"The Prayer"

 "Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits." (S.O.S. 4:16)

  Just so you know, I am not a very good example of what a good servant might look like; in my own eyes, I am needy and wretched, unrighteous and filled with sinful thoughts; always striving to do well, but never seeming to make it through a single day without asking God for forgiveness and mercy. I wake up asking Him to forgive, and I go to bed at night asking for forgiveness; I usually ask Him for forgiveness at least two or three times during the middle of the day. It is a constant battle; but none the less, it is mine, in the sense that I am aware of my weaknesses and failures. 

  The way I see it, this is a prayer that is very similar to what we might experience when we get filled with the Holy Spirit. In reality, it is not those things which we do that will condemn us, it will be the things that we do not do! If you are prone to speak ill of another person, then you must strive to compliment as many people as you possibly can. If you are selfish with your time or your money, then you must strive to give yourself and your money away, as much and as often as the Lord leads you to do so. It is pretty simple to figure out, if you see the fault within, then you must perform the opposite without! It is easier said than done, but I think you get the general idea. 

  Breaking this down, the first important characters are the winds; the north wind you might relate to the conviction, as it comes from above; while the south wind would be the opposite, as it is comfort that is generated from below. In essence, it is the holiness of God's standards that convict us and wake us up to the fact that we fall way short; but it is doing God's will here on earth that will bring us comfort; if you will, waking up the spirit of peace and joy within our lives. If you do not understand what I am talking about, then you need to practice doing it and see for yourself. James says, "Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." (James 5:20)

  There are several different ways to look at what James is talking about, none of which, I believe, is being referenced to our actions causing our sins to be hidden from God. If we are born again and have been covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, then there is nothing there for God to see when it comes to sin; our sins have been removed and have been taken away! The practical application to that verse, is that we are feeding this comforting part of our soul; as we do God's will and practice righteousness, we are feeling better about ourselves and the power of His Spirit is becoming more apparent within us. 

  We can do nothing to make ourselves better in God's eye, because the blood of His Son has made us as white as snow; this is more about how we feel about ourselves and whether or not we are doing what we should with that which God has given us to do. If you don't feel as though God has given you anything, I would point you to the very first word in the verse we have before us today, "Awake!" You would be well served to start with that, because you are obviously asleep. If that does not somehow do anything for you, then it is a matter of your need to get filled with His Spirit, which is a reference to Luke 11: 5-13, where Jesus is sharing about what we must do if we feel as though we lack the Holy Spirit within us: You keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking! 

  In other words, you do whatever it takes and do not give up...

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness into sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members a instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." (Romans 6:11-14)