Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Prayer as a Woman Giving Birth

Kinda hilarious how coarse the Bible is, sometimes, right?  T.M.I.!!

Lord, in trouble they have visited You,
They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.
As a woman with child
Is in pain and cries out in her pangs,
When she draws near the time of her delivery,
So have we been in Your sight, O Lord.
We have been with child, we have been in pain;
We have, as it were, brought forth wind;
We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth,
Nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
I am absolutely filled with wrong attitudes like these!  This kind of prayer was self-focused.  There is nothing wrong with asking for God to help; the point is that this was the bulk of their relation with God.  The by-product?  They had all the pains and symptoms of a woman about to give birth, but what they delivered was bodily gas.  No baby.  Eew!!

How many times have I labored with no fruit?  Something is missing.  John 15:8,
By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
I am constantly using my busyness for God to "make up" for something lacking in me.  Eew!  It just isn't about me!   Christian tasks are not meant to fill in the gap left by my failings.  Matt. 5:20,
For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Not hating lands, homes, possessions, even our own children and spouse and parents for the sake of the fruit in Jesus Christ will leave us with impure motives.  I repent, a lot!  In my heart, these repentant prayers go something like this: "God, I know You walk with me through this suffering.  In the meantime, will You act in power for my friend, for this city?"

We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth.
Nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

The loud noises of labor pains built expectation of impact in the culture.  This scripture describes a kind of Christianity that does not impact beyond its own people-boundary.  We will not give birth in the world if we wait for the city to come on to a church campus to be exposed to Him.  We must have sojourners from our city walk with us through life in order to give birth.  But we need more than just sojourners from the city.  Isaiah 66:7-9,

'Before she was in labor, she gave birth;
Before her pain came,
She delivered a male child.
Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
She gave birth to her children.
Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?' says the Lord.
If you've grabbed some sojourners - meaning - some unbelieving, post-Christian people, that's awesome.  You've made them privy to your labor pains of life lived for God.  But there's still something left wanting.  To give birth without labor pains, that is what I long for.  Out of all of life's struggles, bearing fruit might be the one effortless pursuit.  I'm ready!  What in the world is this??  It is a reversal of God's curse on Eve in Genesis 3.  Zion is citizenship in the Kingdom of Christ.  Though our ultimate experience of easy birth will be in the Kingdom of God, I believe that if we press into this Kingdom promise, with an eye on the city, He will give it to us today.


Jesus, forgive me.  I want fruit, and I'm spinning my wheels.  This is not what you designed.  Can you let me enter in to effortless fruit bearing?  By the grace stored for me in Christ Jesus?  Teach me to make my life small, teach me humility.  Help me to glorify you.  Teach me to abide in Your love so that I will bear much fruit.  I trust you to do as your Word says, and I am so happy to watch you at work!  Help me to remember to stay in Your love and joy!

1 comment:

Sanctification said...

I published it, and then edited it some more. lol, blogging is both easy and hard that's for sure.

:)