Prayer & Preparation for October 9th, 2022
This Lord's Day
Hey church,
Several years ago when I first read Paul Miller’s A Praying Life, God graciously revealed to me
a startling and sobering truth: I am a cynic. Miller addresses cynicism in several places
throughout his book, connecting it with our prayer lives. Two of the passages I highlighted
say this: “But as we get older, we get less naïve and more cynical. Disappointment and
broken promises are the norm instead of hoping and dreaming. Our childlike faith dies a
thousand little deaths. Jesus encourages us to believe like little children by telling stories
about adults who acted like little children: the parable of the persistent widow, who won’t
take no for an answer from an unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8), and the parable about a man who
badgers his neighbor to lend him three loaves for a friend who has come at midnight (Luke
11:5-8).” And then later in the book, “Cynicism and defeated weariness have this in common:
they both question the active goodness of God on our behalf. Left unchallenged, their low-
level doubt opens the door for bigger doubt. They’ve lost their childlike spirit and thus are
unable to move toward their heavenly Father.”
Well, I hope I’m now a recovering cynic, but I found myself this week questioning my own
heart, and then confessing to a friend my need for help and perspective from others to guard
against cynicism. What about you? Have you fallen into a cynical spirit? Do you secretly
silently question whether your prayers make any difference? Do you think he/she will never
change? Do you wonder if it will really makes any difference if you attend church this Lord’s
Day? Are you questioning if another sermon could really be that big a deal, whether you hear
it (or for me, whether I preach it?!) or not?
Cynicism is inherently faithless and hopeless. It may be understandable in the realm of current
events and politics, but it’s deadly to our spiritual lives individually and corporately. In other
words, it is sin. Do we need to confess our sin, crying out, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”
Lloyd-Jones applied Moses’ prayer in Exodus 33, “Please show me your glory,” in the
following way: “Possibly one of the most devastating things that can happen to us as
Christians is that we cease to expect anything to happen. I am not sure but that this is not one
of our greatest troubles today. We come to our services, and they are orderly, they are
nice—we come, we go—and there it is. But…where is the Lord of glory? Are we expecting
him? Do we anticipate this? Are we open to it? Are we aware that we are ever facing this
glorious possibility of having the greatest surprise of our life? There is always the glorious
possibility of meeting with him in a new and dynamic way.” Sounds to me like he was
addressing the same thing as Paul Miller without calling it cynicism.
One of the ways I battle this in my own heart is 2 Corinthians 4:13-15. I mention this passage
often as I ask you to pray for me and my preaching. I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned it in
connection with cynicism. I want to speak with the same spirit of faith as has been written
about in Psalm 116:10, and not as a cynic. I want to preach knowing that he who raised the
Lord Jesus (selah) will also raise us (you and me, hearers and preacher) with Jesus and bring
us into his presence. I want to believe and hope as I preach that preaching itself is a God-
ordained way to see grace extend to more and more people so as to increase our
thanksgiving and his glory. I want to be a man of biblical conviction, not cynicism. I want this,
and I’ll pray for this for myself. Will you join me please? And friends, I’ll pray that your
hearing will be mixed with the very same kind of faith. Please join me in that prayer too.
Here are some details that may inform your prayers and aid your preparation:
Songs: “Behold Our God,” “Come Praise and Glorify” “Rejoice,” “Be Thou My Vision (Oh God, Be
My Everything),” and “My Worth Is Not in What I Own”
Sermon text: Exodus 33:18-34:10
Sermon title: “Who is God, and Who Are We?”
Supporting texts: John 1:14-18; Ephesians 1:3-14
Relevant teaching:
If you have a copy of Gentle and Lowly, you may benefit by reading or re-reading chapter 16,
wherein Ortlund teaches our text. I know I did.
Jeff Tague
