Contrasting Prayers
I've been meditating on the last three verses of Habakkuk this week. It's a beautiful ending to a book that contains honest frustration and confusion. In it, the prophet transitions from complaining to praising and shows us how to do the same.
As I meditated on this passage, another prayer in the Bible came to my mind. This one, too, follows a spell of confusion and frustration, but the overall attitude is very different. The prayer is that of Jacob after having a wondrous dream. This particular passage caught my attention before, and I wrote a devotion on it about three years ago. But today, I want to look at it again in comparison to Habakkuk's prayer. Let's begin with Jacob's words to God; then, we'll read Habakkuk's.
“And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:”
“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.”
Did you catch the difference? Jacob's prayer basically said, "As long as life is good, and God gives me what I want, I'll claim the Lord as my own." Habakkuk's prayer, on the other hand, said, "If everything falls apart, I'll still praise God because He is my strength and the God of my salvation." Those are two very different attitudes, aren't they?
Now, let's get down to the nitty-gritty. Which prayer can we most relate to? Are we willing to serve God and praise His name when everything falls apart? Or do we—like Jacob—feel we only owe God honor and thanksgiving when He does things our way? It's a sobering thought, isn't it?
I usually pray in the right way, claiming I'll serve God no matter what, but when life turns upside down, my complaints far outweigh my praises. I may pray like Habakkuk, but my attitude is often that of Jacob. "Lord, bless me, then I'll see what I can do for you." Shame on me!
Friends, if God never did another thing for us, He deserves our praise. If every day in our lives from now to eternity were a bad day, God would still be good. If every year were like 2020, God is still worthy of our worship. He deserves it because of who He is. He has earned it for all He's done. And no matter what life may bring our way, we need to be like Habakkuk and rejoice because even in our lowest times, God can make us walk on high places.
How is your prayer attitude today?