Category Archives: Prayer

A WALK THROUGH THE LORD’S PRAYER – 1b

Prayer, ,

Jesus’ first warning, in the preamble to His pattern prayer, was not to pray for attention, for people’s reward, but to pray in secret for the Father’s reward…

“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV

His second warning was not to babble like pagans. This is more than using many words in prayer. Prayer, of necessity, is expressed in words, as one rabbi said, “Prayer without words in not prayer because being human involves speech.” God hears our “thought prayers” but our problem is that our thoughts are often random and wandering. 

There are two problems associated with pagan prayers. 

First, true prayer is the expression of a relationship between  a Father and His children. Pagan prayer is a delusion because no such relationship exists between gods and people. 

Second, pagans use words in prayer as mantras, believing that their god will hear them if they mutter the same words repeatedly, for example…like praying the rosary. 

Jesus said, ”Don’t do that because you are talking to a real heavenly Father who knows everything about you without your saying a word.“ 

However, this warning goes even deeper. The pagans’ mantras are about their preoccupation with “things”. Without God, material and physical things in life matter most because things take up all the attention of godless people.  Again, Jesus said, 

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” 

Matthew 6:31-42 NIV

The real issue is…our prayers must be concerned with what is most important to the Father and what He has mandated us to do on earth…

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭31‬-‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Everything else about us comes under the banner of a father’s responsibility towards his children.  A normal child never nags a parent about the next meal even if the fridge and the pantry are empty. He entrusts that concern to his parents. So, Jesus said, “Take care of God’s business and He will take care of yours.”

Notice, however, the order of Jesus’ promise…The Father doesn’t initiate our obedience, He reciprocates to our faith in who He is. If we consistently trust Him to be father, and submit to His authority, He will act as a good father, meeting all our needs. 

A WALK THROUGH THE LORD’S PRAYER – 1a

Prayer, ,

I think that most nations or cultural groups within a nation have some overriding issue, characteristic, or consideration  that controls their lives or that occupies their attention. Take Israel in Jesus’ day, for example…

Israel was a religious nation, with their leaders being representatives of their religious system, but with pagan influences because of its occupation by Rome, a pagan nation. 

How did this play out in their daily lives? The temple and temple worship, together with its rituals and sacrifices, played a central role in the beliefs and behaviour of its leaders and which filtered down to the ordinary people. 

The Jews were traditionally God’s covenant people. They had a history of rebellion and disobedience to the covenant which bound them to the God who had rescued them from Egyptian slavery and had led and settled them in their own Promised Land. However, they failed to honour the terms of His covenant. 

After centuries of conflict between themselves and their God, their religion had become one of rule and ritual with little heart, exemplified by their rulers, the scribes and Pharisees. The people were expected to follow their leaders slavishly and, when they didn’t, they were “cancelled” in the eyes of their superiors. 

Jesus came to restore to them the reality of the God who loved them, who was a Father to them, and who wanted a relationship with them as His sons and daughters. He hated the hypocrisy of their leaders who taught one thing but did the opposite. He set out to correct their belief system by teaching and modelling the truth of a Father/Son relationship. 

Jesus’ first task was to teach His disciples about the way His kingdom would operate on earth. He had to dispel the false beliefs that had crept into the minds and lifestyles of His people through the control of their religious teachers and leaders.

Matthew’s version of “the Sermon on the Mount”, recorded in Matthew 5 to 7, is a sample of the way Jesus taught His disciples to live as God’s family under His rule. He had to correct “Halakah” –  the way to behave based on the Talmud which regulated the lives of the people. 

“In simple terms, the Talmud is the central and authoritative text of Rabbinic Judaism, a vast collection of Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, and lore that serves as a guide for Jewish life. It is composed of the Mishnah, a codification of oral laws, and the Gemara, which is a commentary and elaboration on the Mishnah and the rabbis’ discussions about it.” (Source: Google)

For the ordinary Jew, life had become burdensome and almost impossible to live under the religious system their leaders imposed on them.  

Jesus offered them His alternative, His yoke, …., a life of rest and freedom from suffocating rules by trusting Him and following His way….

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…in place of the heavy religious and heartless yoke of the Pharisees. 

How would Jesus, the Son of God, initiator and representative of a new covenant in which prayer was to be the centre of their experience of God, set the record straight? 

Through the mystery and miracle of prayer, personally interacting with their Heavenly Father, they would get to know Him. They would throw off the burdensome, man-made laws imposed on them. They would learn to partner with Him in the administration of His heavenly rule which Jesus had come to restore. 

The first step was to correct the wrong practices of Pharisees and pagans. 

The Pharisees loved to be noticed, their obedience to the law acknowledged and praised. They were the model for the ordinary people and revelled in the attention they received. 

So, Jesus warned…

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus used the terms ”Pharisees” and “hypocrites” interchangeably because that was what they were… play actors who wore masks to hide their true identity. 

“That’s not the way to receive your Father’s reward,” said Jesus. Man’s reward is empty and worthless… God always rewards those who pray with the right attitude and motive…

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, according to Jesus, God rewards the sincere prayer of His children, directed in faith to Him, obviously by answering us, but it’s much more than that…

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Fruit! Union with Jesus bears fruit. What kind of fruit? 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The character of Jesus produced by the Holy Spirit, becomes woven into our lives as we gaze at Him…

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 …which is exactly God’s purpose…

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, if we pray only to impress people, that’s all the reward we will get!

To be continued…

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO SAY “AMEN”? – 3

Prayer, ,

In our previous meditations, we have set aside some misconceptions about prayer, especially those ideas that we must have special qualifications or that we must do certain things to get answers to our prayers.

Prayer is for all God’s children. God answers us because He is our Father. We don’t need to struggle to get answers, fighting off the devil and subduing God’s reluctance to answer us.

There is no need for us to pray long, wordy prayers because the Father knows our needs before we ask Him.

However, prayer does have some conditions that help us to understand the reasons for what we think is unanswered prayer.

Does God give us everything we pray for? If not, why not?

What are the conditions for answered prayer?

Hebrews 6:12 outlines two requirements that qualify us to inherit what His has promised…faith and patience. God tests our faith and patience by delaying answers to legitimate requests.

12] “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”

God does not answer us according to our timetable. He is painting on a much bigger canvas, and He is also working on our character through tests and delays.

God also answers our prayers according to His will, not because we “wrestle” an answer out of Him.

1 John 5:14-15 NIV
[14] “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. [15] And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

Now, let’s get back to the heart of New Covenant prayer. God has provided all the promises we need to cover every situation in life, and to provide for all our needs for godly living…physical, material, and spiritual. Jesus has done everything for us… to deal with our sin, to restore us to the Father, and to act as the mediator between us and the Father. He has also authorised every promise God has ever made so that we are fully equipped to live this life of union with God despite the ungodly world around us.

Did you get that? We live our entire lives as God’s children on God’s promises. Let that sink in! God’s promises are the “fuel” that drives the “engine” of our lives. There is a promise, a declaration, a statement of God’s will to cover every situation, in detail or in principle.

2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV
[3] “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. [4] Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

Peter summed up God’s will for us in one simple goal…

“…so that through them (His very great and precious promises), you may participate in the divine nature…”

… and one simple condition…

“… having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

Everthing we are, do, and become, hangs on this one truth…what we do with God’s promises.

If we trust God, if we are willing to wait for His timing, and if we ask according to His will, prayer becomes very simple. If all of our lives are controlled by and lived out of God’s promises, and if God’s promises cover every detail of our lives, what us left for us to do?

2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT
[20] For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.

Did you get that?

God has simplified prayer to just one word… “AMEN!” He doesn’t need anything more than that! You see, the answers to all our prayers depend on what God has promised, not on our energy or efforts to persuade Him.

The rest of our time with God is about praise, thanksgiving, and worship!

So, when we really understand God’s strategy, how long does it take to say “AMEN”? You answer that question.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO SAY “AMEN”?-2

Prayer, ,

So far, we have explored some aspects of Biblical prayer against the backdrop of the false notions that prayer is an office and a gift for special people…not true,

…that God only speaks to His prophets, not to all His children…not true,

…that prayer is about lengthy times of wrestling to get answers from a reluctant God…not true!

Now let’s explore what the Bible says specifically about “wrestling” in prayer.

Nowhere does the Bible teach us that prayer is about wrestling with God. On the contrary, Jesus taught His disciples that,

Luke 18:7-8 NIV
[7] “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? [8] I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Our Father is not reluctant to give us anything within the boundaries of His promises. He releases everything we need to us as we affirm His promises with a hearty “amen”, not a lengthy begging and pleading or explanations and instructions.

Matthew 6:7-8 NIV
[7] “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. [8] Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

Prayer is also not about wrestling with the devil. Jesus did this for us at the cross. He exposed the lies that Satan uses to enslave us, the broken law and its penalties. He paid the debt for our sin and set us free from Satan’s power to live by His Spirit in us.

Contrary to the ides that Paul was addressing this kind of wrestling in Ephesians 6…

Ephesians 6:10-12 NIV
[10] “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

What is this struggle in which we are to stand firm? It’s not a fight! It’s a determined occupation of the truths on which we stand, against the enemy who use lies and deception to throw us off balance. It’s God’s Word that assures us of who we are, whose we are, and His salvation from sin and its power. Hence the emphasis is that we are guarded and protected by truth which operates in our minds and spirits.

Paul uses the same argument in 2 Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIV
[3] “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. [4] The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. [5] We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

The real struggle in life is not a struggle with powers outside of us but with the battle within, not only to survive but to reign over our own unruly hearts. Our greatest battle is not against people, circumstances, or the devil but against the evil desires that rage within us. Prayer is about overcoming the obstacles to real faith, the fleshly appetites and desires that shadow our every thought and move.

Galatians 5:16-17 NIV
[16] “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17] For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”

Herein lies our wrestling, learning to surrender, to submit, and to entrust our lives and circumstance to the perfect will of a loving Father. You see, until we submit to the Father in our darkest hours, our spirits will rise up in rebellion against the people who offend us, the constant injustices we face when our will clashes with the will of others, and even the circumstances that cause our struggle and over which we have no control. The flesh will demand revenge. Our desires will promote self above others. We will demand our own will above God’s will, even questioning His love and wisdom when stuff happens.

We will disqualify ourselves from receiving God’s answers because His passion for submission and trust clashes with our fierce independence. His will is to recreate us in the image of His Son, not to restore our comfort and ease, and to develop faith and persverence against all odds, not to give us our own way. Our will demands that our wants be satisfied. God’s will is that we submit to His discipline.

What do you make of this verse?

Colossians 4:12 NIV
[12] “Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.”

It seems that Epaphras, a fellow believer in the Colossians church, understood the nature of this wrestling, and identified with this church in his prayers for them. He wrestled, not with God or with the devil, but for them!

Can you see the difference? He understood that the sinful nature rebels against submission and obedience to God’s will. So, his prayers were directed towards victory over that struggle which would free the Colossian believers from the ravage ofcl self to become strong and mature by fully embracing God’s will. Perhaps, in this battle for their spiritual growth, he identified with their struggle, knowing and understanding the war that raged in his own heart.

To be continued…

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO SAY “AMEN”? – 1

Prayer, ,

I’m still on the trail to discover the mysteries and intricacies…no, rather the simplicity of prayer in the New Covenant. Why is it that we humans insist on making complicated what God has made simple?

In our eagerness to pursue our lives of prayer, especially as we engage with the evil and corruption in the world around us, we have turned to human imagination rather than to the Word of God for His pattern? We put into practice, with great fervour, the ways we learn from others or the ways we imagine are God’s ways, and teach others to do the same.

People have created whole prayer movements based on the idea of calling orayer “spiritual warfare”, even calling their leaders “generals” or some such military title. These “pray-ers” have taught us to believe that they have a specialised office and more clout with God than others, and ordinary people look up to them because they have an anointing and office that is special, and we must come under their authority. They think they can teach us about prayer because they are the experienced “intercessors”, and we can even call on them in times of crisis because they get answers that we do not.

Is this the sentiment of Scripture? Do the writers of the New Testament teach us that God singles out special people to pray?

According to the Bible, prayer is not the prerogative or responsibility of a select few nor is it a spiritual gift or special calling. Everyone is called to pray.

Psalms 65:2 NIV
[2] “You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.”

1Timothy 2:8 NIV
[8] “Therefore, I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.”

Although this verse specifically calls on all men to pray, the rest of Scripture does not differentiate between men and women but assumes that all people pray.

1 Corinthians 11:5 NIV
[5] “But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved.”

Apart from the cultural details, Paul assumes that women also pray and prophesy. In fact, from the perspective of God’s kingdom…

Galatians 3:26-28 NIV
[26] “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, [27] for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. [28] There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

From God’s perspective, cultural differences don’t apply in the functioning of His kingdom or affect our relationship with the Father.

Since prayer is rooted in the relationship we have with God as our Father, to pray is the most natural and meaningful way to relate to Him. We talk to Him and He talks to us as father and children. It’s that simple…or is it? Is there more to prayer that just talking to God?

We must also consider that all believers are prophets because a prophet is one who hears God’s words and speaks them faithfully to the people. Of the false prophets, God asks…

Jeremiah 23:18 NIV
[18] “But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?”

God speaks to and through His prophets…

Amos 3:7 NIV
[7] “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”

Are all believers prophets? Not all believers have the office of a prophet but God speaks to every believer through His Word and by His Spirit. Yes, every believer can hear God speaking and can respond.

James 5:16 NIV
[16] “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

Are all believers righteous?

Every person in Christ is reckoned to be righteous, therefore, everyone’s prayers are powerful and effective.

God answers even one righteous person’s prayers, not just the prayers of one specially anointed intercessor.

Whether we pray for the world or for one another, God hears and answers our prayers.

The Holy Spirit helps us by praying through us, interpreting our prayers according to God’s will.

Romans 8:26-27 NIV
[26] “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. [27] And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

Prayer, therefore, is not about us moving God or telling God what to do. Prayer is about a partnership between us and God, God and us, through which God accomplishes His will on earth.

Consider these verses from a heavenly perspective.

Revelation 5:8 NIV
[8] “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.”

Revelation 8:3-5 NIV
[3] “Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. [4] The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. [5] Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.”

Now, let’s get to the real issue for this meditation. I recently dipped into an old book on my bookshelf called “Kneeling We Triumph”, a collection of extracts from the writings of great saints of the past.

Always on a quest for insights into prayer, I anticipated a feast of information to enhance my own prayer life. I found, instead, according to my impressions, a book inploring readers to pray more and to pray longer because this is the way to become “more holy” and to move God more to answer our prayers. The writers, husband and wife, gave many examples of great saints like Charles Spurgeon or Hudson Taylor who spent hours in prayer, imploring God to intervene on their behalf for issues they were involved in. These men and also women, and many more, are examples, then, of effective prayer.

To me, this book presents prayer as a wrestling match between the pray-er and God, somehow mortals trying to move a reluctant God to do something in our situation, almost as though Jacob’s contest with the angel of the Lord at Peniel is the norm for effective prayer.

However, I wondered, is this the pattern in the New Covenant for us to follow when we pray, whether it be in times of crisis or in the ordinary course of our daily lives? Are we to spend hours in prayer, wrestling with God to get answers. Is this the basis on which God will intervene for us? Does God want to answer us, or is there something deeper, more….let’s call it “sinister” ….in our interactions with God? Is there something else that intrudes into our relationship with the Father that hinders our effectiveness in prayer?

To be continued…