I heard a story the other day apparently from the book The Prayer of Jabez, part 2 (don't know the official title). Anyway, the paraphrased version is something like this: a married pastor sees a pretty girl at the airport and decides it's best if he avoids her. While trying various methods to avoid this beautiful woman, she repeatedly seems to "push" herself on him. He finally wears down and begins to walk up to a hotel room with this woman. As he opens the door, he remembers a "convenant handshake" he had given to an accountability group of some sort to remain morally pure. He finds the courage and strength to tell this woman to leave and he locks himself in his room the rest of the night.
Many things were going through my head as this story was told. It sounded as if this man was somehow being preyed upon by this woman and he was doing everything he could to avoid her and yet she was just to powerful. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but let's just say he really was being preyed upon. To me, the point isn't so much that he had this "convenant handshake" to remind him to stay pure - as it seemed to be presented. There's nothing wrong with something like this, but I think something is missing from the story if you rely on a mystical handshake to stay pure. I think it's important to go deeper than that. Like, what was it about his character and his heart that made him have to avoid the woman? Too many times I've relied on the mystical handshake to protect me from the "devil"... and too many times I've found myself wondering why the handshake didn't work. Lately, I've come to realize there's some pretty ugly stuff in my heart - more than I am and have ever been aware. And no matter how sacred I may intend this handshake to be, it doesn't touch the darkness in my heart. That sounds bad, and at times it is. But it's also good. It's good when I bring it honestly before God. It's good when I can admit to God that my own desires and plans are more important than God's deisres and plans for me. It's also good when I can honestly tell God I want Him to change my heart...because I don't know how. There are no instant cures to a heart condition. It's a long, hard, arduous journey...at least it is for me.
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I was just talking about purity in prayer with some girls at a Bible Study earlier tonight. We started discussing praying the will of God. We talked about how it becomes selfish when we ask God to do what we want all the time, instead of allowing Him to be God, and do what He wants. On the other hand, we discussed how sometimes we become too "legalistic" (I think that's the word I want.) and pray that God's will be done even though we don't really mean it. It's what we're supposed to say. At least the first person is being real with God in saying what they want. It may be a little bit of a stretch, but I think it kind of relates to what you were saying about the heart change and being real with God. If we can't pray His will, it's probably because we're scared of it. So, we should tell him that. I think that in admitting our fears and weaknesses, opens us up to allowing God to come in and change our hearts. As for this pastor, shaking hands doesn't seem to be the best way to try and solve his problem. I may be restating some of what you said, but I think it sounds like he wants to change, but he's trying to do it with his own willpower instead of allowing God to come in and change his heart. Willpower will only take you so far, but God's power will change you forever. Oohh…. That's good. That sounds like something a great theologian would have said. Like you said, willpower is trying to fix something immediately. If we have the kind of willpower to instantaneously fix things, then why is there so much wrong with us? It's because we don't have that power. It's a "long, hard, arduous journey," but in submitting to the authority of God and allowing Him to change us, it's worth it in the end.
good thinking and well said, Angel!!
I like your blog. Mine is a bit more mundane. Kind of a way to keep up with my family. Anyway, Savannah's blog is: chazphoto.blogspot (and the accompanying stuff) and mine is m1chaz.blogspot (etcetera)
I remember when Lisa used to blog.
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