Intimacy With God #5: An Honest Prayer

HEARTFELT HONEST PRAYING

19. If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from you, you who are blood thirsty!
20. They speak of you with evil intent;
Your Adversaries misuse your name.
21. Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, 

and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22. I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.

23. Search me, God, and know my heart;
 test me and know my anxious thought.
24. See if there is any offensive way in me,
 and lead me in the everlasting way.

Shifting Gears

As we listen to our psalmist reflecting on the beauty of experiencing intimacy with God, all of the sudden he dramatically shifts gears. All throughout this Psalm, he is reflecting on just how wonderfilled and special it is to be intimate with God.  He must have been feeling pretty good, and he must have felt especially close to his Creator.  All of the sudden, there is a dramatic tone in his mood and writing.

Hatred 

His prayer turns toward feelings of hatred, and maybe even rage: He is actually talking about slaying people, particularly wicked people! He wants the bloodthirsty, people who shed innocent blood easily, to be cast away from him! He loathes those who have evil motives regarding God and who misuse God's Holy Name! For those who hate God, he prays that he hates them! He abhors those who are rebellious toward God with nothing but hatred!  As a matter of fact, he counts them as his enemies.

Wow! I am thinking "this is not a prayer to be prayed on prime time Sunday Morning." What could make a man, or woman, think like this?  I don't have all the answers on this one; however, I suspect he prayed this way because he was, on the one hand, feeling extremely close to his Creator ... intimate and in love with Him. On the other hand, he lived among people who didn't have a clue about this one that he loves, and whom he knows loved him. And their actions were simply more than he could take. Also, he simply knew, as intimate as he was to God, that he could be honest with God, and he could pray from his heart whatever was own his heart. 

You Can't Deceive God Even In Prayer

When you have a close relationship with God, and you know it, it's likely you know that God knows your heart, and lying to Him, especially in prayer, just will not cut it.  So, he prayed with all his heart whatever was own his heart. So, he prayed honestly. And, as he prayed this way, God didn't strike him down. He let the man get it out of his heart -- and on the papyrus  -- to help him really talk with God; meanwhile God was able to heal him from his rage.

I say this because, after his prayer rant, the psalmist hit the breaks, and he remembered he needed the God who had searched him and knew him. So, he cooled off. He picked himself up and started remembering who was who, and what he needed was to be intimate with God; therefore, he prayed the rest of the story, and this part of the prayer took him back to the soul searching inmate God, whom he loved, and who loved him.  He quit concerning his prayer about the evil of others, and he began praying for God to keep on searching him. He prayed for God to come on the scene and help him with his anxious thoughts.  He wanted God to check out what might be his offensive ways. Then he want God to lead him in the right way.  God had taken him full circle.

So How Is It With You?

This brings us to the close of this Psalm: I do hope you have an intimate relationship with God because, as I like to say, "It's not about the religiosity. It's THE relationship."  How you look at God, and how you think God looks at you, will either order your life in a positive, life giving direction, or you will have the opposite experience.   Do you believe God really lovingly knows all there is to know about you? Do you believe God is aware of you in the light or in the dark, and that it makes no difference in which one of these He finds you? He can still see you. Do you believe God is with you, wherever you maybe on Planet Earth ... even on the far side of the sea, as you rise on the wings of the morning? If you do,  you will seek the loving positive relationship, daily. Or do you assume God really doesn't care about your everyday life? Such a belief system, as this last one, is NOT good for your journey.  Review the previous "Intimacy With God" blogs. Just scan them, and see how authentic God Intimacy fits you. I do know this, the more realistically intimate you are with God, the more authentic your relationship will be with the ONE described as "The Wonderful Counselor" and "Almighty God." There is no Counselor, who can help you, that is better than He.

Be Blessed Today.

SoJourner.