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A faithful presence of love in the absences of our city.

Every Syllable

every syllable

When the book of Genesis is received, a million Israelites were wandering hungry and tired in the desert, staring at the moon and stars wondering when God would deliver them. As Justin described in the beginning of this sermon series, they were asking themselves questions of depression and desertion, like "Is the moon just an awful, dusty rock?". Described by John in Revelation, there is horrific imagery of famine and desolation on the Earth brought by horsemen. God's people are yearning for deliverance, desperately asking the Lord, "How long will we suffer?".

In Revelation 8, after an angel of the Lord says “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”, and a countless number of those rescued out of tribulation have a huge party of praise and worship. The seven angels were armed with their warning trumpets, and before God’s judgement falls upon the earth, the throne room of Heaven is struck with silence as the lamb opens the seventh seal. An angel carries the golden censer through the throne room of Heaven, and the smoke and incense of the prayers of God's people fills the room with a sweet aroma.

I feel the palatable silence while imagining this scene. The kind of silence where you are awestruck, maybe terrified, and can not possibly comprehend or fathom the gravity of what you have experienced or what will come to be. I feel similarly when imagining Genesis 1, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. The Earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light". It seems a theme that in the moments before astonishing, large- scale movement, God is just still.  

Here we are presently, like the Israelites, like the world portrayed in Revelation. We have hard stories, empty hands, sleepless nights, and desperate neediness. Humans are deeply needy, I am deeply needy, the whole world is perceived by us as a giant chaotic sphere of bewilderment. I am perplexed and stunned by the brokenness of myself and this world. As I go to the Lord in prayer, I imagine it sounds hysterical, as I misunderstand and fumble through my attempts to understand His plan for us. I often wonder if He hears me, my one small voice in a vast sea of many, and I sometimes struggle to understand that my story and life matter to Him. I continually ask Him “How long this world will suffer, how long I will suffer… Do you hear my cries? Do you know the brokenness?”.

God hovered and hummed over the formless void of the Earth, and then said "Let there be light", and there was. It is proof that God moves, and how bright and lovely it is. In the silent, smoke filled throne room, God similarly sits, hums, and hovers, and He hears every syllable of the prayers of His people and they are sweet to Him. Your voice is not too small to be heard by God, if you are His priest and kingdom. When we feel apathy, and question if the moon is just an awful dusty rock, our prayers are not arbitrary. They don’t just go up and float away, they fill the throne room of heaven and God listens. Like the angel throwing the censer of prayers of the priests back to the Earth with fire, thunder, and lightning, God is absorbing our requests and petitions against this broken world and He is sending his action and answer down with resounding and booming effects, in His time for His purpose.

 

Lord Jesus, 

May your Holy Spirit fill your church with the desire to continually, and steadfastly pray. Make us strong priests that intercede on our broken world’s behalf. May we not be confused or mislead by our own thoughts of prayer and it’s effectiveness, and may we openly speak to you without hesitation or question that you hear us, because you do hear us. We thank you for translating our prayers and groaning to God on our behalf so that we are heard by Him. Take our prayers and make them powerful and reverse them as thunder upon the Earth, that rocks and resounds as Your great love and power. Amen.

~ Carly Haynes