During the previous podcast, “Prayer, Heartfelt Prayer,” our attention was drawn to Luke chapter 11 verses 1 through 4, which tells of a time when Jesus had been praying, and when He stopped, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord. Teach us to pray,” just as John taught his disciples. So, Jesus offered them this pattern of prayer as translated by the Amplified Bible: Our Father, Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done (held holy and revered) on earth as it is in heaven. Give us daily our bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us (who has offended us or done us wrong). And bring us not into temptation but rescue us from evil.
Let us take time to ascertain the outstanding structural sequence and order of the Lord’s Prayer, which is divided into two distinct halves, which address God’s priorities and human needs. From the beginning God’s priority has been to share in relationship with mankind. For how else would we come to know in all things – all things, not some things – the good, the bad and the ugly – our heavenly Father will be working to strengthen, to complete, to perfect and to make us what we ought to be and to equip us with everything good so we may carry out His will. Through Jesus our Father will be working in us to accomplish what is pleasing in His sight (Hebrews 13:21).
Jesus continues to tell His disciples our first priority should be to work on establishing an intimate relationship with our Creator. This is why He began this prayer with “Our Father in Heaven,” because this aligns a believer’s heart to the One Who sent His Word of Truth so we could acquire knowledge and understanding about the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), for this is how trust in His goodness, in His faithfulness and in His loving-kindness will develop.
How sad, but how amazing our God, Who has given us time and ample opportunities for trust in Him to grow. He understands the world and people and the circumstances of life have caused us to be harmed, Unfortunately, sin deadens our awareness of the only One Who is Good, so we behave as Adam once did. Prodded by fear and anger, shame and guilt to follow the pattern of deception designed by evil to blame God, to accuse another, to deny, to minimize, to rationalize, to avoid accountability; instead of, subduing and humbling self to love, to honor and to obey God.
Jesus has told us we begin the work of God by believing in Him Whom the Father has sent (John 6:29). Ephesians 2:8 tells us it is by the grace of God we are saved, through faith, which is not from ourselves; instead, it is the gift God bestows to us. Our heavenly Father has made it impossible for anyone to boast they have done something to earn their entrance into heaven. When we accept the faith God bestows, we will realize His handiwork in our lives. How can this not be considered miraculous, when long, long ago our heavenly Father planned through Jesus to create within us a new heart and a new spirit so we could do the good things He has planned for us (Ephesians 2:8).
So, we pray to our Father in heaven for faith to grow, to deepen as our confidence, our assurance, our hope, our conviction, our reliance, our certainty, gratitude and trust and love will seep into every crevice of our heart. For then, we could willingly and earnestly submit to God’s Word and His will allowing His values – loving-kindness, justice, mercy, peace – to bolster and strengthen us as Holy Spirit leads us into all Truth, revealing God’s promises and aligning us to His purpose, His intent to supply all our needs through Christ Jesus.
Yes, through Jesus, God bestows the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation to teach, to guide, to comfort, to encourage and to help us shift our focus from temporary, worldly worries and fears to God Who is Love. True Love, unquenchable, permanent and priceless commitment seals us in our heavenly Father’s heart, for Love is strong as death, and jealousy is fierce as the grave. It flashes fire, the very flame of Jehovah (SS 8:6). True Love shares that same absolute power and permanence as the ultimate, inescapable and unstoppable human experience – Death. And the jealousy of which this verse speaks is not toxic, rather a “zealous” and protective passion. Just as the grave relentlessly consumes everything, so too the healthy passionate love of the Lord tenaciously, faithfully guards His relationship with us. Such a divine gift, an eternal promise His intense and zealous love.
Describing God’s love as burning helps us to understand the intense and purifying and all-consuming nature of our divine heavenly Father. By referring to His perfect, holy love as acting like a fire with such intensity it burns away sin, ego and shame, while miraculously transforming, illuminating and intimately connecting us to His presence. And as we know, with all things there are only two outcomes positive or negative. Those who welcome and seek God, they will experience His love as being a comforting, joyous light. However, those who resist, who continue to cling to a self-dependent way of living, will experience God’s pure love as a painful, condemning scourge.
Matthew 3:11-12 shares with us the words of John the Baptist, “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come One Who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor, gathering His wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
This blog is a portion taken from the podcast “Hallowed Be Thy Name!”
Father, consider our threats
And enable Your servants to speak Your Word
With great boldness.
Stretch out Your hand, Father, to heal
And perform miraculous signs and wonders
Through the name of Your holy and precious
Servant Jesus
Acts 4:29