Come Quickly, Lord Jesus

 

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (Revelation 6:9-11 ESV).

 

There are life lessons we can learn by listening to prayers. I enjoy listening to the prayers of others. On many occasions I have heard the genuine thanksgiving of people who have found the blessing of God in healing. At other times I have heard the anguished cry of those seeking forgiveness and restoration. I have also heard many who have cried out for the deliverance of God and the coming of Jesus. Often these are the times when people are seeking justice and an end to the foolishness of man. We need to learn prayers of praise, and we need to learn prayers of lament. Jesus’ prayer on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) was a soul-piercing cry to God from Psalm 22.

 

In our reading from Revelation today, we listen again to the prayer of the martyrs: “How long, Sovereign Lord . . . until you . . . avenge our blood?” And we can see that this echoes ancient laments in the Psalms (cf. Psalm 74:10; 94:3; 119:84). In our reading today God opens our eyes to a bigger and better picture of faith. We are challenged to long as much as God does for justice and peace on the earth. The martyrs are not content just to be in heaven. They continue to work and pray for God’s justice to be present on earth as it is in heaven. Their prayer also reminds us that God plans to restore not just our souls but also the whole earth, where we will live again one day in our bodies, restored and whole.

 

Can you imagine what that life will look like? It defies our imagination. We have never known a perfect world. We have never seen peace and harmony across every dimension of God’s creation. But that is exactly what is coming with the rule of Jesus. These are powerful words for living by faith today. These are incredible words of hope in our day!