O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. (Psalm 139:1–4)Charnock points out that prayer is not to administer knowledge to God, but to acknowledge this admirable perfection of His nature. If God did not know, why pray? It would be like asking a statue, or a photograph, or any idol to protect and care for me. Instead, I’m talking with One who knows, and that alone is a comfort.
For lack of knowledge, people misunderstand people. On Sunday, a person asked me if I could drop in anytime to visit my adult children. He asked in several ways and told me that no one seemed to understand his question. Of course I didn’t — I’m not omniscient and needed more information. Were his children annoyed with him for showing up without letting them know? Was he troubled by their busyness and wanting to make plans before coming over? I could only guess, but God never has to guess.
Charnock points to Jonah who tried to hide from God, as if God did not know that he fled to Tarshish. Charnock mentions the brothers of Joseph who didn’t tell their father what happened to his favored son. Did they think God didn’t know? He also says that people tend to more easily confess visible sins than those held in secret, as if the observations of others are more incentive than the knowledge of God.
The reading for today even suggests that some will reverse the meaning of Bible promises or add to them in an expression of their unbelief. For example, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4) becomes “Blessed are they that rejoice, for they, and they only, shall be comforted.”
As a prayer leader, I need to watch out for such things and encourage faith, not only in our small group but in my own prayer life. The author of this reading says this is a problem of unbelief, yet I would add the sin of pride also motivates it. Compare being needy and asking for help with being so needy that ‘even God cannot help’ as one way to avoid honoring Him.
PRAY: Jesus, that true crime story I read yesterday gave me a shocking glimpse into the human heart. Lack of faith in You can result in extreme selfish thinking and actions that nothing else matters. What amazes me that it is for all sin You died. You bore the shame and the punishment for my sin and for unspeakable sins, even knowing that “The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:14) I’m in awe, not only that You know all things, but that You also came to earth to save sinners — all who sin, including me.
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