“As the Eyes of a Dog”

Dear WRC,

This morning I came into my study, straightened a few things up, got settled, and sat down at my desk to begin my day in prayer. My intention was to pray for you and to spend some time attempting to just listen to God. I got about 5 seconds in when I was interrupted by a cold, wet nose being jabbed into my hand, then a warm, fluffy face was plopped onto my arm. When I opened my eyes I was met by a set of sad, sweet, brown eyes begging for some attention.

Maybe I should explain that my dog Finn often accompanies me to my study on days when I don’t have meetings set up and he would otherwise just be sitting at home alone. He usually just lays down somewhere with a deep sigh and settles in to be largely ignored while I work. I like to think he’d rather be ignored and here with me than at home alone. He hasn’t told me otherwise.

Today, though, he wasn’t ready to just lay down and be ignored. He wanted some attention, some love. He wanted to interact with me at least for a few minutes. He wanted to be petted. Maybe he wanted to hear my voice. And, shameless dog that he is, he was willing to interrupt my prayers to ask for it, to demand it, really. He just pushed his way in, locked eyes with me, and insisted that I pay him attention.

Now he’s sweet and cute and all that, but I was definitely thinking: What a needy dog! I mean, seriously, I have more important things to do right now than to pet you. Can’t you be content for a few minutes with your comparably tiny needs while I pray for people who are sick and hurting, whose marriages are in trouble, who are worried about their kids? Can’t you see I’m busy?

But as I looked into his big, brown eyes (and, let’s be honest, gave in and started scratching his neck), I was reminded of a psalm I learned a while ago, Psalm 123:

To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,

As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,

So our eyes look to the LORD our God, until he has mercy upon us.

Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,

      for we have had more than enough of contempt.

Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease,

      of the contempt of the proud.

The psalm writer uses the metaphor of servants and maids to give shape to the attention they are paying to God, to their position and need before God. I’ve always thought that metaphor was a little distant for us, but if I could re-write it, I would say, “As the eyes of a dog look to the hand of his master…so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy upon us.”

And maybe that is the better metaphor for our praying life: Finn’s shameless need for attention and demand for love and affection. I like to think I am, or should be, above such neediness and desperation. I assume that God responds like I do: rolling his eyes, wondering why I’m not content with scraps of attention, do I even realize all the more important things on his plate?

But that’s just not true! We know that God has infinite attention and power and love. God is for us and God’s desire is to be with us. God’s phone line isn’t busy with more important business—that’s obvious. So why don’t we act like it in our praying? Why am I not a little more shameless? More willing to be needy and desperate? More like a dog with his master?

In Christ,

Pastor Andy