Into a Life of Prayer; A Journey, Part 3

To read part 1 of the prayer series, click here.
To read part 2 of the series, click here

Into a Life of Prayer; A Journey, Part 3

The Lord's Prayer, Our Model, Vol. 1

We can't very well take a journey into a life of prayer without looking at how Jesus taught us to pray. The Lord's Prayer was given to the disciples in response to their request for direction in prayer.  Jesus' response, a model of prayer, was never meant to be repeated verbatim as a prayer offering. We learn about the words of the prayer--the vein of the prayer--so we can apply them to our own prayer lives. 

^{Matthew 6: 5-9}

 “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. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 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.“This, then, is how you should pray:


THE LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.Matthew 6:9-13

Jesus' words here are so rich in meaning, that one post can't do them justice. Today we'll explore just the first two words....Our Father.

In the New Testament the word Father is used 245 times.  It points to a relationship of intimacy and trust--in contrast to the Old Testament, in which we read a more intimidating, "I am the Lord your God".

Several Old Testament verses, though, do tell us that God is our Father (Deut. 32:6, Psalm 89:26, Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 63:16, Isaiah 64:8, Jeremiah 3:4, Jeremiah 3:19).

In beginning with the word Father, Jesus is setting the tone for our relationship with God.  A Father takes care of us. He listens with patience.  He protects and comforts.  He provides for us. He looks at the best in us.  

Both the words Father and Our point to a familial relationship. When we become a Christian we are grafted into the Body of Christ (the Body of Believers).  We are brethren to one another, and God is our Father.  It's important to regard our membership in the Body seriously, for it carries a responsibility. We must always be looking and working toward the good of the Body, our brethren.

Philippians 2:4
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.


Mark 12:31
The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

For example, when we sin, it not only harms us, but it harms the whole body as well.  We are not to be individual operators, but rather, operate as a cooperative body--spending time in fellowship with one another, praying for and with one another, helping one another in need, building each other up, admonishing in love when necessary.

James 2:15-17
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

In short, we are part of a family, and when we pray, we must have that family mindset....Our Father.

The theology of our open relationship with God--this very intimate, perfect, Fatherly one--is complicated, but should be understood so that Believers can answer the questions of any adult seeking to know more about the faith, and so that our relationship with the Father in prayer is rich in gratitude, in reverence, in intimacy, and in the joy befitting it.

Permit me now to go into some theological detail, even if you have to finish reading this tomorrow?

Because we are dead spiritually before we become Christians, because we are dirty and unrighteous, we are not fit for the presence of God.  We cannot gain admittance.

To be approved before God--to have the privilege of relationship with Him--our sins have to be atoned for through a blood offering.  In the Old Testament this was done with animal sacrifices.

A sacrificial goat was slain for the sins of all Israel once a year during Passover Week, on the Day of Atonement (Yum Kippur).  The sacrifice was done according to ceremonial law given to Moses (Lev. 16), described in ordinary English here, excerpted below:

The high priest, after becoming ritually pure, first offered a bull for his sins and the sins of his household. Then two goats were set aside. Lots were cast, and one goat was chosen to be the scapegoat or "Azazel." The high priest slaughtered the other goat to atone for the sins of Israel and brought the blood into the Holy of Holies. The scapegoat was sent away to be lost in the desert after the high priest laid both hands on its head and confessed the sins of Israel. In this way, the sins of the nation were symbolically carried off into the desert.

Any individual Israelite who sinned during the year had to take an animal to the priest to be sacrificed (Leviticus 5:1-10). The poor brought doves and the rich brought lambs or goats, so that the priest could perform a ceremony similar to that done on Yum Kippur (one animal for a burnt offering, one animal to be set free).  A really poor person could bring a grain offering, part of which was burnt, and part of which was given to the priest.  This grain offering from the very poor is the only example of atonement being made without blood.

In the New Testament animal sacrifices continued to be performed for atonement as described, until the blood of Jesus was shed.


Jesus is the blood offering--the sacrificial lamb--for every sin we've ever committed, or will commit.


When Jesus gave up His spirit on the cross and uttered, "It is finished", quakes shook the earth and the curtain which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was divinely torn (not by human hands).  This tearing signifies that, forevermore, nothing separates us from a relationship with God....from gaining admittance to Him whenever we desire.  Prior to Christ's shed blood, only the high priest was admitted into the Holy of Holies, a condition of the Old Covenant (the Ten Commandments and all the other parts of the Law).  The tearing of the curtain, and Christs' death on the cross, both mark the beginning of the New Covenant, wherein the Law is written on the tablet of our hearts, via the Holy Spirit.

The Lamb was slain, for the final time.

And now we call him Father....and only He fulfills the deepest needs in our souls.

Hallelujah!

Jews who didn't believe in Jesus as Messiah continued to sacrifice at the temple as usual, until the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.  Since that time, Jews have done nothing to atone for their sins.

You've probably heard that when the Jews start rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, that signifies the beginning of the Great Tribulation...and the Second Coming of Christ?  Let's hope construction starts soon....before gas prices reach $5/gallon!

In the Old Testament faith in God was credited as righteousness, as in the case of Abraham.

James 2:23
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.

It is the same in the New Testament; our faith in Christ is credited to us as righteousness.  When we come to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and accept the grace offering of the cross, Christ's righteousness is imputed to us (applied to us).

Here is an excerpt from a John Piper sermon, on imputation:

"Imputation" is different from "impartation." God does "impart" to us gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, so that we have them and they are in us growing and they are ours. But all of that gracious impartation through the Spirit is built on an even more firm foundation, namely, imputation - the work of God outside of us: God's own righteousness, not imparted to us, but imputed to us. Credited to us, as Romans 4:6 and 11 say. Put to our account. Reckoned to be ours.

2 Corinthians 5:21, "He [God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Here we have a double imputation. God imputed our sins to Christ who knew no sin. And God imputed his righteousness to us who had no righteousness of our own. The key phrases for us are "the righteousness of God" and "in Him." It's not our righteousness that we get here. It is God's righteousness. And we get it not because our faith is righteous, but because we are "in Christ." Faith unites us to Christ. And in Christ we have an alien righteousness. It is God's righteousness in Christ. Or you can say it is Christ's righteousness. He takes our sin. We take his righteousness.

We become spiritually alive in Christ Jesus--approved children of God, admitted at His feet forevermore.

Hallelujah!


We pray to the Father, in the name of the Son. Thus, our prayers begin with Our Father, and end with, "In Jesus' name we pray, Amen".

He is right beside me

Walking through my house, picking up clutter, I tried to think a grateful thought.  I cut apples for my children, thinking of the shameful news I learned about my father.

A two-day hormonal headache, paired with hormonal depression, had me in a fog I couldn't lift.

ADHD angst felt by both my husband and my son, and the rest of us by default, dragged me further down.  It will never go away, I knew.  My son's wife and children would suffer as well, with no answers but comfort from the Father.

Brokenness.

I couldn't see past it today.  It's always there for every family, in one form or another, but usually, I can break through the pain with grateful utterances.  With a smile, with a prayer, I can find reason to dance a jig.

But not today.

The Spirit reminded me.  Turn on the radio.

Then I heard this (You Tube link), and I knew God was there, right beside me.  He always is.

I cried, but they were tears of gratitude...not of pain.

My favorite lines are these:  Just to know that You are near is enough; Just to know You and be loved is enough

Song of Hope (Robbie Seay Band)

All things bright and beautiful You are
All things wise and wonderful You are
In my darkest night, You brighten up the skies
A song will rise

I will sing a song of hope
Sing along
God of heaven come down
Heaven come down
Just to know that You are near is enough
God of heaven come down, heaven come down

All things new
I can start again
Creator, God
Calling me Your friend
Sing praise, my soul
To the Maker of the skies
A song will rise

I will sing a song of hope
Sing along
God of heaven come down
Heaven come down
Just to know You and be loved is enough
God of heaven come down, heaven come down

Hallelujah, sing
Hallelujah, sing
Hallelujah, sing

thanksgiving utterances

Psalms 140:1 - "Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence." 

My Gratitude List

I am thankful for...

...only two mice taking up residence in my home.  That chapter of our lives is over, thankfully.  I can again dwell in peace here.  I don't think I'm exaggerating in saying that if there had been a colony, a nervous breakdown was a surety--mine, not the critters'.

...a fudge recipe gone wrong.  It didn't set, so we used it as fudge sauce for vanilla bean ice cream, and as a dipping sauce for strawberries. Hmm, good.

...boys hard at work, preparing the soil for planting.

...girls running after butterflies.

...the seven year old teaching himself cursive.

...a newly consistent prayer life.

..a Titus 2 woman I e-mail semi-regularly now.  She's nearing 65 and has been a missionary in Africa for 30 years. They are on break in Florida, helping her husband's aging parents.  What a blessing she is!

...the novel A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal 1830-32.  I love novels put together from journal entries. (John Newberry Medal, 1980)

...a second car, finally.  It's at the mechanics to have the headlights adjusted, but soon the children and I will be free to commute to some select activities.  I abhor busyness--running children here and there because the culture dictates it--but impromptu trips to the library would be perfect for us!  Not to mention trips to the park, to take in the beauty of His hand.

...morning cuddles in the big bed with all four children.  Oh, how it does a Momma good!

...the sweet sound of boys reading Psalms.

...a husband who still kisses me goodbye intentionally, twelve years into marriage.

...baby robins and starlings out of nests, Momma and Poppa still close by, feeding, encouraging, nurturing.

...my two year old finishing her nap in my arms.  Her smell, her delicate skin, long lashes, silky hair, lovely sleeping lips.......I enjoyed. every. minute.

...Peter reading for a couple hours a day from a garden book I picked up at a thrift store....dreaming of enchanting gardens.  He planted three pots of cuttings using a technique he learned from the book.  Seeing him so engaged in God's world makes me swoon with happiness.  I only wish we had a gardening budget.  The boy has big, costly plans!

I hate feed readers!

I owe an apology and a heads up to all the readers who follow this blog using various feed readers.

May I just say, I hate this modern convenience called feeds!

A majority of my readers use them, and unfortunately, when I edit a post, the readers never pick up the edits.  Likewise, when I hate a post and decide to delete it, the feed readers never delete it.  As a writer this makes me feel like I have no control over my own message--as though someone has stolen it, almost.

I was working on a post about the first two words of the Lord's Prayer (Our Father), and it accidentally posted before I was finished.  It won't make any sense the way it posted, as I planned to delete some of it and take a different angle.  I don't think there is a way to amend this mistake, so if you use a feed reader, please accept my apology.

And know that you never get the best of my work, using a feed reader.  I often edit posts five or six times after I've posted them.

Okay....so I got it off my chest.  Thank you for listening.  And as Ann would say....thank you for grace.

hope through relationship

The Compassion bloggers flew home from the Philippines yesterday.  You can read their final posts--and all their posts--here.

I don't know whether you had time this week to read any of the Philippines' posts, but if you did you're probably emotionally exhausted from the buckets of tears.  

Learning about abject poverty is hard for all of us.  

It's even hard for Shaun Groves, who for six years has chosen successful Christian bloggers and taken them on these trips (different location, different bloggers, every six months).  

On his blog, Shaun describes the intense joy he felt on the last day in the Philippines, as he played with the wonderfully sweet, unspoiled, joyful Compassion Child Development Center kids.  Shaun's words in red:

"At that moment that child development center may have been the happiest place on earth. And I was honored, amazed to just be there."

Then he noticed the kids gathering on the other side of the fence, watching the fun with longing eyes.  They weren't Compassion kids.  They didn't belong.  They didn't have hope yet.

As he watched them line up, Shaun's joy left.  

"I don’t know if it was just plain old corrupted me or some dark power creeping up unseen, but something pulled the drain plug and out ran all my new happiness. In an instant it was gone. And in the empty echoed a voice – a convincing voice. My voice?

You’ll never save them all.

 All those miles traveled. Words spoken from stages. Pleas written in pixels. Thousands sponsored over the last six years. Insignificant.
 

You’ll never save them all."

When you read such powerful words, you want to do something.  Desperately.

But what if you don't have anything monetary to offer?  What then?  

Then it becomes even harder to learn about abject poverty.  

Our economy is still ailing and I know $38/mo. is a lot right now, with gas prices squeezing most of us into some meatless meals, or into predominately ground-meat meals. When you can't buy the foods you prefer, or when you constantly eat the same meals over and over because they're cheap, making a giving commitment beyond your church tithe--called an offering in the Bible--can seem overwhelming.  

You might ask yourself:  What if I don't have the money some months--what will happen to my sponsored child then?  What if I have to abandon my sponsorship commitment altogether?  How can I take that risk with someone's heart?

Like tithing 10% of your income to your church every month, offering money to the poor regularly takes a mighty leap of faith. Faith is actually considered a spiritual gift, just like teaching, helping, administrating, mercy, hospitality, discernment, leadership, etc.  Many of you have probably had a spiritual gifts inventory done at your church, and you may already know if you have, or don't have, the gift of faith.

If you can't take that leap of faith, if it's just too foreign to you to commit money you can't justify on paper, I have good news for you!

There is another, non-monetary way to help these kids, and in many ways it means more than the sponsorship money.  

Letter writing.  Relationship.   

Each of the three Compassion trips I've covered here (Africa, Guatemala, Philippines) emphasized that the relationship developed through letters, pictures, and other correspondence give these children a sense of hope.  

Poverty can easily be defined as the absence of hope.  The posts from the Philippines were littered with photos of joyful Compassion kids.  They are still in abject poverty, but it doesn't define them. They have hope. 


Someone decided to be the face of Jesus and give them hope through relationship.

Isn't that how Jesus gives us hope on a daily basis?  Through relationship? 

I believe you, dear reader, would make an excellent friend to one of these kids.  Open your heart, your life, and write letters to a child who needs to hear that she matters. That Jesus loves him.  That you love him, that you're praying for him, that you're proud of her.  

You can also send monetary gifts or little trinkets to your child, as extra money comes to you.  No cash commitment ever, just your choice to give--when you can do it. 

Juli Jarvis, a Compassion employee, wrote a post about being a correspondent. I have included excerpts from it below.  Read it to learn how you can become a messenger of hope and love. 

____________________________

What is a child correspondent? 

A person who writes to a child in place of the sponsor.

  

Why is letter writing so important that correspondents are necessary? Isn’t financial support enough?

When you become a sponsor, you tell a child in need, “Yes. I want to know you. I want to have a relationship with you.” Your sponsorship models Christ’s love through your involvement in the child’s life, through the act of writing letters.

Poverty tells children, “You don’t matter!” But that is a lie. Your letters shine light into the darkness. They say: “You do matter Suzana.” “I care about you Renato.” “Jesus loves you Lerionga.”

The power of words, the power of a letter is tremendous, and for an impoverished child to know that you, someone from across the globe, cares . . . well, that’s the difference that can release the child from poverty.

Sponsorship is much more than just the financial support. Obviously, the financial support is critical, but it’s the letters a child receives that play a crucial role in his or her development and growth on many levels –– emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually.

How do I sign up to be a child correspondent?

If you want to be a correspondent, call 800-336-7676. Any sponsor relations representative can help you.

Your name will be placed on a list of willing correspondents. If the need arises, you will be contacted to correspond with a particular child, and that child packet will be sent to you.

Please realize that you may or may not be contacted, depending on the need. Also, it could be several weeks or months before you receive the opportunity. The number of children on the list varies greatly from time to time.

Can I send gifts to my correspondence children? Can I visit them?

Yes. Call 800-336-7676 to send a financial gift to your child or visit compassion.com for a list of gifts that can be included with your letters or to arrange a visit with your child.