(This is the beginning of a series of devotionals on what the Bible has to say about prayer and why we pray.)
I noticed a very bright light in the sky the other day as I was out for a late walk. I stared at it to see if it was going to move thinking maybe it was an airplane. It didn’t. It stayed right where it was seemingly anchored to the moon. Gazing into the night sky leaves me in awe of my God who created it all out of nothing and holds it all together. In this moment of time, it seems that all the celestial bodies are standing still. In reality, though, everything is moving to the rhythms designed by our Father, and as hours, days, and seasons go by our view of the sky is ever-changing.
James 1:16-18
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should
be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
Unlike all that has been created, our Father of lights is eternally unchanging. We pray to one whose love for us never wavers with the times, or praise God, with our unfaithfulness. When we come for grace or for mercy in our time of need, we approach the same Grace as the saints of old. The very same God that promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars, is the very same Father we run to with the concerns of our own descendants. There is no variation in Him or any shadows due to change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
There is comfort in knowing that God does not change. Nor does His will change. He brought us salvation through the Word of Truth that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. His will for us that we would become like His Son, that we might illuminate Him in this world of darkness, is being perfected in His timing. The Word of truth, unlike the moving of the stars and planets, stands firm as an anchor we can hold onto as time, and everything created changes. Our Father in heaven does not change and as I gaze upon Him lifting prayers of praise, confession, intercession, and thanksgiving, I can know that I am praying to the same God who showed mercy to David, and who gave wisdom to Solomon. The grace I come boldly to ask for is the same grace that was given even to Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus! All of these are mine as I enter the throne room of prayer, not because of who I am, but because of my Lord’s unchanging nature.
As children of God, we pray because of who it is we pray to. Join me now in entering into His immutable nature and find the same power that raised Christ from the dead to be yours. The perfect, unchanging Light of the Word eternally prays for the saints even as we pray in His holy name.
“Heavenly Father, we come before you in praise for who you are ~ a perfect, all-knowing, all powerful. unchanging God. We don’t pray as the world does as a last resort in times of crisis. We come to you continuously because you are worthy. You are the anchor we hold onto when the seas are calm, and the one who holds us fast when the seas are stormy. We reach to you in prayer, holding on to you, knowing with full confidence that the Lord I know today is exactly the same one who spoke the world into being out of nothing, and is the same God that I will spend eternity glorifying with my songs of praise. Help us Father to grow in our likeness of your Son and shine our lights for all the world to see. Thank you, God, for saving us and continuing to save us each and every day. It is through the name of your son, The Light of the World, that I pray, amen.”
(Photo: Nicole Querido, all rights reserved)