I remember reading, in my all-time favourite book, “Mister God, this is Anna”, the riveting account of one of Anna’s prayers. One night, Fynn, the author, awoke to the sound of Anna, his little “fellow traveller”, praying. Standing up on her makeshift bed, tears streaming down her face, Anna pleaded with Mister God, “Please help me to ask the right questions!”
It’s the right questions that produce profound answers.
So, I have found, at a much greater age, that “Mister God”loves to answer questions, especially the questions that only He can answer. Of course, He has provided a book filled with answers but often His wisdom remains hidden in plain sight until the Holy Spirit, the supreme teacher, unlocks the truth to those who “ask the right questions.”
I have, for many years, loved, studied, and practised prayer, slowly progressing from my pathetic, childish understanding to writing a book on prayer that I considered to be “quite profound.” How wrong I have been! O, there’s nothing wrong with my book, as far as I understood prayer then but, after asking what I think might be “the right questions”, more truth has come to light that has profoundly influenced my understanding of this mystical subject.
I don’t think, for one moment, that our loving Father rejects our bungling efforts to commune with Him but, at the same time, Jesus has given us pointers to aspects of prayer that we need to heed. For example, we must not follow the bad examples of hypocrites and pagans who either use prayer to impress people or babble to be heard.
We must also remember that prayer is not primarily the way to get our needs met. Our Father, who knows our needs before we ask Him, wants us to concern ourselves with His business first, His kingdom and His righteousness, and He will take care of our material and temporal needs.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Matthew 6:33 NIV
True prayer is the way we make contact with our Heavenly Father in the secret place where He knows us, where we have nothing to hide and can be completely open with Him. In the intimacy of prayer, the Father plants the seeds of His word into the “womb” of our spirits where it grows until the time of its birth.
So, let me get straight into my “questions” and the revelations that have deeply challenged my heart.
I have recently been working my way through Mark’s gospel, daily blogging on thoughts and ideas that have caught my attention. Then, the story of Jesus’ transfiguration came up. To me, the central focus of this explosive incident, for the disciples, was the Father’s words, interrupting Peter’s foolish suggestion to memorialise this event with three structures. The Father had to set the record straight, once and for all, that Moses and Elijah, as great as they were in the Old Testament dispensation, no longer featured in the New Covenant.
“Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
Mark 9:7 NIV
The impact of the Father’s words is quite clear. “Moses and Elijah have done their work. Now Jesus must take centre stage.”
This instruction was not only for them then but also for us now. “Listen to Him!” Jesus has much to tell us, and especially about prayer and in prayer.
The first question, then, is…”What is prayer?”
Let’s ask Jesus!
To be continued…
HELP ME TO ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS – 2
To continue our question…”What did Jesus say about prayer?”
Since Jesus was in constant contact with His Heavenly Father through prayer, of all people, He is most qualified to teach us about prayer.
First, He is our teacher by example.
When we work our way through John’s gospel, Jesus and the Father surface in such close partnership that Jesus said or did nothing without first hearing from the Father.
“For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.”
John 12:49 NIV
Does this mean that even every word He uttered was the word of the Father? Was He relaying the Father’s words from heaven to earth to bring about God’s will on earth? By being in constant contact with the Father in prayer, He was staying connected to “headquarters” from where He received His instructions.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray…
“…Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:10 NIV
How do we apply this example to our praying? I think the answer is simple. Let’s connect the dots. God has equipped us with a plethora of promises that express His intention. Whatever the need, there is either an equivalent promise or a pattern that expresses God’s will.
Two Scriptures clearly declare this truth.
“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. 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.”
2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV
So, first, God’s promises are His provision for our daily walk which clarify His will in detail, and were given to empower us to overcome our old sinful nature so that we became ever increasingly conformed to the image of His Son.
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”
2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV
Second, Jesus has endorsed every promise for us. We, therefore, in partnership with Him, affirm His promises as and where they apply, so that earth joins heaven in bringing about God’s intention.
“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
Hebrews 6:12 NIV
Third, the two ingredients in this process of bringing God’s will to earth are faith and patience. The first of these two requirements take up part of the answer to my next question… “What is faith?”
Let’s fast forward to my encounter with “authority” that will shed light on “faith”.
To be continued…
HELP ME TO ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
The story that follows Jesus’ transfiguration poses the question, “What is authority”?
“After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.””
Mark 9:28-29 NIV
Jesus had just had an altercation with His disciples. While He and His three closest companions were up the mountain, the other nine were tussling with a stubborn and rather nasty demon. On His return, He soundly rebuked the nine disciples for their unbelief.
In a quieter moment, they asked Jesus why they had failed to budge the demon. His reply was mystifying unless we begin to dig deeper.
In our modern context, I think the “deliverance ministry” is badly misunderstood. It is, therefore, misapplied, by “taking authority” over demons and ordering them to go, even if they are not demons but manifestations of “the flesh”, such as anger, rage, jealousy, etc.
Jesus did not tell us to take authority over anything simply by speaking it. Demons take no notice of such foolishness. Having authority comes from something far deeper.
Jesus claimed to have authority but how and where did He derive it? He said, “By prayer!”
Now let’s check out a story that clearly teaches us the source of authority and by association, the meaning of faith.
“When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
Matthew 8:5-10 NIV
This story is loaded with information about authority and faith. Did you notice how Jesus connected the centurion’s explanation of his source of authority with his faith? Let’s unpack it.
“For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
The centurion’s authority was derived from his submission to higher authority. This kind of authority demands humility, not presumption. His role was never to act presumptuously or independently of his superior authority. His role was simply to relay instructions, trusting that his word would achieve obedience because of the authority under which he spoke. The reality of his authority lay in the trust of his inferiors in him because he was relaying the will of his superior.
The centurion recognised Jesus’ authority under God by the results of His words. So, he declared his faith by saying, “Just say the word…”
What a simple explanation of the meaning and purpose of prayer! Prayer is first, settling the issue of authority. Who is in charge? When I, in prayer, surrender myself to the absolute authority of Jesus, when I listen to Him instead of babbling about myself, I recognise and authenticate my partnership with Him.
An incident in King David’s life perfectly illustrates this principle. David was determined to build a temple for God. He expressed his desire to the prophet Nathan who encouraged him to carry out his plan. That night, God spoke to Nathan. David was a man of war. God did not assign to him the task of building the temple. His son, Solomon, would have that honour.
Instead, God made David a promise…He would build a house for him, a dynasty that would never end. Unlike the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel, who were wicked and whose dynasties were repeatedly cut off, David’s descendants would reign in one continuous dynasty that would culminate in the eternal reign of Messiah…the son of David.
David was overwhelmed by this promise. He went into his sanctuary to commune with God, first expressing his unworthiness for such a great destiny and then worshiping the Lord.
“ ‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ” Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation. Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? ….“And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.”
2 Samuel 7:11, 16-18, 25-26 NIV
In his words, “Do as you have promised”, David relayed to earth what God had spoken in heaven.
The Apostle Paul also reiterated the same thought…
“It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak,”
2 Corinthians 4:13 NIV
Now let’s connect all the dots, the process of prayer as Jesus lived it and taught His disciples…
- Listen to Him. Jesus takes centre stage in everything.
- Through prayer, we establish and affirm our submission to Jesus as Lord, our Supreme Authority.
- When He gives an appropriate promise or instruction regarding an issue in earth, we are to relay heaven’s will to earth by speaking His word by faith.
- By His authority through us, His will is carried out on earth as it is done in heaven.
- God’s word guarantees that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Finally, the guarantee…
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:10-11 NIV