The following article is taken from Garth Hunt’s latest ANiC prayer meditation.
“They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright;”
Psalm 92: 14-15 ESV“So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.” Psalm 71: 18 ESV
A Look in the Mirror
At what age does one consider oneself “old”? When do I think of myself among the “elderly”? We’re all accustomed to what we look like in the bathroom mirror, but from time to time I’ll catch a glimpse of myself in a department store mirror and I’ll find myself thinking, “Who’s that old bald guy?” The comedian, Bob Hope, once said, “You know you’re getting old when the candles on the birthday cake cost more than the cake!”
Ever since I turned seventy (three years ago), I’ve been aware of increasing physical limitations, memory malfunctions known as “seniors’ moments”, and a noticeable decrease in energy levels. Normal? I suppose so. The world will tell us that these are “the Golden Years”, and that retirement is all about doing all the things that we could never do before due to family, time or financial constraints.
Finishing Strong
But, in the light of the verses quoted above, for the older Christian there needs to be a different paradigm, one that embraces the concept of “finishing strong”. In my daily Bible reading, I recently read the following account of Caleb’s exploits, even at a “mature” age. Check it out:
Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.”
The Source of our Strength
Caleb and Joshua were, of course, the two spies that brought back to Moses a very positive report on their scouting out the land, while all the others were fearful and swayed the people not to consider crossing the Jordan. The end result was 40 years of wandering in the wilderness until that generation had all died off.
Now, I’m not suggesting that at 85 we should be able to say “I am still as strong today as I was forty-five years ago”. But “if the Lord will be with me”, as both Caleb and Joshua believed the Lord would be, then the source of strength for both the young and the elderly is in the Lord, not in the flesh, however toned or feeble it may be.
Praying For Something More
So, how about the older people in your life – those in your family, parish, neighbourhood or other spheres of influence? How do you pray for them? I’m sure that for many of us our prayers for them centre on their physical well-being and comfort. Our expectation of them (and, perhaps, theirs, too) is that they’ll likely be able to do less and less, and be progressively less useful. Rather than calling them up to all that the Lord might still have for them to do, we pray for the removal of physical discomforts, strength to endure the upcoming tests or medical procedures, or the grace to remember to take all their meds on time each day.
I struggle with this, too, and I confess that sometimes I feel that the elderly seem to consume a disproportionate amount of time and energy from our volunteers or pastoral staffs. But do I pray for something more in God for them? Infrequently, at best. Of that, I do repent, O Lord!
Praying for Fruit in Old Age
So, how can we change this? Let’s consider how we might pray for the older saints in our life.
- Pray, as Psalm 92 says, that they may “still bear fruit in old age” and be “ever full of sap and green”. Pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit they may still have a vision for their Gospel effectiveness, whether in the words of their testimony or through their intercessory prayers. Pray that, despite their years, they might have a spirit like Caleb’s that was willing to put his trust fully in the Lord.
- Pray that they would have a passion to “proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.” Pray that the Lord would give them opportunity to share with the younger generations the glorious news of the Gospel of Jesus. Pray that the Spirit will give them grace to persevere through seeming disinterest or antagonism.
- As well as praying for their physical well-being, do pray for their spiritual and emotional health as well. Many of them have recently lost their spouse and best friend of many decades and are quite lonely. Some struggle with the “mind-boggling world” of rapidly changing media and electronics and are feeling progressively more isolated from their family and church. The world is increasingly a scary and unfamiliar place. Consider how you can minister to the elderly in your family, church and neighbourhood.
- Pray that the older saints would be able to echo St. Paul’s words to Timothy near the end of his life-journey “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8 ESV
