Foxhole prayers

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Chronicles 11-14;  Psalm 66

TO CHEW ON: "I will pay You my vows,
Which my lips have uttered
And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble."  Psalm 66:13,14

Have you ever prayed, God something like, If You help me out of this situation I'll ______ (go to Africa; never do this thing again; do whatever You ask; etc.)'? Then after the crisis passed, did you follow through with your promise?

The practice of making vows to God when in trouble is thousands of years old. My Bible dictionary defines Bible vows:

"A vow may be either to perform or abstain from an act in return for God's favour or as an expression of zeal or devotion towards God. It is no sin to vow or not to vow, but if made—presumably uttered—a vow is as sacredly binding as an oath. Therefore a vow should not be made hastily" - New Bible Dictionary p. 1313.

Bible characters certainly took vows seriously.

• Israel's judge Jephthah vowed that whatever came out of his house to meet him after victory in battle he would sacrifice—and was shocked when that turned out to be his daughter (Judges 11:30,40).

• Saul was ready to kill his own son when it was discovered Jonathan had eaten honey during battle after Saul had sworn the people to fast all day (1 Samuel 14:24-45).

• Here the psalmist promises to pay the vow he spoke while in trouble. Does the need for such a statement imply that he may have considered not keeping his promise to God?

What troubles me about making vows is the undertone of manipulation—as if our potential action will convince God to come through for us. (Jesus alludes to the futility of our vow-making in Matthew 5:33-37).

Still, when our backs are against the wall and we're desperate, I would hazard most of us would not be above praying frantic foxhole prayers. Whether we follow through with the promises we make in them is a measure of how seriously we take God and our word to Him.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me not to use manipulation in my relationship with You. When I do make promises, help me to act with as much integrity toward You as I would if I had made those promises to a person. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 66

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Cheap religion

"A Message for the Priests"
by B. Picart & G. Gouwen

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Malachi 1-2; Psalm 63

TO CHEW ON: "Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand." - Malachi 1:10 ESV

It sounds like Malachi is invoking the shutdown of the temple! What is the reason for his drastic suggestion?

Malachi prophesied during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, when worship abuses were rampant. As we read Malachi 1 closely, we begin to understand his almost unbelievable message to the priests of his time. He exposed their practices which were making a mockery of temple worship:

1. They offered blemished animals (Malachi 1:8).

2. They "snort(ed) at" rather than respected the temple rituals (Malachi 1:13 ESV).

3. They allowed the people to go back on their promises to offer the best of their flocks, accepting, instead, their inferior offerings (Malachi 1:14).

Though we no longer do the rituals and sacrifices of Malachi's day, there are parallels and lessons for us in his message:

Our lives are now the "living sacrifice" we offer to God (Romans 12:1). Are we giving God our best? The best part of each day? Our best effort? Our best years?

What about the rituals we do keep, like the Lord's Supper? Are we participating with gravity, mindful of its significance? Or do we take part as a rote celebration without examining ourselves and our relationships (1 Corinthians 11:27-32)?

Finally, do we keep our promises to God, perhaps made when we're in trouble? Or, when everything settles down, do we go back on our vows?

As the Bible dictionary writer says it:

"Cheap religion avails nothing....sacrifices given grudgingly are displeasing to God. Better a temple closed than filled with such worshippers" - International Standard Bible Dictionary on Malachi.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for these sobering thoughts from Malachi. Help me to apply them to my life today. Amen.


PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 63


The Bible Project  VIDEO: Malachi (Read Scripture Series)



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Scriptures marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV® Text Edition: 2016

Till Alzheimer's do us part?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Malachi 2:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "Did he not make them one with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth." Malachi 2:15


Pat Robertson's answer to the question of what to do when a spouse has Alzheimer's sent shock waves through the audience of the 700 Club show. "He should divorce her and start all over again," he said. "Since Alzheimer's is a kind of living death," he went on, "divorce and remarriage wouldn't be violating the marriage vows of being faithful 'till death do us part.'"

Dr. Robert McQuilkin did the opposite. When this theologian's wife took ill, he stayed faithfully at the side of his wife of 40 years to the extent of quitting his job so he could provide around-the-clock care. He cared for her until she died--a total of 25 years.

Sickness is one of many reasons we could find, if we're looking, to rationalize breaking our marriage vows. But the Bible is clear that marital separation should be a rare thing. Here are some things the Bible says about the marriage bond:

• Husbands are to love their wives as themselves and as sacrificially as Christ loved the church, while wives are to respect their husbands (Ephesians 5:25,28, 33; Colossians 3:19).
• Wives of unbelieving husbands should stay with them, hopefully winning them to belief by their outer and inner beauty (1 Peter 3:1-4).
• Our prayers may be hindered by marital strife (1 Peter 3:7).

...and there's no expiry date on any of these.

PRAYER: Dear God, my heart goes out to people whose spouses are ill with dementia or any debilitating condition. Help me to find no crack in my resolve to be true to my husband, no matter what. Amen.


MORE: This story in more depth

ABC News story "Pat Robertson Says Alzheimer's Makes Divorce OK"

"Living By Vows" by Dr. Robert McQuilkin (download pdf of the article)

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Empty promises

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ecclesiastes 5:1-20

TO CHEW ON: "Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil." Ecclesiastes 5:1

I fill out my missions pledge card in the heat of the moment, my faith buoyed by the stories of miracle provision in other places. Any second thoughts as to the amount I promise to give monthly are quelled by the pastor's words: "This faith promise is between God and you. No one will ever call on you to collect." I leave, feeling happy with myself. However, the months that follow will tell whether or not those feelings are justified.

Do I take my pledge seriously when finances are low, or a new need arises that requires every spare nickel and dime? Or have I made the "sacrifice of fools" — an empty promise that I break when my circumstances change?

Solomon in Ecclesiastes, warns against such glib vows "Better not to vow than to vow and not pay," he says (vs. 5).

I can think of several reasons we make promises to God that we don't keep.

• Sometimes we make them in the heat of the emotional moment. Later when our feelings have cooled, we go back on those vows.

• We might make a promise to God when we're in trouble, to try to induce Him to help us out.

• If the promise-making is public, we might pledge to do a certain thing or give a certain sum of money to impress others.

• Of course we might also make promises to God as genuine expressions of faith, love, devotion, and gratitude.

Solomon's warning to think before we make a promise to God is excellent. We can use that thinking time to examine our motives. For when we make promises to God and break them, it becomes that much easier to feel casual about promises we make the next time, and the next. Our relationship easily becomes one of habitually making promises we don't intend to keep.

But when we keep our promises to God, we demonstrate to ourselves and others that we genuinely respect ("fear") God who isn't in the least duped by our empty and unfulfilled promises in any case.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to search and know my own heart when it comes to making vows or promises to You. Amen

MORE: "Let My Words Be Few" (by Matt Redman, sung here by Philips, Craig and Dean)

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