Lent Day 2: Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy

"Come . . . 

whosoever will . . . 

take the water of life freely."

-- Revelation 22:17, KJV

You and I are awake and alive. 
Great news!
It is the day after Ash Wednesday.
What does that mean?

You may remember receiving or seeing or reading about ashes yesterday. Gone are the ashes now. Gone is the worship gathering allowing you to feed on the wonder and fervor of fellow Christ-followers. Gone is the hype of "giving up" on social media. You are now alone, going about your day packed with mundane tasks. As the excitement of the beginning of Lent wanes, may I remind you that Christ's invitation still stands.

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;

and you who have no money, come, buy and eat . . .

Give ear and come to me;

listen, that you may live."

-- Isaiah 55:1 & 3, NIV

Known for its lilting and haunting melody, the beloved hymn Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy, penned by Joseph Hart (1712-1768), is a fitting piece for Lent—captivating our hearts and inviting our minds to reflect upon Christ and to rend ourselves.

"Come, ye sinners, poor and needy

Weak and wounded, sick and sore

Jesus ready stands to save you,

Full of pity, love, and power."

What a special invitation addressed to anyone and everyone! Love being the common denominator, Christ's arms are open to all who are willing -- sinners and beggars and wanderers and weaklings and patients are all included and invited to partake in Christ's refreshing offer.

"Come, ye thirsty, come and welcome,

God's free bounty glorify;

True belief and true repentance,

Every grace that brings you nigh."

Highlighting God’s grace, the lyrics of this hymn bring hope to our oft-despairing hearts especially when our lives are peppered with difficulties, hardships, and frustrations. Each of us may be facing an impasse that clouds our vision from clearly seeing God’s love and humbly accepting His grace and truth.

"Come, ye weary, heavy-laden,

Lost and ruined by the fall;

If you tarry till you're better,

You will never come at all."

We are often waylaid by our tendency to worry and fret over items and events beyond our control. We are intercepted by our propensity to forget that our concerns do not escape His notice, that our heartaches do not take Him by surprise, that our hunger and thirst and loneliness are duly noted, that our tears are wiped by His gentle fingers and collected in His bottle.

"Let not conscience make you linger,

Not of fitness fondly dream;

All the fitness He requireth

Is to feel your need of Him."

O, how I need Him!
Don't you need Him?

Nothing expresses our need of Christ more than a life of prayer (James 5:13). When we feel overwhelmed by the problems in our world, we can turn to prayer. It is through prayer that we surrender our anxieties and concerns, our fears and hurts, to God in their raw and unpolished state. As we make our petitions known, the Lord unlocks our hearts and grants us the fullness of His comfort and presence.

As we journey through this season that points to Easter, might we turn our minds to the value of God’s invitation and command for us to pray? Could we be reminded of the apostle John who instructs us that God cherishes our prayers, keeping them in precious bowls in heaven (Revelation 5:8) as a fragrant aroma to His nostrils?

A convicting truth accompanies John’s reminder: The divine command of prayer does not merely connote a sense of resignation on our part to the tune of  “I guess, the only thing I can do now is pray”; rather, it unearths a spirit of gratitude and excitement on our part, leading us to say, “What a privilege to pray to the Lord of lords since prayer is a gift the Father values for all eternity!”

Still, prayer is more than a privilege; it is a necessity. God’s Word highlights several disadvantages tagging alongside prayerlessness:

-   Failing to pray is a sin. 1 Samuel 12:23 says, “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.”
-   Failing to pray is a direct act of disobedience to the Word of God. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray continually.”
-   Failing to pray turns us into prey. Matthew 26:41 says, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
-  Failing to pray alienates us from God. Deuteronomy 4:7 says, “ . . . the Lord our God is near us when we pray to Him.”

Another hymn says it this way:

"Oh, what peace we often forfeit,

Oh, what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer!"

-- Joseph Scriven (1819-1918)

In other words, prayerlessness limits our relationship with God, preventing us from growing in intimacy with Christ, and knowing His will and His way in our lives. It forces us to rely on what we can do instead of what God can do, leaving us depleted and harried. Gratefully, our gracious Lord invites us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28, NIV)

"View Him prostrate in the garden

On the ground your Maker lies

On the bloody tree behold Him

Sinner, will this not suffice?"

Turning toward Him, seeing Him, fixing our eyes upon Him is sufficient.
His grace is more than sufficient. 

Let us, then, respond to Christ’s invitation. 

"I will arise and go to Jesus

He will embrace me in His arms;

In the arms of my dear Savior,

O there are then thousand charms."

Let us “arise and go to Jesus,” taking to Him all that concerns us in prayer. In so doing, we will be contributing to the eternal gift that God cherishes. Indeed, “there are ten thousand charms . . .”