SIMPLE THEOLOGY

Tag: Pandemic

  • An Exhortation to Pray in these times

    “. . . They ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).

    We are living in troubled times. It seems like the present pandemic is more lethal than we could imagine. There is fear everywhere. What can we do when the entire world is suffering? One of the things that believers can do is, pray.

    Often, prayer is considered to be a hard discipline. I agree with Martyn Lloyd Jones, who had said that

    “Everything we do in the Christian life is easier than prayer.”

    But we pray most when we are in difficult times. 

    While many believers around the world are engaged in prayer, at the same time, we find many believers are not yet serious. Because, in times of ease, many of us hardly prayed. Many did not cultivate the habit of interceding for others and pleading God for others. Many of us have taken prayer for granted. However, in the time of crisis, they remain the same. People are busy elsewhere. Some are busy on Whats App, forwarding videos to one another, discussing the current crisis, updating their status and others are active on other social media platforms like Facebook. At the same time, many are taking good initiatives to help the needy and others are busy promoting themselves by bragging about their good works.

    Many have fallen prey to the global epidemic, and it remains a threat. The global economic situation has changed. It has changed our regular lifestyle. The poor and the needy are greatly affected. But many of us are still insensitive. These situations should humble us, but many casually pass their time during this lock-down. I think many of us wouldn’t move unless we are affected. God forbid that this should happen. Shouldn’t situations like these bring us on to our knees? Shouldn’t we look to the Sovereign one who is in control? Shouldn’t we plead for His mercy? Shouldn’t we rest in His sovereign care?

    Struggling to pray is an age-old problem. Our Lord’s first disciples struggled to pray. Our Lord was in a difficult hour. Prayer was very vital in our Lord’s life. In the garden of Gethsemane, He asked His disciples to watch and pray. They dozed off. They were unable to pray even in his difficult hour. Long before this incident, our Lord taught the importance of prayer to His disciples. Our Lord encouraged fervency in prayer, knowing that we would neglect prayer.

    “. . . They ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).

    Are we trying to establish that we are self-sufficient through our negligence of prayer? Can we manage our lives by ourselves? Are we self-sufficient? The present crisis is proof that we are dependent on many things for our survival. We need air, food, water, money, people, medicines and many more for our survival. We need to know that Only God is self-sufficient. He alone is independent of anyone or anything outside of Himself. According to the words of Herman Bavinck, 

    “He is independent in everything, in his existence, in his perfections, in his decrees, and his works.” 

    His self-sufficiency is His essential quality. He is the source of all things, and we owe our existence to Him. Our abilities are from Him. He is the source of all our life and godliness. We depend on Him for everything, and we should not imagine a life free from Him. Therefore, we pray and cry to Him.

    One of the distinctive qualities of God’s people is they depend on Him. “Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God” (Psalms 20:7). We see many examples in the Bible:

    • Abraham often communed with God. He was called a friend of God.
    • Moses was a man of prayer. Many times, unable to handle the Israelites, Moses often fell on His face to intercede for his people.
    • David was a powerful king. He fought many battles. He never made his army as his strength. Be it the enemies of Israel, or Saul, or his son, David cried to God. God was His Shield and His buckler.
    • When Nehemiah learned that the wall of Jerusalem was broken and the gates were destroyed by fire, he set himself to fast and pray for days. 
    • Consider our Lord Jesus while on earth, He is a man of prayer. Jesus fasted and prayed for 40 days and 40 nights. What was the need for him to fast and pray? He prayed before choosing his disciples (Luke 6:12). He often prayed alone (Luke 5:16; 9:18). He prayed along with others (Luke 9:28-29). He prayed even when he was busy (Mark 1:35). He prayed before going to the Cross (Luke 22:40-44). He prayed even on the Cross (Luke 23:46).
    • Later, His disciples learned from him the importance of prayer. We see in the book of Acts that before the Church began, the disciples prayed in the upper room. After Church began, they prayed steadfastly. They prayed at all times. Not only they prayed, but they also taught the believers to be devoted to prayer. They mobilized the Church to pray. Prayer was an integral part of their gatherings (Acts 2:42, 1 Thessalonians 5:17).

    We see from the above examples that prayer was always important and necessary for God’s people. God’s people look to Him because God is the source of all things, the means of all things and also the goal of all things (Romans 11:36).

    We also look to God because He is Sovereign. Which means nothing happens in this universe without His permission. He has absolute control of all things past, present and future. Everything is either caused by Him or allowed by Him for His purposes according to His timing and will. Our God is not only in control, but He also is good, kind, compassionate, gracious and merciful. Therefore, our prayers must flow from this understanding of God, that He is sovereign over all things, and He always desires good of all His people (Rom. 8:28).

    Therefore, our prayerlessness shows that we have lost the sight of who our God is. Are you praying? When we focus on our God, we have nothing to do but to bow down before him in simple trust and confidence because He desires the best for His people.

    Therefore, as God’s people continue to study God’s Word to know Him and continue to pray at all times and even more in these troubled times.

    Read or listen to this hymn:

    A Sovereign Protector I have Unseen, yet for ever at hand, Unchangeably faithful to save, Almighty to rule and command. He smiles, and my comforts abound; His grace as the dew shall descend, And walls of salvation surround The soul He delights to defend.

    Kind Author and ground of my hope, Thee, Thee for my God I avow; My glad Ebenezer set up, And own Thou hast helped me till now. I muse on the years that are past, Wherein my defence Thou hast proved; Nor wilt Thou relinquish at last A sinner so faithfully loved.

    Inspirer and Hearer of prayer, Thou Shepherd and Guardian of Thine, My all to Thy covenant care I sleeping and waking resign. If Thou art my Shield and my Sun, The night is no darkness to me; And, fast as my moments roll on, They bring me but nearer to Thee

    Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ONBRS1683I

  • Christians in the Pandemic

    Times like these are painful and difficult. Many have become prey to this pandemic already. We have no clue how many lives would be lost due to this and when will this come to an end.

    Humans suffered many epidemics and natural disasters until now. At the moment we are witnessing a pandemic. I think this cycle will continue. And the reason for this is that we live in a fallen world.

    The fall affected us as well as the world in which we live. As the man dies, and our physical bodies decay, the world will be destroyed too. It is a vain fantasy to hope that our lives would get better on this earth. No efforts of man will ever make this world a better place to live.

    The apostle Peter says, “But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:7).

    While the earth is bound for destruction, believers should be hopeful while living in this world. Yet in another epistle, Peter wrote to the first-century suffering believers and was about to face even more severe trials for their faith (1 Peter 4:12). He encourages those believers to be hopeful amid those trials.

    We need these reminders because we easily forget the purpose of our lives and get adjusted to our comforts and tend to think that our comfort zones are normative. But the trials in life remind us who we are.

    While we are in this lockdown situation, this will probably reorient our lives. The Apostle Peter addresses the believers who reside in this world as ‘aliens’ or ‘exiles.’ Which means ‘those who are passing through’ and our lives on earth are temporary. Which means that our relationships, the houses that we build to live, and our careers and work are temporary.

    Living as exiles doesn’t mean that we can be careless while we live here on earth. The Apostle Peter encourages the believers unto a proper life while as exiles:

    “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts . . .” 1 Peter 1:14

    “. . . like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior.” 1 Peter 1:15

    “. . . conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth.” 1 Peter 1:17

    “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.” 1 Peter 2:13, 14

    Therefore, believers living on earth as exiles or aliens means living on earth with a sense of having our citizenship in heaven and living here with a longing to be with Christ and to enjoy Him forever.

    The Apostle John said, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2). He continues to say that, “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).

    All the people of Christ should live with this hope and longing to be with our Lord. We must also long to be like our Lord, which will encourage us to live like Him while we are here on this earth. The Bible calls this as our Christian hope. We are disoriented people if we do not live with this longing. And now and then our worlds and comfort zones are shaken to reorient us.

    Living with hope is very important because we know that we are not doomed even when our lives here on earth are temporarily shaken through trials, sufferings, sickness and death. And that is the reason, the Apostle Peter says, “. . . fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).

    And this hope is not wishful thinking. Many of us hope for many things. We hope to buy a new car, a new gadget, and we hope for an increment in the salary, a promotion, a beautiful spiritual wife, a rich godly husband, a small and a happy family, for a good and secured life (all this is wishful thinking). We live in a world of fantasy. Self and greed control our dreams and wishes. Such wishful thinking does not have a base from the Bible. And such thoughts will encourage us to focus more on ourselves, our problems, our future, our potential, & etc. Thus, making us ineffective and unfruitful for the Kingdom of God and His purposes.

    Biblical hope is not like wishful thinking. It is God’s promise to His people and therefore, it is dependent on the faithfulness of God. God is true to His Word and is unchanging in His character. He is also able to accomplish all His promises. And our lives should be characterized by faith in God and His word.

    Did God promise us health, wealth and prosperity? It is not biblical to trust Jesus for health, wealth and prosperity. Therefore, it is an unbiblical faith. God did not promise such things, but He promised us biblical hope, a hope that will not fade away. Does this blessed hope control your heart? Anchor you? Relieve you? This biblical hope should fashion our lives, desires, ambitions and even our hobbies. We live here in light of our eternity. Our failure to trust the promised hope is a failure to trust God.  

    Even now, during this pandemic, God expects us to be hopeful. We should remember God’s promises to us.  And the biblical hope should drive us while we are living here as exiles.