfort that in spite of all we see around us, God holds the pillars firm, and because of that we have hope for the future. I may not know the future but I do know who holds the future.

Had dinner last night with Jim Manker in Sacramento, its been a year since he moved from Seattle, to the desert, yet it was better than ever to sit and talk. God gives us such a bonding when the Spirit in us connects with the Spirit in another believer. In this world we have many acquaintances, friends are a real blessing.

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  (Matthew 6:27 NIV)

Not only can you not add a single hour to your life, but you can not add a single dollar to your 401K by worry. Once again we are reminded of the fragility of world economics as the Stock Market took another dive.

Fear is normal in the face of financial loss and uncertainty for the future. Faith is extraordinary because it recognizes that our security is not in the frailty of the worlds systems and plans, but is founded in the consistency of God and his promise to provide.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
(Matthew 6:33-34 NIV)

Today will have enough troubles and fears – so God first, prudence in budgeting, and confidence that God will work it all out to his Glory which is our ultimate best, that is faith.

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory…” John 17.24

John Stott loved the priestly prayer that Christ prayed just before his death. Today Christ and John Stott are together. Today he is seeing the full glory of Christ, the glory that he preached and wrote about for the last 70 years.

This is the blessed hope (certainty) that we have as believers in Christ, that one day we too will see him face-to-face. I look forward to that day when I can have tea with Christ in person. Then I will join the many who will be in line to have a cup of tea with Uncle John.

Thank you John R. W. Stott for your faithfulness, your writings, sermons, the ministries to train pastors around the world. Thank you most for the inspiration you have shared and the example you have been to me.

"Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" John 13.6

Jesus as Teacher and Lord, Creator, Sustainer, even King; but Jesus as a servant washing feet? On the eve of his crucifixion Jesus had an important lesson yet to teach his Disciples – they needed cleansing.

Dramatically Jesus took on the role of a servant, or devoted follower, as both would wash feet. One as a duty the other as a sign of affection. Peter, speaking for them all, is incredulous that Jesus would perform such a menial task. But Jesus had a lesson  for them of supreme importance, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

We must embrace Jesus as Lord and Teacher, but also as savior from the grime of sin. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” is an expression of our need. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.”

Peter was to learn that as devoted as he was, until he was cleansed he could not be a true follower of Christ. Our walk with Christ cannot begin until we have confessed that we do not measure up, that we stand guilty before a righteous judge. Wonderfully he has promised to “wash, sanctify and justify.”

We stand before God forgiven, with no condemnation, the past washed, the future sure. Now in His presences it is our daily duty to live in alignment with the one who took on the role of servant to go to the cross and die. Today he promises daily cleansing for continued fellowship.

Peter learned that he needed forgiveness and cleansing in the hours that followed. As we mature in Christ we daily discover areas that need cleaning if we are to walk as we should in righteous living, and we have the promise“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NIV)