The Prayer of the Righteous

"'O Sovereign LORD! 

You have made the heavens and earth 

by your strong hand

and powerful arm.

Nothing is too hard for you!

. . .See how the siege ramps have been built

against the city walls!

Through war, famine, and disease,

the city will be handed over to the Babylonians,

who will conquer it.

Everything has happened just as you said.

And yet, O Sovereign LORD,

you have told me to buy the field

--paying good money for it before these witnesses--

even though the city will soon be handed

over to the Babylonians.'"

Jeremiah 32:17, 25 NLT

Jeremiah did the foolish, the wasteful, the stupid.  He paid good money for land that was about to be handed over to the Babylonians.  Why would he do such a thing?  His prayer reveals much about the maturity of his faith, and I can glean much from it about how my own faith will grow.

Obedience.  Jeremiah was pure of heart.  Instead of weighing the pros and cons of buying the field God directed him to purchase, or relying on his own understanding of the wisdom of doing such a reckless thing, or asking himself how this action would make him look to his peers, he obeyed God (Jeremiah 32:9).  Once his cousin came to offer the land to him, just as God had said he would, giving him the assurance the directive was from God, Jeremiah did as God directed him to do (v 8).  Noncompliance was not even considered.

As I grow in the grace and knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ, He will allow hard things into my life to purify my heart, as well, giving me the desire to obey Him above all other aspirations.  I will begin to grasp the importance of doing as God commands and desire to please Him more than I want to satisfy myself or others.  Tithing will no longer be a difficult step of faith but a delight.  Instead of feeling discomfort or revulsion when coming in contact with the mentally ill, drunken street people, or the hardened convict, God's love for the unlovable will flow from me as I fall in step with Christ.  While I used to begrudgingly spend a few minutes in prayer and study of scripture, I will grow in my desire to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from His Word.

As I grow in Christ I will develop a heart that is pure like Jeremiah's, desiring to obey God more and more each day.

Values.  Jeremiah's value system was upside down and backwards from the world's economy.  He treasure his bond with God more than his freedom, reputation, money or even his life itself.  He would probably join the apostle Paul in saying, ". . .to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).  What could be better than to enter into eternity with God?  But both men knew that glorious day would soon come, so to stay on this wretched earth for the sake of reaching the lost and doing His will was their desire, as long as God was using them for His purposes.

As I get to know Jesus more and more, disentangling from the corruption of the world, my value system will go through a transformation process.  I may at times feel as if I'm going through a sifter or being tumbled around like a grain of sand in an hour glass as God changes my standards and alters my ideals.  While I used to treasure my comfort, guarding my "me time" and being stingy with my resources, God changes the way I look at what I have.  I realize everything belongs to Him and has been entrusted to me as a gift so I stop holding on to things like they're mine and let Him use all I have as He sees fit.  As I give Him more and more control, I see that His grace abounds and I never feel overextended or strained.  Instead, I find joy in giving generously as He gives, whether it be of my money, time, or gifts.

As I grow in Christ my value system will change until I discover what Jeremiah knew; that my relationship with God is my greatest treasure.

Faith.  He didn't doubt God would do as He said He would do.  Jeremiah understood that God was utterly faithful to deliver upon His promises and he staked his life on this belief.  He knew God enough to trust that He could do anything, overcome any obstacle and accomplish the most impossible feat.  His faith reminds me of the young shepherd boy's when he was willing to face a 9-foot seasoned warrior with only a sling and a few smooth stones.  David's belief that God was with him gave him the kind of courage most of us only dream about (1 Samuel 17:37,46).

What would it look like to live without doubt, free from fear, unrestricted by insecurity?  I need only look to David or Jeremiah to see my future as my vision of God grows larger and larger.  The more I know about God and His character, the less I am likely to hesitate when it comes to trusting God to do the "impossible."  I'll walk forward in confidence, believing God can change the hardest of hearts, open the most secure of doors, or make a way where it seems there's none.  

As I grow closer in my relationship with Jesus I will see Him more and more as He truly is, limiting Him less and less until I allow Him to operate in my life in His full power as Jeremiah did.

It is not easy to walk by faith since I often desire to gain fully understanding before I commit to an action.  As I grow in my relationship with Jesus, however, I'll become more and more like Jeremiah, wanting to obey God more than anything else, valuing my bond with Him as my greatest treasure, and building my faith until I realize nothing is impossible for God.  When I do, I'll be able to utter the prayer of the righteous which says, "Nothing is too hard for You!"

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to take off the limits I place on Him in my doubt.

When do I judge something as impossible?

How do I doubt God's sovereign power in my life?