Faithful Prayers

Faithful Prayers

I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. Isaiah 46:4

ISAIAH SAW PEOPLE OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH falling for Babylonian gods and being carried away with them into captivity. Whether this was a vision of the future or an observation of current practices, it grieved the heart of God and the prophet, and God spoke tender words calling them back to himself. He reminded the people that he was the one who made them. He was there when they were born and would carry them through their old age. Those false gods that had so captivated the people’s attention—perhaps because they promised benefits without demanding the commitment of a relationship—were unworthy trinkets, empty hopes, and intruders in the divine plan. They represented frivolous dalliances interrupting true love.

Few people today bow down to actual carved idols like those of Babylon, but we engage in plenty of frivolous dalliances with things that distract from our relationship with God. Perhaps like the people of Isaiah’s time, we like the idea of benefits without the commitment of a relationship. But true prayer and genuine faith are not casual affairs. They cannot be had in a frivolous relationship that offers gifts without love. When we confuse the dynamics of real prayers of faith with the dynamics of a divine friend with benefits, we are missing the whole point. We are praying a form of self-love centered only on our own agendas while distancing ourselves from the heart of God.

God promises to carry us from birth to death, to care for us the entire span of our lives, tenderly and generously providing, protecting, nurturing, encouraging, and even lavishing us with gifts of his favor. It’s a wonderful offer, but it can’t be had casually. We can’t flirt with his rivals and still claim to treasure him in our hearts. We can’t bow before the gods that satisfy our whims and still love and believe in the God who fulfills our deepest desires. We have to choose, and there’s really only one choice that makes sense in the long run. We commit to love, know, and trust him for a lifetime, and he carries us all the days of our lives in return.

God did not call us to be successful but to be faithful.