Category: Prayer

The Real Meaning of Spiritual Wisdom

11/21/2016

Read Ephesians 1:15-23

I don't know about you, but I have had many times in my life when I have asked God for wisdom. To be able to know the "right" decision to make in a situation, or how to approach someone with the right words that won't leave them angry or offended. But have you ever noticed what Paul prayed for in regards to the people of Ephesus? After assuring them of the many blessings they had in Christ, he followed that up with how he prayed for them and it is an example we can all take to heart.

So what did Paul ask God for in regards to the Ephesians?

For the spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17). But notice that Paul didn't ask they be given wisdom in dealing with all things, like financial wisdom or parenting tips, for example. Instead, he asked that God give them wisdom and revelation about God in particular.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Ephesians 1:17)

The word for "knowledge" in Greek is epignōsis and means "precise and correct knowledge", so Paul is asking the Lord to help the Ephesians know Him better. Notice also that he asks for revelation. The Greek word for "revelation" is apokalypsis and means "an unveiling, or uncovering, making naked or laying bare the truth". So by asking for the spirit of wisdom and revelation, Paul shows us the importance of knowing God intimately. And how do we know God? By abiding in His Word. From it we come to know God's character and His will for us.

For enlightenment. After asking for spiritual wisdom and revelation, Paul asks God that the Ephesian's minds would understand and be open to what they were learning. He asks that, "the eyes of your understanding being enlightened". He uses a metaphor to describe how spiritual wisdom and revelation work together to that moment when we realize a deep truth. We've all had these. Those moments when we have read a section of Scripture a hundred times and then we have an "aha" moment. Our eyes are opened, as it were, and we see a deep truth we've never seen before. Paul asks for this gift of understanding so that we may know three things:

The hope of God's calling (Ephesians 1:18).
The riches of the glory of the inheritance within us (Ephesians 1:18).
The exceeding greatness of His power to those who believe in Him (Ephesians 1:19).

Paul then affirms that God's powerful spirit of wisdom and revelation will work in us because it is the same power that "worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come" (Ephesians 1:19-21). It is the same power that put "all things under Christ's feet and which gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:22-23).

And so it comes full circle. Paul asks that God grant the Ephesians spiritual wisdom and revelation, along with understanding, for one reason, because the church complete who Jesus is, in that we are His body and His Holy Spirit fills us. Thus, as His representatives here on earth, by asking God for spiritual wisdom and understanding, we will be spiritually equipped to spread the Gospel, fulfilling His work in us as He fills us up.

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How Jesus Taught Us to Pray

9/12/2016

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Jesus praying in Gethsemane depicted by Heinrich Hofmann

In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Matthew 6:9-13, NKJV

Continuing on with Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, we now come to the most famous prayer in the Bible - The Lord's Prayer. Jesus has just explained that we are not to be like the hypocrites who make a great show of the fact they are praying to God (Matthew 6:5) and encourages us to pray to God privately. While there are many examples of how Jesus prayed (Matthew 26:39), when he prayed (Mark1:35), what he prayed about and whom he prayed for (John 17), the Lord's Prayer gives us a template for the correct way to approach God and what our prayers should look like.

Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed by Thy Name

This opening line shows us how to approach God. The "Our Father" reminds us that God is our Creator, Provider and Protector. That He resides in heaven reminds us that He is King of the Universe. This opening line then, immediately puts us in the proper frame of mind as we come to the Lord in reverence, trust and adoration, with the declaration that His name is Holy or Hallowed. Too often we jump into prayer without taking that first step of humbling ourselves before Him and acknowledging His greatness.

Your Kingdom Come

Our first example of what to pray for comes immediately after acknowledging God's Sovereignty. We are to pray that His Kingdom will Come. What does that mean exactly? It is answered in the next verse.

Your Will be Done on Earth, as it is in Heaven

For God's kingdom to come, we must pray that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In other words, we must pray that the world would recognize God's authority and supremacy, so that His will is carried out on earth the same way it is carried out in Heaven. When I get to this part of the prayer I pray for my friends, family and leaders in government, that God's will be done in their lives on earth, thus furthering His kingdom.

Give us this Day our Daily Bread

We then ask for whatever it is we need for the day. We make our requests known to Him.

And Forgive us our Debts, as we Forgive our Debtors

When we ask the Lord to forgive us our "debts" we are not asking Him to gloss over unpaid loans at the bank. "Debts" in this case, is a metaphor for sin as a "debt," because it demands atonement or reparation. Therefore, we also forgive our "debtors," those who sin against us, because we are all guilty of sin and all of us are in need of forgiveness. It would be hypocritical of us to ask for God's forgiveness of our sins, if we cannot forgive those who have sinned against us.

And do not Lead us into Temptation,
But Deliver us from Evil

Does God lead us into temptation to sin? Certainly not! James 1:13, confirms this. So what does this verse mean? There are two meanings behind this verse. In Greek, the word for temptation is peirasmos and means to try, test, prove, or undergo a trial. However, it also means exactly what it says - temptation - an enticement to sin and sometimes that is, in and of itself, a trial. Scripture reminds us that trials (or temptations) are for our benefit.

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:12, NKJV)

So here we are essentially asking God to keep us strong when tempted or tested and to deliver us from falling into sin. Again, it is not God who tests or tempts us, but He does allow us to go through these trials so that we can strengthen our faith in Him and grow more and more into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).

For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power
and the Glory Forever. Amen.

We close our prayer through praise and adoration of God. Reminding us that He is King and He is in control. We can take comfort in that because no matter how crazy this world gets, no matter how horrible mankind can become as they sink into new depths of depravity, letting sin guide them - our God is still in control. He has a plan and it will be carried out. He will return and His Kingdom will come. That is our hope and it is our future. Making this prayer the perfect model template for reminding us that our God is Holy, Our Father and our King.

Today is Monday Meditations – Please link your faith-based posts below.
Let's encourage one another. Don't forget to visit those who post.

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Three Steps to Appropriate Prayer Times

8/29/2016

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Read Matthew 6:5-8

Did you know that the word hypocrite in Greek actually means an actor, stage player or pretender? In other words, it is someone who is pretending to be what they are not. In the matter of prayer Jesus said these types of people, "Love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men" (Matthew 6:5). In other words, they made a show of the fact they were praying to God so that people would think they were righteous. But Jesus said "When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" (Matthew 6:6). Does this mean that all public prayer is wrong? Not at all. For it is clear from scripture that corporate prayer was practised (Acts 12:12). But to understand what was really going on we need to look at the culture of the day behind Jesus' statements.

When the Temple stood there were regular times of prayer, and scripture confirms this (Psalms 55:17; Daniel. 6:10; Acts 3:1). However, when the time of prayer occurred pious Jews would stop what they were doing, no matter where they were, and make a great show of the fact that they were praying. It is clear from Matthew 6:5 that if they hadn't made it into the Temple for the prayer time they would go to great lengths to show those around them that they were indeed still praying. Proving Jesus' point that they were hypocrites who cared more about what people thought of them, than actually praying to God. Hence, Jesus' admonishment to pray in secret.

Jesus also said, "Do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words" (Matthew 6:7). This is another area that must be looked at from Jesus' 2nd century viewpoint. Idol worship was rampant during these times and idol worshippers often chanted for hours the same words or phrases, over and over again to appease the gods. Jesus' words seem to indicate that some Jews were of the mind that maybe that's how they should pray to God as well - by chanting. In 1 Kings 18:26 Baal worshippers chanted from mid-evening to morning. The multitude in the theatre at Ephesus shouted for two hours “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians” (Acts 19:34). But Jesus said, "Do not be like them" (Matthew 6:8).

Yet, today we find many popular Christian leaders encouraging chanting as a means to centre ourselves to become more focused on God. They are ignoring Jesus' warnings against such things. Popular Christian author and pastor Tony Campolo says, "I say His name over and over again, for as long as fifteen minutes, until I find my soul suspended in what the ancient Celtic Christians called a ‘thin place’—a state where the boundary between heaven and earth, divine and human, dissolves. You could say that I use the name of Jesus as my koan” (Campolo, Mystical Encounters for Christians). FYI - A ‘koan’ is used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening. This is something very similar to what the pagans did during Jesus time and so we should avoid it.

So how do we apply Jesus' principles to our prayer times?

Three Steps to Appropriate Prayer Times

Don't draw attention to yourself - As I thought about the type of people Jesus was referring to in this verse (where they made a show of the fact that they were praying to God) I could think of only three examples where this is seen today. The first and most obvious are Muslims, who have been known to take over whole neighbourhoods so that they could pray at certain times of day. They make it a point to let people know they are doing this, rather than going to their mosques. This is something Jesus would oppose because they are making a show of the fact that they are praying. The same might be said of the Jews who pray at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. You will often see many of the men putting on quite a show with constant bowing, while they are praying at the wall. In all likelihood Jesus would call them hypocrites and admonish them to pray in secret because A) Their temple is no longer there and they have synagogues to pray together in behind closed doors and B) Praying at the wall has become two things - a political statement and a form of idol worship. Why pray at the wall at all? To emphasize the fact that their temple used to stand there. They don't want anyone (especially Muslims) to forget that. Unfortunately, it has also become an idol to them. Like the Jews during Jeremiah's day they have placed their faith in a building (or wall in this case) rather than in their Creator. Now the third group of people I thought of might hit home with some of you, because quite frankly it hit home with me when I considered it. So bear with me while I ask you some questions. When you go to church how are you behaving during prayer times? Are you drawing attention to yourself? For example, are you following the correct way of using tongues? If your whole congregation is speaking in tongues at once, there is no benefit in that to anyone without an interpreter present. To the outsider we are just a bunch of babbling fools. Jesus has told us not to make a display of ourselves when we are praying. So before you pray in public, consider your behaviour and your motives.
Pray privately - While it is good to pray with others, we do need our "alone times". Here we can share the concerns of our heart with the Father and focus on what He is saying in response. This should be a time with just you and God and no interruptions. Granted, this can be difficult with a house full of kids, so take those moments when you can and wherever you can.
Don't chant - Jesus says don't use vain repetitions - in other words don't keep saying things over and over again - don't chant. Some people believe this means we shouldn't say the Lord's Prayer as it becomes repetitious. I would agree if we said it repeatedly during a service, but we don't. However, it should not be used in the place of genuine prayer either. The Lord's Prayer is simply our template on how to pray appropriately to God and I will discuss that next week.

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Does God Really Hear our Prayers?

5/16/2016

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For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvellous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You,
when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.
- Psalm 139:13-16

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The #1 Way to Pray for Others

5/2/2016

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While reading Colossians 1:9-14 I was struck by the prayer the Apostle Paul prayed for the people of Colosse. He prayed that God would fill the people of Colosse with the knowledge of God's will, through the wisdom and understanding that the Holy Spirit gives (Colossians 1:9). Why did he pray for that in particular? He answers that in the rest of the verse. So that they may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way. By asking God to fill the people of Colosse with the knowledge of His will, Paul is asking for them to grow in their faith. And how do Christians grow? Through the wisdom and understanding the Holy Spirit gives. Where do we find wisdom and understanding? Through God's Holy Word. As we read it, the Holy Spirit opens our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to its message and we grow in the knowledge of God's will.

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Digging Deeper

The Real Meaning of Spiritual Wisdom

Read Ephesians 1:15-23

How Jesus Taught Us to Pray

Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed by Thy Name

Your Kingdom Come

Your Will be Done on Earth, as it is in Heaven

Give us this Day our Daily Bread

And Forgive us our Debts, as we Forgive our Debtors

And do not Lead us into Temptation,
But Deliver us from Evil

For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power
and the Glory Forever. Amen.

Three Steps to Appropriate Prayer Times

Read Matthew 6:5-8

Three Steps to Appropriate Prayer Times

Does God Really Hear our Prayers?

The #1 Way to Pray for Others

Archives

Categories

Digging Deeper

The Real Meaning of Spiritual Wisdom

Read Ephesians 1:15-23

How Jesus Taught Us to Pray

Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed by Thy Name

Your Kingdom Come

Your Will be Done on Earth, as it is in Heaven

Give us this Day our Daily Bread

And Forgive us our Debts, as we Forgive our Debtors

And do not Lead us into Temptation, But Deliver us from Evil

For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever. Amen.

Three Steps to Appropriate Prayer Times

Read Matthew 6:5-8

Three Steps to Appropriate Prayer Times

Does God Really Hear our Prayers?

The #1 Way to Pray for Others

Archives

Categories

And do not Lead us into Temptation,
But Deliver us from Evil

For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power
and the Glory Forever. Amen.