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Much of this Tools for a Life of Prayer series has been about very practical how-tos of what to do when you come into a prayer time. I’ve shared tips on scheduling time for prayer, asking God questions, prayer lists, and Bible meditation. However, having a vibrant prayer life is less about the how-tos than it is about the Person. It’s about encountering Jesus.
David’s life vision as recorded in Psalm 27:4 was three things, which to David were really one thing–one single, all-consuming desire:
- to DWELL in the house of the Lord
- to GAZE upon the beauty of the Lord
- to INQUIRE in His temple.
Today I want to focus on the second part, to “gaze” upon the beauty of the Lord. This invites two questions: One, what is the beauty of the Lord? And two, how do we gaze upon it?
What is the beauty of the Lord?
The Bible repeatedly refers to the beauty of Jesus. I hope that’s not a new idea to you, but I remember when it was a new idea to me. Beginning to discover all of the verses that describe His beauty and then letting myself become captivated by how deep they go was the start of a journey that will literally NEVER end.
Here are just a few of my favorite verses about the beauty of God:
“…worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.”
(Psalm 29:2)“You are the most handsome of the sons of men…”
(Psalm 45:2)“My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand…”
(Song of Songs 5:10)“In that day the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious…”
(Isaiah 4:2)“Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty…”
(Isaiah 33:17)“…one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
(Revelation 1:13-16)“And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.”
(Revelation 4:3)
These verses and others begin to clue us into the fact that Jesus IS beautiful, but the deeper we go on this journey the more we will discover that EVERYTHING about Him is what makes Him beautiful. Every aspect of His character and personality is awe-inspiring, fascinating, and captivating. His love, joy, playfulness, fierceness, humility, honesty, cleverness, justice, dedication, wisdom, faithfulness, and a thousand other traits are what make Him beautiful.
I know plenty of people who have some or all of these characteristics to varying degrees. However, no human on earth could ever be all of these things perfectly all at once… and then on top of that be GOD, and so be able to express all of these characteristics in infinitely powerful and creative ways.
Jesus is utterly remarkable and completely unique.
Even His wrath and justice are beautiful… because they flow from a heart of absolute love and humility. What human on earth could say that? Psalm 45 describes Him in His second coming glory fighting with a sword and being victorious against His enemies, and then says that He fights “for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness.” (Psalm 45:4) What??! What kind of person fights for the sake of humility? Who else could conquer the earth with the purest, meekest heart?
Jesus, You’re beautiful.
As I wrote in my blog Why the Beauty of Jesus is My Life Message:
Everything He is and does is absolute perfection, and not just harsh, to-the-standard perfection, like a starched white cleanroom. No, this is vibrant, colorful perfection, like an overwhelming symphony of music and movement and color in wild extravagance and perfect harmony. There is a fullness and a richness to His personality that is completely unique and stunning.
How do we gaze upon the beauty of the Lord?
What’s the secret to gazing on something invisible? Several verses give us clues:
“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened…”
(Ephesians 1:17-18)“Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”
(Psalm 119:18)
We set the eyes of our hearts on what we can see of Jesus in the Word, and we ask God for help to see clearly.
Of course, the point isn’t just to recognize certain doctrinal truths about Jesus. Words like “gaze” and “behold” imply more than just a quick glance or casual perusal. It’s a steady, focussed attention.
In the Song of Solomon, the king commends His beloved for having eyes like doves’ eyes. (Song 1:15, 4:1) Doves’ eyes can only look straight ahead, and also, doves mate for life. To have eyes like doves is to have a steady, undistracted gaze.
To gaze on the beauty of Jesus is to meditate on who He is, and to let ourselves be in awe of Him.
Just today as I was writing this blog in the prayer room, I knew I needed to take some time to gaze on the beauty of Jesus again. I sat on the floor with my Bible open to Psalm 45, and I slowly read the phrases again, speaking them back to Jesus and feeling His nearness, letting myself be caught up in the description of the man I love.
“My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.”
(Psalm 45:1-2)
As I took my time gazing on Jesus through the words of this Psalm, the worship leader started singing “Wedding Song” by David Brymer, which is completely based on Psalm 45!
These extended times in the prayer room with my Bible open are precious, but often, I simply take time in the middle of my day to slow down, breathe in, breathe out, and just say, “Jesus, You’re beautiful.”
The incredible thing is that as we make gazing on Jesus a habit, the Holy Spirit will reveal more of the depths of God to us (1 Corinthians 2:10). He will continually give us more and more insight into the unsearchable riches of His glory. And here’s the craziest part– everything our limited, unresurrected human minds could ever comprehend abut Jesus is the tiniest drop in the infinite ocean of who He is. We will still be searching out the depths of riches of the glorious beauty of Jesus for all eternity. A million years for now, you will see something new and be amazed all over again.
As we seek to develop our prayer lives, we have to make the beauty of Jesus front and center. We have to remember the wonder of the person we’re talking to, and we need to take intentional time simply to gaze at Him and adore Him for who He is.
Book Recommendation:
My favorite book on the beauty of Jesus is Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge. I’ve never read another book that so refreshingly dives into the vibrant, living personality of Jesus as revealed in the gospels. Don’t walk, run to Amazon to get this book.