My earliest childhood memories of being in church are of the rope
that I could ride. The thick rope hung down through the ceiling in the
church entry way. I was so little that when the rope was pulled to ring
the bell in the belfry, I could hang on to it and get a ride as it would
pull me up off the floor, and then set me down again. It is a pleasant
memory in my mind, and my earliest thoughts of being in church are
memories of church being a fun place to be. This memory was
brought back to my mind when I read this statement by Christmas
Evans, the great Welsh preacher. He said, "Prayer is the rope up in
the belfry; we pull it and it rings the bell up in heaven."
For the first time in my life this image linked prayer and fun. I had
never given it a thought that prayer and fun could be compatible
partners. After all, prayer is a solemn and serious business, and that is
why we tell children to be quiet, and stop having fun and clowning
around. Bow you head and close your eyes and knock off anything you
are doing that could be construed as having fun. From this childhood
lesson we move on to a life time of having it drilled into our brain that
prayer is anything but fun. It is a chore; it is a challenge; it is such a
burdensome labor that it is one of the hardest aspects of the Christian
life to develop.
C. S. Lewis, one of the greatest Christians of the 20th century,
describes the feelings of millions of Christians when it comes to
prayer.
"...Prayer is irksome. And excuse to omit it
is never unwelcome. When it is over, this
casts a feeling of relief and holiday over the
rest of the day. We are reluctant to begin.
We are delighted to finish. While we are at
prayer but not while we are reading a novel
or solving a cross-word puzzle, any trifle is
enough to distract us....
The odd thing is that this reluctance to
pray is not confined to periods of dryness.
When yesterday's prayers are full of comfort
and exaltation, today's will still be felt as, in
some degree, a burden."
We could quote many others who feel the same, and all the
evidence indicates the majority of Christians feel that prayer is a hard
part of the Christian life. Seldom to never does anyone relate prayer
and fun. I must confess I certainly never did until this past week when
I saw, for the first time, that for Paul prayer was fun. It was a time to
be joyful, and a time of happy memories, and thanksgiving to God for
His abundant goodness and grace.
Let me show you what has been before my eyes for years, but which
I never saw until the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see. Now I want to
be the instrument to illumine you on what is clearly revealed in God's
Word, but is also hidden because Satan does not want God's people to
discover that prayer can be fun. Look at the facts. Paul says in verse
4, "I always pray with joy." Then in chapter 4 Paul goes all out to
make it clear that prayer is to be surrounded with positive joyful
feelings, and the negative feelings of life are to be eliminated. Listen
to 4:4-7, "Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, rejoice! Let
your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus." Paul is clearly revealing a life of prayer full of joy and
thanksgiving. Eliminate the negative and accentuate the positive.
Prayer is to be a fun and enjoyable time, and not a time we dread as a
duty we have to be dragged into. Paul lived the way he wrote for
others to live, and he demonstrated these words in his own life. When
he was in the prison there is Philippi, having been attacked, beaten,
flogged, and locked in stocks in a cell, we read this of Paul's attitude in
Acts 16:25, "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing
hymns to God..."
It was one of the most miserable days of his life, yet Paul is enjoying
his prayer time, and he is singing hymns to God. In the midst of pain
he is finding pleasure in prayer. He is singing songs of thanksgiving,
and rejoicing in the Lord with the peace that passes understanding.
Paul demonstrated the power of a thankful heart to overcome
enormous negative circumstances. Prayer is not the dark garment of
despair. Prayer is a bright garment of praise that will dress up the
soul even on the dreariest of days.
It is not that there is never a time for lament and a pouring out of
the poison in our soul to God. This is a legitimate aspect of prayer as
well, but the dominant note of Paul in prayer is the high note of joyful
thanksgiving. This enabled Paul to look any direction in his life and
see reasons for being and optimistic Christian. We want to focus on
each of the directions Paul could look: The past, the present, and the
future, and see how his thankful spirit made prayer a fun time. First
look at-
I. HIS THANKFULNESS FOR THE PAST. V. 3.
"I thank my God every time I remember you." Paul had fun in
prayer because his prayer was full of gratitude for memories of the
past. When Paul says later in this letter that he forgets what is behind,
he was not referring to his past blessings, but to the burdens he bore.
His past was not all good at all. It was loaded with bad things like
being falsely arrested, and kept in prison. He was treated like dirt,
and humiliated. He had to suffer great injustice, but Paul says I forgot
all that of my past, and I press on to the future, and the prize God has
for me in Christ.
What Paul does not forget is all the good things and blessings he
had in Philippi. We have a choice as to what we bring on to the screen
of our mind from the computer-like data bank of our brain. Some
Christians chose to remember the hurts, the failures, and the bad stuff
of the past. That is why you have Christians who are neurotics of all
kinds, and depressive type people. They have legitimate records of
life's injustices, and damaging negatives. There is no question they
have had some, and even many, raw deals, but they let these bad
memories dominate their memory. The result is, they seldom feel
joyful and thankful, for you cannot have these positive emotions when
your focus is on pain. Imagine how depressed Paul would have felt if
he would have written to the Philippians, "I can't help remembering
how miserable it was to be in that damp moldy prison. I still wake up
in the night remembering the stench of the other prisoners, and the
unsanitary conditions of the jail. The injustice of it all still burns me
to the core as I languish here in Rome incarcerated for doing good. It
truly is a rotten world, and hell is too good for the scum who treat
people like this." All of this would be authentic reality, but it was not
the reality Paul chose to remember.
Paul was thankful for the past, not because it was free from evil and
hurts, but because he forgot that bad stuff, and remembered instead
the goodness of the Philippians, and the grace of God in his life.
Everyone of us could look back and pick out bad things in our past.
People who did us wrong, and events that were unfair are in
everyone's past. Everyone has their own personal copy of, when bad
things happen to good people. Some feel it is their gift to be able to
recall the negatives of life, and remember every terrible detail. Then
they wonder why the Christian life is not making them happy, and why
prayer is a laborious chore.
We need to see that the only way to be a happy Christian, who can
even make prayer time a fun time, is to forget the bad past, and
remember those things that fill our minds with a sense of gratitude.
Precious memories for which we can thank God are the key to joyful
praying. Tom Landry, the Christian coach for the Dallas Cowboys for
many years said, "I suffer over a loss like everyone else, but its how
soon you forget it and get going again that's important." If your
thankometer needle gets stuck on the negatives of the past, it will not
work, and you will be locked into a non-thankful mode letting life's
burdens, rather than life's blessings, be the dominant influence in your
life.
In the book Tiger Of The Snows by Tenzig Norgay, one of the two
men, who on May 29, 1953 reached the top of Mt. Everest said, "What
I felt was a great closeness to God and that was enough for me. In my
deepest heart I thanked God." All the fears and frustrations, and the
pain and struggle, were forgotten. All that mattered was the blessing.
Only those who learned this can live like Paul with a perpetual
thankful spirit.
Examine your memory bank, and ask yourself which memories do
you tend to focus on in the past. If you find you tend to remember the
negatives, you need to listen to Paul, and follow his instructions. He
practiced what he preached, and that is why he is our guide to a
thankful spirit for the past, and a fun time in prayer time. Listen to
the focus he gives to the Philippians in 4:8, "...Whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever if admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy,
think about such things." If this is the kind of stuff you
bring to the screen of your mind from your memory bank, you too
will, like Paul, be a person full of thankfulness for the past. Next look
at=
II. HIS THANKFULNESS FOR THE PRESENT.
The same principle applies here as to the past. Which present
realities are you going to choose to focus on? The fact that you are in
prison unjustly, or the fact that God is using this bad thing for the
advancement of the Gospel? The fact that you are separated from
your good friends in Philippi, or the fact that in spite of that
separation they are still supporting you in prayer, and by means of
gifts. In the end of this letter Paul is so grateful for their renewed
financial support. He says he has learned to be content in both plenty
and want, but he was thankful that they met his need, for even Paul
found life easier when he had plenty rather than being in want.
Notice here in verses 4 and 5, the real source of his joy and
thanksgiving and prayer was their partnership in the Gospel from the
first day until now. Right now in the present moment Paul felt not
alone, even though isolated in prison. He felt like a part of a body of
people who cared for him. Paul was thankful for the present because
of his partnership with people. Thanksgiving is a relational thing. If
there are no people in your life adding to your joys and comforts, then
you are living a deprived life. You have got to have relationships to be
a thankful person. Paul was a million miles away from these people,
but they were still partners, and that oneness gave him a joyful and
thankful perspective on life.
Paul was thankful for their gifts, but more thankful that he had
partners who cared enough to give gifts. In other words, Paul, like all
of us, enjoyed physical comforts, and was not opposed to having some
cash in his pocket. But the real source of his gratitude was not the
gifts, but the giving people. Sometimes we get so excited about good
things that we forget they are relatively insignificant compared to
good people. Paul had his priority on people, and not their
possessions. We often forget that almost all of our blessings in life
come to us through other people. If we are thankful for the blessings,
but fail to see the value of the people they come through, we will be
operating on a lower level of thanksgiving.
The Jews have a story that illustrates this lower level of thanks
which ends up being a no thanks spirit. "Rabbi Jacobs, I need $50.00
to get out of debt," sobbed Gottlieb. "I keep praying to God for help
but He doesn't send it!"
"Don't lose faith," said the rabbi. "Keep praying."
After Gottlieb left his house, the rabbi felt sorry for him. "I don't
make much money," he thought, "but that poor man needs it." I'll
give him twenty-five dollars out of my own pocket."
A week later, the rabbi stopped Gottlieb, "Here, God sent this to
you!"
Back in his home, Gottleib bowed his head. "Thank you, Lord!"
he said. "But next time you send money, don't sent it through Rabbi
Jacobs-that crook kept half of it."
Because he did not recognize God works through people to bless him,
he had a bitter spirit rather than a thankful spirit. If you don't find
yourself thanking God for other people often, you are taking the low
road rather than the high road of thanksgiving.
In 4:6 Paul says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your
requests to God." Paul has a high view of what the Christian is
capable of doing. He feels the Christian can choose where to focus his
mind. Life is full of things to be anxious about, but he says, you don't
have to give them your attention. You can choose instead to focus on
things for which to be grateful. Easier said than done, but he did it,
and so can we. Chuck Swindoll says, "Worry forces us to focus on the
wrong things." If you are anxious, you are focused on the things that
are wrong, or could go wrong. But if you are thankful, you are
focused on the things that are right, or could go right. We all have a
choice as to where we focus our minds, and which choice we make
determines whether we are anxious or thankful Christians.
Paul says if we choose to focus on what is right so that we rejoice
with thanksgiving, this will lead to a peace that guards our hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus. In other words, thanksgiving is like a spiritual
body guard that protects our emotions and thoughts from being
captured by the negative spirit that Satan would love to get us
ensnared with. The Christian who is ever focusing on the negative
that makes them frustrated and anxious is a Christian with no security
system. They are sitting ducks for the devil to rob them of their joy in
Jesus. A safe Christian is a thankful Christian. If you want to live
dangerously, and risk losing your Christian testimony, just leave
thanksgiving out of your life. It is the equivalent of a layoff notice to
the Spirit of God. It is like saying, your services are no longer needed.
I can take care of myself.
When you hear a Christian locked into the negatives of life, full of
bitterness, frustration, and resentment, you know they have laid off
the Holy Spirit, or as the Bible puts it, quenched the Spirit. They have
lost the attitude of gratitude which enables them to see the present
blessings of life in spite of the burdens. Paul looked right past the
negatives all around him, and focused on the pleasant blessings of the
support and partnership of the Philippians. He was not going to wait
for all to turn out okay before he was thankful. He was thankful right
now in the present, for the bad things of life cannot rob you of the
good things of life, if that is where you focus. Next we see-
III. HIS THANKFULNESS FOR THE FUTURE.
Paul was thankful every direction he looked, because God is same
yesterday, today, and forever, and He does not leave any good work
unfinished. What He starts He completes, and the result will be a
truly Christlike people to enjoy for all eternity. Paul writes in verse 6,
"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will
carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Paul was
joyfully thankful because never stops working in us, and through us.
He never said the Philippians were perfect. They had their
weaknesses and faults that he had to deal with. He never said he was
perfect. In chapter 3 he says he was not complete, but keeps pressing
on, for the best is always yet to be.
Nobody knows better than Paul how poorly Christians can reflect
the light of Christ. He knew of their sin and follies, and all the ways
they fell short of the glory of God. He never wore blinders, or rose
colored glasses. He was as fully aware of Christians sins as any human
being has ever been, but this was not his primary focus. He had to deal
with sin in Christians often, but his confidence and thankful spirit
thrived on his vision of the future. This is the perspective of all the
Biblical writers. The hope and expectation of the Christian is a future
where all in Christ will be what He is-the perfect example of what God
had in mind when He made man in His image. When God completes
His work in us, we will be like Jesus.
It is true, the vision of heaven that John saw in Revelation was filled
with delights for all the senses. The golden streets, the jeweled walls,
the glorious light and music that thrill the eyes and ears, plus the fruit
for taste, and incense for smell entice all of the senses to anticipate the
ultimate in pleasure. But the fact is, all of this would be meaningless
without the people out of every tongue, tribe, and nation that praise
the Lamb for ever and ever. The bottom line is never things, but always
people. Jesus lived for people, and he died for people. They
were the treasure he came to seek and to save, and when this focus of
God becomes our focus, as it was of Paul, we will be able to praise and
thank God for the future.
The future in Christ is loaded with people who are like Jesus. They
love and care and share, and make the future a paradise. The first
paradise was no big deal without another person to relate to.
Perfection, beauty, and abundance do not fill the bill. God made man
so he cannot be complete without relationship. People and paradise
are linked as necessities. If you could have the New Jerusalem all to
yourself, you would be miserable, and soon realize it is nothing but
glorified hell without other people. Someone once said that hell is
other people, but the fact is hell is the lack of other people. Paul had a
thankful spirit about the future because he knew he had a future filled
with Christlike people.
Paul was thankful for the past because of these people, and their
response to the Gospel. He was thankful for the present because these
people were his partners in the Gospel. She was thankful for the future
because these people would be with him as perfected saints. Lets face
the reality of this. Much, if not most, of what we have to thank God for
comes to us through other people. They are the primary tools of God
to achieve His purpose in history.
Consider our American heritage from the Pilgrims. Governor
Bradford of the Plymouth Colony wrote in his diary of a man he
called, "A special instrument sent of God." He was referring to the
incredible Indian named Squanto. His story, and how God used him to
save the Pilgrims from certain destruction is one of the great
providence's of history. Squanto was kidnaped and sold as a slave and
taken to Spain. There he was trained in the Christian faith, and then
sold to a merchant in England. He sent him with an expedition back to
America. He was back in his native land just six months before the
Pilgrims arrived. Here was an Indian who knew English. He helped
the Pilgrims communicate and form friendly relations with the
Indians. He lives with them and taught them how to plant corn, and to
fish, and to use them as fertilizer. It is not likely they could have
survived without this gift of God. They thanked God often for this
man.
An artist painted a picture of an old church with its time worn
steeple. The bell is there and the rope hangs down to the earth. Beside
the bell sits an owl suggesting that the bell had not been used for a long
time. People are running by it as the street is full of hurrying people,
but the motto under the picture says, "Why don't they ring?" Why
don't we have fun in prayer by ringing the bell of heaven by
thanksgiving to God for people in our past, present, and future? The
opportunity to ring the bell of heaven by means of the joyful prayer of
thanksgiving is ever available. May God help us to pull the rope, and
add to the harmony of heaven, and the mirth on earth, with the prayer
of thanksgiving.
