Foundational teaching on the subject of “prayer”, is the primary knowledge God seeks a relationship with us as individual PERSONALITIES, (souls), WHOM He has CREATED for His PLEASURE! Those who have matured in our Lord’s teaching, talk with God all the time, and God becomes their natural way of life. Newcomers to Christ, and God’s Holy Spirit, need instruction in this critical facet of our Christian faith to firstly, understand God desires this relationship, and God will do what it takes to get through to those who are called. God is a jealous God, and if we persist to stubbornly continue our ways of self destruction, there is truly nothing God can do about this. The freedom of choice has been God’s gift to man since Eden!
Drawing distinctions between pray, (to ask), prayer, (what we are asking for), confession, (personal judgment of our own sins), thanksgiving, and praise, we may see distinct differences that describe both the nature and type of conversation, or communication, or communion we have with God. There might also be complaint, which would be dangerous ground, except to make known one’s anquish with respect in affliction, and this with thanksgiving that God knows our thoughts and feelings in EVERY situation. Rather than say, “let us pray”, which means, “let us ask”, we could rather say, “let us commune with God”, or “let us give thanks together”. Maturing in the faith of The Lord Jesus Christ does bring us to the place of giving thanks to God for affliction to understand God is our loving Father, Who corrects His children, as He prepares us for ministry.
ALWAYS beginning with thanks for the RIGHT to stand before The Holy God of Israel only by virtue of our Lord Jesus Christ’s blood of the new upgraded covenant, accompanied by praise for God’s majesty, love, and tender mercies, and all the other incredible attributes of God’s character, we need to ask (pray), in accordance, and in harmony with what Scripture teaches. Anything else could be getting close to being disrespectful, which could be getting close to blasphemy!
Especially important when we break bread, noting to do this in small numbers, Matthew 26:20, Mark 14:16 to 25, Luke 22:15, and Luke 24:30 to 35, we cannot make out with the eye, (discern), The Body of Christ, with closed eyes to commune with God! 1 Corinthians 11:29.
The true church of The Lord Jesus Christ has a dangerous enemy to contend with which has been infiltrating the ranks of the saints for centuries! Risking betrayal even by family, Luke 12:53, our instructions are to WATCH, and pray! Matthew 26:41, Mark 13:33 and 37, Mark 14:38, and Luke 21:36. It is very important to cover this as a base teaching, as the enemy will do all to distract and frustrate our prayers. Daniel 10:12 to 13. It follows it is vital we LEARN HOW to pray, (ask), and that we pray within the given perameters of Scripture to avoid disappointment!
For those who have received Lord Jesus as Saviour, proper teaching is essential! Such are instructed by The Word to desire the sincere milk of The Word so they may GROW thereby. 1 Peter 2:2-3. Next steps are full immersion baptism in both water and The Spirit, to then receive The Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour, and KING! Only when we make The Lord Jesus Christ LORD of our lives, are we able to develop the hatred of sin to UNDERSTAND they that are born of God sin not. For such, their lives are lived in the presence of The Almighty! 1 John 3:9.
Sin will separate the child of God from the Almighty, however if by the grace and tender mercies of God we keep ourselves unspotted from the world, we will remain inseparable from Almighty God our Creator! God is forever with us, wherever we are, and despite our sinful natures, GOD has promised never to leave, nor forsake those who come to Him to receive His Son! Though we may have a long road of chastisement ahead until we learn to hate sin as much as God hates sin, we have God’s Word that God will complete the work He has begun in our lives. Philippians 1:6 and 1 Peter 5:10.
Indeed the glory of the new covenant in Christ’s Blood, that IF any should sin, we have an ADVOCATE with the Father Lord Jesus Christ the Righteous Lamb of God, 1 John 2:1-2, all we need achieve, is see ourselves as David saw himself! When Nathan confronted David concerning his sin with Bathsheba Uriah’s wife, 1 Kings 15:5, David immediately said, “I have sinned”! 2 Samuel 12:13. David made no excuse as did Adam, who blamed GOD, and his woman! “The woman whom THOU gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat”. Genesis 3:12 and 13. David INSTANTLY confessed, and God REMOVED the sin from David! Despite David’s sin of murdering Bathsheba’s husband to have sent him to the frontline in battle, and adultery, Scripture records David’s heart as being perfect before God, 1 Kings 11:4, because David loved GOD!
We are sinful flesh, and WHEN we sin, we CONFESS it as sin, to move on in Christ’s eternal victory over sin and death! This however, is not a license to sin, and we need to know a fool repeateth a matter! We need to find that place of true repentance, to walk in victory!
For those who have come the distance, we watch as soldiers on guard duty, we watch our conversation and our conduct, we watch the world situation and current status, we watch for the prophetic signs that have been given to us, and we commune with God in PUBLIC with eyes wide open, so we may discern (make clear by the eye) The Body of Christ.
As we grow in our personal study of The Word, it becomes clear we have not been taught the truth in respect of many matters in our Ecumenical Denominational Churches! For those who HAVE ABSTAINED from Christianity BELIEVING something is wrong, who NOW, at the END of the prophetic timeline, WISH to know more, such are among the last, who shall be first in the Kingdom of God! Relating to BOTH the salvation of the Jews, (Israel), and “saved” Gentiles, those who DEVOTED themselves to Denominational Fellowships, who are now challenged in their doctrine concerning the Sabbath, or any other aspect of the COMMON faith, Titus 1:4 and Jude 1:3, are among the first, who shall be last, and such may be faced with HAVING TO RELEARN much of what they first believed!
Prayer, or “request”, as the word prayer is to be correctly understood, is directly associated with attitude. Joseph shaved his head in an act of humility to stand before Pharoah. His silent prayer (request) of Pharoah in this act of humbling himself, was that he would find favour with Pharoah, so Pharoah would release Joseph from prison. It is worth noting Paul taught men dishonour their head which is Christ, if they prophesy or pray with their head covered, but women should cover their heads because of the angels. 1 Corinthians 11:10. Seeing these seemingly insignificant acts of humility in men “made a little lower than the angels”, Psalm 8:5, and Hebrews 2:7, compels the angels to worship God, and when these attitudes dominate our thinking, and manifest in our lives in making our requests known to God, this can only please our Heavenly Father, which is the very purpose for which we were created, to give God pleasure!
Walking in BOLDNESS through the unspeakable gift of God to give us Christ’s own blood, giving THANKS for the right in Christ to stand before The Holy One of Israel to make our requests known to Him, can not be without an act of humility, for men to remove their hat or for a women to cover her head so the order of subject obedience is maintained. These things in place, we may now look at WHAT we ask for when we PRAY, for we know, we have not, because we ask amiss. Let us see this for ourselves in the old KJV.
Ye ask, and receive not, BECAUSE YE ASK AMISS, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. James 4:3.
Taught to take no thought for what we shall wear or eat, Matthew 6:25, but to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then shall all these things be added unto us, Matthew 6:33, strengthens the teaching to CONSIDER WHAT it is that we SHOULD be requesting of God in prayer. Amplifying this, it is written our Father KNOWS, Matthew 6:8, “what things ye have have need of before ye ask”, and when we ask, we should believe we receive what we ask for, so it is in order to give THANKS in advance! To clarify, we should NOT ask for raiment or food because God KNOWS we NEED these things, we should be asking for God’s Kingdom to come, and fill the WHOLE earth as prophesied, for God to send labourers forth into the harvest, for the PEACE of Jerusalem, for wisdom for those in authority over us, and it is NOT the corrupt government that has authority over us, it is our ELDERS, TEACHERS, PASTORS, and PROPHETS who have authority, not corrupt public servants, abusing us, and stealing our taxes! Taught to pray for our enemies, all men, and kings, so we may live peacably on Earth, we are also taught to pray WITH the Spirit. “I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. 1 Corinthians 14:15. We are also taught to use words easy to be understood when speaking in the church, (the assembly of saints), for the sake of those who are unlearned. 1 Corinthians 14:9 and 16.
Distinguishing between prayer, praise, giving of thanks, and our communing with, (talking with), our Heavenly Father, as being one with Him through our Lord Jesus Christ, speaking words of thanks, blessing, and praise in appreciation of His presence, we must note that prayer specifically means making request. We err if we ask for things God knows we need. However, when we ask for the things God loves, and has made clear in His eternal Word He wants us to ask of Him, we get our answers, and give God great pleasure!
Prayer is not always answered. LORD Jesus prayed if it were possible that the cup should pass from Him, as the flesh was weak, and there and then understood it was a prayer that could never be answered, for to give Himself for our sins to wash us in His blood, before the Righteous Judge being God our Father, was the very purpose for which He came.
Similarly, each one of us has our purpose, and we will do well to seek God’s purpose for our lives knowing God has revealed this in His eternal Word.
Instructing us to pray, (ask) in secret for an open reward, those gathering on the street to stand in circles holding hands to pray, have not studied The Word! Apart from open displays of prayer being against our Lord’s teaching, such are not aware Christians are at war! Huge gatherings of believers meeting at regular times are an invitation to the enemy to attack, and we need to be careful! Lord Jesus has taught us, “Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. Matthew 6:5-9
Our Lord taught us to pray, “our Father which 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, for Thine is The Kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever, Amen. Our Lord’s model for our prayers, an instant answer to the disciples asking to be taught how to pray, provides clear pointers as to what our prayers should consist of. Notice worship precedes asking for the Kingdom as a first priority, and the Kingdom, having been established, (and this is very important), in the moment of our Lord’s declaration on the cross, “It is FINISHED“, we ought to be ASKING for, and RECEIVING God’s Kingdom with THANKSGIVING! Daniel 2:44 and John 19:30.
Teaching us to pray that The Lord of the harvest sends labourers into the fields already white unto harvest, we are also taught to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We are further taught that when we pray, our words should be few, for God is in heaven, and we are on earth. Matthew 6:7, and Ecclesiastes 5:2 and 3.
We are taught to pray for our enemies, and for them that despitefully use us, and when we stand praying, we must forgive men their sins so God MAY forgive us! This, many will know is often impossible at first, however, with God’s unending grace and mercy, we may learn the vital importance of this for our personal benefit! Luke 6:27-38, and Mark 11:25.
With truly terrible offences, where closure on the hurt inflicted is initially out of the question, when to FORGIVE is unthinkable, the true understanding of the word forgiveness becomes critical! Many have afflicted themselves in their belief that forgiveness is forgetting. Eventually yes, forgiveness is in a sense forgetting in that the spirit with which we remember is no longer bitter!
Coming to terms with the most heinous deeds does not require a supernatural erasing of our memory. Neither does it require the personal affliction of ourselves for being human, and being unable to forget. What we must realize is that forgetting will indeed be impossible in certain circumstances, and we need to cultivate a forgiving spirit to channel our thinking towards no longer being embittered, but giving thanks for God’s assistance as we give ourselves to forgiving, rather than holding, and bearing a grudge when we ask God for anything.
When we follow these guidelines the memory of an evil deed becomes an opportunity to manifest an excellent spirit as we fully grasp true forgiveness is a process embracing ongoing ACTION GOD intends for the benefit of the forgiving party, NOT the recipient!
The following link was found to be very helpful, and is recommended reading. We may conclude clarifying that offences being pardoned by the victims, does not absolve the offending parties from either repentance, or from paying their debt to society.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/forgiveness-its-meaning-bible-dr-efra%C3%ADn-duany-dmin-lmft
Further thoughts to note on this VITAL subject of our faith, are that it is inappropriate to approach God without giving thanks. Psalm 50 will confirm this, that THIS is where God has said men ought to begin. We may ask God for anything believing we receive it, and it SHALL be given to us, but to ask for such things as our extravagantly benevolent Heavenly Father already knows we have need of, sails close to the wind of insult, and we truly need to be careful.
If however we ask for the spirit of true repentance, and believe we receive it, it SHALL be given to us, as with the gift of the Holy Ghost! If we ask God to immerse us in His Spirit, to fill us with His Holy Presence, and we believe that we receive HIM, we are empowered to become the sons, of God! John 1:12.
We can only do well to GIVE THANKS, remembering The Holy Spirit is Lord Jesus Himself, Who is One with The Father, even The Spirit of Truth! Amen!
Lester Oliver Thomas Flock © 2023