Monday 24th July
Read Habakkuk 2:1
“I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.” (NIVUK)
What are your expectations in prayer? The pagan concept of prayer is that we put the gods to work through our rituals or repetitions. Nor is prayer an activity where we simply sink into a trance and are acted upon by the divine. Prayer sits between these extremes. It is neither active where we seek to manipulate God, nor passive where we simply accept God’s will without question. Prayer sits in the middle.
What does that mean? It means that when we pray we are seeking to participate in an action that has already begun. An action begun by God Himself in the salvation of the world. Through prayer we participate in that action. We will ourselves to participate in the will of God.
When we consider Habakkuk’s words, as he stands at watch on the ramparts, alone, I think we see this expectation of prayer. He places himself in the middle. He will look to see both what Yahweh will say and what response is expected from him. He seeks to understand God ‘s will and hopes that in some way he will be able to understand that will and align his will to his Maker’s. Are those your expectations in prayer?
