Prayer as a last resort

Psalm 142

A week ago I was driving with Annie to have dinner with a member of the church. I had been to this man’s house once but that was a while ago. His portable phone was not working so I called a friend to get directions. I recognized the field where we were to turn right and went down the road and then turned right after the field as the directions had instructed me to do. But this road did not look familiar. We drove up and down and then tried another road. After several attempts and being unable to reach anyone who could help me with directions, we pulled out to the main road again.

I felt that we should pray but I felt silly doing so. Why bother God with such a small, trivial detail? But I prayed anyway and said something like this, “OK God if we don’t get there then we will be unable to meet with this man. You have to help us find the way.” And then I decided to go down the same road and to the end of another field that was on the left and after that turn right. And that was the road and our friend was standing in front of his home waiting for us. We had a wonderful meal and time with each other.

After I had exhausted all of my options, I turned to prayer as a last resort.

I thought of this incident when I was reading in Genesis about Jacob.

Jacob was one of twin sons born to Isaac, the son of Abraham. His brother Esau was born just before he was and was the rightful heir as the oldest son. But Jacob stole both the birthright and blessing of his father Isaac through manipulation and deceit. Because he was afraid of his brother who was physically more powerful, he fled to the home of his mother’s brother, Laban, far away from Esau.

Jacob was always shrewd and when he came to live with Laban, he discovered that he came by his shrewdness honestly. His uncle was also a shrewd manipulator. Jacob made an agreement to work for seven years for Laban in exchange for the right to marry his daughter Rachel. Laban tricked him into marrying his oldest daughter Leah instead and then Jacob had to work another seven years for the right to marry Rachel.

But Jacob outclassed Laban in his shrewd manipulation and ended up very wealthy, taking much of Laban’s herds of sheep and goats. When things began to get difficult because Laban’s sons were upset that Jacob had taken much of their father’s wealth and their inheritance, Jacob left in the middle of the night, without warning or saying goodbye.

He headed back to where he was born, pursued by Laban and heading toward Esau. He was in a difficult spot, between the frying pan and the fire.

He dealt with Laban but now he faced a much more difficult challenge. He had honestly swindled Laban who had been trying to swindle him. Laban saw that he had been beaten and they made a covenant not to do anything to harm each other.

But he had blatantly cheated his brother Easu and that was a problem. How angry was Esau? How powerful had Esau become? How would he react to a reunion with the brother who had stolen from him his birthright and blessing?

Jacob was a clever man. He was talented in figuring out how to get his way out of a difficult situation and making it work to his advantage. So he started out by sending a message to his brother.

There were three parts to this message. First he said, “I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now.” The implication was, “I have not been hiding, avoiding you, or sneaking around behind your back.”

Then he said, “I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, menservants and maidservants.” The implication was “I’m not coming to try to take anything from you. I have plenty. I’m not going to try to trick you out of anything or lay claim to anything that you have acquired.”

The third part of his message was, “Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.” The implication was, “Why don’t we let bygones be bygones, forget the past and start all over.”

Jacob carefully selected his words and you can be certain that he made sure the messenger had them down exactly before he left. When the messengers returned they had a disturbing response.
“We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

This got Jacob’s adrenalin rushing. Was Esau coming with 400 men to welcome him? If so, why bring four hundred men with him? It seemed more like a threat, payback time. Esau was coming and this time Esau was determined he would not be outmaneuvered by his twin brother.

Jacob divided his wives, children, servants and flocks into two groups so that if he was attacked, he would not lose everything.

And then he prayed.

Jacob, up to this point,  is not portrayed in the Bible as a man of prayer. The only previous time it is recorded that he prayed was in Genesis 28:20-22 when he made a vow.
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear  21 so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God  22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”
But to be honest, this sounds more like negotiating for a favorable contract than a prayer.

Up to now, Jacob has been able to take care of himself and outwit his opponents. But now he is trapped. He cannot go back to Laban because Laban’s sons would not view that as a friendly act and he is awaiting his brother’s arrival, with his 400 men at his side.

So as a last resort, when he was not sure what else he could do, he prayed. And it was not a bad prayer.
Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’  10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups.  11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children.  12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”

The best part of his prayer is verse 10: I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. He acknowledges his unworthiness and God’s abundant provision to him. He gets to the heart of his request, Save me, and then being true to his character, Jacob tries to force God to act by reminding him of the promise he had made to Jacob, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’

Jacob had to get his back up against the wall before he turned to God and asked for help. He had tried all the roads and not found his friend’s house and there was no one answering his portable phone to help him and so as a last resort he prayed.

Jacob prayed but he was not through with his strategizing and perhaps God answered his prayer by helping him to come up with a clever strategy.

Jacob sent a gift to his brother of 220 goats, 220 sheep, 30 camels plus their young, 50 cattle and 30 donkeys. This was a magnificent gift, larger than towns were required to pay as tribute to foreign kings. This was a magnificent gift but also a brilliant strategy.

The gift was sent in five groups, each one arriving some time after the other. If Esau was planning an ambush, his forces would have to prepare themselves each time one of the groups drew near. When they discovered Jacob was not in the group, they would have to gather and once again set out toward Jacob. After preparing five times for an ambush, they would not be as alert and sharp as they had been at first. After five times, they may have given up on the idea of fighting at all.

Secondly, as each group arrived, it became more difficult for Esau to move quickly and silently. Esau and four hundred men could move rapidly and catch Jacob unawares. But you have seen sheep. How fast do they move? By the time they came to Jacob, 220 goats, 220 sheep, 30+ camels, 50 cattle and 30 donkeys were like a chain around their ankles making them move at a snail’s pace. And if the donkeys were braying, that most unpleasant of sounds would be an alarm to wake up the soundest sleeper.

The third part of Jacob’s strategy was that with each group of Jacob’s servants joining Esau’s military entourage, his effectiveness as a fighting force was diluted. How effective could he be with an increasing number of men who would be on Jacob’s side in a struggle? Some part of his four hundred men would have to guard Jacob’s men who were traveling with them.

Jacob was a very clever man and with the execution of this strategy, he had exhausted all his resources. There was nothing more he could do. And once again, when he had come to the end of what he could do, he turned to prayer as a last resort.

The story of Jacob wrestling with the angel of the Lord is a story of a tremendous spiritual struggle. It is portrayed as a wrestling match but it was really a spiritual struggle. Jacob had come to the end and his perseverance that had pulled him through crisis after crisis in his life now pulled him into submission to God. He persisted all night and would not let go of his search for God until he received God’s blessing, a blessing so profound that his character was changed and his name was no longer, Jacob, the cheater, grasper, deceiver but Israel which means prince. And it is after this name change that we begin to read of Jacob building altars and worshiping God.

This is the story that resonated with me when I was reading through Genesis and I read through the Psalms to find a psalm that spoke to me in this same way. This is how I was led to Psalm 142.

Psalm 142 is a psalm of David written when he was hiding from King Saul. Although David had been anointed by the prophet Samuel to be king, Saul was still on the throne and Saul felt very threatened by David. He pursued David and his men from place to place. David was outnumbered and had to hide in the caves of the wilderness.

Think about David’s position. He has been told that God had chosen him to be king of Israel. He had been in Saul’s court learning about how to be king but then Saul became emotionally unstable and he had to run and run and run. And he was still running.

To feed his men, they attacked the Philistines but now the Philistines were looking for him as well as Saul and he was feeling more and more trapped. As did Jacob when he had nowhere else to turn, David called out to God.

Psalm 142 is a prayer of a man who is trapped and does not know where to turn.

I cry aloud to the LORD;
I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
before him I tell my trouble.
3 When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who know my way.
In the path where I walk
men have hidden a snare for me.
4 Look to my right and see;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge;
no one cares for my life.

David expresses to God his desperation. He feels all alone, without any protector. But then he cries out to the one who he knows will protect him.

5 I cry to you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Listen to my cry,
for I am in desperate need;
rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.
7 Set me free from my prison,
that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.

People under pressure sometimes pray the best prayers. David’s psalm is honest, true to his feelings and moves him along to the spiritual place God wants him to be. But this is David under pressure when he has no other options.

I get the sense that David went through long periods of his life without praying. David spent a lot of his life depending on his own ability to take care of problems. When he ran from Saul, he lied to Ahimelech, the priest at Nob and his lie cost Ahimelech and 84 other priests plus the inhabitants of Nob their lives when Saul accused them of harboring David. When David was in the wilderness running from Saul, he extorted the farmers of the region, demanding money from them for protecting them from him and his men. Later on while his soldiers were at war, he committed adultery with Bathsheba and then arranged for the murder of her husband to cover up his offense.

It is because of David’s actions that I suspect he went for long periods of his life without praying. David was far from perfect but time and time again, when David came to the end of his rope and saw no way out, when he had exhausted all his strategies, he turned to God as a last resort and prayed.

The part of psalm 142 that jumps out to me is verse 3
When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who know my way.

My morning pattern is to go to a gym in Sale Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I run on a treadmill for fifteen minutes and then lift weights for the rest of the hour. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I go to the Hilton forét and run a couple laps.

I don’t really enjoy running or exercising, but the best part is when I come home. Especially at this time of year, when I come home I am completely soaked and still dripping sweat. I lie down on the hammock in our back yard without my shirt and let the air cool me down. As I lie I pray and talk through the rest of my day, praying for the people I will be meeting.

A couple weeks ago, at the end of a particularly busy month or so, I was lying on the hammock and when I prayed I felt as if God was so distant it was like he did not exist. The line from Psalm 142 expresses my problem. My spirit was faint within me and I knew immediately what was the cause. I had been working hard but I had not been reading the Bible for me. I had worked on sermons and read Scripture in preparation for a meeting with someone, but for a couple weeks I had not read the Bible for me. And as I lay there, I knew that I had to spend some time that morning with God, reading his word to be fed and to regain a sense of his presence with me.

I pray with people about a lot of things. I have learned over my five years in Rabat how important prayer is. But I still fall into the trap of praying as a last resort, when my efforts are no longer getting me to where I need to be.

You may not struggle with this as I do. But if you do, then let me share some good news with you. When we pray as a last resort, God does not reject us out of frustration with our faithlessness. The story of Jacob is amazing because after so many years of ignoring God, Jacob in desperation came to him and God blessed him and changed his life. David was a terrible man in so many ways and yet over and over again when he turned his heart toward God, God rewarded him with his blessing.

If God did this with Jacob the cheater and shrewd manipulator and with David the liar, extortioner, adulterer and murderer, then God will also do this with us.

I have said many times that if I were God, I would have given up on me long ago. But we are the fortunate recipients of God’s amazing grace that forgives us over and over again and accepts us back on his team despite failure after failure.

Being a Christian is like being a trapeze artist. In the circus you see them swinging high in the tallest part of the circus tent. They stand on a platform holding the bar of the swing and jump off at just the right moment so that when the get to the end of the arc and let go, they grab hold of the hands of the other trapeze artist who left his or her platform at just the right time. The risks they take are breathtaking.

We operate in our Christian life, making decisions about when to leave, what direction to go, when to let go and when to grab on to something new. And because we are sinful, imperfect Christians, sometimes we let go too soon or too late and we fall.

The absolutely wonderful, amazing good news for us is that God provides us with a safety net so when we fall, we bounce on the net underneath us and are able to climb up and get back on the swing. We can take risks for God because we know that he loves us and is our safety net, protecting us, accepting us back when we fail.

My encouragement to you this morning is to pray, not as a last resort but as a first step. Pray about all you do, asking God for his guidance, direction and provision. Step out in faith taking the risks God puts before you.

My further encouragement is that when you fail and come to him as a last resort, he will welcome you and use your obedience in coming to him to accomplish his purposes in your life.

The greatest encouragement for us is that it is ultimately God who is at work. He has his purposes that are being worked out. And we are given the privilege of being used by him to accomplish his purposes.

Let me tell a story of Brother Andrew who in his book, God’s Smuggler, tells of his work in bringing Bibles behind the Iron Curtain in the years before the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and Russia. On one trip across the border into Romania, he was behind six cars. Each one was taken apart by the guards. On some cars more than an hour was spent, during which seats were taken out, hubcaps removed, the engine partially disassembled, and everything unpacked in the search for the smallest bit of illegal literature. When he saw this, he decided on an unusual bit of strategy.

“Dear Lord,” I said, as at last there was just one car ahead of me, “what am I going to do? Any serious inspection will show up those Rumanian Bibles right away.”

“Lord,” I went on, “I know that no amount of cleverness on my part can get me through this border search. Dare I ask for a miracle? Let me take some of the Bibles out and leave them in the open where they will be seen. Then, Lord, I cannot possibly be depending on my own stratagems, can I? I will be depending completely on you.”

This is what he did. He took several Bibles from their hiding place and placed them on the seat in the open and when it was his turn, drove up to the checkpoint.

It was my turn. I put the little VW in low gear, inched up to the officer standing at the left side of the road, handed him my papers and started to get out. But his knee was against the door, holding it closed. He looked at my photograph in the passport, scribbled something down, shoved the papers back under my nose, and abruptly waved me on.

Surely thirty seconds had not passed. I started the engine and inched forward. Was I supposed to pull over, out of the way, where the car could be taken apart? Was I … surely I wasn’t … I coasted forward, my foot poised above the brake. Nothing happened. I looked out the rear mirror. The guard was waving the next car to a stop, indicating to the driver that he had to get out. On I drove a few more yards. The guard was having the driver behind me open the hood of his car. And then I was too far away to doubt that indeed I had made it through that incredible checkpoint in the space of thirty seconds.

My heart was racing. Not with the excitement of the crossing, but with the excitement of having caught such a spectacular glimpse of God at work.

God is at work. If it has been a while since you read the Scriptures for yourself, to hear God speak to you, take time today to do that. If you are plotting strategy after strategy and have not taken time to pray with some others to seek God’s direction in what you are doing, take time to pray this week.

God is at work. Don’t be afraid to jump off the platform and have the privilege of working with God to accomplish his purposes. Don’t be afraid of the obstacles and dangers ahead of you. God has provided you with a safety net and he will work with you with all your imperfections. Just come to him. Submit to him. Ask him to use you as his servant. Be blessed.