The just
concluded seven part examination of the model prayer – the Lord’s Prayer –
which Jesus Christ gave to all His disciples (past, present and future), leaves
one thing now for us. The question is “what do we do now”? How does
this apply to our daily lives? How do we walk this out and apply it
effectively, so that we can be transformed by the teaching of the Savior into
doing that which He hath called us to do?
Remember the
Will of God is for us to reject the world, like Jesus did, and to be
transformed into a new way of thinking. That is, if you will – to reject
“stinking thinking” and live more like the new creation we have become, through
rebirth (as a son or daughter of God).
So in applying
the divine content of our Lord’s Prayer, we are free to abide in its structure
and grow more and more fully into the widths and depths and lengths and
breadths of it. Over almost two decades, my own personal prayer life and
analysis on this amazing passage of Scripture has evolved into a depth of
meaning, which stuns me, even though I have been a Christian for a long time.
This is a perfect illustration of what a “closer walk with God” truly is.
We have all
heard the mighty prayer warriors in all their verbal fluency and excellence,
shaking the rafters with their power prayers, sounding like John Knox, George
Mueller and Robert Sheffey rolled into one…or even dear old mom, who spent
hours on her knees praying for us. None of them started off sounding like
Franklin Graham or his father. We all began our prayer lives stumbling and
bumbling. The
Bible tells us that we do not know how to pray, but the Spirit does it for us “(Romans
8:26).
So we simply
begin to apply the following technique –
a. Acknowledge
God – “Our Father Who is in Heaven”….is adoration! We must acknowledge our Heavenly Father,
Abba, to Whom we are praying. God is not an ATM machine where we go pull out
our daily withdrawal of blessings.
b. Gratitude
– thank Him
for all His blessings thus far. Thank Him for our very lives and just about
anything you can think of, because anything we have, comes directly from Him.
He owns everything including the food in our fridge. Be grateful for our
families, our job any and everything. Most of all, be thankful for salvation. The
Lord inhabits the praises of His people. Most of all He wishes His people to be
grateful for ALL He has done for us…..and why shouldn’t we be? The very next
breath we breathe literally belongs to Him, as does the food on our table and
the roof over our heads. The One Who sent His own sinless Son to give it all
for us, one and out, has every right to expect those whom He saved,
sanctifies and provides for, to fall over ourselves in sheer humble
thanksgiving and worship to Him.
c. Respectfully
express what’s on your mind. One
of the most fluent, powerful and effective prayers ever prayed was not by some
super-spiritual prayer warrior on Wednesday night or at prayer meeting. It was
done by a faithful king named Hezekiah. Hezekiah lived during the time of the
prophet Isaiah and was surrounded by a vile, violent enemy named Sennacherib,
who had the entire city of Jerusalem surrounded and cut off from all supplies,
water and food. Sennacherib then sent a letter with a list of demands for
Hezekiah to follow, if the King wanted Jerusalem to survive. Hezekiah took that
same letter and went in private, in prayerful communication and presented it to
Him. (“Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read
it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD and spread it before the LORD- 2 Kings 19:14). The next morning, the Lord responded and 185,000 of
the occupying forces perished overnight at the Hands of the Lord.
If we get some of troubling report which seems impossible to for us
to handle – be it health, financial, work, family or other related, let’s take
it to the Lord, open the document before Him and seek His help. This
shows so much confidence in His ordering the issues of our lives, that He will
respond when the time is right. This actually shows turbo-speed Faith and
a Trust in the Lord beyond average comprehension.d.
Pursue,
Persist, And Persevere.
Acknowledging the Father of Lights with thanksgiving are the common traits of
the true servant of the Living God. Simply read the Psalms, the Prayer Book of
the Bible and especially the ones written by King David to know the heart of
person after God’s own Heart, when trying to walk this Christian life out. What
distinguishes the extraordinary Christian from those who are saved but not
caring to live up to their full potential is Perseverance. The general
Grace which is extended to all people, including Christians, takes on a
personal flavor of Favor and Power when the Christian pursues “Just a Closer
Walk with Thee”, as the song goes. Seeking to hear from Him more, like King
Hezekiah did when he laid out that devastating letter before God, Who responded
in stunning fashion, requires our active pursuit of a closer relationship with
our Heavenly father through Prayer, Bible Study and worship (personal and
corporate). These three disciplines will not only solidify our Faith in
Christ but will bring us maturity which leads to peace, joy and contentment.
Where these disciplines are needed are in the areas of trials and
testing. Sometimes we feel the Lord does not answer, hear our cries
or “feels our pain”. These thoughts are wrong on all accounts. In
troubled times of personal testing especially, and when we feel we are in
the valley of the shadow of death, that is when He is closest. Now, He IS quiet
for a reason. Rewind back to our school days when there was a surprise quiz or
even high school finals. During those school or college days, there was
utter silence. There was only us – the test booklet and our knowledge/ability
to answer the questions correctly with clarity and purpose. If we “aced” that
test, we either got a good grade in class or graduated with honors.
e. This is the reasoning God uses behind our testing. The
same process we used in school to apply knowledge, in order to answer multiple
choice in complete silence, is the way we are expected to view our own personal
trials, tribulations and testing when God is silent. When we sit in the
classroom with our test booklet, the Teacher is always quiet as we test. But
the Teacher always takes our booklets with a smile, knowing it will be graded.
If we are confident in our execution of the examination, we get a passing
grade. There is nothing like a passing grade with God! Praise His Great Name!
Such
understanding of how the God, Who gave His own Son on a Cross for our sins,
operates, will move us to persist and persevere in prayer. It will become
second nature. It will become the best way to learn, like the original 12
Disciples did, how and WHY the Master taught us how we should pray. Amen.
