ICF Delft

Psalm 23 might be the most famous passage of the whole Bible. After great crises, at funerals and in distress it is often read, sung and listened to. It addresses our deepest longings. We all long to be satisfied, to be safe, to shine - we want to be that sheep carried by the good Shepherd. But to see the picture and to like it, is not the same as to have and experience what it shows.

Prayer does not begin with us, but with the awareness of God. Throughout history we see many times that the church fell asleep and lost its awareness of God. There were still sermons, songs and prayers. But the awareness of God seemed almost to be gone. But when God sent times of revival, people again became aware of God. The holy and living God. The coming Lord. His holiness and his mercy, his power and his preciousness. You could hear it and taste it, in the sermons, the singing and the prayers.

Those who are regenerate have a place to stay that is more real than any visible place. In it they enjoy complete safety. From it they receive protection against any threat. Under frightening circumstances their fear is taken away from them. In answer to their prayer, angels come to protect them. Their future is great and good. Is that really possible?

Upcoming Sunday, 31 October, is `Reformation day'. We will read, sing and listen to Psalm 46. It was Martin Luther's favourite Psalm. His time was a time of great anxiety. Thousands died because of the plague. Wars broke out. Luther was declared an outlaw. He found a hiding place in a fortress: the Wartburg. Based on Psalm 46, he wrote his famous song `a mighty fortress is our God'. But how could he sing, feel safe, keep joy and peace, while so much was going on? This had everything to do with his rediscovery of the biblical good news - the Gospel. Luther's discovery is still as powerful as it was in his time.

Many of us have probably verified our identity on an internet website. Typically, we sign up as “users” and give answers to standard questions from our personal past. Where did we meet our spouse? What was the name of our first pet? What was the name of our first childhood school? Later, when we give the right answers to these personal questions our identity can be determined. What about the identity of the people of God? It has been said “the great questions — ‘Who are we?’ ‘Why are we here?’ ‘What is our task?’ — are best answered by telling a story.” Or perhaps still more important, what is the deepest, greatest longing of our hearts?

We live in a demanding world. Nearly all of us experience life stressful and fragmented, because of different roles and duties. We have to face growing responsibilities and often we cannot escape hurry. Besides to that we have to deal with a demanding ‘self’. We want to perform; we have to be in the picture, we are afraid to fail...

How do you start your day? What are the first things you do after you wake up? Wouldn't it be good to start your day with prayer? Perhaps you agree. But you may also feel (sometimes) that you lack discipline. Even if you want to start your day with prayer, what and how could you pray best? The book of Psalms is a school for our prayers. In Psalm 5 we hear David pray in the morning. It is a shocking prayer. Probably you would not have thought of praying such a prayer. Upcoming Sunday we listen to this prayer. We will learn why the church today desperately needs this prayer.

Sometimes it is not hard to fall asleep. After a wonderful, satisfying day, when you are tired, you may fall asleep easily. But what if you had a sad day. Many things did not go as you would have liked. You are worried. You feel angry. There is so much unrest. Upcoming Sunday we will read a prayer that king David made for the end of a very sad day. A prayer that would help God's people of all ages to find joy, peace and safety amidst of unrest through prayer. You are so welcome to join and learn more!

Last week we learnt that obedience comes with objections. If you really want to do what God tells you to do, you will soon find out that there there comes a lot of unrest - from without and from within. Therefore we are easily inclined to give up. Jesus didn't give up. He knew that God would support Him. He went on, in his obedience, until the cross and the grave. But have you ever wondered how Jesus was able to continue? We know that prayer helped Jesus. But what kind of prayer would have helped Jesus? Maybe such prayer might also help us.

Spend ten minutes on Twitter and probably you will have found some things that make you angry. Regardless from which bubble you read the tweets. How can people say and do such foolish things? Incredible! Someone should do something about it! We really wonder: why? Why are people like this? This is not only the world we live in. We are part of that world. Whereas the world can have questions for God: God, why? - we should be aware that God has his' why? - for us, also for me. We live in a restless world and we are part of that world.