Let Everything That Has Breath Praise The Lord

'The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.' Psalms 19:1

No one can ever look at the beautiful sunset and not recognise the God behind that beauty. Yes beautiful scenes in nature often causes us to be uplifted and praise God who is the Creator. This realisation, this moment of inspiration can be so breathtaking that it can bring tears to our eyes!

The Hebrew word, Kavod which is translated as glory, splendour or beauty actually means rich or heavy. The Jews would say a rich man is 'heavy with wealth' in the same way we might say a rich man is 'loaded.' The idea behind kavod is that when we experience God's glory, we are experiencing the weight of His goodness, the weight of His beauty, the weight of His mercy and the weight of His compassion. A beautiful sunset at a beach is an example of the richness of God's beauty. Ref 1

I love to travel and experience, firsthand, the wonders of the earth, the beauty of God's creation and feel an affinity to them. These are moments of closeness to God, a recognition that behind the spectacular field of daffodils is God's handiwork. William Wordsworth recognised this sublime and creative presence when he wrote:

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Nature is a gift. Nature informs us who we are, the more we appreciate God's creation the more we will know ourselves. We become aware of the preciousness of life. Look At The World, a song composed by John Rutter celebrates this:

Look at the World: Everything all around us

Look at the world: and marvel everyday

Look at the world: So many joys and wonders

So many miracles along our way

Praise to the O Lord for all creation

Give us thankful hearts that we may see

All the gifts we share and every blessing

All things come of Thee

This realisation that God gives us the beauty of His creations invokes a emotional drive to praise and Christians surely love to praise. In recent years the Praise Worship as taken a life of its own; driving up the Christian music industry. But engaging in praise is not new,  in 1221, St Francis of Assisi wrote this canticle:

All creatures of our God and King,

Lift up your voice and with us sing,

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

And praise the Spirit, Three in One!

In 18th Century England, William Wilberforce wrote, "When engaged in worship, our souls seemed to become ignited with rapture" (Ref 2). It's spontaneous and often happens when we perceive a wonder of nature and then we can emphatically state, "Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord!"

Lionel

Ref 1: Dave Adamson. 52 Hebrew Words, Every Christian Should Know. Christian Arts Gift

Ref 2: William Wilberforce. Real Christianity, 1797 revised and updated by Dob Beltz Regal Books 2006. 

The Prayer Habit

'Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.' Mark 1:35

I used to find difficulty praying. My mind can never be still on a single topic for any sufficient length of time. I think too many thoughts at one time. Soon after I have settled on a prayer item, my mind would begin to wander. I have struggled with this disability for many years.

I used to watch my late father-in-law, the Rev Kao Jih Eng pray. He was a very active Chinese pastor for more than 40 years. He made for himself a ‘kneeling’ platform on which was attached a reading stand with a cross. Under this stand was a shelf holding 2 compartments. He would place cards with prayer petitions from his parishioners in one compartment. As he prayed through each item he transferred these cards into the other compartment and back again. He woke up early every morning to pray.

I read about St Theresa of Avila for whom prayer is the journey of the mind into the depths of the soul. She described prayer as moving from one room into another in one's spirit. Then, in the innermost sanctum of one’s being, one finds God and ecstasy.

In the heydays of the Charismatic movement, I would practise praying in tongues. Since my mind always strayed, why not just pray in tongues? I need not focus. Perhaps like St Teresa, I could still achieve the soul-satisfaction she described. But, there was a lingering worry that all I was seeking was some form of self-gratification and was not really communicating with God. 

Finally, I reckoned to live every moment and dedicate every day as a prayer to God. Just live through the day and when a petition, a thought, a praise comes to mind just whisper to the Lord, a word of thanks or a quick petition.

Here is an example of a prayerful moment. Whilst walking down a busy street one day, out of the blue, a song which I had not sung for more than 30 over years came to mind. It’s a composition from Sister Soeur Sourire, the Singing Nun and it is called 'It’s A Miracle.'

How I love to go for a walk along the street,

And to say, "Hello" to the people that I meet, 

And to watch the show of their happy, happy feet, 

And I say to myself, It's a miracle. 

Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu-ia! I sing as I walk along, 

Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu-ia, God gave me such a happy song.

Can’t you feel his love and joy in everything

In the wonder of the sparrow on the wind

In the sky above and the song that I now sing

And I say to myself it’s a miracle

Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu-ia! I sing as I walk along, 

Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu-ia, God gave me such a happy song.

In the joy of his love and the sky up above and the song that I sing

It’s a miracle.

I could not stop humming and singing the tune. So I sang it as a prayer to God and a prayer for all the people I was passing by. This is making prayer ubiquitous, praying all through the day, this is Continuous Prayer.

Henri Nouwen taught me another way to pray, "Listen to your heart. Praying is first and foremost listening to Jesus who dwells in the very depths of your heart. He doesn't shout. he doesn't thrust himself upon you, His voice is an unassuming voice, very nearly a whisper, the voice of a gentle love... This listening must be an active and very attentive listening, for in our restless and noisy world God's loving voice is easily drowned out. You need to set aside some time everyday for this active listening to God if only for ten minutes. 

You'll find it not easy to be still for ten minutes at a time. You'll discover straightaway that many voices, voices that are very noisy and distracting, voices that do not come from God, demand your attention. But if you stick to your daily prayer time, then slowly but surely you will come to hear the gentle voice of love and will long more and more to listen to it." Ref 1

This is Contemplative Prayer. So instead of trying to spend an hour in prayer, it might be better for me to spend short times of 10 minutes to find the place where God is, empty my thoughts and let God fill my mind. I used to think that contemplative prayer is some highly spiritual activity reserved for hermits and the Desert Fathers but difficult for the average person. It is something unachievable by people who are easily distracted. I no longer think this way. The discipline of contemplative prayer is particularly good for people who are busy, people who have many things on their plate so much so that it is good for them to get away for brief moments with the Lord. The Don Moen song 'I Just Want To Be Where You Are ' aptly describe this desire. 

Then there is Community Prayer, Henri Nouwen said, "Prayer is the language of the Christian community. In prayer the nature of the community becomes visible because the prayer we direct ourselves to the One who forms the community. We do not pray to each other but together we pray to God, who calls us and makes us a new people. By prayer, community is created as well as expressed."

When we pray in groups, we bind ourselves together. We learn that prayer is a most precious expression of our individual faiths so it needs the constant nurturing and support of the community. Jesus said

 

"Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree on anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there I am in the midst of them." 

Matthew:18: 19-20 

Lionel

Ref 1: Henri Nouwen. You Are The Beloved. Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living. Hodder & Stoughton, 2017

First Published in May 2007

Unceasing Prayer

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'Pray without ceasing.' 1 Thess 5:17

18 August 2007, my daughter Becky wrote something on prayer: I tend to hang out a lot online and have become a member of a number of prominent message boards. One particular message board struck me, it started a little thread for prayer requests. The introduction of which is as follows,

"I am placing this thread here as a place for Christian players to request prayer. I plan to check the thread regularly, and pray for the requests. I encourage others to also pray in response to the prayer requests. I'll make the first request. Please help me pray for the wisdom, knowledge, and strength to be a better servant of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of the one true God. I hope that God is glorified through this thread." - Shaper Geneson

Although the thread itself isn't really popular, there have been a number of prayer requests from people and it's heartening to see prayer used to help others. 

I check the message board daily to pray for friends that I know and quite a  few people that I don't even know their real names. I figured, God knows who I'm talking about, even if I don't. I started to have had online friends who had troubles and told me about them. Seeing as I can't get out to Canada or Switzerland or America in the blink of an eye to give them hugs or advice directly, my best way of helping is to pray for them. I'll tell them that I'm doing it and pray with them over the microphone or just over chat in a chat room. 

God knows best, and it's almost surprising how much comfort people can take in prayer. And the prayers are answered, sometimes in very specific ways, I get feedback from friends about it. This keeps me going, even if I do feel embarrassed praying over a microphone for someone that I haven't even met. In fact, I've had people tell me that they've never been prayed for before. 

I cannot imagine not being prayed for. Praying for others and being prayed for is something I remember from way back when. I remember waking up early in mornings sometimes, lying in bed, I can see Papa or Mummy kneeling by my bedside praying for me. It is something comforting, knowing that God has my back and that I'm not the only one struggling to pray for myself - that other people care as well. To me, prayer is the most powerful tool that we Christians have. I mean, to be able to talk with God? That's pretty important stuff! 

I recall that one pastor in my church once observed that in Jerusalem, they rock when they pray. Why? Because it's GOD that they're talking to when they pray. Why shouldn't they pray with all their heart and soul, mind and body? It's GOD. 

So, take some time off sometime today and do some praying. I generally do every day before I sleep. I take time to tell God what I've done today, thank him for the funny addresses (simple pleasures that keep me going) in my work as well as for the many many blessings he has given me, I thank him for dying on the cross for my sins. I pray for my family, for friends that I know the names of, for friends I don't know the names of and for people I don't know from Adams. Then I pray for myself. Then, I thank God for listening to it all and being patient enough. 

Praying really reminds me of everything that I have to thank and praise him for. The words come out easily. Sometimes, I have so much to say, I fall asleep saying it. But, it's a good thing, because I've touched base with God.

So, take some time now, today, whenever... and just sit down with your family, or someone that you know, or someone that you don't even know but you've been listening to (My pastor even prays for complete strangers he's met on the bus!) ... and pray. Because it's important.  

Lionel adds: We could make our prayers instinctive as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, 'Pray without ceasing.' But how do we pray without ceasing? 24/7? I think the answer is to try weave prayer into our everyday life and routine. To some extent Becky has weaved prayer into her IT routine. We are now learning to have Zoom prayer sessions. 

We can also establish a ubiquitous prayerful attitude for all our waking moments. Brother Lawrence observed that it is a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times. Henri Nouwen wrote, 'By the discipline of prayer we are awakened and opened to God, who enters into our heartbeats and our breathing, into our thoughts and emotions, our hearing, seeing, touching and tasting. We give ourselves over to this incredible Presence, who takes possession of all our senses. By doing this, our unceasing thinking is converted into unceasing prayer, moving us from a self-centred monologue to a God-centred dialogue.' Ref 1

Dallas Willard noted that 'Prayer is never just asking nor is it merely a matter of asking for what I want. Prayer is a matter of explicitly sharing with God my concerns. And of course he is concerned about my concerns and, in particular my concerns should coincide with His. It is the inevitable result of someone who understands God and is actually living interactively with Him.' Ref 2

The song, The Prayer, popularised by Andrea Borcelli and Celine Dion celebrates this interactive living with God, that resonates in our prayers.

I pray you'll be our eyes, and watch us where we go

And help us to be wise in times when we don't know

Let this be our prayer, when we lose our way

Lead us to the place, guide us with your grace

To a place where we'll be safe

With such a prayerful 24/7 encapsulation of our lives, we become receptacles of the divine through the pathway of prayer.

 

Becky and Lionel 

Ref 1: Henri Nouwen. You are the Beloved, Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living. Hodder and Stoughton, 2017

Ref 2: Dallas Willard. The Divine Conspiracy, Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God. HarperCollins, 1997

1st Published on 18 Aug 2007

Excessive Happiness

'My joy may be in you and that your joy may full' John 15:11

Excessive happiness is the theme of the movie Patch Adam. It is based on the true story of a doctor who wanted to build a hospital where the ethos is humanity and laughter. Patch Adams used play,  laughter and humour to treat his patients with significant success especially for those with mental illness.

In the 1998 movie, Robin Williams plays a doctor who thinks play is part of healing. The movie starts with a suicidal Adams in a mental institution who discovers a new view on life by using pranks to manage his condition. After qualifying as a doctor, Adams started a free clinic where he clowns around with patients as part of their treatment. 

In life we must learn to take things less seriously, relax and have fun. William Wilberforce asserted that Christians should learn to have fun, 'God has provided a multitude of ways to provide good, proper recreation and amusement. True Christians find relaxation in the company of friends and social discourse. They enjoy the benefits of the experience of love, hope, joy and all sources of goodwill extended toward others. The deeper source of happiness comes from the peace of mind from a relationship with Jesus Christ.'

Dallas Willard wrote 'One of the most outstanding features of Jesus' personality was precisely an abundance of joy.' He want to give us His joy and there should not be any joyless Christians. Such Christians did not learn this secret, they are running on their own steam and are not anchored to God so that they may go though life not expressing this joy that is in them. 

Jesus reveals to us God's love so that His joy may be ours and that our joy may be complete. This abundance of joy or excessive happiness, is a hallmark of Christianity. C.S. Lewis discovered this early; in the autobiography of his conversion to Christianity, expressed that in becoming a Christian he appropriated Joy. Hence he entitled this book, 'Surprised by Joy.'

I think that there is a difference between happiness and joy; happiness is a state of the mind whereas joy is a state of the soul. Some people think of joy as a feeling but feelings can be fleeting, subjective and dependent on circumstances whereas as a blessing from God it is best seen as an attribute, a quality in the person. The Chinese have a saying that it will show on faces, that which is really a quality within.

The bible promises: 

'You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. 'Psalms 16:11

'The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy.' Psalms 126:3

'You will go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the filed will clap their hands.' Isaiah 55:12

'You have made known to me the paths of life, You will fill me with joy in your presence.' Acts 2:28

Dr Adams used happiness to bring healing to the body and mind but the joy that the Lord gives is healing for the soul. Let's determine to be and stay joyful all the days of our lives, as advised by this verse on a greeting card.

'Choose this day to live in Joy

Life goes by in a blink of an eye.

It is too short to live upset, angry, resentful or ungrateful.

Choose to be happy, to be at peace

Decide each day is going to be a great day

and grab each moment and make the best of it.'

Be joyful in every circumstance for 'The Joy of the Lord is My Strength.'

The joy of the LORD is my strength

The joy of the LORD is my strength

The joy of the LORD is my strength

The joy of the LORD is my strength

He heals the broken-hearted and they cry no more

He heals the broken-hearted and they cry no more

He heals the broken-hearted and they cry no more

The joy of the LORD is my strength!

He gives me living water and I thirst no more

He gives me living water and I thirst no more

He gives me living water and I thirst no more

The joy of the LORD is my strength!

He fills my soul with laughter

Ha, ha, ha … ha, ha (ha ha)

He fills my soul with laughter

Ha, ha, ha … ha, ha (ha ha)

He fills my soul with laughter

Ha, ha, ha … ha, ha

The joy of the LORD is my strength!

If you want joy you must ask for it

If you want joy you must ask for it

If you want joy you must ask for it

The joy of the LORD is my strength!

Lionel

The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow

Sunrise over Corfu

'Why my soul are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Pit your hope in God for I will yet praise him, my saviour and my God.' Psalms 42:5

The sun will come up tomorrow. This is not a statement of inevitability, it is a statement of hope, optimism and expectation. The phrase comes from the title of a song in the 1977 musical 'Annie.' Li'l Orphan Annie is an eleven-year-old girl; a plucky, generous, compassionate, and optimistic youngster. In 2014, modern version of the motion picture 'Annie', starring Quvenzhané Wallis was released.

It was this song 'The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow' that captures her optimism and enthusiasm 

The sun will come out tomorrow

Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow

There'll be sun

Just thinkin' about tomorrow

Clears away the cobwebs and the the sorrow

'Til there's none

When I'm stuck with a day 

That's gray and lonely

I just stick out my chin 

And grin and say, oh

The sun'll come out tomorrow

So ya gotta hang on 'til tomorrow

Come what may

Tomorrow, tomorrow

I love ya tomorrow

Your're always a day away

Today we are stuck with this horrendous Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the potential of second and other waves, many of us hang on to prospect that it will disappear one day. There will be a tomorrow where the Covid-19 virus will be eradicated. We refuse to be brought to heel and those who believe in tomorrow can live better today.

 

This is Christianity, a religion of hope. The Lord assures us in Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Indeed those of us who have no hope for the future cannot live creative and purposeful lives today.

Martyn Lloyd Jones described a living hope that, " not only enables a man to go through the very worst that hell can produce against him. This lively hope also enables him to do so with assurance, and with a sense of triumph." He quotes from Romans 8:37-39, 'No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' 

This optimistic hope is witness of true Christianity and opens up an avenue for evangelising. The hope in every Christian even in the darkest of times can be a beacon of light. 'Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asked you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear' 1 Peter 3:15

So what is the reason for the hope that is in us? The love of Christ

Lionel