Here is the question that now presents itself to me in this study: why is fasting and prayer often seen together in the Bible; in other words, why did the great men of God (and women, such as Anna) fast as they did when they prayed, and what was accomplished because of their fasting?
To answer the question(s), the first step must be to invite alongside of us the Holy Spirit Who guides us all in our understanding as we look at the scriptures, studying them AND the verses or chapters before and after each one to get the meaning in proper context. This is a lot of work, but very important, as I show only a part of each scripture here (for lack of space), and the whole of scripture is needed to arrive at TRUTH.
Deut. 9:18 “And I [Moses] fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the Lord was wroth against you to destroy you. But the Lord hearkened unto me at that time also.”
Judges 20:26 “Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. And the children of Israel enquired of the Lord, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the Lord said, Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver them into thine hand.”
I Kings 19:4-8 “But he himself [Elijah] went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him….”
Esther 4:15-17 “Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer. Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so I will go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.”
Daniel 9:3-27 “And I [Daniel] set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: and I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him and to them that keep his commandments; we have sinned…..Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God….”
Ezra 10:6 “Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away”
Nehemiah 1:4 “And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I [Nehemiah] sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven…”
Jonah 3:5-10 “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh…Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water; but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.”
Acts 13:1-3 “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.”
II Corinthians 6:4-5 “But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings…”
This isn’t ALL the scriptures on fasting, but it’s a good portion. The most famous one of all (that of Jesus fasting for forty days in the wilderness) is not here, because we will look at that particular example further along in our study.
After reading all of these scriptures, a picture begins to emerge of the real purpose of fasting prayer, how it is to be used, and what it achieves not only for ourselves but for others.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Cry of the Canaanite Woman
Matthew 15:22-28 “And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, 'Send her away for she crieth after us'. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”
Sometimes we come across scriptures that give us a moment’s pause when we first read them, as we try to understand exactly what was happening to cause the results that we see laid out before us. Such was the case for me with the story of the Canaanite woman. Parables such as this, often, for me at least, require much more study in order to come to accurate conclusions about what actually was taking place.
The thing that gave me pause, when I first read it, is the Lord’s response to her. Here was Jesus going about healing and encouraging and teaching, and then suddenly here was this same Jesus calling a woman a “dog”? Wow! Why did He respond that way?
But just as in any reading of the scripture, it is best not to get hung up on a “part” of the text without considering “all” that the text has to say. So, let us consider, as proper bible sleuths, ALL that we see here, verse by verse:
1) The woman was a Canaanite. The Canaanites were a cursed nation. But as in every nation, God has a remnant that know Him, such was this woman it appears. For look at the name that she called Him: “O Lord, thou son of David”. There was a confession in that statement, a confession that said, “I believe that you are who you say you are.”
2) The disciples were vexed by her…she was an “alien” (not a Jew…and remember Jesus had told the disciples to go only to the Jews, a point which He reiterates in this scripture saying He was sent only to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”); she was crying loudly and non-stop apparently; and was altogether a bit of a “nuisance” to the disciples. All of which shows us how “fleshly” the disciples were still operating at that time. They had not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit as Jesus was. They were still concerned about their own comfort, over the “cries” of this woman.
3) But the woman persisted and “worshipped” Him, saying “Lord, help me.” The scripture seems to be saying that she is worshipping Jesus by simply asking for His help. [I really must go chase a rabbit here: Does that mean our prayers are a form of worship to God? I believe it does. After all, the heathens prayed to the “gods” they worshipped asking for their help. When we pray to God asking for His help, we are worshipping Him. So what does that say for us when we are not praying? Who are we worshipping with our lack of prayer? End of the rabbit chase, back to the Canaanite woman.] This is further proof or confession of her “faith” in Who He is. Remember part of our study is that before we learn to pray we must first know WHO it is we are praying to? Well, this woman KNEW WHO it was she was crying out to, as evidenced by her words. But it is her persistence which follows that brings to her a very high recommendation from the Lord.
4) What followed her cry for help was the “part” that “vexed” me. I couldn’t understand it at first. Until I came to view it as a “test” of her faith. Even a chastening of sorts, being that she is one of the cursed Canaanites. For God also tests us; God also chastens us. Neither testing nor chastening are “pleasant” to us. Surely, Jesus’ response was not “pleasant” to her ears either. Yet, He spoke the truth. But we don’t always want to hear the truth. We are not always honest enough with ourselves to acknowledge the truth. But the Canaanite woman agreed with Him! Do we? Even when He is judging us, chastening us, correcting us? Do we turn from Him because we cannot bear the chastening or the test?
5) Even though all that He spoke was true, and she knew it was true, for she agreed with Him, YET her response was to “hold on” to her hope in Him to receive just a mere crumb of His mercy. His mercy was so GREAT that even a crumb would have healed her daughter. She knew this. Her hope was in Him, in Who He was (and is) as a merciful Lord and Savior. She knew HOW MERCIFUL He was. The reports of His miraculous deeds and great compassion must have gone out even as far as her part of the country.
6) And she was humble. She did not recoil in self-righteous anger at His response to her. She did not slink off in utter dejection and depression. She humbly agreed with Him. And then she said (as did the prodigal son) that being that “spiritual” dog, still she desired only to have the crumbs that fell under her “Master’s” table. She acknowledged that she was His, and He was her Master. She acknowledged that she was a true child of Abraham’s seed, not physically, but spiritually. In a sense, she stated her faith, even as did Job “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” Matthew Henry had this to say about this woman's faith: "The greatness of faith consists much in a resolute adherence to Jesus Christ as an all-sufficient Saviour, even in the face of discouragements; to love Him, as a Friend, even then when He seems to come forth against us as an Enemy. This is great faith!"
7) And finally, because it was for her daughter, she held onto hope, she held out for the crumbs, she persisted in receiving healing for her child. She would not stop until she received. She would trouble the disciples no matter what they thought of her, she would stand humbly but firmly before the Lord Himself, and she would expect a miracle from Him because she trusted in His mercy and compassion.
8) “And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” She asked most fervently, she persisted, she patiently endured the chastening, she persisted some more, and almost immediately she received what she greatly desired of Him.
“O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” Let us learn much from her example.
Sometimes we come across scriptures that give us a moment’s pause when we first read them, as we try to understand exactly what was happening to cause the results that we see laid out before us. Such was the case for me with the story of the Canaanite woman. Parables such as this, often, for me at least, require much more study in order to come to accurate conclusions about what actually was taking place.
The thing that gave me pause, when I first read it, is the Lord’s response to her. Here was Jesus going about healing and encouraging and teaching, and then suddenly here was this same Jesus calling a woman a “dog”? Wow! Why did He respond that way?
But just as in any reading of the scripture, it is best not to get hung up on a “part” of the text without considering “all” that the text has to say. So, let us consider, as proper bible sleuths, ALL that we see here, verse by verse:
1) The woman was a Canaanite. The Canaanites were a cursed nation. But as in every nation, God has a remnant that know Him, such was this woman it appears. For look at the name that she called Him: “O Lord, thou son of David”. There was a confession in that statement, a confession that said, “I believe that you are who you say you are.”
2) The disciples were vexed by her…she was an “alien” (not a Jew…and remember Jesus had told the disciples to go only to the Jews, a point which He reiterates in this scripture saying He was sent only to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”); she was crying loudly and non-stop apparently; and was altogether a bit of a “nuisance” to the disciples. All of which shows us how “fleshly” the disciples were still operating at that time. They had not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit as Jesus was. They were still concerned about their own comfort, over the “cries” of this woman.
3) But the woman persisted and “worshipped” Him, saying “Lord, help me.” The scripture seems to be saying that she is worshipping Jesus by simply asking for His help. [I really must go chase a rabbit here: Does that mean our prayers are a form of worship to God? I believe it does. After all, the heathens prayed to the “gods” they worshipped asking for their help. When we pray to God asking for His help, we are worshipping Him. So what does that say for us when we are not praying? Who are we worshipping with our lack of prayer? End of the rabbit chase, back to the Canaanite woman.] This is further proof or confession of her “faith” in Who He is. Remember part of our study is that before we learn to pray we must first know WHO it is we are praying to? Well, this woman KNEW WHO it was she was crying out to, as evidenced by her words. But it is her persistence which follows that brings to her a very high recommendation from the Lord.
4) What followed her cry for help was the “part” that “vexed” me. I couldn’t understand it at first. Until I came to view it as a “test” of her faith. Even a chastening of sorts, being that she is one of the cursed Canaanites. For God also tests us; God also chastens us. Neither testing nor chastening are “pleasant” to us. Surely, Jesus’ response was not “pleasant” to her ears either. Yet, He spoke the truth. But we don’t always want to hear the truth. We are not always honest enough with ourselves to acknowledge the truth. But the Canaanite woman agreed with Him! Do we? Even when He is judging us, chastening us, correcting us? Do we turn from Him because we cannot bear the chastening or the test?
5) Even though all that He spoke was true, and she knew it was true, for she agreed with Him, YET her response was to “hold on” to her hope in Him to receive just a mere crumb of His mercy. His mercy was so GREAT that even a crumb would have healed her daughter. She knew this. Her hope was in Him, in Who He was (and is) as a merciful Lord and Savior. She knew HOW MERCIFUL He was. The reports of His miraculous deeds and great compassion must have gone out even as far as her part of the country.
6) And she was humble. She did not recoil in self-righteous anger at His response to her. She did not slink off in utter dejection and depression. She humbly agreed with Him. And then she said (as did the prodigal son) that being that “spiritual” dog, still she desired only to have the crumbs that fell under her “Master’s” table. She acknowledged that she was His, and He was her Master. She acknowledged that she was a true child of Abraham’s seed, not physically, but spiritually. In a sense, she stated her faith, even as did Job “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” Matthew Henry had this to say about this woman's faith: "The greatness of faith consists much in a resolute adherence to Jesus Christ as an all-sufficient Saviour, even in the face of discouragements; to love Him, as a Friend, even then when He seems to come forth against us as an Enemy. This is great faith!"
7) And finally, because it was for her daughter, she held onto hope, she held out for the crumbs, she persisted in receiving healing for her child. She would not stop until she received. She would trouble the disciples no matter what they thought of her, she would stand humbly but firmly before the Lord Himself, and she would expect a miracle from Him because she trusted in His mercy and compassion.
8) “And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” She asked most fervently, she persisted, she patiently endured the chastening, she persisted some more, and almost immediately she received what she greatly desired of Him.
“O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” Let us learn much from her example.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Fervent, Persistent, Patient
First, fervent.
“…the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” James 5:16b
According to Webster’s dictionary the meaning of “fervent” is: exhibiting or marked by great intensity of feeling.
If we were to amplify this scripture using what we know about the remaining words in it, we would end up with this paraphrase:
When fervor (intensity of feeling) is added to the effectual (able to produce the desired effect) prayer of a righteous man (having clean hands and a pure heart) then much is availed (the desired results occur!)
Very often throughout the Bible, we see the words “cry” or “cry out” used . For me, these words express “fervor”. Fervor is what motivates desperate people to “cry out” to God for help. There is great intensity of feeling behind a “crying out”, is there not?
My own experience is that at extremely critical moments in life, where I have “cried out” to God (usually from a position of face-down on the floor, prostrate with desperation, confusion, or grief) He has heard me and the resulting answers to prayer have been practically immediate. I don’t know if the answer came quickly because of my fervency, or just because it was God’s timing, but I suspect a little of both.
So, knowing the scripture verse above that says fervency along with the other ingredients equal answered prayer, knowing that God hears us when we “cry out”, why do we (why do I) not pray that way always? The answer: I don’t know!
Perhaps it is because we are praying out of obligation to duty, rather than from intensity of feeling. If that is the case, does God hear that prayer? I think He does. But, perhaps, His intensity of answering matches our intensity of asking. Let’s face it, many times we have not because we ask not, meaning we don’t even take the time to communicate with God about anything. How greatly improved over that attitude is the one that prays out of some sense of obligation? Not much, I would think.
Perhaps God is waiting on us to get serious with our prayers, before He gets serious with the answers.
Scripture does tell us that He hears our cries (indicating some intensity of feeling):
Job 34:28 “So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.”
Psalm 9:12b “…He forgetteth not the cry of the humble.”
Psalm 34:15 “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”
David was known as a man after God’s own heart, most likely because of his passion (fervor) for God, as well as his willingness to humble himself in repentance to God. But the anti-thesis of fervor or intense feelings are actually warned about very specifically in the book of Revelation:
Rev. 3:14-19 “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowedst not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakendness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent.”
God not only prefers but demands intensity of feeling towards Him; whether they are intensely hot or intensely cold, they are better than lukewarm, better than obligatory. I don’t think God wants us to be cold towards Him at all, but the example here is of how greatly He hates mediocrity in anything pertaining to Him. Fence-straddlers, even in prayer, will not avail much. Zealous, by the way, is another synonym of fervor.
Now let’s look at persistence:
The definition of the verb persist is: to take a stand or stand firm. Remember James 1:6-7?
“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.”
Persistence does not let anything change its focus or course, no matter how intimidating (as the Lord appeared to be to the Canaanite woman of Matthew 15 that we will discuss further into this blog); no matter how against us circumstances appear to be, as seemed to be the case for the woman in the following parable:
Luke 18:1-8 “And He [Jesus] spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a judge which feared not God, neither regarded man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying 'avenge me of mine adversary'. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”
Most of us know this parable well, but do we apply the lesson learned from it? The lesson, in Jesus’ words, is:
Luke 18:6-8 “And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
His elect “cry day and night”….that’s a lot of fervent prayer! Unfortunately, the last verse of that scripture is sadly prophetic, in this day and age. Something we are to guard against.
And, as an anonymous reader of this blog [known only as GW] pointed out just this morning [see her comment under the posting “The Heart”] there is the parable of this woman that teaches us quite a bit about persistence (and fervor):
Matthew 15:22-28 “And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, 'Send her away for she crieth after us'. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”
Such tenacity! And Jesus called this tenacity “great faith”! And her prayer was answered immediately, “from that very hour”. [But there is so much more to learn from her example that will take up an entire posting…..to be explored tomorrow. Thank you, GW, for adding so much to this study!]
Finally, we arrive at patience:
We have seen from scripture that God hears us (the answer is not always immediate. Many times, even though there is much fervency in prayer, it is not God’s timing to answer it yet; nevertheless, when the time is right, the prayer will be answered, as seen in this example from the book of Revelation:
Revelation 6:9-11 “And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little while until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled.”
These cries are the same prayers that are mentioned in Revelation 8 which, mixed with incense by one of the seven angels, are said to ascend up to God. These prayers bring about the seven trumpet judgments. How patient are these that prayed, and how awesome in fearsome power is God’s response to them and on their behalf?
So, let our prayers be done out of great intensity of feeling, let us stand firm in our resolve to see them answered, and let us wait patiently for God's timing knowing that in time He WILL answer!
“…the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” James 5:16b
According to Webster’s dictionary the meaning of “fervent” is: exhibiting or marked by great intensity of feeling.
If we were to amplify this scripture using what we know about the remaining words in it, we would end up with this paraphrase:
When fervor (intensity of feeling) is added to the effectual (able to produce the desired effect) prayer of a righteous man (having clean hands and a pure heart) then much is availed (the desired results occur!)
Very often throughout the Bible, we see the words “cry” or “cry out” used . For me, these words express “fervor”. Fervor is what motivates desperate people to “cry out” to God for help. There is great intensity of feeling behind a “crying out”, is there not?
My own experience is that at extremely critical moments in life, where I have “cried out” to God (usually from a position of face-down on the floor, prostrate with desperation, confusion, or grief) He has heard me and the resulting answers to prayer have been practically immediate. I don’t know if the answer came quickly because of my fervency, or just because it was God’s timing, but I suspect a little of both.
So, knowing the scripture verse above that says fervency along with the other ingredients equal answered prayer, knowing that God hears us when we “cry out”, why do we (why do I) not pray that way always? The answer: I don’t know!
Perhaps it is because we are praying out of obligation to duty, rather than from intensity of feeling. If that is the case, does God hear that prayer? I think He does. But, perhaps, His intensity of answering matches our intensity of asking. Let’s face it, many times we have not because we ask not, meaning we don’t even take the time to communicate with God about anything. How greatly improved over that attitude is the one that prays out of some sense of obligation? Not much, I would think.
Perhaps God is waiting on us to get serious with our prayers, before He gets serious with the answers.
Scripture does tell us that He hears our cries (indicating some intensity of feeling):
Job 34:28 “So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.”
Psalm 9:12b “…He forgetteth not the cry of the humble.”
Psalm 34:15 “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”
David was known as a man after God’s own heart, most likely because of his passion (fervor) for God, as well as his willingness to humble himself in repentance to God. But the anti-thesis of fervor or intense feelings are actually warned about very specifically in the book of Revelation:
Rev. 3:14-19 “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowedst not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakendness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent.”
God not only prefers but demands intensity of feeling towards Him; whether they are intensely hot or intensely cold, they are better than lukewarm, better than obligatory. I don’t think God wants us to be cold towards Him at all, but the example here is of how greatly He hates mediocrity in anything pertaining to Him. Fence-straddlers, even in prayer, will not avail much. Zealous, by the way, is another synonym of fervor.
Now let’s look at persistence:
The definition of the verb persist is: to take a stand or stand firm. Remember James 1:6-7?
“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.”
Persistence does not let anything change its focus or course, no matter how intimidating (as the Lord appeared to be to the Canaanite woman of Matthew 15 that we will discuss further into this blog); no matter how against us circumstances appear to be, as seemed to be the case for the woman in the following parable:
Luke 18:1-8 “And He [Jesus] spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a judge which feared not God, neither regarded man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying 'avenge me of mine adversary'. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”
Most of us know this parable well, but do we apply the lesson learned from it? The lesson, in Jesus’ words, is:
Luke 18:6-8 “And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
His elect “cry day and night”….that’s a lot of fervent prayer! Unfortunately, the last verse of that scripture is sadly prophetic, in this day and age. Something we are to guard against.
And, as an anonymous reader of this blog [known only as GW] pointed out just this morning [see her comment under the posting “The Heart”] there is the parable of this woman that teaches us quite a bit about persistence (and fervor):
Matthew 15:22-28 “And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, 'Send her away for she crieth after us'. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”
Such tenacity! And Jesus called this tenacity “great faith”! And her prayer was answered immediately, “from that very hour”. [But there is so much more to learn from her example that will take up an entire posting…..to be explored tomorrow. Thank you, GW, for adding so much to this study!]
Finally, we arrive at patience:
We have seen from scripture that God hears us (the answer is not always immediate. Many times, even though there is much fervency in prayer, it is not God’s timing to answer it yet; nevertheless, when the time is right, the prayer will be answered, as seen in this example from the book of Revelation:
Revelation 6:9-11 “And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little while until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled.”
These cries are the same prayers that are mentioned in Revelation 8 which, mixed with incense by one of the seven angels, are said to ascend up to God. These prayers bring about the seven trumpet judgments. How patient are these that prayed, and how awesome in fearsome power is God’s response to them and on their behalf?
So, let our prayers be done out of great intensity of feeling, let us stand firm in our resolve to see them answered, and let us wait patiently for God's timing knowing that in time He WILL answer!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The Heart
If the battlefield is the mind, then where does the heart come into the picture, for the Lord talks about the heart even more than the mind. Isn’t that a battlefield as well?
The heart is not the battlefield, actually. The heart is a storehouse. We keep things stored in our hearts, way deep down. Sometimes so deep and so full of stuff we don’t even know what we’ve got stored there any longer.
The reason we need to focus on the heart as well as the mind, here, is that the ammunition that the enemy uses against us (and those that we are praying for) comes from our own ammunition bunker: the heart. The ammo we keep hidden in our hearts is either the lusts of the flesh (which the enemy uses to take us captive) or the fruit of the Spirit (which we use to stand against the enemy, with us “taking” captives rather than “being” captive ourselves).
James 1:13-15 “Let no man say when his is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished bringeth forth death.”
If we read that scripture very slowly and carefully we will see that the way it works is like this:
1) the heart (of “the flesh”) stores lust,
2) the enemy uses the lust to tempt us or draw us away from God (to seduce us or entice us to focus on self instead of God),
3) lust conceives (come up with a thought, an idea, a vision of evil),
4) from which (if the thought is not taken captive on the battleground of the mind talked about in the last posting) comes sin (the act of rebellion against God)
5) the wages of sin are death (depending on the sin that death can take on many different forms of destruction, destroying not only ourselves but others around us).
God searches our hearts, and knows our hearts better than we do. When we are born again, He begins a life-long clean-up of our hearts called “sanctification”. As He reveals things through His Holy Spirit Who resides in us, we are to repent of those hidden lusts that have been revealed, and thereby purge them from our hearts. This produces actions of obedience to God (because we can’t be lured away from God by the enemy through lusts that no longer exist in us having been purged out of us instead.)
If, however, we don’t repent of the lusts in our heart that God has revealed to us, if, instead, we hold onto those lusts and just stuff them deeper into our hearts, thinking they are well hidden, then the enemy has now been given a “foothold” by which to entice us away from righteousness, and into full-fledged sin, or rebellion against God. And we find ourselves on the battleground of our own minds, fighting a losing battle with the enemy, having no proper weapons, for we have given our ammo to the enemy. We can only win the battle if we are properly uniformed and outfitted (with the Holy Spirit).
When Jesus said, “The enemy has no place in me”, He meant that there was nothing in his heart with which the enemy could take him captive by temptation, seduction and lies. If we are abiding in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, humbling ourselves in obedience to Him at all times, then He will keep us purged of lusts, thereby preventing the enemy from taking us captive.
Mark 7:21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile the man.”
It is interesting that the list begins with “evil thoughts” which are the enticements of Satan using our lusts against us, and the sins follow. Just as when the fruit of the Spirit begins its list with “love” out of which proceeds the remaining fruit of joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
Psalm 10:17 “Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.”
Psalm 24:3-5 says: “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
We, ourselves, when we pray must first search our lives, making sure that our hands are clean (from known acts of sin) and our hearts pure (purged from revealed lusts for which we have repented). Then we can expect the Lord to hear us and to bless us with righteous judgment on behalf of those for whom we pray.
The heart is either the packed-in storehouse of “the lusts of the flesh” or is emptied in order to become the residence of the Spirit of God and filled with the “fruit of the Spirit”. Those of us engaging in battle with the enemy on the occupied territory of the mind, must enter the battle with hearts purified by the Holy Spirit. Only then will we be safe from captivity ourselves, as we pray (step onto the battleground), fighting the battle for the release of other captives.
The heart is not the battlefield, actually. The heart is a storehouse. We keep things stored in our hearts, way deep down. Sometimes so deep and so full of stuff we don’t even know what we’ve got stored there any longer.
The reason we need to focus on the heart as well as the mind, here, is that the ammunition that the enemy uses against us (and those that we are praying for) comes from our own ammunition bunker: the heart. The ammo we keep hidden in our hearts is either the lusts of the flesh (which the enemy uses to take us captive) or the fruit of the Spirit (which we use to stand against the enemy, with us “taking” captives rather than “being” captive ourselves).
James 1:13-15 “Let no man say when his is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished bringeth forth death.”
If we read that scripture very slowly and carefully we will see that the way it works is like this:
1) the heart (of “the flesh”) stores lust,
2) the enemy uses the lust to tempt us or draw us away from God (to seduce us or entice us to focus on self instead of God),
3) lust conceives (come up with a thought, an idea, a vision of evil),
4) from which (if the thought is not taken captive on the battleground of the mind talked about in the last posting) comes sin (the act of rebellion against God)
5) the wages of sin are death (depending on the sin that death can take on many different forms of destruction, destroying not only ourselves but others around us).
God searches our hearts, and knows our hearts better than we do. When we are born again, He begins a life-long clean-up of our hearts called “sanctification”. As He reveals things through His Holy Spirit Who resides in us, we are to repent of those hidden lusts that have been revealed, and thereby purge them from our hearts. This produces actions of obedience to God (because we can’t be lured away from God by the enemy through lusts that no longer exist in us having been purged out of us instead.)
If, however, we don’t repent of the lusts in our heart that God has revealed to us, if, instead, we hold onto those lusts and just stuff them deeper into our hearts, thinking they are well hidden, then the enemy has now been given a “foothold” by which to entice us away from righteousness, and into full-fledged sin, or rebellion against God. And we find ourselves on the battleground of our own minds, fighting a losing battle with the enemy, having no proper weapons, for we have given our ammo to the enemy. We can only win the battle if we are properly uniformed and outfitted (with the Holy Spirit).
When Jesus said, “The enemy has no place in me”, He meant that there was nothing in his heart with which the enemy could take him captive by temptation, seduction and lies. If we are abiding in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, humbling ourselves in obedience to Him at all times, then He will keep us purged of lusts, thereby preventing the enemy from taking us captive.
Mark 7:21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile the man.”
It is interesting that the list begins with “evil thoughts” which are the enticements of Satan using our lusts against us, and the sins follow. Just as when the fruit of the Spirit begins its list with “love” out of which proceeds the remaining fruit of joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
Psalm 10:17 “Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.”
Psalm 24:3-5 says: “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
We, ourselves, when we pray must first search our lives, making sure that our hands are clean (from known acts of sin) and our hearts pure (purged from revealed lusts for which we have repented). Then we can expect the Lord to hear us and to bless us with righteous judgment on behalf of those for whom we pray.
The heart is either the packed-in storehouse of “the lusts of the flesh” or is emptied in order to become the residence of the Spirit of God and filled with the “fruit of the Spirit”. Those of us engaging in battle with the enemy on the occupied territory of the mind, must enter the battle with hearts purified by the Holy Spirit. Only then will we be safe from captivity ourselves, as we pray (step onto the battleground), fighting the battle for the release of other captives.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Enemy-Occupied Territory
Now that we understand that our mission is to reclaim territory that belongs to the Kingdom of God, territory that was lost due to the fall of Adam and Eve, our next step is to identify exactly where that enemy-occupied territory is located. We have to be careful not to let ourselves be distracted by the areas of sin, as though they are the battlefields on which the enemy wages war: abortion, sex-trafficking, our government’s policies that are contrary to God. Believe it or not, these are not the battlefield. These are the results of battles that have been lost to the enemy on the battlefield.
The real battlefield is the MIND. Sin takes place in the mind of the one who is performing abortions, or in the mind of the politicians who have turned a deaf ear to God’s Word. And when sin is given a place in our minds, sin then manifests or shows itself in the evil “works” that are produced by the sin. Scripture has revealed this to us many times over:
2 Cor.4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the mind of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
Romans 8:5 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like, of the which I tell you before as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Titus 1:15 “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure: but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”
Isaiah 17:10 “Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips, in the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow”
The enemy-occupied territory we need to reclaim by our prayers (as well as by our witness of Jesus Christ reigning in our hearts) is the mind. There are millions walking in the world today who, because they do not know Jesus Christ, have not had their mind renewed by the Holy Spirit, transforming it into right thinking. As long as the enemy can keep us blinded by his lies and his deceptions, he is winning on the battlefield, and his dictatorship rules this world and things like murder of innocent babies, alcoholism, drug abuse, murder, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, banning of Christian beliefs and practices in our country …all these things will continue as long as Satan has control of the minds of the people. Sin is mind-control at it’s worst.
And lest we think that the battlefield of the mind pertains only to unbelievers, listen to what Paul tells us is our own ongoing battle:
Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
2 Cor. 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…”
If the thoughts that the enemy seduces us with are not taken captive, and even more so, pulled down from their high place of pride against God, then we will be taken captive; for what is not taken captive by us, takes us captive. The battle is then lost and sin reigns in us, and in others, where the Spirit of God ought to reign.
Prayer is our warfare. Prayer is a weapon used against the enemy. Prayer is the blood-soaked privilege earned for us by Jesus Christ. Prayers full of His Word. Prayers powerful in the Holy Spirit, “mighty through God”, resulting in victory over evil…first in us, then in others, then in the world.
The real battlefield is the MIND. Sin takes place in the mind of the one who is performing abortions, or in the mind of the politicians who have turned a deaf ear to God’s Word. And when sin is given a place in our minds, sin then manifests or shows itself in the evil “works” that are produced by the sin. Scripture has revealed this to us many times over:
2 Cor.4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the mind of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
Romans 8:5 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like, of the which I tell you before as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Titus 1:15 “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure: but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”
Isaiah 17:10 “Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips, in the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow”
The enemy-occupied territory we need to reclaim by our prayers (as well as by our witness of Jesus Christ reigning in our hearts) is the mind. There are millions walking in the world today who, because they do not know Jesus Christ, have not had their mind renewed by the Holy Spirit, transforming it into right thinking. As long as the enemy can keep us blinded by his lies and his deceptions, he is winning on the battlefield, and his dictatorship rules this world and things like murder of innocent babies, alcoholism, drug abuse, murder, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, banning of Christian beliefs and practices in our country …all these things will continue as long as Satan has control of the minds of the people. Sin is mind-control at it’s worst.
And lest we think that the battlefield of the mind pertains only to unbelievers, listen to what Paul tells us is our own ongoing battle:
Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
2 Cor. 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…”
If the thoughts that the enemy seduces us with are not taken captive, and even more so, pulled down from their high place of pride against God, then we will be taken captive; for what is not taken captive by us, takes us captive. The battle is then lost and sin reigns in us, and in others, where the Spirit of God ought to reign.
Prayer is our warfare. Prayer is a weapon used against the enemy. Prayer is the blood-soaked privilege earned for us by Jesus Christ. Prayers full of His Word. Prayers powerful in the Holy Spirit, “mighty through God”, resulting in victory over evil…first in us, then in others, then in the world.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Deliver Us From Evil
“…And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…” Matthew 6:13
Going back to yesterday's post for moment, let me say that what we have come to know as The Lord’s Prayer, is scripture and a beautiful prayer, if we pray it with very deliberate meaning applied to each and every word, as it should be. It is valuable for us to memorize just as all other scripture is equally valuable to be memorized.
But many millions more of us only recite it by rote, as numbed in the repetition of it as so many couch-potatoes are numbed by too much television watching. And therein lies my problem with repetitious prayer. It allows one to “think” that they are praying, whether they are “thinking” about the words or not. Whereas, when we pray as the Spirit leads us, there is nothing mind-numbing about it.
g) Proclaiming God as ruler of this universe, now and forever.
AMEN.
But today I want to focus on the next to the last element: “deliver us from evil”, or as I paraphrased it, asking for divine protection from the wiles of the enemy.
Paul says, in Ephesians 6:19-18: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
As we learn how to pray, and spend time doing so, we must realize that we are praying against the “wiles of the devil” or as Jesus said “the works of the devil” that He came to destroy. And He did.
He reclaimed men’s bodies that had been possessed by Satan. He bore stripes that provided our complete healing, if we believe and receive it. He told us that we would do even greater works than He did. And look what Jesus received from the world for all that He delivered them from.
Jesus didn’t just haphazardly throw in that bit about “deliver us from evil” when instructing us to pray. He knew firsthand what forces would come against Him and what forces still today will come against us as we battle spiritually with those principalities and powers of darkness that rule this world! And yet He overcame. And by His overcoming, He has provided for us an arsenal of weapons and armor to be used in the battle, so that we too will overcome.
But if we go into battle without the weapons the Lord has provided for our use, we should not be surprised when the enemy sends us retreating into the hills, or disables us completely. And the thing is: Satan has already been defeated! So, we are being attacked and forced into retreat by an already defeated enemy!
Well, here’s four that are at the top of my list today, for various reasons; your top four may be completely different, and if we let the Spirit of God leads us as we all pray, all areas to be reclaimed will be covered by prayer:
-the lives of innocent babies being horribly killed every day [There have been 49,551,703 abortions in the U.S. alone since the Roe v Wade court decision in 1973. Source: http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/facts/abortionstats.html]
-the lives of children and teens being forced into the sex trade [In the U.S. alone there are 100,000 believed to be enslaved in sex-trafficking. Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime]
-young teens getting high on prescription drugs (my own grandson told me this weekend how prevalent it is in his middle school) [While illicit drug use has declined among youth, rates of nonmedical use of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medication remain high. Prescription medications most commonly abused by youth include pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and depressants. In 2006, 2.1 million teens abused prescription drugs. Teens also misuse OTC cough and cold medications, containing the cough suppressant dextromethorphan (DXM), to get high. Prescription and OTC medications are widely available, free or inexpensive, and falsely believed to be safer than illicit drugs. Misuse of prescription and OTC medications can cause serious health effects, addiction, and death. Source: http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/alcoholdrug/index.htm]
-continued attacks against public use of anything related to Christianity in this country whose President claims that we are “no longer a Christian nation” [Muslim groups reacted angrily Wednesday after it emerged that the U.S. military is using combat rifle sights inscribed with coded Biblical references. "This situation is not unlike the situation with U.S. currency," said the spokesman, Air Force Maj. John Redfield. "Are we going to stop using money because the bills have 'In God We Trust' on them? As long as the sights meet the combat needs of troops, they'll continue to be used." Source: one of today’s articles at http://www.foxnews.com/story - today]
Those are just the few that come quickly to my mind today either because of having just read the news or having discussions with friends or family during the week. And the ones that quote statistics are just stats from the U.S. alone, I hope you saw that. So how many lives are being destroyed all over the globe…by an entity that is defeated! Only the Word has not gotten out yet all over the world, and even here at home, that his tyranny is no longer real! That all have been set free from the tyranny! The dictator has been deposed, has no legal rule over them any longer, and the land has been restored to the inhabitants! They just don't know it or believe it....YET. That’s why we pray.
If we do not pray “in the Spirit”, with the Spirit leading us and marching us in the right direction, so that the enemy is properly exposed and turned back, if we pray non-thinking recitals instead, the news headlines will not change, except for the worse, as the powers of darkness grow darker still.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
After This Manner Pray Ye
“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” Matthew 6:7-10
As difficult as it is for some of us to memorize scripture verses, most of us know a good portion of Matthew chapter 6 because we were raised in churches, whether Catholic or Protestant, that taught us to recite what we call “The Lord’s Prayer." In the verse preceding the much recited “Lord’s Prayer” is this command from Jesus Himself which very clearly instructs us to: “…use not vain repetitions…” And then He goes on to say, “after this manner therefore pray ye”. The words “after this manner” could be paraphrased to read “like this for example”.
What is most critical to us, when we pray, is that the life of God is in us; heathens [those who do not “believe” God] do not have the life of God in them.
Without Jesus residing in us, our prayers will have all the affect of “vain repetitions”, and we, like the heathens, might even “think that [we] shall be heard for [our] much speaking”; when, in fact, the opposite is true. Much speaking reminds me of much works. And nothing is accomplished by works alone as we have already seen; first must come FAITH which THEN produces APPROPRIATE works. But works by themselves cause us to miss out on the grace and mercy of God given to us. We ignore His grace and go for our works (our many vain repetitions) instead as being the thing that will “win” God’s heart for the things that we desire.
It is the life of God IN us that brings not only our wills into line with His, so that our prayers are “inspired” by God Himself, but also produces answered prayers because God, “Our Father”, desires to respond to His children.
But if the life of God in us is so critical, then how important is it to our praying, that we, ourselves, are obedient to God? I don’t speak here of sins of ignorance, as though we must be perfected before we are allowed to expect answers to prayer. What I mean is what about those sins that we are aware of, that we haven’t quite let go of, haven’t quite laid at the foot of the cross with remorse and repentance? Absolute surrender of our will to God is absolutely critical to producing prayer that is answered....every time.
The more we surrender the more the Holy Spirit is able to fill us with more of Jesus’ life in us.
The less we are willing to surrender, the longer that sin remains in our life, the less “inspiration” we will receive from the Holy Spirit to help us pray, for we are “grieving” Him by our sin, and the less our prayers will be answered, for they cannot be heard in the first place by Our Father who has turned His ear away from us because of our rebellion. He will not grant our requests as long as we are being disobedient. Similar to a father whose child desires to go out to play, even though he has not yet done his chores. The father will not grant the child’s desires, until the child has done as the father wills him to do.
I believe the Word of God uses the relationship of father to child so often when instructing us, because it is so easy for us to comprehend the earthly pattern of a child relating to his parent, whether in obedience or in rebellion.
The example Jesus gives us, regarding how to pray, begins with proclaiming God’s presence in heaven and the holiness of His name. Sometimes in prayer, we forget that God is holy. And we present ourselves to Him, in prayer, with sin-stained garments. The garments we are to put on to enter into our Father’s presence are to be the washed-in-the-blood garments of Jesus’ righteousness, which we have received after confession of all known sin and acknowledgment of our need for the righteousness of Jesus to both wash us clean and to reside in us.
When we become members of the true “church”, the body of Christ Himself, by virtue of our surrender to His will not ours be done, we have no need to memorize prayers and no need to repeat them unendingly in “hope” that God will hear us and answer us. We will "know" that He hears us and answers us, as Jesus Himself knew that the Father heard and answered Him.
When Jesus tells us that we will ask the Father all things in His [Jesus’] Name, He speaks of us becoming a part of His body, so that we are IN JESUS. So that we go forth as representatives of Jesus Christ, and in His Name, that is IN HIM, we bring the Father’s will to earth, both through our actions and because of our prayers.
We know the Father’s will, because the Spirit of the Father and the Son are residing in us to accomplish His will through our lives and our prayers. And every word of our prayer is born out of travailing that the kingdom of God on this earth will be exactly as the kingdom of God is in heaven.
Holy Spirit-inspired-praying.
No recital needed.
As difficult as it is for some of us to memorize scripture verses, most of us know a good portion of Matthew chapter 6 because we were raised in churches, whether Catholic or Protestant, that taught us to recite what we call “The Lord’s Prayer." In the verse preceding the much recited “Lord’s Prayer” is this command from Jesus Himself which very clearly instructs us to: “…use not vain repetitions…” And then He goes on to say, “after this manner therefore pray ye”. The words “after this manner” could be paraphrased to read “like this for example”.
What is most critical to us, when we pray, is that the life of God is in us; heathens [those who do not “believe” God] do not have the life of God in them.
Without Jesus residing in us, our prayers will have all the affect of “vain repetitions”, and we, like the heathens, might even “think that [we] shall be heard for [our] much speaking”; when, in fact, the opposite is true. Much speaking reminds me of much works. And nothing is accomplished by works alone as we have already seen; first must come FAITH which THEN produces APPROPRIATE works. But works by themselves cause us to miss out on the grace and mercy of God given to us. We ignore His grace and go for our works (our many vain repetitions) instead as being the thing that will “win” God’s heart for the things that we desire.
It is the life of God IN us that brings not only our wills into line with His, so that our prayers are “inspired” by God Himself, but also produces answered prayers because God, “Our Father”, desires to respond to His children.
But if the life of God in us is so critical, then how important is it to our praying, that we, ourselves, are obedient to God? I don’t speak here of sins of ignorance, as though we must be perfected before we are allowed to expect answers to prayer. What I mean is what about those sins that we are aware of, that we haven’t quite let go of, haven’t quite laid at the foot of the cross with remorse and repentance? Absolute surrender of our will to God is absolutely critical to producing prayer that is answered....every time.
The more we surrender the more the Holy Spirit is able to fill us with more of Jesus’ life in us.
The less we are willing to surrender, the longer that sin remains in our life, the less “inspiration” we will receive from the Holy Spirit to help us pray, for we are “grieving” Him by our sin, and the less our prayers will be answered, for they cannot be heard in the first place by Our Father who has turned His ear away from us because of our rebellion. He will not grant our requests as long as we are being disobedient. Similar to a father whose child desires to go out to play, even though he has not yet done his chores. The father will not grant the child’s desires, until the child has done as the father wills him to do.
I believe the Word of God uses the relationship of father to child so often when instructing us, because it is so easy for us to comprehend the earthly pattern of a child relating to his parent, whether in obedience or in rebellion.
The example Jesus gives us, regarding how to pray, begins with proclaiming God’s presence in heaven and the holiness of His name. Sometimes in prayer, we forget that God is holy. And we present ourselves to Him, in prayer, with sin-stained garments. The garments we are to put on to enter into our Father’s presence are to be the washed-in-the-blood garments of Jesus’ righteousness, which we have received after confession of all known sin and acknowledgment of our need for the righteousness of Jesus to both wash us clean and to reside in us.
When we become members of the true “church”, the body of Christ Himself, by virtue of our surrender to His will not ours be done, we have no need to memorize prayers and no need to repeat them unendingly in “hope” that God will hear us and answer us. We will "know" that He hears us and answers us, as Jesus Himself knew that the Father heard and answered Him.
When Jesus tells us that we will ask the Father all things in His [Jesus’] Name, He speaks of us becoming a part of His body, so that we are IN JESUS. So that we go forth as representatives of Jesus Christ, and in His Name, that is IN HIM, we bring the Father’s will to earth, both through our actions and because of our prayers.
We know the Father’s will, because the Spirit of the Father and the Son are residing in us to accomplish His will through our lives and our prayers. And every word of our prayer is born out of travailing that the kingdom of God on this earth will be exactly as the kingdom of God is in heaven.
Holy Spirit-inspired-praying.
No recital needed.
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Vision of Prayer
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18
“By faith, he [Moses] forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:26
Great things have been accomplished by mighty men of God who, as Moses did, were able to “see” God even though He was invisible to their mortal eyes. Great things have been lost by the unbelieving masses, who because of their “blindness” [lack of faith] could NOT “see” God.
Remember that old saying: Seeing is believing? That saying was birthed here on earth. The opposite of that saying, birthed in heavenly places, must be: Believing is seeing.
Because we believe who God is, we see things differently than those around us who do not know God at all.
The book of Hebrews tell us that the Israelites, following Moses in the desert as he led them to the “promised land”, “could not enter in because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:19) They had left Egypt, a place of hard toil, a life of slavery and poverty, and were on their way to the “land of milk and honey”, a new home promised to them by the same God who dwelt among them in the tabernacle, who led them by day with a miraculous cloud, and by night with a miraculous flame.
And the only thing that prevented them from entering into their promised land, from entering into the “rest” that only the Lord could provide, was their unbelief. They could not trust God, and could not be thankful to God, for they saw only the hardships of the desert, and so they died in the desert. They could not see the goodness of God, they saw only their no-frills desert life, no worse than what they had in Egypt, but so much better because they were free! But their eyes did not look ahead, they only looked back, so that they longed for what they once had. Those who died in the desert had no forward “vision”; how could they possibly enter into a land they could not even “see”? How could they “see” the land ahead, when they only looked back? All because they could not believe God’s promise to deliver them to the land where they could rest. All because they could not SEE. All because they had no FAITH.
The true man (or woman) of God sees what those who do not yet know God cannot see. This is what makes their prayers so powerful.
“And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! How shall we do? And he [Elisha] answered, Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:15-17
Lest we misunderstand, this is not an example of positive thinking! Positive thinking has nothing to do with KNOWING GOD OR TRUSTING IN HIS PROMISES. Do not be led astray by positive thinking and so much other new age heretical thinking. Positive thinking and other false religion beliefs, are based on wishful thinking or on belief that we are some form of gods ourselves. They have nothing to do with our God who is also our Father.. These cultic stances are not based on faith in God OR on His promises.
The example of Elisha and his servant demonstrates the “vision”, the “sight” , that is given only to us who are born again. Jesus said we could not even “see” the kingdom of God, until we are born again, not of flesh, but of the Spirit of God. [See John 3:3]
Our flesh cannot see the kingdom of God, our flesh cannot see the promises of God, our flesh cannot pray the promises of God down from the heavenly places into our physical realm no matter how fervent, long or eloquent our prayer!
We see this proven over and over again, when we attempt to share with an unbeliever the powerful things of God. Sometimes, no matter what we say, or how we say it, what is so simple for us to understand, they cannot grasp, and they look at us like we’re from another planet. [We are! A heavenly one!] It isn’t that they don’t want to “see” it, it’s that they cannot see it until they have been given the “eyes” that we are given when we first believe and trust in Jesus, when we are born again. It is as though the Word of God is written in a foreign language (spiritually speaking) to those who have not been born again. But once we are born again, the Holy Spirit becomes our interpreter, and we see it all clearly.
And once we are born again, even though our bodies are still living, we are to “reckon” ourselves dead to the flesh, Paul says, and alive to the Spirit of God. Faith means that we have left the realm of the senses. If we have done this, then we no longer judge what is true according to what our five senses tell us. We now have only one sense, the spiritual sense called faith that produces 20/20 vision in the supernatural realm. This is not blind faith, as some like to call it, implying that we have no knowledge or understanding or intelligence. It is because we understand who God is that our faith is not blind, but sees. And it is by this faith that we determine what is true…..IF we have reckoned ourselves dead to the flesh, and alive in the Spirit. Jesus, the Word, is the TRUTH. Nothing else is.
"What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Mark 11:24
When we pray, we ask according to the Word, the Truth, for things that are not. For if they already were, we would have no need to ask for them. But, even before we ask for them, it is critical that we believe they are already, all because God has so promised, all because we have faith in who God is and we have faith in His promises to us. The things we ask may not be here physically at the time of our prayers, but we know already that they exist, and are given to us at the moment of our asking. And at the moment of our asking, we stop relying on our senses, we rely only on faith. And we watch for the manifestation to come, never doubting for a moment that it will.
When Jesus cursed the fig tree for not giving Him fruit, it did not shrivel up and die instantly. But the curse took effect instantly, only at the root of the tree, which could not be seen. By the next day, the power of death that had gripped the root, had spread to the entire tree, and its death was visible to the disciples. They could not see that death grip when Jesus cursed it...not til the following day. But because they did not see any immediate evidence of it, did not mean that it wasn’t cursed just as Jesus said it was.
That is how our prayers work. We have instantly what we ask, even if we don’t immediately see the manifestation or evidence of it.
But the following scripture is key to prayer’s success:
“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” (James 1:6-7)
We must hold fast to that which we can see only by faith, nothing wavering. No doubting. Only solid confidence, because we see it already, because we know God has given it already, because we know God keeps His promises to us, until it has been manifested for all to see.
That is the vision of prayer.
“By faith, he [Moses] forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:26
Great things have been accomplished by mighty men of God who, as Moses did, were able to “see” God even though He was invisible to their mortal eyes. Great things have been lost by the unbelieving masses, who because of their “blindness” [lack of faith] could NOT “see” God.
Remember that old saying: Seeing is believing? That saying was birthed here on earth. The opposite of that saying, birthed in heavenly places, must be: Believing is seeing.
Because we believe who God is, we see things differently than those around us who do not know God at all.
The book of Hebrews tell us that the Israelites, following Moses in the desert as he led them to the “promised land”, “could not enter in because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:19) They had left Egypt, a place of hard toil, a life of slavery and poverty, and were on their way to the “land of milk and honey”, a new home promised to them by the same God who dwelt among them in the tabernacle, who led them by day with a miraculous cloud, and by night with a miraculous flame.
And the only thing that prevented them from entering into their promised land, from entering into the “rest” that only the Lord could provide, was their unbelief. They could not trust God, and could not be thankful to God, for they saw only the hardships of the desert, and so they died in the desert. They could not see the goodness of God, they saw only their no-frills desert life, no worse than what they had in Egypt, but so much better because they were free! But their eyes did not look ahead, they only looked back, so that they longed for what they once had. Those who died in the desert had no forward “vision”; how could they possibly enter into a land they could not even “see”? How could they “see” the land ahead, when they only looked back? All because they could not believe God’s promise to deliver them to the land where they could rest. All because they could not SEE. All because they had no FAITH.
The true man (or woman) of God sees what those who do not yet know God cannot see. This is what makes their prayers so powerful.
“And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! How shall we do? And he [Elisha] answered, Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:15-17
Lest we misunderstand, this is not an example of positive thinking! Positive thinking has nothing to do with KNOWING GOD OR TRUSTING IN HIS PROMISES. Do not be led astray by positive thinking and so much other new age heretical thinking. Positive thinking and other false religion beliefs, are based on wishful thinking or on belief that we are some form of gods ourselves. They have nothing to do with our God who is also our Father.. These cultic stances are not based on faith in God OR on His promises.
The example of Elisha and his servant demonstrates the “vision”, the “sight” , that is given only to us who are born again. Jesus said we could not even “see” the kingdom of God, until we are born again, not of flesh, but of the Spirit of God. [See John 3:3]
Our flesh cannot see the kingdom of God, our flesh cannot see the promises of God, our flesh cannot pray the promises of God down from the heavenly places into our physical realm no matter how fervent, long or eloquent our prayer!
We see this proven over and over again, when we attempt to share with an unbeliever the powerful things of God. Sometimes, no matter what we say, or how we say it, what is so simple for us to understand, they cannot grasp, and they look at us like we’re from another planet. [We are! A heavenly one!] It isn’t that they don’t want to “see” it, it’s that they cannot see it until they have been given the “eyes” that we are given when we first believe and trust in Jesus, when we are born again. It is as though the Word of God is written in a foreign language (spiritually speaking) to those who have not been born again. But once we are born again, the Holy Spirit becomes our interpreter, and we see it all clearly.
And once we are born again, even though our bodies are still living, we are to “reckon” ourselves dead to the flesh, Paul says, and alive to the Spirit of God. Faith means that we have left the realm of the senses. If we have done this, then we no longer judge what is true according to what our five senses tell us. We now have only one sense, the spiritual sense called faith that produces 20/20 vision in the supernatural realm. This is not blind faith, as some like to call it, implying that we have no knowledge or understanding or intelligence. It is because we understand who God is that our faith is not blind, but sees. And it is by this faith that we determine what is true…..IF we have reckoned ourselves dead to the flesh, and alive in the Spirit. Jesus, the Word, is the TRUTH. Nothing else is.
"What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Mark 11:24
When we pray, we ask according to the Word, the Truth, for things that are not. For if they already were, we would have no need to ask for them. But, even before we ask for them, it is critical that we believe they are already, all because God has so promised, all because we have faith in who God is and we have faith in His promises to us. The things we ask may not be here physically at the time of our prayers, but we know already that they exist, and are given to us at the moment of our asking. And at the moment of our asking, we stop relying on our senses, we rely only on faith. And we watch for the manifestation to come, never doubting for a moment that it will.
When Jesus cursed the fig tree for not giving Him fruit, it did not shrivel up and die instantly. But the curse took effect instantly, only at the root of the tree, which could not be seen. By the next day, the power of death that had gripped the root, had spread to the entire tree, and its death was visible to the disciples. They could not see that death grip when Jesus cursed it...not til the following day. But because they did not see any immediate evidence of it, did not mean that it wasn’t cursed just as Jesus said it was.
That is how our prayers work. We have instantly what we ask, even if we don’t immediately see the manifestation or evidence of it.
But the following scripture is key to prayer’s success:
“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” (James 1:6-7)
We must hold fast to that which we can see only by faith, nothing wavering. No doubting. Only solid confidence, because we see it already, because we know God has given it already, because we know God keeps His promises to us, until it has been manifested for all to see.
That is the vision of prayer.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Priest, Ambassadors and So Much More
“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation….” Exodus 19:5
Preachers of the gospel of the kingdom: Speaking the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek…” (Isaiah 61:1a)
These are just a few of the caps we put on as we pray for one another and for all in the world. It’s amazing all that Jesus can do through us, and through our prayers. These are some of the WHY of prayer. Next we’ll look at the HOW TO of prayer.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Dominion Praying
“And God said ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and aover the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him, male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26-28)
God created man to manage the earth and everything in it, as His representative. He gave man all that man needed, because He created man in His own image and likeness. God rules in entirety, but He created man to rule the earth, as a sort of sub-ruler or representative of God.
Then sin entered in. Man fell. Man’s dominion over the earth was handed over to Satan. Adam failed the earth and mankind. Creation has groaned in travail ever since.
But a second Adam appeared on the scene: Jesus Christ. Jesus redeemed man, man that He created, and returned the right of dominion back to man: to redeemed man. What was so easily taken for granted and lost, was purchased back at a tremendous price. Nevertheless, restoration has begun.
Redeemed man, whose redemption was purchased by Jesus Christ, has been given the keys of the kingdom back.
What does that mean to us exactly?
Well, for an example of what it means to us, let’s consider the following scenario from Andrew Murray, a 19th century man of God:
“When an earthly sovereign sends a representative to a distant province, that representative advises the sovereign as to the policy to be adopted there. The sovereign follows that advice, doing whatever is necessary to enact the policy and maintain the dignity of his empire. If the sovereign, however, doesn’t approve of the policy, he replaces the representative with someone who better understands his desires for the empire. But as long as the representative is trusted, his advice is carried out.”
Such is what was intended for man originally, and what is intended for redeemed man now. To have dominion over the earth and all that is in it. To have everything on earth done according to man’s will.
Wait, man’s will? Not God’s will?
No, man’s will. Because you see, man’s will, as a true and honest representative of God, IS God’s will. On man’s advice and at man’s request (also known as prayer), heaven shows man's authority and dominion by granting appropriate blessings on earth.
Remember Jesus saying to his disciples: “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
He gave them the power to make decisions (policies) on earth, and promised them that they would be backed by the proper authority in heaven, and that those things which they asked would be granted to them. Jesus didn’t give this privilege to them casually or without forethought. He knew that they would choose according the the will of the Father, as He had instructed and modeled for them for three years, and so He had enough confidence in their future decisions to grant the necessary authority to “make it so”.
It is no different for us. But there IS a condition to the promise that Jesus spoke when He said: “ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you”. In fact, the condition is the first part of that scripture that gets often neglected: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you”...THEN...“ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.
As Andrew Murray again says “It is for those who abide in Him, who have forsaken themselves for a life of obedience and self-sacrifice in Him, who have completely surrendered to the interests of the Father and His Kingdom. They understand how their redemption through Jesus Christ has brought them back to their original destiny, restoring God’s image and the power to have dominion. When God chose Abraham, He was beginning to make for Himself a people whose prayer power affected the destinies of those who came into contact with him.
Prayer is not only the means of obtaining blessing for ourselves; it is the exercise of a royal prerogative to influence the destinies of men and the will of God which rules them. Abraham’s prayers for Sodom and Lot, for Abimelech, and for Ishmael prove that a man who is God’s friend has the power to control the history of those around him. Man was to be prophet, priest, and king to interpret God’s will, to represent nature’s needs, to receive and dispense God’s bounty.
It was in bearing God’s image that he could bear God’s rule. As God’s image-bearer and representative on earth, redeemed man has the power to determine the history of the earth through his prayers. Man was created and then redeemed to pray, and by his prayer to have dominion.
Redeemed men indeed have the power - each in his own area - to obtain and dispense the powers of heaven here on earth. With holy boldness they may make known what they will. To rule creation by man is God's design."
God created man to manage the earth and everything in it, as His representative. He gave man all that man needed, because He created man in His own image and likeness. God rules in entirety, but He created man to rule the earth, as a sort of sub-ruler or representative of God.
Then sin entered in. Man fell. Man’s dominion over the earth was handed over to Satan. Adam failed the earth and mankind. Creation has groaned in travail ever since.
But a second Adam appeared on the scene: Jesus Christ. Jesus redeemed man, man that He created, and returned the right of dominion back to man: to redeemed man. What was so easily taken for granted and lost, was purchased back at a tremendous price. Nevertheless, restoration has begun.
Redeemed man, whose redemption was purchased by Jesus Christ, has been given the keys of the kingdom back.
What does that mean to us exactly?
Well, for an example of what it means to us, let’s consider the following scenario from Andrew Murray, a 19th century man of God:
“When an earthly sovereign sends a representative to a distant province, that representative advises the sovereign as to the policy to be adopted there. The sovereign follows that advice, doing whatever is necessary to enact the policy and maintain the dignity of his empire. If the sovereign, however, doesn’t approve of the policy, he replaces the representative with someone who better understands his desires for the empire. But as long as the representative is trusted, his advice is carried out.”
Such is what was intended for man originally, and what is intended for redeemed man now. To have dominion over the earth and all that is in it. To have everything on earth done according to man’s will.
Wait, man’s will? Not God’s will?
No, man’s will. Because you see, man’s will, as a true and honest representative of God, IS God’s will. On man’s advice and at man’s request (also known as prayer), heaven shows man's authority and dominion by granting appropriate blessings on earth.
Remember Jesus saying to his disciples: “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
He gave them the power to make decisions (policies) on earth, and promised them that they would be backed by the proper authority in heaven, and that those things which they asked would be granted to them. Jesus didn’t give this privilege to them casually or without forethought. He knew that they would choose according the the will of the Father, as He had instructed and modeled for them for three years, and so He had enough confidence in their future decisions to grant the necessary authority to “make it so”.
It is no different for us. But there IS a condition to the promise that Jesus spoke when He said: “ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you”. In fact, the condition is the first part of that scripture that gets often neglected: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you”...THEN...“ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.
As Andrew Murray again says “It is for those who abide in Him, who have forsaken themselves for a life of obedience and self-sacrifice in Him, who have completely surrendered to the interests of the Father and His Kingdom. They understand how their redemption through Jesus Christ has brought them back to their original destiny, restoring God’s image and the power to have dominion. When God chose Abraham, He was beginning to make for Himself a people whose prayer power affected the destinies of those who came into contact with him.
Prayer is not only the means of obtaining blessing for ourselves; it is the exercise of a royal prerogative to influence the destinies of men and the will of God which rules them. Abraham’s prayers for Sodom and Lot, for Abimelech, and for Ishmael prove that a man who is God’s friend has the power to control the history of those around him. Man was to be prophet, priest, and king to interpret God’s will, to represent nature’s needs, to receive and dispense God’s bounty.
It was in bearing God’s image that he could bear God’s rule. As God’s image-bearer and representative on earth, redeemed man has the power to determine the history of the earth through his prayers. Man was created and then redeemed to pray, and by his prayer to have dominion.
Redeemed men indeed have the power - each in his own area - to obtain and dispense the powers of heaven here on earth. With holy boldness they may make known what they will. To rule creation by man is God's design."
Monday, January 11, 2010
Faith's Requirement
With the Lord’s help, I am going to expound a bit on a few scriptures that are of importance to us regarding the prayer of faith:
“Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee….” (Isaiah 25:3) In other words, people strong in faith are the ones (the only ones) who glorify God. Strong in physical might, strong in courage, strong in obedience…can any of these be if we are not first strong in faith? We must believe that GOD IS, first and foremost, and then we must know that our purpose is to glorify Him.
“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee…” (John 17:1) As did Jesus, we also exist to show forth God’s glory; God is the One who allots that glory to us, in order that we might glorify Him. When our light shines, that light comes not from us, but from Him, so that He may be glorified. Right? Jesus glorified God, yet He said we would do greater things than He did. Just as our purpose must be to glorify God, that also must be the goal of our praying.
“How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” (John 5:44) Our prayer requests cannot be born out of self-interest or self-will. They must be born out of a heart whose most fervent desire is to glorify God and to be obedient to His will. God honours us so that we can honour and bring glory to Him. That’s what Jesus did. That was His purpose: to glorify God before all mankind. But if this is not our purpose, if our purpose is to receive this glory from man instead of from God, then we have no faith. For we must seek glory for (and from) God alone to truly believe.
Faith’s end purpose then is to glorify God. And so the prayer of faith must be one that asks for an answer that will bring glory to God alone.
Thus making the desire to glorify God, a “requirement” of true faith!
If this is true, and I can’t help but believe that it is from what I read in the Word of God, then it is no wonder that we have difficulty with the prayer of faith! We spend how many hours a day doing things that do NOT bring glory to God (easily identified by the fact that our thoughts are not on God at all), and then hope suddenly, when called upon to pray, that we can muster up enough faith or in other words, muster up enough “desire to glorify God” to get our prayer answered.
But it isn’t actually what we “do” during the day that is the problem. For example, it’s hard to see how doing the laundry or mowing the lawn, can bring glory to God, right? The truth is that it has always been, and will always be, about our heart! What is our heart’s desire, even while we are doing the laundry? What is our heart’s desire even when we are mowing the lawn? You see, when we are focused on bringing glory to God, in ALL that we do, then ALL that we do will bring glory to God…including praying.
Jesus when speaking to the Father about the disciples said: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one.” (John 17:20-22)
All that Jesus did was so that the world would believe in God. Even our unity, our oneness with Jesus and the Father (which He promises us we will have if we abide in Him and His Word abides in us) brings glory to God. For without the presence of Jesus Christ in our life, we cannot attain a life where God’s glory is our desire! This is for the purpose of denying self which wants to take God’s place in receiving glory.
There are so many scriptures that speak of the glory that we are to bring, and do bring, to God. After all, we are made in the image of God, again to bring glory to God. And all that God accomplished in providing Jesus as a sacrifice to us, was for the purpose of bringing that “reflection” of Himself that we are, back to shining glory once more, to rightly reflect Him, the Most High God!
If we want to pray the prayer of faith, then, we must live our lives IN Christ Jesus. We must keep our hearts stayed on Him, all through the day, not just in moments of the day. We must both live for AND pray for God’s glory, if our prayers are to be answered!
Amen?
“Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee….” (Isaiah 25:3) In other words, people strong in faith are the ones (the only ones) who glorify God. Strong in physical might, strong in courage, strong in obedience…can any of these be if we are not first strong in faith? We must believe that GOD IS, first and foremost, and then we must know that our purpose is to glorify Him.
“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee…” (John 17:1) As did Jesus, we also exist to show forth God’s glory; God is the One who allots that glory to us, in order that we might glorify Him. When our light shines, that light comes not from us, but from Him, so that He may be glorified. Right? Jesus glorified God, yet He said we would do greater things than He did. Just as our purpose must be to glorify God, that also must be the goal of our praying.
“How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” (John 5:44) Our prayer requests cannot be born out of self-interest or self-will. They must be born out of a heart whose most fervent desire is to glorify God and to be obedient to His will. God honours us so that we can honour and bring glory to Him. That’s what Jesus did. That was His purpose: to glorify God before all mankind. But if this is not our purpose, if our purpose is to receive this glory from man instead of from God, then we have no faith. For we must seek glory for (and from) God alone to truly believe.
Faith’s end purpose then is to glorify God. And so the prayer of faith must be one that asks for an answer that will bring glory to God alone.
Thus making the desire to glorify God, a “requirement” of true faith!
If this is true, and I can’t help but believe that it is from what I read in the Word of God, then it is no wonder that we have difficulty with the prayer of faith! We spend how many hours a day doing things that do NOT bring glory to God (easily identified by the fact that our thoughts are not on God at all), and then hope suddenly, when called upon to pray, that we can muster up enough faith or in other words, muster up enough “desire to glorify God” to get our prayer answered.
But it isn’t actually what we “do” during the day that is the problem. For example, it’s hard to see how doing the laundry or mowing the lawn, can bring glory to God, right? The truth is that it has always been, and will always be, about our heart! What is our heart’s desire, even while we are doing the laundry? What is our heart’s desire even when we are mowing the lawn? You see, when we are focused on bringing glory to God, in ALL that we do, then ALL that we do will bring glory to God…including praying.
Jesus when speaking to the Father about the disciples said: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one.” (John 17:20-22)
All that Jesus did was so that the world would believe in God. Even our unity, our oneness with Jesus and the Father (which He promises us we will have if we abide in Him and His Word abides in us) brings glory to God. For without the presence of Jesus Christ in our life, we cannot attain a life where God’s glory is our desire! This is for the purpose of denying self which wants to take God’s place in receiving glory.
There are so many scriptures that speak of the glory that we are to bring, and do bring, to God. After all, we are made in the image of God, again to bring glory to God. And all that God accomplished in providing Jesus as a sacrifice to us, was for the purpose of bringing that “reflection” of Himself that we are, back to shining glory once more, to rightly reflect Him, the Most High God!
If we want to pray the prayer of faith, then, we must live our lives IN Christ Jesus. We must keep our hearts stayed on Him, all through the day, not just in moments of the day. We must both live for AND pray for God’s glory, if our prayers are to be answered!
Amen?
Friday, January 8, 2010
The Prayer of Faith, Part 2
I went to bed last night still thinking about the fact that God asked Abraham to do something so terrible as sacrificing Isaac. But my thoughts didn’t run along the lines of “How could God ask him to do such a thing?” Instead, they went more like: “Do we trust God like that? Do we even know God as well as Abraham did? Do we really believe that God is Who He is? Do we believe that He cares about us, actually loves us, in the way that Abraham did?” Maybe it’s just me, but understanding who God is, is a huge thing to grasp.
I want to get to the place where Abraham was...where he trusted God...without question. And God blessed him.
Understanding Abraham’s faith is important to us for that kind of faith is what is needed in prayer. How can it not be when prayer is:
- talking to God who we believe cares about us, is actively listening to every word, and is not only able (having power and authority to do so) but also willing to grant our requests, at least when it lines up with what is right and true as God Himself is.
There is an interesting verse or two in Genesis 18:20-21 that confirms that this is what prayer is about. We all know the history of Sodom and Gomorrah and what happened to them. How Abraham’s nephew Lot, and his family, were delivered from there by two angels before the cities were destroyed. But, how often do we recall this precursor to that story:
“And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.”
There was a “cry” going out into the heavens, originating in Sodom and Gomorrah, but reaching God’s ear. That cry was telling God of “grievous” things happening in the cities. And there was God saying that He would go down to that place to confirm whether all that the cry was saying was true. And if it was not true, He would know after His visit.
The “cry” could have come only from Abraham’s nephew Lot, and possibly his family. He and his family were the only ones delivered from there, four in all. Not even ten found righteous there, for if there had been ten, God had promised Abraham he would not destroy them all. But ten righteous persons were not to be found. There is a good possibility there were not even children there either, because the men and women of the cities were bent on homosexuality, and violently so, it seems; homosexuality precluding the birthing of children.
But do we pay attention to what happened, as described in those two verses above?
God heard, God listened, God came to verify the truth of the cry, and then God took action to bring remedy to the situation.
Why should any of this be different for us who are also chosen by God and called according to His name? We are God’s creation, His kingdom. He cares about us. He cares when things are not going right for us. He hears our cries for justice. And, after verifying that we are not misguided in our prayers (out of a heart full of hate), He takes care of us. He is The Good Judge and His verdicts are always carried out in Truth and Righteousness, even when He has to correct our own evil hearts.
And in all of that He actually loves us….LOVES US! How do we know this?
After God halted Abraham’s knife from descending on Isaac, He provided a ram, caught in the thicket by his horns, for Abraham to use as a substitute sacrifice instead of Isaac. Abraham named the place Jehovah-jireh, which means: “God will provide”. God loved Abraham. God loved Isaac (who, by the way, once he began to understand that he was to be the sacrifice ordered by God, submitted willingly out of his own obedience to God).
And so, rather than having Abraham carry through with the act, God provided a ram, as was always His intention to do. God Himself providing for His own. Abraham and Isaac being a prophetic glimpse into what God would provide to us through His own Son, Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrifice, Who willingly laid down His own life in obedience to God, for the blessing that would come to so many by this one action. Just as so many were blessed by Abraham’s action.
It’s important to note that God already knew how Abraham would respond, and that there was another purpose for this testing (other than the prophetic foretelling of the death of the Savior). How do we know this?
After Abraham responded obediently, God told him that because of his obedience, because Abraham so blessed God, God would in turn bless Him by multiplying his seed, and that “in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:18)
But God had already pronounced that this would happen, when He visited Abraham and Sarah, just before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah:
“And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him?” (Genesis 18:17-18)
Yet, God said it was specifically because Abraham obeyed His voice that “all the nations of the earth” would be blessed. Which would only be promised once Abraham was obedient, which God knew he would be. So why did God test Abraham if He already knew his heart?
I believe God tests us, as He did Abraham, to show US our hearts. He already knows our hearts, even as He did Abraham’s. He’s testing us to prove TO US (who are so quick to judge others, but not often ourselves) whether or not we are just talk, or whether we are REAL in our faith. He showed Abraham that he was REAL in his faith, and that his faithfulness blessed God, and that, in turn, God would bless him and in fact, would bless all the nations of the earth, just because of this one man’s obedience.
If one man’s obedience can bring so much blessing to so many, it makes me wonder how many people are affected by the evil brought about by one man’s disobedience? It’s something to consider for those who question why God destroyed ALL of Sodom and Gomorrah.
All of this brings us back to the prayer of faith. For if we take the kind of faith (trust) that Abraham displayed towards his God, and we make use of that faith in prayer, not only for ourselves, but for all those around us...how many lives can be affected by that prayer? For how many can justice prevail because of our cries in prayer to God on their behalf?
How many lives were affected because of 84 years of prayer and fasting by a widow of REAL faith living day and night in the temple named Anna?
Are we beginning to see the value and purpose of prayer..just a little?
I want to get to the place where Abraham was...where he trusted God...without question. And God blessed him.
Understanding Abraham’s faith is important to us for that kind of faith is what is needed in prayer. How can it not be when prayer is:
- talking to God who we believe cares about us, is actively listening to every word, and is not only able (having power and authority to do so) but also willing to grant our requests, at least when it lines up with what is right and true as God Himself is.
There is an interesting verse or two in Genesis 18:20-21 that confirms that this is what prayer is about. We all know the history of Sodom and Gomorrah and what happened to them. How Abraham’s nephew Lot, and his family, were delivered from there by two angels before the cities were destroyed. But, how often do we recall this precursor to that story:
“And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.”
There was a “cry” going out into the heavens, originating in Sodom and Gomorrah, but reaching God’s ear. That cry was telling God of “grievous” things happening in the cities. And there was God saying that He would go down to that place to confirm whether all that the cry was saying was true. And if it was not true, He would know after His visit.
The “cry” could have come only from Abraham’s nephew Lot, and possibly his family. He and his family were the only ones delivered from there, four in all. Not even ten found righteous there, for if there had been ten, God had promised Abraham he would not destroy them all. But ten righteous persons were not to be found. There is a good possibility there were not even children there either, because the men and women of the cities were bent on homosexuality, and violently so, it seems; homosexuality precluding the birthing of children.
But do we pay attention to what happened, as described in those two verses above?
God heard, God listened, God came to verify the truth of the cry, and then God took action to bring remedy to the situation.
Why should any of this be different for us who are also chosen by God and called according to His name? We are God’s creation, His kingdom. He cares about us. He cares when things are not going right for us. He hears our cries for justice. And, after verifying that we are not misguided in our prayers (out of a heart full of hate), He takes care of us. He is The Good Judge and His verdicts are always carried out in Truth and Righteousness, even when He has to correct our own evil hearts.
And in all of that He actually loves us….LOVES US! How do we know this?
After God halted Abraham’s knife from descending on Isaac, He provided a ram, caught in the thicket by his horns, for Abraham to use as a substitute sacrifice instead of Isaac. Abraham named the place Jehovah-jireh, which means: “God will provide”. God loved Abraham. God loved Isaac (who, by the way, once he began to understand that he was to be the sacrifice ordered by God, submitted willingly out of his own obedience to God).
And so, rather than having Abraham carry through with the act, God provided a ram, as was always His intention to do. God Himself providing for His own. Abraham and Isaac being a prophetic glimpse into what God would provide to us through His own Son, Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrifice, Who willingly laid down His own life in obedience to God, for the blessing that would come to so many by this one action. Just as so many were blessed by Abraham’s action.
It’s important to note that God already knew how Abraham would respond, and that there was another purpose for this testing (other than the prophetic foretelling of the death of the Savior). How do we know this?
After Abraham responded obediently, God told him that because of his obedience, because Abraham so blessed God, God would in turn bless Him by multiplying his seed, and that “in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:18)
But God had already pronounced that this would happen, when He visited Abraham and Sarah, just before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah:
“And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him?” (Genesis 18:17-18)
Yet, God said it was specifically because Abraham obeyed His voice that “all the nations of the earth” would be blessed. Which would only be promised once Abraham was obedient, which God knew he would be. So why did God test Abraham if He already knew his heart?
I believe God tests us, as He did Abraham, to show US our hearts. He already knows our hearts, even as He did Abraham’s. He’s testing us to prove TO US (who are so quick to judge others, but not often ourselves) whether or not we are just talk, or whether we are REAL in our faith. He showed Abraham that he was REAL in his faith, and that his faithfulness blessed God, and that, in turn, God would bless him and in fact, would bless all the nations of the earth, just because of this one man’s obedience.
If one man’s obedience can bring so much blessing to so many, it makes me wonder how many people are affected by the evil brought about by one man’s disobedience? It’s something to consider for those who question why God destroyed ALL of Sodom and Gomorrah.
All of this brings us back to the prayer of faith. For if we take the kind of faith (trust) that Abraham displayed towards his God, and we make use of that faith in prayer, not only for ourselves, but for all those around us...how many lives can be affected by that prayer? For how many can justice prevail because of our cries in prayer to God on their behalf?
How many lives were affected because of 84 years of prayer and fasting by a widow of REAL faith living day and night in the temple named Anna?
Are we beginning to see the value and purpose of prayer..just a little?
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