Transfiguration, Luke 9:28-29

"Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening."

     The Transfiguration of Jesus Christ is one of the most awesome stories to read in the gospels. It shows Jesus in His glory, power, majesty and splendor. I can't imagine how beautiful it must have been, how amazing it must have been to behold! And as amazing as this event is, it also holds a profound truth. One pastor pointed out that it shows us that prayer changes us. Surely Jesus didn't need prayer to become transfigured and to shine like the sun, but this event certainly does demonstrate this important Biblical truth to us!
     It is through prayer that we are changed and molded into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Have you ever met someone who claims to be Christian and yet hardly, if ever, really prays? I mean praying as in actual communion with God, seeking His will for your life, sitting and listening to what He would say to you-- Not throwing up a quick "thank You Lord" before you eat or saying "forgive me for this and that" before you go to sleep. Those people who claim to be Christians and yet don't spend time in communion with God, seeking His will and His plans for their lives are very often no different than a non-believer, someone who does not claim to be Christian. Yet those who spend time in the word, praying and seeking God's face, those people are changed. It may be a slow, gradual change-- but it is change. Thus we see that it is prayer-- talking with and listening to God, communing with Him in the power of the Holy Spirit-- which truly changes us.

     This truth leads us to some practical applications in our lives. Not only ought we to pray, but we ought to pray always, and without ceasing. And not only so, but we are also to pray first. How often do we, when we are going through some hard trial or facing some difficult decision in our lives, turn to our friends and loved ones for the answer? This is not to say that asking their advice is wrong, necessarily, but that the first place we turn should be God. The first thing we ought to do is lay everything down before the Lord and let Him handle it. Then, if the Lord leads, you can talk to your friends and ask their advice.
     We must sincerely seek the Lord in all matters, however, and not arbitrarily kneel and say, "Lord, this is what is going on. I need Your help to get through it," when in your heart you are thinking, "Okay, I'm good. I'm praying first. Once I'm done with this I'm going to call Susie and tell her everything. She's not going to believe this! I wonder what she'll say?" Might I remind you that this is not prayer. This is a vain act of moving your lips while kneeling. God will not necessarily honor this. He has no reason to, but He is overabundant in His mercies and graciousness, so you never know-- but it is still better to be sincere than to be fake. Surely God blesses us when we are sincere.
     When we turn to our friends first, we are placing them above God, and thus they become idols in our lives. As Pastor Jon Courson pointed out, whatever you turn to first in your time of need, if it's not God, it's an idol. Idolatry is obviously wrong, and most of us would never involve ourselves in it knowingly. But this subtle form of idolatry creeps up on us unexpectedly, and before we know it we're relying upon the sayings, advice, and opinions of people rather than on God.

     If we start seeking people rather than God, God will allow us to reap the consequences of that decision. He will, as it were, stand back and watch us carry out our plan of action, waiting for us to realize that it will not ultimately solve our problem nor satisfy us. Then when we turn to Him and cry out for His help, He steps back in. He wants us to learn that we need to come to Him in prayer about everything and anything. And when we do, we will realize that it is then that things change-- our circumstances, our hearts, our lives. We can do nothing by might, and nothing by power, but everything by His Spirit, through Christ who strengthens us. And this starts with prayer.