Today’s reading is Psalm 14.
As we learned on Monday, our psalm is not merely about the avowed atheist. It is about the person whose heart and mind denies God even if he would never say it out loud. In fact, it can include the “faithful” church attender. This isn’t simply the person who declares and confesses for all to hear that there is no God. In fact, vs 4 explains who this person is. It is the person who doesn’t call on the Lord. The fool is not only the person who confesses to others that there is no God, it is also the person who simply doesn’t confess to God. This person may technically believe God is out there, but she sees God as inconsequential. God doesn’t actually have a meaningful impact on his life. And that comes out no place more starkly than in prayer. Or, perhaps I should say, in the lack of prayer. The fool’s prayer simply doesn’t happen. The fool postpones prayer because he thinks his effort matters more than God’s. The fool neglects prayer because she doesn’t see God as having a real effect in her day to day life. Oh, I’m not saying the fool never, ever prays. But the fool doesn’t recognize the absolute, utter need for God, and therefore, doesn’t see the absolute, utter need for prayer. Prayer gets put on the back burner. The practical atheist is just as much a fool as the avowed atheist, perhaps more so. At least the avowed atheist knows he is one. When is the last time you prayed? When will be the next time?
Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 14.
A Word for Our Kids
Hey kids, perhaps you read what I shared with your parents. The fool is someone who doesn’t pray. And someone who doesn’t pray is a fool. But prayer is a difficult habit to establish. It is so odd. Talking, it seems, to thin air. It is very easy to lose focus. It is very easy to get distracted. It is very easy to fall asleep. But let’s just say this. It is much, much better to be a person who struggles to pray and makes mistakes praying than to be the person who doesn’t pray. Please, don’t wait until you are an adult to make prayer a habit. I can tell you from experience it won’t get any easier. Start now. If you aren’t sure what to do when you pray, quote some of the statements from these psalms that you have found meaningful. Or go to Matthew 6:9-13 where Jesus said “Pray then like this” and say those things. Then start adjusting what you say to be like those things. Then start adding to it other ways to say those kinds of things. Don’t wait. That is foolish. Start praying today.
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