With all the pressures and frustrations of life facing us every morning, it might be useful to consider for a moment the Hebrew perspective on prayer.  The shift in focus helps us to see that the answer to our usual questions are not as far away as we might think.

Fundamental to all Hebrew thought about God is this:  God is the absolute King and Ruler and Creator of the universe.  In theological terms, God is sovereign.  The immediate implication is that God is in control of everything.  So, the Hebrew view of history, personal and corporate, is saturated with God’s purposes.  Job tells us that no plan of God’s can be thwarted.  Proverbs tells us that the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord and is directed like an irrigation channel.  The prophets remind us that God uses both good and evil to bring about His plans.  In the Hebrew worldview, God is in charge, period.

It is also quite clear that God never makes a move that is not motivated by His purposes.  There are no accidental or incidental decisions in heaven.  God always does exactly what is the correct thing to do in order to bring about the divine objective.

So, when it comes to the shape and direction of our lives, God is no less diligent in His control, guidance and objective.  He wants to accomplish His purposes in us – and He will do that for there is no one and nothing that can prevent Him. 

One additional ingredient must be added to the mix before we can truly understand the purpose and process of prayer.  God is good.  God is absolutely holy, has no second agendas and will always do what is necessary and essential to bring about the best result.  Of course, we might not think that what happens in life is the best result, but we are not God.  Since God is good, we must rest our evaluation of circumstances and events on His character, not the appearance of actions.  This is incredibly important for it will often seem as though what happens to us and to others does not make sense.  If we were to judge the appropriateness of actions on the basis of our evaluation, we would slip quietly into the Greek model of divinity where Man and Man’s reason is the final arbiter of what is good and right.  No Hebrew could ever make such a mistake.  God’s ways are not our ways.  No man is able to see the biggest picture.  The finite mind is structurally insufficient to discern the ways of eternity and the infinite.  In the end, we either trust in God’s character or we fight for our version of justice.

So, what does this mean when I get on my knees?  The Hebrew perspective is different than the usual, Greek-oriented, contemporary Christian approach.  The Hebrew prays that his heart will be transformed in such as way that he will be fully prepared to accept what God has to offer.  This is very different than the usual prayer asking God to provide what I think I need.  Hebrew prayer opens the door to the holy, sovereign God to choose what is best and give what is necessary.  Hebrew prayer is always in perfect alignment with the will of the Father because it assumes that the issue at hand is not with the giver but with the receiver.  God will always do what is right, holy, blessed and perfect.  I don’t have to convince Him of that.  It is in His nature to do these things.  What is needed is that I become the kind of person who is able to receive what God has to offer.  In other words, my heart must be prepared to be in perfect alignment with what God already knows to be the right, holy, blessed and perfect action.  When I pray for anything else, I run the risk of being out of alignment with the will of the Father, finding my prayers (really requests) unanswered and ending up frustrated (and blaming). 

I can always count on God to do what is best for me, and for His entire creation.  My job in prayer is to prepare my heart to accept what He is doing.  Once my heart is in alignment, I discover peace.  I discover joy.  I discover purpose and power.  Why?  Because I know that the heavenly Father knows what He is doing, and all I have to do is completely trust Him.

Too often our prayers carry the subtle suggestion that we have to convince God to act with holy intent.  We go to prayer as if it were a negotiating session, as if God had to be convinced to act righteously on our behalf.  That way is Greek.  That way assumes that my view is large enough to see how the pieces should fit together and all I must do is get God to cooperate.  That view is blasphemous and idolatrous for it sets me on par with God.

The Hebrew knows that God does exactly what is needed to bring about righteousness.  Therefore, the Hebrew realizes that the impediment is not with God but with me.  My heart must be shaped to receive God’s grace as He desires to provide it.  Paul is entirely Hebrew when he remarks that he has learned to be content in all things.  Reaching this stage in prayer is not easy.  Even Paul asked three times for God to cooperative with Paul’s plans.  But the answer sets us all straight.  “My grace is sufficient.”  Now you know why Jesus could say, “Why are you concerned about tomorrow?  Doesn’t God take care of the birds and the flowers?  Won’t He also take care of you?”

May your prayers reflect the holiness, sovereignty and righteousness of who God is.

Wise – If your biblical orientation is Greek, you will have quite a struggle with this verse.  Does it mean that you need to stop thinking, learning, questioning and reflecting?  Does it mean that you must strive for the “simple” faith, accepting uncritically whatever is taught?  Most people reject this interpretation, but they don’t stop thinking like Greeks.  They decide that the verse is about pride.  They proclaim that Paul warns us about arrogance and an attitude of self-sufficiency.  But the verse doesn’t say, “Do not become proud.”  If Paul wished to say that, there was a very nice Greek word available, hubris.  No, this verse uses the word phronimos, a word that focuses on how we think.  In Greek, it’s about practical sensibility.  Negatively, it means self-complacency.  In other words, you think you have all the answers.

But Paul isn’t Greek.  What do we discover when we think of his statement from a Hebrew perspective? We end up in the Garden.

“And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise.”  Wisdom has very little to do with intelligence.  From a biblical perspective, from the Hebrew point of view, wisdom is about decision-making.  Wisdom (sakal in Hebrew) is a word from moral vocabulary, not intellectual extension.  It is about alignment with God’s point of view.  It is about what is right, righteous, good and holy.  It has nothing to do with IQ, grades or degrees.  One can be the world’s greatest scholar, even in the Bible, and still be an utter fool.  Wisdom is about who decides what is good and what is evil in your life.  What Paul tells us is really pretty simple.  Don’t become your own standard of right behavior.

Every man did what was right in his own eyes.  This is the biblical equivalent of being a fool.  Only God knows what is right.  I can listen and obey, or I can decide that the fruit will make me wise and I will be like a god, determining what is good by myself.  The world is full of those who have become wise in themselves.  They have stopped listening to the outside voice of reason and righteousness.  They have turned God off.  Now they are following the pathway of the serpent.  They will eventually become animals, guided only by their own inner voices.  When the metamorphosis is complete, God gives them up.  They are no longer human by any biblical standard.  In case you didn’t realize it, you should know that the world is de-volving, not evolving.  It is slipping inevitably toward animal consciousness and away from being human.  Why?  Because from a biblical perspective, I am human only insofar as I am in alignment and in conversation with my Creator.  I am born to become human.  But becoming human is a choice.  It is the same choice that the woman faced long ago.  It takes wisdom, not intelligence, to make the right choice.  It is the choice to be dependent, insufficient and submissive.  Wisdom is the choice not to be wise in your own eyes.  How are you doing today?  Feeling wise?

Topical Index:  Do not become wise with yourselves. Romans 12:16