This week we’re looking at the second instalment in our series on the Joseph narrative; Judah and Tamar (Gen 38). Along with last week’s sermon (Gen 37) this passage challenges us to pray courageously. Praying courageously is different to praying practically (give us our daily bread), self-sacrificially (grant them endurance and patience), or evangelistically (send out workers into the harvest field). Praying courageously means asking that God will do whatever is needed to transform us into the beautiful Christians he wants us to become.
The reason this type of prayer requires courage is because real growth usually comes through difficult lessons. For example, a parent can tell a child a hundred times not to touch the hot stove. That lesson will sink in straight away though the moment the child attempts to test that boundary. On top of this, there are just some lessons that cannot be learnt except on the road of hardship. Praying for God to intervene in our lives and grow us into the likeness of his Son takes more courage than any other prayer I can think of. Yet here’s the thing; it takes even more courage NOT to pray such prayers, for 3 reasons:
Firstly, Christian maturity includes growing in ‘endurance and patience’ (Col 1:11), both of which make it easier to deal with hardship. So a desire to avoid Christian growth, due to the pain it brings, will actually mean future hardships will bring us MORE pain.
Secondly, Christian maturity means making wiser decisions. A desire to avoid Christian growth, due to the pain it brings, will mean we will continue to make foolish decisions, which always have painful consequences.
Thirdly, because God loves us, he WILL help us grow anyway, whether we pray for it or not. Is it not easier to see our hardships as answers to our prayers for growth, rather than as God forcing unwanted lessons upon us?
So let’s ‘be strong and courageous’ in our prayer life, and be ready to ask God to help us grow.
