The Bible Burrito Podcast

Not Your Normal Bible Study Podcast

Kreig Durham

Lessons in Prayer From the Jewish Tefillah

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“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Recently I’ve been diving into studies on the ancient Jewish context of the Old Testament, especially the Torah (the first 5 books of the Old Testament that we commonly call the Pentateuch). As Christians, we often read these books in a bit of a vacuum. We read them (and in the case of Leviticus, we skim them) in order to make it through a yearly Bible reading schedule. We engage with the action-packed stories, but our eyes tend to gloss over at the more difficult passages that depict parts of ancient near-eastern culture that are entirely alien to us.

What is all of this about Abraham making two rows of dead animals and God walking through them? Why does God seem so merciless and cruel compared to the New Testament? Many of our most difficult questions about the Old Testament stem from the fact that we are thousands of years removed from the people in those stories, and our culture is exceptionally unlike theirs was. As I have read about the patterns of Jewish life in ancient Israel, some things have stuck out to me like signal flares begging to be seen. Jewish life now, and especially in the time of Jesus and long before in the times of the kings of Israel, was centered around tefillah. Tefillah (Heb. תפילה; te-feel-ah) is the Hebrew word for prayer.

Prayer as Service

Tefillah is really a very generic word in and of itself, from a root word meaning intervening and executing judgment. There are a number of other Hebrew words that translate to prayer, but the Jewish people have historically gravitated to this one in particular because of the implication that it is an exercise of the heart and mind, which lines up with the Biblical command to serve God “all your heart” (Deut. 11:13). To serve God with your heart is to tefillah, to pray. Prayer becomes then a labor of worship and service to the LORD God, not just a simple ritual of words.

To serve God with your heart is to tefillah, to pray. Prayer becomes then a labor of worship and service to the LORD God, not just a simple ritual of words.

So often when we pray, we view it as simply taking a list of requests to God. We’re often hoping, like children with Santa Claus, that He gives them all to us if we’ve been nice. Or we just go through the motions, not really reflecting on the incredible act of divine communion we are participating in. Prayer for the Christian is a time when heaven and earth meet as the God of all Creation meets with His creation. Of course, prayer is about asking, but it’s also about interceding for others, about worship and thanksgiving, and overall about being intentionally in the presence of God. As Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Prayer is an act of service to God from our hearts.

Ritual Can Deepen Devotion

The passage at the top of the article is part of the origin for the tefillin, or phylacteries as we call them in English, which are the two black boxes worn on the arm and the forehead during Jewish prayer rituals. These leather boxes contain small scrolls with Scriptures relating to key passages on prayer: Exodus 13:1-10, Exodus 13:11-16, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Deuteronomy 11:13-21. More than just a tradition to be kept for its own sake, these were a literal interpretation of the instruction to “bind them [God’s words] for a sign upon thine hand” and for them to be “as frontlets between thine eyes” (Deut 6:9).

When one would perform the daily prayer rituals and strap the tefillin to their arm and forehead, thy would literally be binding the LORD God’s Words to their hand and putting them before their eyes, and in so doing, would remember those Scriptures placed inside. This outward sign was meant to be a moment of reflection on the inward truth about God’s covenant and His promised redemption of His people. The Jewish people could reflect in these moments on their relationship with God.

Similarly, we as Christians should be view our own rituals in the same light. Whether it is praying before a meal, taking the cup and bread as part of the Lord’s Table in Communion, or even just saying a prayer as you begin your day, let them serve to put our great God and Savior before our eyes and bind His Word and promises to us. Believers in Jesus should not shy away from ritual or get too wrapped up in our traditions that we forget why they exist. Rather, let us use them to remember the New Covenant that Jesus made with us and the redemption of the body that we look forward to one day.

Communion Cannot Exist Without Community

We read in Genesis 1:27 that God made humans in His image. This has a lot of amazing implications, but one of them is that we are beings made for relationships. We see this in Genesis 3 when the Lord came to walk with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and again throughout Genesis (and the whole Old Testament) when He speaks to and meets with people over and over again. The original, perfect state of humanity was one of relationship with and service to God, but also with each other. One of the first things God tells Adam and Eve is to “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:28). He wanted us to make more people!

The Ten Commandments reflect this dual sense of relationship. The first four commandments deal with our relationship with God, while the last six deal with our relationships with other people. Jesus reiterates this Old Testament emphasis when he says that the greatest commandments are to love God and love others (Matt. 22:36-40). Clearly, God intended for us to have right relationship with Him first, and then other people.

The Jewish tefillah reflects this emphasis. The prayer traditions of the Jewish people emphasize that their prayers not just be personal, but also a communal act. The Jewish Talmud (the laws added by the generations after Israel’s return to Jerusalem) speaks of those who would meditate for hours before the communal prayers. Clearly, they saw the Biblical urging to love God and love others as meaning they must be first in communion with God before being in community with people.

Looking to the New Testament, we see the writers of the letters to the churches also emphasize this dual communion/community focus. While there are numerous calls to pray and be devoted to God personally, there are also a number of times where we are reminded not to forsake the gather together of God’s church (Hebrews 10:25). We also see in the early days of the church that after a great moment of worship that shook the place where they were meeting, the next event we see happening was service those in the body of Christ that were in need (Acts 4). 1 John chapter 1 tells us that God wants to fellowship with us. But then it tells us that right relationship with Him results in fellowship (community) with the other believers. There can be no right relationship with people without right relationship with God, and right relationship with God always results in right relationship with people. Prayer is a huge part of that, as we often see the church in Acts pray together.

There can be no right relationship with people without right relationship with God, and right relationship with God always results in right relationship with people.

These are just three lessons from looking at the Jewish prayer traditions which started all the way back in ancient times, but they should challenge us to not take prayer for granted. In fact, prayer should be an act of worship and service to God which not only deepens our own faith in Jesus but also strengthens our bonds with our brothers in sisters in Christ. When we view prayer this way, we can approach with that boldness of the book of Hebrews, and leave changed and ready to be light and salt to a world greatly in need.

Two Dangerous Words

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Two of the most dangerous words in a believer’s vocabulary are words that don’t seem so dangerous: status quo.

A dictionary definition of status quo would be “the existing state of affairs.” Now that doesn’t seem so harmful. What on earth is so dangerous about the way things are?

“Status quo” for a Christian becomes very perilous because he starts to get used to the way things are. He is, you could say, stuck in a rut. And this rut entails things that the Bible never intended for the Christian life, or for the church. Things like prayerlessness, a lack of time in God’s Word, carelessness over the lost condition of those around you, going to church out of routine or obligation, and an overall lack of Holy Spirit power abound in your life and church if you’re satisfied with the status quo.

God offers a much different option.

“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD…“ Hosea 10:12

Fallow ground is ground that was once fertile and useful, but it has been abandoned. God says to the believer, “Remember where you began neglecting your walk with me, and go back there!” Turn over that hardened soil, pluck up the weeds, work the ground until it is useable once more. Don’t just read your Bible, beg God to speak to you. Don’t just utter vain repetitions you pass off as prayer, truly fall at the throne of grace and seek God’s face. Get back in touch with the God of your salvation.

Trying to do right things the wrong way is just as frustrating as doing the wrong things. God wants us to get back to an abiding relationship, where we find all our strength, energy, joy, peace, contentment, and will to go on in the person of Christ Jesus. Stop living the Christian life in the flesh, and yield to the Savior, Who craves to live it through you!

Break up your fallow ground, O wandering and weak saint, for it truly is time to seek the LORD.

I Surrender… Some

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Imagine if you will the words to a familiar hymn, with a slight twist…

Most to Jesus I surrender; most to him I freely give; I will ever love and trust him, in his presence often live.

Much to Jesus I surrender; humbly at his feet I bow, worldly pleasures mostly forsaken; take me, Jesus, after I clean up my life.

A lot to Jesus I surrender; make me, Savior, somewhat thine; fill me half-way with thy love and power; sort of know that thou art mine.

Some to Jesus I surrender; Lord, I give what is comfotable to thee; give me thy love and power; let thy blessing fall on me.

A little to Jesus I surrender; later I’ll feel the sacred flame. O the joy of fulfilling self! Glory, glory, to my name!

It doesn’t sound quite right, does it? Sadly this is the heart-cry of many a so-called follower of Christ in our churches today. Is it any wonder that we don’t see God work like He once did? Ought we be surprised at the worsening spiritual climate in our great nation? The key duty of God’s people has been neglected. Romans 12:1 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

The world says, “Look out for number one!” God says, “Crucify self!” God expects (and reasonably so) for every one of His children to “deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow [Christ].” (Luke 9:23) The Bible also plainly declares, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24) You are either serving God or serving self. You cannot possibly hope to live for yourself most of your week, and expect God to be pleased with the two cents you throw His way on Sunday and Wednesday. Your entire life belongs to God. He bought it! He has every right to it! (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20)

The only options are yielding fully to God, or fully rebelling. Partial surrender doesn’t earn you any brownie points with God.

On the bright side, God has wonderful blessings in store for the believer who will simply surrender to Him in humble obedience:

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” – 1 Corinthians 2:9 & 10

Craving

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You’ve all experienced it before (especially you ladies who have ever been pregnant): You’re at home, work, school, the sofa (or wherever), and all of sudden, like a mental-emotional ninja, you get a….. craving! The day was going quite calmly until you suddenly had an overwhelming desire for some random food (or non-food item that you suddenly want to try to eat… *ahem* pregnant people). Suddenly you are no longer focused on work, the TV show, the road on which you’re driving, and you have one singular goal: satisfy that craving. You may have, like I have, gone to great lengths, driven long distances, and spent exorbetent amounts of cash just to satisfy that desire for a large Reese’s McFlurry – by the way, is it just me, or is always when you desperately need ice cream that every McDonald’s within 15 miles has a broken ice cream machine?
We do some pretty ridiculous things to satisfy a craving for a food or beverage, but when was the last time you can say you craved God? David said in Psalm 63:
O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
That’s a pretty intense craving. David relates his desire for God and God’s power to the desire that you would have for food and water if you were stranded in the desert. In fact, David wrote this Psalm in the wilderness of Judah, hiding from King Saul, who was trying to kill him. As David found surveyed the dry and thirsty land that he was in physically, he realized that the world, which has no care for God, is a dry and thirsty land spiritually. He understood in those times of drought and need that his greatest need was not food and water, but the Lord. He recalled the times when he had seen God do great things, and he craved that power in his circumstances.
When the going gets tough, most of us unfortunately start craving physical solutions to our problems and run farther from God. In those times of physical need, you need God more than ever. I believe we can learn some important lessons from David’s Psalm to God that will help us to see God’s power in our lives.
  1. Don’t be ashamed to publicly identify with God. Like David we must declare, “O God, thou are my God!” and decide that we’d rather have His favor than man’s popularity. Making yourself known as a Christian will bring discomfort, but that’s why God sent the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter!
  2. Seek God early: early in priority, and early in the day. This is really the key of the whole thing. David declared, “Early will I seek thee.” Seeking God cannot be a part-time or passing-thought kind of task. You must discipline yourself to keep God’s Word in your heart all day long, and to communicate with Him constantly. No relationship can work where one party refuses to listen or to talk.
  3. Realize that this world is a spiritual desert. You live in a world that really has nothing to do with the things of God. Everyone is looking out for “number one” in the world. You will find no spiritual nutrition in Kelly Clarkson, Dr. Phil or O’Reilly. Without a healthy relationship with God, you’ll go through life spiritually anorexic at best.
  4. Desire to see God work in your life like He has worked in others’. When you see people getting right with God and excited about the things of God, determine that you want that for yourself. Revival starts in your heart.

Once you finally have a craving for God, you’ll find that God delights in satisfying that craving. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” – Matthew 5:6

It’s time to get hungry for the things of God.

How to Shop at Walmart

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The following are several unwritten rules that I have observed as an employee at Walmart. These rules explain how many people think they are supposed to shop at Walmart.

  1. Assume that anyone wearing blue is an employee.
  2. Assume that every employee knows (or should know) everything about every minute detail about all of Walmart.
  3. Play football throughout the entire store.
  4. Carry a gallon of milk to the opposite end of the store, then leave it sitting on an unrefrigerated shelf.
  5. Never look at the signs that tell you what kind of items are down an isle.
  6. Assume that if Walmart does not carry it, it must not exist in the universe.
  7. Open every box you touch, then decide not to buy whatever is inside after all.
  8. Blame the hourly associates for things that only the store manager can control.
  9. Get an associate’s attention by yelling, “Hey you!” rather than by calmly saying, “Excuse me.”
  10. Stick your used gum on the shelf.
  11. Let your toddler drool all over a toy, then put it back on the shelf.
  12. Respond to your irate and out of control child with, “Don’t make me count to three…”
  13. Repeat #12 five minutes later.
  14. Repeat #12 ten minutes later.
  15. Repeat #12-14 for the next half hour.
  16. Give up on controlling your child and pretend he is not screaming.
  17. Walk past several safety cones and an associate who is warning you of a wet floor, then threaten to sue Walmart when you slip.
  18. Use the store ladders that are labeled “for associate use only.”
  19. Ask obvious questions like, “Where are your registers?”
  20. Attempt to start a riot about the fact that there are only three registers open.
  21. Force an associate to help you shop for two hours.
  22. When an associate says that he is 100% sure that a particular is not in the back room, ask, “Well can you check?”
  23. Go through the express checkout lane with 100 items.
  24. Stand in front of the guy pulling 3000 pounds of freight behind him.
  25. Refuse to walk your shopping cart twelve more feet to the cart corral.

Total Dependency

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You will understand that God is all you need when God is all you have.

In Jeremiah 42, the people left behind after Babylon took most of Judah captive come to Jeremiah seeking God’s will. They had just been betrayed and their leader assassinated, and many of them wanted to go to Egypt to seek safety. But before they left, they asked Jeremiah to find out God’s will for the choice they had to make. They went so far as to give their word they would obey God’s will, whether is be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee…” (verse 6).

To those who remained in the land, Jerusalem and Israel was the least safe place that they could possibly live at this point: no leader, enemies on every side, a city that was totally defenseless, their family and friends carried away into captivity. Yet Jeremiah returned to them with an unusual answer, “Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him; If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon… for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand” (vv. 9-11). Contrary to what made sense and seemed rational, God said they needed to stay in the land.

Faith often requires us to do that which makes little or no sense from our perspective. The children of Israel must have felt ridiculous while marching silently around the city of Jericho for six days, but when God tore down the walls on day 7, they saw that God always knows what He’s doing. Peter probably regretted saying he wanted to step into the water with Jesus when it came to actually getting out of the boat, but he was the only disciple that got to see how looking unto Jesus makes the impossible happen. No doubt people mocked Elijah for three times pouring water onto a sacrifice that was supposed to burned, but when the LORD brought down fire and consumed that sacrifice, no one was laughing or mocking anymore. In our passage of Scripture, the people thought it suicide to stay in Judah, but God gave them a clear commandment along with a sure promise. You see, where God guides, He provides; and He promised the remnant that if they stayed where He wanted them, He would not only protect them, but bless them incredibly!

But the people already had their minds made up. If you’ve read the previous blog post, they already had their minds made up about what they would do. They were basically trying to get God to conform to their will instead of being willing to conform to God’s will.

So often, we try to force Almighty, infinite God into this tiny box o what we think His will should be. Often these are not bad things, they just aren’t God’s perfect will. Settling for anything other than God’s will (no matter how good it may be), is simple rebellion. I’m afraid that many of us will never see God do amazing things simply because we are, like the people of Jerusalem, unwilling to put ourselves in a position of total dependency upon the Lord. Faith is a scary word to many because it implies a giving over of control. But Hebrews 11:6 says that “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” God rewards faith. He will not ruin the life of any individual that humbly lays down his or her life before Him and says, “This is 100% yours.” Don’t withhold anything in your life from God. He didn’t withhold even His only Son from us. When you finally decide to make yourself wholly reliant on the Great I AM, He will show you a life more incredible and full than any you could have imagined for yourself, but you must first surrender all.