A View From The Sycamore Tree: God Bows Down, Are We Praying Up?

Sunday, March 28, 2010

God Bows Down, Are We Praying Up? - Psalm 116 (part 1)

"I love the Lord,

because He hears my voice and my supplications.

Because He has bowed down His ear to me,

therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.

(vs 1-3)

"I love the Lord...." It is true that I do and the 116th Psalm is full of the reasons why I should love Him. It is full of reasons for this psalm's particular writer and it is full of reasons for this particular psalm reader.

The heading in my Bible refers to this chapter of God's Word as "A Psalm of thanksgiving for delieverance from death." As I have spent some time drinking it in I think I would have to personally title it "A Psalm of thanksgiving for all that God has done for Lori Sealy." This one has hit home. Sadly, I know that I will not be able to do justice to that which has moved me to tears of amazement and to a heart filled with thanksgiving and praise. I do love the Lord and this Psalm clearly expresses many of the reasons why I do!

David begins with a simple statement: "I love the Lord." His first "because" is related to God's condescending act of hearing and answering our prayers.

Have you ever thought of just what a phenomenal picture of humility prayer is? Perhaps you've thought about it from YOUR perspective - I know I have. For me, to pray is an act of admitting that I have a need that is beyond myself. I don't always like to admit that - OK, I seldom like to admit that - which is one of the reasons prayer is hard. It is hard because I am proud and far too pretendedly self-sufficient.

However the greatest act of humility is not that I humble my proud self to make a request to the King of the universe but that this King of kings actually pauses to listen to that request!!

The passage says that "He hears my voice and my supplications." Millions upon millions of people are calling out his name and yet He hears me as if I were the only one! And He answers me as only a loving Father can and will! Wow!! That is one good reason to love Him!

Verse two describes this listening act as God bowing down His ear to us. Does that not blow you away? The Holy God - the infinite and majestic LORD of Lords - the only One worthy of praise - the Creator of everything - the Righteous Judge of all the earth "has bowed down His ear to me."

Pause to let that truth digest. "He has bowed down His ear to me."

OK - here's your "if/then" question for the day. IF God is willing to stoop down to hear us THEN why are we not more prone to lift up our prayers to Him?! Why do we not much more often come boldly before the throne of grace?

Verse two puts the "if/then" prayer encouragement into a "therefore" form. "Because He has bowed down His ear to me, THEREFORE I shall call upon Him as long as I live."

Friends, He is listening are we praying?!

Loving Him because He listens,

Lori

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Here We Go!

This is a blog about the goodness and grace of God, even amidst the angst of autism.

So ... how did this whole thing start?

Well, I said I'd never do this but obviously here I am. After being challenged, encouraged, goaded and double dog dared, several years ago I began to blog.

Near the end of 2008, I found myself with renewed passion for God's Word, Kingdom, and people and I was stirred, through nothing other than the simple means of grace, to a hunger and thirsting for righteousness unlike any other time in my 20+ years as a Christian.

During that period, I began typing out the things that were striking me the most in my quiet time each morning. Honestly, I started because I wanted to have a written record that I could pass along to my children one day - lettered Ebenezers reminding them of how much their Mom loves God and His Word.

While doing that I found myself so excited on certain days that I began to email my musings to some of my girl friends, hoping to encourage them even as Christ was encouraging me. Many of those gals challenged me to put these things online in a blog form so others could have access to them. That's how this site started.

Now, to shoot really straight with you, that personal "revival" of mine has pendumatically ebbed and flowed over the course of the days, months and years since 2008. For a prolonged period after that initial renewing surge I actually found myself in an utterly antithetical place. God, in His wisdom, was pleased to grant me a substantial season in the dark dungeon of "doubting castle" - those days were some of the hardest of my life post-Jesus but were providentially ordained days ultimately used for my good and for my God's glory.

"Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come" by nothing but the amazing grace of an amazing God.

I've learned that even in the midst of the darkest of days there's just something about the light of God's Word that is powerful. The Scripture has been an anchor for me in the storm surge of life. Even when my eyes have seemed to be rather veiled and my vision somewhat dimmed, there has still been a re-focusing force that has risen when I have gazed long and hard upon the Word of God. Thus, even as a saint who struggles, I continue to write of my God, my Redeemer, His promises, and His truth.

I'm not always very regular at posting here because there are many more important duties in my life right now than blog uploads - ie. being wife, mom, housekeeper, cook, taxi service, chief bottle washer, and laundry lady - along with that music thing I do as a side gig! But, as time allows I'll be cutting and pasting from Joshua and Elizabeth's future journal gift and sharing some of it with you as well.

Thanks for stopping by!

Who's Doing This?

Lori Sealy is daily amazed at the grace of God in her life. Adopted as an infant and raised in an evangelical church, she rebelled against the things of Christ during high school and considered herself an atheist. Upon entering college, the God who ordains our steps ordained that her path would cross with several students who loved Christ and loved His Word. During that first year of college, she set out to destroy the faith of these young Christians. They set out to pray for her salvation.

Knowing that "faith comes through hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ," six college students daily confronted her sin and challenged her with the truths of God's glorious Word. Their obedience in proclaiming the good news of the gospel of Christ bore fruit in August of 1988 when by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, she was adopted for the second time in her life - this time into the family of God.

Lori is now the wife of Phillip Sealy. They live in Sylva, North Carolina where Phillip has been called to plant a new church for the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) - Redeemer Church Sylva. The Sealys have two children Joshua (14) and Elizabeth (12). Lori and Joshua both live with autism.

In her spare time (what little there is) Lori masquerades as a part-time songwriter/singer and performs on a limited monthly basis. Lori's newest CD, "The Strife is Over," has recently released. Hard copies of it, along with her last release "Begone Unbelief", are available through CD Baby and Lori's own website. Digital downloads are available through iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon mp3!

Be sure to visit http://www.lorisealy.com/ to learn more!

Why the Sycamore Tree?

Zaccheus, the wee little man, wanted to see Jesus and so he climbed into the sycamore tree in order to get a good look. Lori, the wee little wife and mom, longs to see Jesus as well. I realize that the place where I will catch a true glimpse of Him is in the pages of His Word.

The Bible is my sycamore tree and I find myself longing more and more to climb up into its branches that I might see Christ more clearly. This blog is simply a record of what God is teaching me as I spend time in "the tree" of His glorious Word. If anyone reads it I'll be amazed; if anyone profits from it I'll be humbled; and if anything good is found in it Soli Deo Gloria!