Habakkuk's Prayer

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet...

“LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk 3:1-2

The prophet Habakkuk could not understand why God allowed such evil to thrive among the people of Judah. He pleaded with God to act, but when God revealed His plan for His people, it was not at all what Habakkuk had in mind. God would use the cruel and evil Babylonians to take Judah captive, in order to turn their hearts back to Him. Habakkuk wanted to know this: How could a Righteous God use evil to cure evil?

Our God cannot, and will not, be put in a box. We ask for revival, and we have our own ideas as to how God might answer that prayer--nothing too drastic--a mild chastening should do. But our God knows exactly what it will take to bring us to our knees, to turn our hearts back to Him. He has every resource available to Him--even the most evil people on earth--and He will use them if that is what it takes.

So how do we pray for our nation--our world, knowing that the answer will most likely be painful? Pray that God will do something amazing. And then pray like Habakkuk: “LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.”

 

Is Our God Too Small?

“Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. I will call a swift bird of prey from the east—a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding. I have said what I would do, and I will do it.” Isaiah 46:9-11

On my list of books to read is one called Your God is Too Small by J.B. Phillips. The title really gets my attention. In our minds, we know that our God is the Creator of the earth and everything in it--all He did was speak and our world was established. But does this knowledge translate into faith in our daily lives? Do we believe that He can change hearts that are not just cold, but hostile towards Him? Can He bring revival to our corrupt and evil world? Can He bring revival in me? The answer, of course is “yes”. As it says in these verses from Isaiah 46, “I do whatever I wish”. I think that one thing that keeps God too small in our lives is the idea of a “personal God”. Not that He isn't personal--He knows the very hairs on our head and the number of our days on earth. He cares about even one of His sheep that goes astray, and pursues it. But I think it is easy to embrace this attribute of God, and really forget the magnitude and majesty of God. Our culture today encourages us to focus on ourselves. It's all about me--right? Well--me and God! Our view of God becomes too narrow when we only consider how He is at work in our own lives, or even the lives of those we are closest to. As these verses from Isaiah remind us, God has plans for the whole world, not just our little corner of it. Men and birds of prey do His bidding. The current events worldwide are not random--they are engineered by the Almighty God of the Universe. He is in Africa, Brasil, Indonesia and India. He is the God of China, Russia and Iran, and He is at work in those places just as He is here. He is even using cruelty and persecution to bring about revival in those parts of the world. He is a big God and He is moving. Let’s not miss it!