Responding to the Lord - Your Nightly Prayer
Responding to the Lord.
Your Nightly Prayer for Jan. 16, 2025
by Rev. Kyle Norman
TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE
“Don’t begin to say to yourself we have Abraham as our ancestor, for I tell you, God is from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”- Luke 3:8
SOMETHING TO PONDER
When I was at university, I would periodically have a conversation about faith. This was usually brought about by people learning that I was going into the priesthood. As a 21-year-old at a secular university, I was somewhat of a rarity. Inevitably, people would often put forward their own religious credentials – often in interesting ways. People would say something like, “Oh, I’ve gone to church once as a kid,” or “I’ve been baptized, you know.” One person said to me, “Oh…I think my grandmother lives beside a church.” It was like each statement carried the suggestion that whatever association a person had with the religion, as loose as it may have been, was enough. They didn’t need to think about God or faith or the spiritual life anymore, their brief entrance in a church at 5 years old was enough. They could tick the appropriate box of religiosity. After all, if that was enough for hospital intake forms, that ought to be enough for God…right?
This is the very situation that John the Baptist encountered. As he stood by the river Jordon, announcing the good news of Christ’s coming, he had crowds of people coming out to see him. The indication, however, was that not everyone came out with pure motives. Some came just to see John the spectacle; some may have been baptized simply to hedge their bets. But behind all of these reasons was the belief that people could rest upon the heritage of faith or their spiritual laurels. They were the people of God! They were descendants of Abraham, the great pioneer of faith. That must account for something.
It’s that type of approach to God and to faith that John tries to chip away at in his ministry. “Don’t begin to say to yourself, we have Abraham as our ancestor, for God is able from these stones to raise up children of Abraham.” This is the message of challenge. John is trying to get the crowds around him to see that if all God wanted was for the religious box to be ticked, God could get that from rocks. God could raise up a rock to beautifully and perfectly fulfill the brief of religiosity. But there is not a whole lot of life to rocks, is there? And certainly, there wouldn’t be an active and cooperative relationship with the Lord. No, what God wants from us is engagement; God wants a personal response.
What are some of the ways that we say, without even realizing it, “I have Abraham as my ancestor”? It’s easy to do. Speaking for myself, I can imagine John saying to me, “Don’t begin to say to yourself, I’ve preached thousands of sermons,” or “Don’t begin to say to yourself, I’m ordained, or Hey God, have a degree in this!” As I grew up with a pastor for a father, John might say, “Don’t begin to say to yourself, My dad’s a pastor.” See, if I base my faith on any of these things, I essentially turn a deaf ear to the call of God at this moment.
Imagine John saying these words to you this evening. What would he say? What are the ways that you rest upon a religious heritage or the ease of religious effort rather than reaching out to the God who reaches out to you? As your day ends, take a moment to ask what type of response God is challenging you to make.
John’s ministry involved challenging the people to make a response to the coming of the Lord. Countless people asked John, “What shall we do?” and John gave a different response to each person. John told the person with two tunics to give one to someone who had none. He tells the tax collector to not take more than his share, and the soldier to refrain from extorting money. Each person was to respond in a particular way. After all, if John had just given the same response, then that would be just the new religious box to tick, wouldn’t it? John would just be replacing one system of works with another.
Rather, each instruction was unique to the contours of the individual’s life and situation. Their response to the message of Christ’s coming kingdom needed to be lived out in their lives in real, unique, and tangible ways. Their immersion in God’s kingdom had an effect on how they lived in the world and treated the people around them.
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Father,
Tonight, we pray you would set a genuine desire for Jesus in our hearts, regardless of what qualifications we think we already have or need, to check any religious box in our lives. Bless us to know You, personally, God.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
THREE THINGS TO PONDER
1. So, again, let me ask you what that looks like for you.
2. How will your life show your response to the coming of Christ?
3. How will Jesus be seen in you and through you? Because the Lord invites you to a life with him, this dynamic can only be entered into with a personal, heartfelt response. Amen.
Photo Credit: Getty Images/leolintang
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