"When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray so people will see them. I tell you the truth, they already have their full reward. When you pray, you should go into your room and close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you. And when you pray, don't be like those people who don't know God. They continue saying things that mean nothing, thinking that God will hear them because of their many words. Don't be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him."---Matthew 6:5-8 (NCV)
"Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue; God's voice is its most essential part. Listening to God's voice is the secret of the assurance that He will listen to mine."---Andrew Murray
"Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden."---Corrie Ten Boom
Recently, someone was asking me what I've been going through. First of all, if you can notice a transition (although if you've been paying close attention, it's been going on since birth), then praise God because that means that a lot of my internal work is beginning to manifest on the outside! (Note to singles: You'd be amazed who emerges when you don't have a lot of other personalities/spirits leeching onto you!)
I guess the best way to put it is that I am finally coming out of detox. Emotional detox. Relational detox. Religious detox. Mental detox. Financial...well, I am still a little toxic there. J Anyway, when it comes to healing, a woman by the name of Joan Borysenko said it well:
"...peeling away the barriers of fear that keep us unaware of our true nature of love, peace, and rich interconnection with the web of life. Healing is the rediscovery of who we are and who we have always been."
Gee, that sounds a lot like I John 4:18(NKJV), doesn't it?
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love."
In a nutshell, I think that is what I am "going through". I'm coming out of fear and going throughlove. I am getting acquainted with the me (Matthew 22:39) that I believe God intended for me to be, and I'm finally beginning to understand why Paul said that if we are in Christ, we are a new creation...old things have passed and ALL THINGS have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
If you really catch that scripture in its entirety, I think you may notice something that can provide you with a lot of relief. (I will share "what" in a moment.) Something that I have been spending a lot of time doing lately is pulling away from what man---man who, even with the best of intentions, doesn't have all of the answers because he is in just as much of a sinful state as I am (I John 1:10)---has taught me about God/Christ/purpose/life/relationships and instead I've gotten into the Word FOR MYSELF. Is it just me or does it seem like a lot of churches lately are using less scripture and more "insights", "opinions", "personal advice"?
Now believe you me, I am all for parable-telling...if it is WORD-BASED. However, one revelation that I recently had about myself is that so much of me has been tainted/altered/compromised because I have let man's wisdom---both in and out of the Church---instead of God's power flow into me. No wonder my faith has been so weak! (I Corinthians 1:24) Word to the wise (Proverbs 1:5): When it comes to people speaking into your life, on any level and on any platform, make sure what they've said is based in the Word because the Bible says that every word of God is pure and a shield (Proverbs 30:5); it's how faith is increased (Romans 10:17); it's the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) and it's living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12).
Now, those who speak the Word may use their own unique style/flavor/personality to translate. For instance, I have a friend who tells me, "Shellie, don't kill yourself trying to grow." Because I spend time in the Word I know that is his twist on "Be anxious for nothing." (Philippians 4:6) I have a "love brother" who warns me not to waste time on men who won't make me a priority. After all, a wise man once said that when it comes to romantic relationships, "Never make someone a priority who considers you to be an option." That's the same thing (to me) as "Don't cast your pearls before swine." (Matthew 7:6)
So how do you know when people are speaking the truth? Well, first of all, what did Christ tell us that the truth would do for us? Make us free, right? (John 8:32) If you leave a conversation more bound up than before it started (now keep in mind, "uncomfortable" and "bound" are not the same thing; uncomfortable pulls you out of your comfort zone while being bound burdens you), that is a good way to discern if it is "food for thought" or spiritual junk food. But, to be honest with you, you can't clearly discern something you don't know about. The best way to tell if someone is speaking the Word, whether it's a direct quote or their own translation, is to GET INTO THE WORD FOR YOURSELF.
It has been by getting into the Word that a lot for me is changing---and for the better. (Matthew 12:33). When it comes to the assurance of 2 Corinthians 5:17, I have come to see that anytime we are in Christ, we are made anew. That doesn't have a time stipulation on it. You don't have to be "in Christ" for a year to start living in a new way and (this is key) to start expecting the respect that comes with being a follower of Christ. The moment you accept him as your personal Savior and commit your life to serving him (Romans 8:28), you are granted the rights of being treated as "...a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people." (I Peter 2:9)
I fear that one reason why we can't get (or keep) people within our faith is because we treat them just as bad, if not worse, as "the world" does. I used to tell one of my married girlfriends who complained about intimacy with her husband all of the time, "Why should I want to get married when I'm gettin' more sex than you are?" I think a lot of the lost is like, "Why come to your side when you are just as violent, vile, malicious and non-accepting as we are?" The Bible says that in last days "people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane. [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good."---2 Timothy 3:2-3 (AMP)
We always want to talk about the last days and the "craziness" of folks, but before we are so quick to pull the particle out of the eyes of "sinners", let's be sure to get the log out of our own. (Matthew 7:4-5) Some of us are not able to influence someone else's life effectively because we want to preach about them not tithing, but we can't let up on our wallet to give someone gas money (lovers of money); we want to dog out the influence of entertainers, but we're always bragging about how close who are to the leaders of our church (contemptuous boasters); we want to gossip about how "wild those children over there are" and we are verbally degrading our own (abusive); we are preaching about the porn industry and can't even love on our spouses (without natural affection); we want to talk about how loose "they" are with their flesh and we are just as loose with our mouths (loose in morals and conduct).
Because the Enemy is so busy, desperate and fanatical and because we know that his main focus is to steal, kill and destroy by any means necessary we can't get so caught up in the culture of Christianity that we miss out on the purpose for it and that is to point people to the way to having and living an abundant life. (John 10:10)
So, anyway, as I've been spending time figuring out just what "abundant life" is as it relates to my own personal journey, aside from the Garden of Eden, more and more God has been taking me to things that Christ himself has been recorded as saying. One of them being the Lord's Prayer.
You know, something that I've never enjoyed is having to pray (meaning, me speaking) in public. Now, I am not saying there is not a place/purpose for corporate prayer because the Word says that there is power in unity. (Matthew 18:20) But, when it comes to what I want to talk to my Father about, I prefer to keep that between us (which is why I have tightened up greatly on keeping confidences/information...do unto others, right?---Matthew 7:12)
If you are the same way, don't feel bad---or pressured into feeling/doing otherwise. According to the lead scripture for today, God honors privacy and confidentiality. I remember the first time I watched the Tyler Perry movie, "Diary of a Mad Black Woman". It opened up with the main character's husband giving this long speech about how much he loved his wife, but as soon as they were alone, he verbally (and eventually, physically) abused her. No matter what he said in front of the masses, she lived with her husband; she knew his heart. God knows and sees all as well. We must be very careful not to engage in "Such [practices that] have indeed the outward appearance [that popularly passes] for wisdom, in promoting self-imposed rigor of devotion and delight in self-humiliation and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh (the lower nature). [Instead, they do not honor God but serve only to indulge the flesh.]"---Colossians 2:23
Being able to pray well can't hold a match to being able to pray humbly and honestly, and since God knows what we want from the jump (even if it is something as shallow as outward praise and attention), why fake it? Let him deal with you where you are.
So, as I went to the Father about how to renew my spirit by praying according to his will, through the power of the Holy Spirit, he took me to the Lord's Prayer and broke it down for me line by line:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
Something that God has really been reminding me of is that while I am flesh, he is not. GOD IS A SPIRIT and yes, he dwells in heaven. (It is the Holy Spirit who is here with us on earth---John 14:26) To acknowledge God as a spirit, the Spirit, and to reverence his position as hallowed (holy), already that changes the focus from me (flesh) to him (spirit); from seeing things through my eyes and tapping into his vision. Proverbs 3:19 tells us that by wisdom he established the earth, but by understanding he established the heavens. One thing that Christ asked while on the earth was that if he told man earthly things and we didn't believe, how would we be able to accept heavenly things? (John 3:12) To be able to get the keys to the kingdom, to have the power to bind on earth/heaven or loose on earth/heaven (Matthew 16:19), we must call on our Father, who is in heaven (Matthew 23:9).
(Sidebar, do you know the other time that "hallowed" is used? It's in describing the Sabbath (Friday sunset-Saturday sunset)---Exodus 20:8-11. I'm gonna leave that right there!)
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
"But seek first the kingdomof Godand His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."---Matthew 6:33(NKJV). What to eat, what to drink, what to wear. The Bible says that these are things that the Gentiles seek (Matthew 6:31), but those of us who submit our will to God do not need to concern ourselves with them because, through him, provisions will be made. When we ask God to bring his power to the earth, when we humble ourselves to live according to his will, we gain GODKINGDOM ('cause the Enemy has a kingdom, too---Matthew 12:26) ACCESS. We are able to cast out demons (Matthew 12:28); we are received as good seed (Matthew 13:38, Galatians 6:7-8); we will shine as the sun before our Father (Matthew 13:43); when we humble ourselves, we are seen as "greatest" in God's eyes (Matthew 18:4); we desire to fight for what's right (John 18:36); we are full of righteous, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17); we are concerned/consumed with power more than words (I Corinthians 4:20); we don't want to do anything that hinders us from what we have kingdom access to (Ephesians 5:5); we are delivered from evil and preserved (2 Timothy 4:18), and we don't see our financial status as the prediction of our spiritual inheritance (James 2:5) When we ask for his kingdom presence, we accept "that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth-in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory."---Ephesians 1:10-12 (NKJV)
Give us this day our daily bread.
When we ask for our daily bread, there are two things that we are requesting. The first one is not that our physical needs be met, but that spiritual wisdom be provided. After all, man cannot live by bread alone, right? (Matthew 4:4) Secondly, I love that Christ advised us only to ask for the Word (and physical needs) that were necessary for today, only. Wisdom teaches us that we are not to boast about today (Proverbs 27:1), nor are we to worry about it (Matthew 6:34). Today will provide us with just the right amount of everything that we need. However, we can trust that since Christ advised us to ask for our needs to be met, it is according to God's will that they will be. James 4:2 says that we do not have because we do not ask. This line of the prayer reminds us that we should make our requests know; that it is the link between needing and receiving.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Do you know what I don't have a lot of these days? Guilt. Romans 8:1 assures us that there is no condemnation in Christ and yet for years, up until fairly recently, I still had some. Guilt can manifest itself in many ways. Some people are prideful and pushy. Some people are hypersensitive, paranoid or self-conscious. Some people are overly and immaturely judgmental. Some people are unstable. Some people are cowardly and sneaky. Some people are emotionally manipulative. I personally believe that because we all are God's children, no matter what, through the power of the Holy Spirit, he is constantly trying to bring us to him. When you know you are not living in thought, word or deed as he would desire for you to, your flesh tells on you. However, what I love about this sentence is that what I realized is that oftentimes my burdens were overpowering me because I remained in a state of un-forgiveness. It is very arrogant to believe that you have the right to be forgiven, pardoned, released from your indiscretions, but someone who hurt/harmed/offended you does not. The key word in this line is "as". As you forgive, you are forgiven. As you release people who owe you a better attitude, more respect, a greater level of consideration, you are released from not giving the Father the exact same things. Yes, that means there is a condition to receiving forgiveness. If you are a follower of Christ and you are feeling guilt-ridden right now, look past the sin to your heart. Who are you holding grievance against? (Matthew 5:23-24). I don't know anyone who has done something so bad to me that it's worth me not getting forgiveness from God for. Please, let it go.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
You know, I struggled with this line for quite some time. How/why would God lead us into temptation? After all, James 1:13 says that we should never say that we are tempted by God because he is not tempted by evil nor can he tempt anyone. But, I think that's just the point. When you finding yourself having "the desire to have or do something that you know you should avoid", be and stay clear on where that is coming from. Words have power (Proverbs 18:21) and I know that sometimes when I am tempted, I find myself focusing more on the Enemy's agenda---which only draws me closer to him and what he is trying to seduce me with---than God's power. I Corinthians 10:13 assures us that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. Because God does not lead us into temptation, this means that he does not "show the way", "influence or induce", "guide, direct or command" us into anything that is not good for us. This also helps us to discern the difference between a temptation (which when indulged is ultimately meant to destroy us---Romans 8:13) and a trial (James 1:2-4). This line also reminds us that God is greater than evil---no matter what. (2 Peter 2:9)
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
What is power? The ability to do, act or accomplish something.
What is glory? Something that is the source of honor; something that is of great splendor, magnificence and prosperity.
How long is forever? It's eternal and never-ending. What do we mean when we say "Amen". It means "it is so" or "so be it". It means that we agree or approve with all that was said in the prayer. It reminds us that "Amen" is actually a word that is in/of God:
"For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us."---2 Corinthians 1:20(NKJV)
As you begin this week, no matter what is coming your way, I encourage you to meditate more on your communication with God than your circumstances. Take it from me, sometimes it's not what's happening but what you're saying (and not saying) about it that's causing you to feel defeated. No matter what, God loves communicating with his children, but in the times when you don't know what to say, the Lord's Prayer works wonders. Daily.
©Shellie R. Warren/2008
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