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“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” - Proverbs 4:23 

If you Googled the phrase, “What is most important?” you’ll find a diversity of answers.  Some say it’s making more money to enable them to do what they love most.  Some say it’s being physically healthy or spending time with family, while others prioritize being happy or knowing their purpose.  The list could be as long as there are people. What is most important to you?

You don’t usually think of a political fundraiser as beautiful and inspiring, but I was deeply encouraged to experience something of this recently.  The featured candidate currently serves as a Democrat on the New York City Council and is running for New York State Senate.  Ministry and business leaders, men and women of all backgrounds, including Caucasian, Latino, and African-American, filled the home where the fundraiser was held.  These dynamic Christian leaders support this candidate not because he is Democrat, or Latino, or a man.  They were not supporting him because he would do a favor for them or for people like them, or because of his likability (even though he is very likable).  They support him because he demonstrates godly understanding of governmental responsibility.

When a mother sees that her child is seriously sick, she swoops him up and takes him to a doctor as soon as possible.  She does this because she has faith in a couple of important details:  She has faith that her assessment of the seriousness of her child’s illness is accurate. Also, she has faith that a medical doctor will genuinely seek to help her child and, quite possibly, will be able to help heal him.

This is what faith looks like for a mother with a sick child, which begs the question, what does faith look like for the Christian who desires for God to change a community or a nation? 

Have you ever watched a little baby eat? Picture the newborn baby nursing, or as a toddler experiencing new texture sensations with each incoming spoonful. At these stages, a child is dependent on mother and father for everything pertaining to sustenance and thriving. Individually, a fasting lifestyle teaches us to ‘eat’ like a child, as we learn to depend more poignantly on the Father. As a community, fasting opens us up to God’s Spirit.[1]

I recently watched an interview of a young woman, named Deborah Peters, who grew up in Nigeria.  In 2011, when she was only 12, her father and brother were killed right in front of her by armed men from the terrorist group Boko Haram.  Her father, a Christian pastor, was told by the men to renounce his faith.  He refused and responded to the terrorists’ threat by quoting Matthew 10:32-33: “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”  They threatened him a second time, and, when he refused to deny Jesus, they shot him three times.  They then turned and killed her brother, who was 14 at the time.

While praying the other day, I formed a mental picture of two young princes. One prince was eager to take up the sword, lusted after the throne, and scoffed at other rulers. The other prince relished the wisdom of his teachers, humbly knew his place, and valiantly took up the sword when the moment was right.

Which one would we prefer to be? The humble, valiant protagonist always wins the heart of the audience, but rarely are we actually that protagonist.

I’ve never been one to often tell people, “You deserve this!” It’s not because I think people should never be rewarded or take a break. It’s because I know the corners we cut, the dark thoughts and attitudes we harbor, and the not-so-proud moments that come even with hard work or achievement.

However, we often act like we do deserve certain things. Security, comfort, hope, and happiness are just a few of the things my heart often longs for. When I don’t get them, the inner turmoil I experience can look very similar to my 3-year old’s response to not getting another cupcake (as if that would have satisfied her deepest needs).

The term ‘needy’ has a decidedly negative connotation in our contemporary culture.  The descriptor ‘just so needy!’ is a derogatory phrase for a person whose life exhibits excessive dependency and weakness.  This negative association with the term ‘needy’ stems from the way we in the West place such high value on self-sufficiency and individual responsibility.  Former Harvard philosopher John Rawls described the entire moral vision of the early Modern era as characterized by individual “autonomy and responsibility.”  This rigorously individualistic spirit continues to this day.

When we think about the things we long to see for the Kingdom of God in our communities, our nation, and the world, we probably think first about prayer.  And that’s a good thing!  However, while we are right to prioritize prayer, there’s a chance we’re prioritizing it too highly.  ‘What?’  You say, ‘Prioritize prayer too highly?  What we need to do is pray more!’ 

Now, I completely agree that we should be praying more.  My comment about prioritizing prayer too highly has nothing to do with quantities of prayer.   So what do I mean by “prioritizing prayer too highly,” and how in the world could this kind of talk serve to increase prayer?   I believe that if we would prioritize and esteem God’s promises higher than our prayers, our prayers would actually become more frequent and fervent.

In my previous devotional, I argued that the two “hinge” passages in Hebrews (4:14-16 and 10:19-25) together encapsulate the spirituality of this inspired sermon.  Three central tasks are enumerated in these verses.  First, we consider Jesus.  Second, we draw near to God through Jesus.  Third, we hold fast our confession of faith in Jesus.  Mind.  Heart.  Practice.

This balanced paradigm is critical to implement in your own relationship with God, as most Christians tend to belong to one (or two) of three “personality types” with respect to their preferred, intuitive form of “spirituality.”  All three of these personality types (and their respective spiritual “strategies”) are good and necessary, but, when one becomes so predominant as to take our focus away from others, they can become truncated and distorted.