Murray Meditations: Oregon Memories

The world is a book, and those who do not travel see only a page. 

St. Augustine

Today, I sit looking out at the crashing waves of the Oregon coast. I have traveled to this place to say goodbye to my father and possibly find some small key to unlock the mystery of this man. During his retirement years, he lived on this rugged coast and roamed up and down the beaches in a mad search for agates. It was here that he was his truest self, or maybe just the self that I loved the most. From this ocean view, all else was stripped away, and I fell in love with this complex man I called "dad". His joy in living was most evident here and my joy was born in knowing him. Maybe for the first time I was truly able to see him. Or maybe for the first time, I was able to see him from  grown up eyes. On this one year anniversary of his death, here in the misty, windswept coast that he loved so much, I say a loving "goodbye"  and feel at peace with the man he was and is today.

Photography by S. Wightman

It is interesting that this exploration and journey to know my earthly father parallels my journey and exploration to know my heavenly Father. A coincidence? I think not! How precise of God to direct me, at this moment in time, to Andrew Murray's thoughts on our childlike relationship to God, which is the true essence of our spiritual relationship with Him.  As I meditate on what it means to fall in love with our Father God, I can't help but turn to my father relationship and wonder how my experiences here on earth inform my understanding of our heavenly Father.

Murray's writings are filled with statements that paint a picture of the believer's childlike love and dependence upon our heavenly father. I can almost hear his voice as I read. His words a soulful pleading, longing for his readers to understand at a heart level the joy of living in a place centered and grounded in a childlike love and dependence on the Father. But the power and beauty of this exhortation is that Murray knows it is not accomplished from our own strength. Only as we live in childlike dependence on the Spirit can we live in childlike dependence on the Father.

Romans 8:14 

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  

Spirit of the living God, I surrender my heart and life to you today. Guide me into the holy place of knowing You, and thus knowing the heart of my Heavenly Father. I plead with You to fill me with Your fruit, so that other's may see and know You through me.

Galatians 4:4-7

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts the Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father. You are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

He who gives himself to be led by the Spirit in his life will be led by Him in his prayers, too. And he will find that Fatherlike giving is the divine response to childlike living. A Murray

Murray Meditations: Joyful Assurance

Prayer and its answer--the child asking and the father giving--belong to each other. A. Murray

Have you ever lain on the ground underneath a tree and gazed up at the sky?  The sun streaming down on your face is dappled, sometimes strong and warm and at other times blue and hazy.  I love lazy afternoons spent in a contemplative state of mind.  Wandering around in the outdoors, with time on my hands, puts me in an attitude of bliss. 

Sometimes prayer feels like that shadowy movement on your face: yellow and warm at times and at other times blue and hazy. In those blue haze moments, you may ask "Does God really hear?" or you may even wonder, "Does He care?  Is He remotely interested in the things that are near and dear to my heart?" Please don't let feelings guide your prayer life. It doesn't matter how you feel. Rejoice in the truth from Matthew 7:8 "...Everyone who asks receives..." Everyone! Believe it or not, this is a spiritual promise that cannot be denied. We have the assurance from God that we can pray in confidence, knowing that He will answer.

Matthew 7:7-8
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Wow! My mind struggles to grasp the unbelievable truth that God not only hears all of our prayers, but is jealous for us to come to Him. He calls us to lean on Him, to rely on Him, and to know Him in such a way that when we turn to Him, His thoughts become our thoughts.

And yet, what of those times when we don't feel God has answered? What was amiss? Did we not pray in faith, did we not pray in God's will?

Photography by Trisha Fry

If you ask and do not receive, it must be because there is something missing or needed in the prayer. Hold on. Let the word and Spirit teach you to pray rightly, but do not let go of the confidence He seeks to waken in you: Everyone who asks receives. A. Murray

As we spend time with our Father God in our secret closet, we will grow to understand His heart. In this kind of intimacy, He transforms and conforms our desires to His nature and will.  In due time, if we persevere in waiting on the Lord for guidance, we shall begin to discern whether our requests are Spirit driven or selfishly motivated.

Let us not make the feeble experiences of our unbelief the measure of what our faith may expect. Let us seek, not only just in our seasons of prayer but at all times, to hold firmly the joyful assurance: man's prayer on earth and God's answer in heaven are meant for each other. A. Murray

Sweet Jesus, guide us into an intimate relationship with our Father God. Spirit of God, infuse our minds with the Father's love, so that we cannot help but return this love with every fiber of our being. In this communing of two hearts, may we become one of mind and spirit. And out of this oneness flowing the thoughts of our prayers; Your thoughts...our thoughts...Your will...our will...in joyful assurance of receiving an answer.

Murray Meditations: Daddy's Love

 Luke 11:2
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

Memories of my father are complicated and sometimes fuzzy. I can recall some fun times and many instances of working side by side on our family farm. However, I have few memories of being comforted and fewer recollections of words of encouragement or wisdom. I learned not go to my father for those things. He was a busy man who seemed to not have time for my petty cares or interests.

In contrast, my Father God is always there for me. He cares about the most intimate details of my life. His love for me is never-ending. He calms my fears. He strengthens me when I am weak. When I don't know what to say, in the silence He listens to my heart. So too, He longs to know you in an intimate relationship that is vibrant and experiential.

When we sink into this truth and let it grow deep roots in our hearts, we will run into His arms, and be swept up in His loving acceptance.

“The knowledge of God’s father-love is the first and simplest, but also the last and highest lesson in the school of prayer.” 

A. Murray

Do you know His father-love? Or does God seem distant and aloof, His presence illusive? Let the words Father and God become experientially synonymous. Pray that the truth of His love will pulse through your veins and become your breath of life.

How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

Murray Meditations: Sacred Secrets

The first thing the Lord teaches His disciples is that they must have a secret place for prayer. Everyone must have some solitary spot where he can be alone with his God. A. Murray

Do you have a solitary spot where you can be alone with God? I recently converted a corner of my bedroom into a prayer chamber. I moved a special chair into my room and placed a table next to it. It has my bible, my books and an extra soft sofa throw scattered around. This new spot is now my hallowed ground. I try to go there every morning for at least thirty minutes. Sometimes I study, and sometimes I talk to God, but always I listen. I listen for His still quiet voice to penetrate the noise of the world and my busy, scattered thoughts.

Do you long to be alone with your Abba Father, or do you avoid the intimacy that solitary communing brings? When we pray in community, it is sometimes easy to wear a mask. No matter how hard I try to surrender to the Spirit's leading, the performer in me likes to come out and rear its ugly head. I wonder if my words sound eloquent. I wonder if I've covered everyone's requests. Basically, I'm focused on myself!

It is harder to keep the mask on when we are alone with God. In this inner chamber, the child becomes intimate and vulnerable. The very breath of the heavenly Father mingles with the breath of His child.  In this solitary place we lose sight of the world and its concerns. We draw near to God and He draws near to us. Here the Spirit leads us in a dance of surrender, guiding us into the truth of His love, the truth of His Word, the truth of our "childlike trust of the Father" (Murray).

As long as in our worship of God we are chiefly occupied with our own thoughts and exercises, we shall not meet Him who is a Spirit, the unseen One. But to the man who withdraws himself from all that is of the world and man, and prepares to wait upon God alone, the Father will reveal Himself. As he forsakes and gives up and shuts out the world, and the life of the world, and surrenders himself to be led by Christ into the secret of God's presence, the light of the Father's love will rise upon him. A. Murray

Photography by Trisha Fry

Lord, I long to meet you in this quiet, secret place. There is an intimacy and a joy in your presence that grows deeper and sweeter the more I practice the discipline of private prayer. I will meet with you early in the morning, and you will show me great things!

Matthew 6:6
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reword you openly.