“Let your speech be yea or nay!
And when you pray, obey the same commandment! Do not pray in order to hear your
voice, but pray because your inner being demands it. Dare to pray only when
your soul stirs, be it in joy or sorrow. But every prayer out of presumption or
habit is sacrilege to God! Let His Name be too holy for you to have It on your
lips on every occasion!” This admonition
was issued to mankind by Jesus when He tread this earth.When we pray, instead of seeking our
selfish interests first, let us give ourselves. Giving ourselves when we pray! That sounds strange of course. But that is the
template Christ gave us when He lovingly gave us the Lord’s Prayer. Unlike the
usual begging we are used to, the Lord’s Prayer contains mainly promises man
makes to his Creator! These sentences: “Our Father Who art in Heaven!”,
“Hallowed be Thy Name”, “Thy Kingdom come”, “Thy Will be done on earth as it is
in Heaven” –are actual promises to the Almighty which we should take seriously
as carelessness in this regard have dire consequences.
For example, when we say “Our
Father, Who art in Heaven!” we are in effect promising the Almighty: “I am
here, Lord, to listen to Thee and to obey Thee like a child!”
And when we say: “Hallowed be Thy
Name”, we are giving assurances to our Maker that we do not misuse God’s Name
through superficiality, because we regard the Name of God as being too holy to
do so!
How many of us think about these
when we rattle off the Lord’s Prayer?
The very first petition “Give us
this day our daily bread!” comes only
after the vows. And the Grail Message
gave the true meaning of this petition thus:
“When I have fulfilled what I
promised, let Thy Blessing rest upon my earthly work so that, in attending to
my physical needs, I may always retain the time to live according to Thy Will!”
The Lord’s Prayer teaches us how to
live in accordance with the Laws of God and how to ask and what to ask for with
the guarantee of being heard from above.
What should be paramount in our prayers
should be our yearning for spiritual ascent as exemplified by the thief
crucified to the right-hand side of Jesus. Compare this attitude to the
attitude of the one on the left who was seeking an earthly relief from his
predicament which he brought upon himself.
In the end, the foolish thief got
no visible advantage while the wise thief got a firm promise of a place in
paradise! One can decide the path to follow. It is either the path of those who
make self-serving earthly demands and expect arbitrary actions from the
Creator, or the path of repentance that pleads humbly for God's forgiveness and
strength for spiritual ascent.
May we have the strength to pray
aright and always seek what is really of benefit to our spirit. Amen.
1 comment:
Many may agree that Prayer is not a Monologue.
Most people may say that Prayer is a two-way Communication.
How many can come to declare that Prayer is more than a two-way Communication?
Prayer is a Tripod - 'Listen','Say' and 'Act' based on the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Most people have to limit Prayer to the "Say" or the Declaration or the Prophecy or the Utterance or the Doxology or Pontification or the Speaking which is one aspect of the Tripod that makes up Prayer. For instance, the student who "Listens" to instructions from above and carries out a Study or Research is Praying even though he is not in a 'closet' or a "Prayer House".
The Prayer of the Research Student is in the Field.
Below we have a case study, which will give to the discerning,an illustration of Communication, that is, Prayer(Hearing, Saying and Actions) between a Father and Two Sons.
'But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you."
Matthew 21:28, 30-31 KJV.
Prayer is doing the will of the Father by Listening, Saying and Acting according to His Will.
Prayer Differential.
Scripture Based prayer is not the same as Holy Spirit led Prayers or intercession.
Quoting the Law or the Scripture is good but understanding what the Law or the Scripture is saying and what it is not saying is more important.
Do we need to remind the reader that the Devil too can quote the Scripture?
What's best is to be able to see the Scripture from "God's Point of View" (GPV).
You must know what the Holy Spirit is saying presently on the Scripture you are quoting or you must Listen to the Holy Spirit and have a TEACHABLE Heart that permits the Holy Spirit to lead you over what you Say and your Action.
What's the conclusion?
Listen,Say and Act based on the leading of the Holy Spirit is Spirit-Led- Prayers.
1) ‘Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord’ (Ephesians 5:19 NKJV). This song isn’t induced by circumstances but despite them. ‘But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to the Most High, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.’ (Acts 16:25-26 NKJV). Praising the Jehovah can open doors and break chains.
2) ‘Giving thanks always for all things …’ (Ephesians 5:20 NKJV). Spirit-filled people count their blessings and stay positive, upbeat, and grateful.
3) ‘Submitting to one another ’ Eph5:21
You are to be in Authority over your Thought Life.
A person who has an 'Understanding of Authority' knows his sphere of Authority in Prayer (Life) Warfare.
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