Prayer & Praise

by Shannon Winslow

  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthian 13:1-8a)

  How does Mr. Bennet’s behavior compare to God’s definition of love? He certainly wasn’t always kind. In fact, he was often rude. He took great delight in mockery – a kind of evil – and was proud of his wit. Saddest of all, though, he utterly failed in his duty to protect his wife. He himself was the very one criticizing her most. As Lizzy observed, he completely misused his talents of mind and wit.

  Did Mr. Bennet feel remorse after his witty digs, I wonder, or did he give himself a pass (or even a pat on the back?) and soon forget it? What about you and me? We are all probably willing to admit we don’t measure up to God’s standards either. But are we too quick to pass over our more “minor” offences and move on – to forgive ourselves and forget?

  We shouldn’t be. We may make distinctions between so-called big and little sins, but God does not. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10).

  Review your behavior. Do you see instances (or even an established pattern) of unkindness – perhaps things you thought too insignificant to worry about? Don’t simply dismiss them; take action. Make confession, make reparation where possible, and make a change. Commit to using your talents toward building others up, not tearing them down.

  Let Us Pray

  Thank you, Oh God, that because of Jesus you are able to forgive and even forget our sins. Forgive us for when we have criticized or mocked others while taking our own failings too lightly. Every sin, no matter how seemingly innocuous, is an offense against you and has the potential to do harm, especially to those closest to us. Help us to discover and root out these forgotten sins, so that we always treat others with love in Jesus’ name. Amen.

  Let us Praise

  BLESSED IS the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalms 1:1-2)

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  The Rutted Road

  Pardon Oh God! whatever thou has seen amiss in us, & give us a stronger desire of resisting every evil inclination & weakening every habit of sin.

  The way this petition is phrased points out that our problem with sin may not be that we simply can’t resist temptation. The real problem may be that we don’t want to badly enough. Within ourselves, we don’t possess the desire to struggle against the inclination to sin. So we can’t even make a start without God’s help to first strengthen that desire. The other piece – weakening every habit of sin – goes along with it.

  Yes, sin can be habit forming! Just like the ruts in a dirt road become deeper the more times it’s traveled, so the more entrenched a transgression becomes the oftener it’s repeated. Sin tends to be progressive in nature as well, moving from a bad to a worse version of itself over time if it’s allowed to persist. It’s like switching to studded tires, which can really rip up the road. The ruts get deeper fast, until it’s nearly impossible to break out and steer onto a different path.

  A sage saying I’ve heard expresses the idea: Sin will take you farther than you ever thought you would go. Sin will keep you longer than you ever thought you would stay. And sin will cost you more than you ever thought you would pay.

  That’s what happened with Henry Crawford in Mansfield Park. Over a period of years, his foul exploits went far indeed, costing himself and others a high price. Long before victimizing Julia and Maria Bertram, he made a game of getting women to fall in love with him. When at last he decided he wanted to change course (for the sake of Fanny, whom he had sincerely come to love and admire), the ruts he had dug for himself were too deep. He was so thoroughly under the power of that entrenched, habitual, progressive pattern of sin that he couldn’t break free of it.

  Henry Crawford… indulged in the freaks of a cold-blooded vanity a little too long… Could he have been satisfied with the conquest of one amiable woman’s affections, could he have found sufficient exultation in overcoming the reluctance, in working himself into the esteem and tenderness of Fanny Price, there would have been every probability of success and felicity for him. His affection had already done something… Would he have persevered, and uprightly, Fanny must have been his reward… within a reasonable period from Edmund’s marrying Mary. Had he done as he intended, and as he knew he ought, by going down to Everingham after his return from Portsmouth, he might have been deciding his own happy destiny. But… curiosity and vanity were both engaged, and the temptation of immediate pleasure was too strong for a mind unused to make any sacrifice to right… (Mansfield Park, chapter 48)

  He couldn’t resist the vain challenge to prove he could master Maria Bertram (now Mrs. Rushworth) a second time. Becoming entangled, he went off with her at last, because he could not help it, regretting Fanny, even at the moment.

  It’s easy to say that Henry Crawford should have and could have chosen to walk away from temptation. But could he? By that point he had dug himself in so deep, and his habit of sin was so profoundly entrenched, that he didn’t have the inner strength to turn a different direction, even though for the first time he actually wanted to. His only hope would have been to ask for help, like today’s prayer petition does.

  How might things have gone differently if, when Mr. Crawford first felt the urge to pursue Maria again, he had immediately fallen to his knees before God, sincerely repented his past sins, and begged for the strength to resist temptation? Although one prayer, no matter how sincere, would not have solved all Henry’s problems with sin, that would have been an excellent start! With God’s help and small steps taken consistently in the right direction, he might have unlearned his old habits and replace them with new, healthy ones. Yes, godly habits can be progressive too, strengthening by repetition!

  No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1 Corinthians 10:12-13)

  God had already provided a sure way of escape – the option of going back to Everingham, as Henry Crawford had intended. But Henry failed to take the way out provided. For that, he would always suffer, and unfortunately, so would all the others he damaged in the process.

  Are you (or someone close to you) stuck in an ugly rut too, caught by some habitual sin – great or small – and unable to break free of it? Or are you currently being tempted to start down that dangerous path? No matter what it is or how you got there, God can help. He is not so far removed that he doesn’t understand our weaknesses or the nature of temptation.

  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

  God’s love for us is inexhaustible, and he longs to set us free from sin to righteousness. So pray he would give you the strength to turn from every evil inclination. Leave the old rutted road behind and step out on a new path!

  Let Us Pray

  Lord God, you know our weaknesses – weakness toward sin and even weakness in our desire to resist temptation. Open our eyes to the habits of sin in our lives and strengt
hen our resolves to be rid of them, once and for all. Accomplish this through the power of your Holy Spirit and through the grace of the one who resisted temptation so perfectly, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, in whose name we pray. Amen.

  Let Us Praise

  Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. (Psalms 66:8-10)

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  Creatures of Dust

  Thou knowest the infirmity of our Nature, & the temptations which surround us. Be thou merciful, Oh Heavenly Father! to Creatures so formed & situated.

  On a social media site – one dedicated to the discussion of all things Jane Austen – someone recently asked, “Why is it that we like Captain Wentworth so much? Sure, he wrote that amazing letter and all, but before that he was acting like a total jerk, toying with the Musgrove sisters’ affection just to punish Anne for rejecting him all those years before.”

  It’s a valid question, one to which I’m not sure I have the answer, except that people love stories about second chances. That’s what Persuasion is, after all. And to need a second chance, you have to somehow have spoiled your first one.

  Did Anne ruin their first chance by not standing by her initial promise to marry Wentworth, or did Wentworth by allowing his pride to blind him from seeing the need for a prudent delay in their plans? In any case, the length of time that delay ultimately lasted was certainly the captain’s fault, stretching on for years because of his implacable resentment. In his famous letter, Wentworth finally confesses, “weak and resentful I have been…” Later, when the lovers are fully reconciled, he realizes what his stubbornness cost.

  “Tell me if, when I returned to England in the year eight, with a few thousand pounds, and was posted into the Laconia, if I had then written to you, would you have answered my letter? would you, in short, have renewed the engagement then? ...Good God!” he cried, “you would! ...But I was too proud… Six years of separation and suffering might have been spared… I have been used to the gratification of believing myself to earn every blessing that I enjoyed… Like other great men under reverses,” he added with a smile, “I must endeavour to subdue my mind to my fortune. I must learn to brook being happier than I deserve.” (Persuasion, chapter 23)

  Anne quickly forgave Captain Wentworth for everything – his stubborn pride, resentment, bad behavior, and the suffering it had inflicted on her. She took him back without a moment’s hesitation. Why? Because he deserved it? No, even Wentworth admitted he didn’t. She forgave him because of her great love for him, which had never wavered. She forgave him so that their relationship could be restored.

  In today’s prayer petition, Jane Austen’s words acknowledge that we are all weak and imperfect. We all suffer from an infirmity of our nature that makes us susceptible to the temptations which surround us. And our sins have resulted in suffering too – not only for ourselves and other people, but for God as well. Every sin grieves God’s heart.

  That being the case, what possible hope is there? Why should God forgive and restore us? We can’t ask it based on any merit of our own. We instead plead for mercy based on God’s own character, based on God’s great love for us and his grace expressed in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:23-24).

  God knows our every weakness and loves us anyway! He longs to have our relationship, broken by sin, restored.

  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are but dust. (Psalms 103:11-14)

  Most of us didn’t have ideal relationships with our parents, and we probably aren’t ideal parents ourselves. And yet the parent/child relationship is still the best illustration we have from our human experience of how God loves us. Good parents aren’t blind to their children’s faults. Good parents correct and discipline when necessary, training a child in the way that he should go (Proverbs 22:6). But even when the child strays, that child shouldn’t ever have cause to doubt that their parent loves them.

  God is not just a good parent, of course; he is the best. He knows the infirmity of our natures. He sees our faults and weaknesses. And yet he doesn’t reject us. He disciplines and guides us, he is quick to forgive when we ask, and he never ever stops loving us. God’s favor isn’t rationed out according to our merits. His compassion isn’t dispensed only at times of good behavior. God’s love is constant, unconditional, and out of all proportion – as high as the heavens are above the earth. It’s the result of grace. Blessed is the one who knows and has experienced God’s love and mercy!

  Perhaps at some point, you shared Captain Wentworth’s outlook, thinking that you earned every blessing you enjoy. Wrong. Blessings come through God’s grace. Or have you instead been used to believing that God couldn’t possibly love you because of your unworthiness? That’s just as inaccurate and for the same reason: God’s grace.

  In Jesus Christ, God has given all of us a badly needed second chance in life – not to earn our way to heaven by doing better this time, but to accept God’s free gift of salvation offered to us by his grace. Rejoice and give thanks to God! Then say with Captain Wentworth, “I must endeavour to subdue my mind to my [good] fortune. I must learn to brook being [more blessed] than I deserve.”

  Let Us Pray

  Oh Heavenly Father, we stand in awe of your unconditional love for us, your children. You know all our faults and failings; our lives and transgressions are laid bare before you. And still you have chosen to show us mercy and grant us blessings we have not earned. We give you thanks and praise for your amazing grace, so irrefutably demonstrated in your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

  Let Us Praise

  Praise, my soul, the King of heaven; to his feet your tribute bring. Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven. Evermore his praises sing… Praise him for his grace and favor to our forebears in distress. Praise him, still the same forever, slow to chide and swift to bless… Tenderly he shields and spares us; well our feeble frame he knows. In his hands he gently bears us; rescues us from all our foes. Alleluia! (traditional hymn: “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven,” text by Henry F. Lyte, 1793-1847)

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  Thorns and Blessings

  We bless thee for every comfort of our past and present existence, for our health of Body & of Mind & for every other source of happiness which Thou hast bountifully bestowed on us & with which we close this day…

  When I looked for a Jane Austen character blessed with many comforts, past and present, I could have chosen any one of several candidates. But Emma topped the list because of what Austen tells us right up front, in the opening lines of the book:

  Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her. (Emma, chapter 1)

  We’re also told that Emma had few restraints placed on her, and, guided chiefly by her own judgment, tended to do just what she liked. Sounds like a perfect recipe for happiness, doesn’t it? If we could choose, isn’t this exactly the kind of situation we would design for ourselves? And yet, all was not well.

  The real evils indeed of Emma’s situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself: these were the disadvantages which threatened alloy to her many enjoyments. The danger, however, was at present so unperceived, that they did not by any means rank as misfortunes with her. (Emma, chapter 1)

  This isn’t surprising. No one minds getting their own way, and most of us tend to think at least a little better of ourselves than we ought. Austen perceptively recognizes these things as dangers, and the story goes on to show the evils
to which they lead in Emma’s case. Emma has some lessons to learn the hard way.

  Now let’s look at the Apostle Paul. Obviously, he isn’t much like Emma except that he too seems to unite some of the best blessings of a completely different sort. From Philippians 3:4-6, we learn of his impeccable bloodline and religious pedigree. Then in 1 Corinthians 11, we find an account of his work and his long list of sufferings for the sake of Christ. He goes on in chapter 12 to tell of his vision of the man (possibly himself) who was caught up to the third heaven. All this in order to prove that if anybody has a right to boast, it is he. And the implication is that Paul, like Emma, had a tendency toward pride, which needed to be kept in check.

  To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)