We, as believers, do pray, just as the disciples did. However, do we truly know
how to pray? Are we talking with our Father as our closest friend, or are we
praying like commercials, repeating day in and day out our broken prayer lists?
After all didn't Jesus encourage us never to give up?
Luke 18:1-8 records the story of a widow who persisted in obtaining
justice from a judge who had no regards towards God or mankind. Because she kept
bothering him day in and day out, he became tired of her shenanigans, and in
order to get rid of her, he gave her justice. However, does this mean we need to
repeat our prayer list over and over, as is the case in so many other religions?
Let me ask you, how would you feel if whenever you were with your spouse and/or
children, they always asked you for the same things day in and day out? It would
drive anyone crazy! This isn't what a family is about: "And when you pray, do
not use vain repetitions as the heathen [do.] For they think that they will be
heard for their many words." (Matt 6:7, NKJV) The parable of the persistent
widow is about never giving up, not about repeating endless lists.
Are we as persistent in finding God's will at all cost? Maybe we give up too
easily.
Now comes the clincher, right after this parable: "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? 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?" (Luke
18:7-8, NIV2)
Too often we pray without expecting an answer, or if we expect an answer, we too
often forget about our prayer. We pray once, maybe twice, but eventually we give
up, as we have no idea what God's will truly is. In other words, our faith has
no foundation. Why pray if we don't expect an answer?
Too many among us have no idea about the power of prayer. The disciples were no
better than us: "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
(Luke 11:1b, NIV2) They, too, had no clue how to pray, even though they were
intimately acquainted with Jesus!
Jesus showed us how to pray (See Matthew 6:9-13); however, many believers take
this prayer and repeat it over and over, without understanding what it really
means. That wasn't Jesus' goal. Prayer is supposed to be an intimate time with
our all-loving Heavenly Father!
Did we even notice that Jesus' exemplary prayer started with worshipping God? I
sure didn't, until now. According to a famous preacher named Prince, if we had
but ten minutes to pray, 8 minutes should be spent on worship and 2 minutes in
requests. After all, how do we make friends? Isn't it by acknowledging how
special they are to you and by spending time with them?
Do we truly appreciate what our Father has done for us, not only during creation
and redemption, but day in and day out? Are we even aware that He has always
been with us through our troubles as well as our joys?
I share everything with my wife. That is how we should treat our Father as well,
for He loves us so much that His Son willingly died for us so that we could
experience real love. Who else would be willing to die for you in order to save
you? Your doctor? Your dentist? Your boss?
The clincher of Jesus' exemplary prayer, the main focus of what our prayers
should be: "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
(Matt 6:10, NIV2)
Prayer is supposed to be geared around the desire to have "God's will be done on
earth as it is in heaven". We need to hunger to do anything to bring His will to
our planet!
The first Century Christians knew how to do this. They performed miracles and
wonders from the Most High; however, when Christianity became approved by
numerous countries, something strange happened: Christians began to forget how
to focus on bringing God's will on earth. After all, didn't kings and queens
accept Christianity as their major religion? Healings became sparse, forgiveness
became a fleeting notion, demon possessions were ignored, and this has been
going on for centuries, especially when the church started to focus on works
instead of our Father!
"Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
What does this mean? It means we are co-partners with God to bring His will on
earth as it is in heaven. For example: Is there sickness in heaven? The devil
certainly would like to afflict heaven that way, but he has no authority there.
However, here on earth, too often we concur with the evil one, without even
knowing it: "I am sick. It is God's will!" If there is no sickness in heaven,
why should it be God's will for us to be sick? If we go back to the beginning of
Genesis, we will realize that sickness was a consequence of sin, when we gave
authority to the evil one!
Jesus truly showed the way when he healed every disease he encountered: "A large
crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill." (Matt 12:15, NIV2) The
first century Christians did a multitude of healings as well: "Crowds gathered
also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by
impure spirits, and all of them were healed." (Acts 5:16, NIV2) God's will is
not for us to be afflicted with disease, but for us to be healed.
All of Jesus' tips about prayer are focused on that very fact of having "God's
will be done on earth as in heaven":
1. God's will concerning our daily needs (Matt 6:11)
2. God's will concerning our relationships with others (v.12)
3. God's will concerning how to relate with sin (v.13)
Jesus' prayer is revolutionary. It isn't about our will, but our Heavenly
Father's will. All of these are important to God. But from which perspective do
we look at our necessities? Do we want to bring God's Kingdom on earth as it is
in heaven? If we do, things will change drastically.
One day my wife accidentally poured boiling water on her left hand. It was, in
all, a painful accident. I stood still until I could feel God's Spirit fill me.
I put my hand above her painful burn and prayed a brief prayer: "Thank you
Father for giving us opportunities to experience You personally. Lord, may Your
will be manifested here on earth as it is in heaven. Remove the pain from my
wife's hand right now. I know this is Your will, as Jesus demonstrated this
while He was on our planet. Thank You so much, Father."
Immediately all of the pain disappeared. Oh, the burn was still there, a fact
that the red bubble attested to. In fact, everyone who saw her hand exclaimed:
"This must be so painful!" It was an opportunity for my wife to share with them about our
Father in heaven.
A couple of weeks later, my wife went to bed dizzy with pain in her stomach.
Again I approached her in prayer, trusting that God's will be manifested. The
next day she woke completely healed. What was to happen never occurred.
Would you like to experience your Heavenly Father? Come to Him and experience
Him like never before! He is awesome, believe me.
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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