Truthworks

“Its not by might, nor by power; but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6).

One day in heaven , an angel walked up to a man and asked, “How did you get here from there?” Without hesitation, the man answered, “Not by might, nor by power; but, by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Over the past several days we have discovered that as we are led by the Spirit on our Journey toward becoming more and more like Jesus, and ultimately being with Him in glory, we find signs posted along our way insuring us that we are indeed on the right path.

Here’s a quick review.

First, we find the peace with God that guards our hearts from fear, and we experience the peace of God that passes understanding.  In this place of abiding peace we undergo the purifying work of the Holy Spirit as He lovingly, but deliberately, removes from our  lives all things offensive to God. Then He brings us into partnership with Him by opening the doorway to prayer; where He teaches us to pray, and empowers the prayers that we offer.

It is in prayer that the Holy Spirit fortifies us to pass through pain, and also gives us the perspective that keeps our hearts grateful to God – even in the face of great difficulties. The Holy Spirit empowers us to persevere steadfast unto the purposes of God in our lives, and therein He releases His power through us in expressions of love for God and others.

“Love never fails.”

Now, here is the point to all of this – God’s power is His love made known through us to others.

Its that simple. It’s not about performing mighty miracles, casting out demons, pulling down strongholds, prophesying the future, building mega-churches, filling stadiums to hear the Gospel, or any other of the many things that so often dazzle us.

Its about love.

Now, for the record, when we do walk in love by the Holy Spirit, God may very well use us to do all those things mentioned – and more! But if we ever lose sight of His love and get caught up in the doing of those things, we will cease being genuine and will become pretentious.

We cease operating by the power of God’s Spirit, and are left to perform these things by the strength of our own flesh. How preposterous is that! Yet it happens far more than we know.

The old hymn says it well, “All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One come down.” Or, in the words of Zechariah, “It’s not by might, nor by power; but by My Spirit, says the Lord.”

Paul prayed, “that the eyes of your heart would be enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe” (Ephesians 1:17-19).

The order of this prayer is very instructive. Did you notice that power was at the end of the list?

We first hear and answer His call upon our lives. You and I can go nowhere until we say yes to God. Once we say yes, He opens our lives and uses the gifts and abilities, the talents and resources we have from Him, to bring great honor to Jesus through everything we say and do. And then it is that we experience the “exceeding greatness” of the Holy Spirit’s power working in and through us to that end. That’s His job; to empower our service with LOVE, so that Christ is glorified through our lives. Duh.

Paul said, “Now the end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart,” (1 Timothy 1:5). Peter put it this way, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” (1 Peter 1:22).

Let me leave you with this. Ask the Holy Spirit to use you to do something today that shows your love for God, and your love for others. Be creative, be loving, and be generous. And when anybody asks you how did you do it, just say, “Not by might, nor by power; but by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Enjoy your journey!

“You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (Acts 1:8).

What do you imagine Jesus meant when He said, “You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you” – what does that look like to you? Your answer tells a lot about yourself.

Let others see Jesus in you.

Some imagine that they shall receive supernatural power to heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead, and do mighty miracles. Others believe that they shall be empowered with great virtue and moral excellence. And some answer that it means they will be given strength to stand against evil and overcome the powers of darkness in our world.

All these views are right; and none more so than any other. The problem arises when we isolate our particular views  and separate ourselves unto our own preferred interpretations. This inevitably makes it about us, and not about Jesus; what we can do for God, rather than what He does for us.

This is why Pentecostals and Presbyterians don’t do potluck dinners with one another. Its why Evangelicals and Charismatics hold serious misgivings about each other. Its why Baptists are standing on the promises; Methodists are leaning on the everlasting arms; Lutherans are steadfast within the mighty fortress of God; and why Church of Christ folk are the only ones going to heaven anyway.

Seriously? Is this the best we can do?

Jesus went on to specifically say that the purpose of this empowerment by the Holy Spirit is that we would be witnesses unto Him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. We are to bear witness to Jesus and the love He brought us from God. This is an important fact to keep foremost in our thoughts as we explore this wondrous thing called power.

Whatever your personal view may be about the power of the Holy Spirit, you cannot escape the irrefutable fact that LOVE is the singular evidence of that power at work in you and through you toward others.  Paul wrote, “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us” (Romans 5:5).  Its all about Jesus; and He is all about LOVE.

Jesus Himself said, “They will know you are My disciples “if you have love for one another”(John 15:35). So, this power that comes when the Holy Spirit fills our lives finds it greatest expression in – LOVE. Love for God; and love for others.

Read once again Paul’s words on this matter.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

Its all about LOVE. This is what glorifies Jesus, and this therefore is this is the path we will take when we are being led by the Spirit.

We will talk a bit more about this as we conclude this series on Being Led by the Spirit  tomorrow…..

“….for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

We are talking about being led by the Spirit of God, and are discussing the signs we will find along our way. Our current focus is upon the seventh sign, which is Purpose. Those who are led by the Spirit will inevitably find their lives filled with a sense of enduring purpose.

Yesterday we discussed two of the three things that help us find our purpose; first, our God-given need to create, and second, our divine mandate to love. Today we will look at the third – the calling upon our lives to be givers, not takers. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

“Freely you have received; freely give.”

We are told that the devil comes “to steal, kill, and destroy”(John 10:10). I find it interesting that this is the exact antithesis to creating, loving, and giving. God wants us to create; the devil wants us to destroy. God wants us to love; the devil wants us to kill. God wants us to give; the devil wants us to steal.

The Holy Spirit is leading us to become more and more conformed unto the likeness of Christ; this means we are going to be givers! God gives us a heart of generosity, reflected in our willingness to serve others with whatever gifts, talents, and resources the Lord has entrusted to us. What do you have? What are you doing with it for Christ’s sake?

Jesus said, “Freely you have received; freely give”(Matt.10:8). The Message says, “You have been treated generously, so live generously.” It’s a lifestyle we’re talking about.

Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, said, “It is an incredibly difficult task to lead people from a self-centered consumerism to being servant-hearted Christians. It is not a task for fainthearted ministers. But it is what the Great Commission is all about, and has been the driving force behind all that has happened in my church!”

God has created you to create, to love, and to give. This is the upward call that He has placed upon your life. May I encourage you to answer it today? Like Paul, make this your quest: ““I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, told a story about a goose who was wounded and landed in a barnyard with some chickens. He played with the chickens and ate with the chickens. After a while, that goose thought he was a chicken.

One day a gaggle of geese flew overhead, migrating home. They gave a honk up in the sky, and the barnyard goose heard it.

Kierkegaard said, “Something stirred within the breast of this goose. Something called him to the skies. He began to flap the wings he hadn’t used, and he rose a few feet into the air. Then he stopped, and he settled back again into the mud of the barnyard. He heard the upward call, but he settled for less.”

Is there a chance that this story is about you?

Are you settling for being less than you know in your heart God has called you and created you to be? It’s not just for your sake that you must respond to God’s call on your life — it’s also for all the other meaningful people in your life. The longer you wait before answering, the more annoying your life becomes to those around you. There are few things as disruptive to the peace and well-being of other people than a person who is running from God. How many lives are being distressed because you won’t answer the call?

And besides, are you really that happy clucking with chickens? I didn’t think so.

Tomorrow, we will look for the Eighth Sign, which will be our last. Ironically, it’s the one most people think they are going to see first.

“….for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Yesterday we talked about finding that one thing that you MUST do. Today we want to discuss why it matters.

Paul says that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. The Greek word he uses for purpose is prothesis. It means “a setting forth.” The idea being that our lives have been set forth by the Lord – beforehand. Paul writes, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV). The Psalmist sang, “You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!” (Psalm 139:16, TLB).

“Lord Jesus, Lead me by Your Spirit to choose the right Path.”

Clearly God has a purpose for your life. That being so, then it obviously matters whether or not you find out what that purpose is – and fulfill it. It is certain that if we are being led by the Spirit of God then our path will inevitably intersect with those divine markers whereby we are taken into God’s higher purpose for our lives.

I cannot tell you what your purpose is; indeed nobody can. But we can provide assistance to help you discover it for yourself. And to that end I will offer you this insight. There are three things God created every person to do. THAT you do them is God’s will for you. And, HOW you do them is where you find your purpose in life.

What are those three things you ask? God made you in His image. There are three things about God that are also true about you. God creates; God loves; and God gives. And so do we. Indeed, so MUST we.

God created you with an internal drive that compels you yourself to create. In whatever way it finds meaningful expression through you, there is deep within you a God-given need to create something with your life. “Be fruitful and multiply” is what God said to Adam and Eve. This isn’t just about having babies. You were created to create! And vast are the fields of opportunity in which you may explore the boundless possibilities presented by your God-given imagination and creativity.

The truth be told, you must create. You must find a way to employ your talents, abilities, resources and imagination to produce something meaningful, beautiful, and lasting. This is at the heart of our longing for legacy; that deep inner sense that our lives mattered; that we made a difference. Yes, you and I were created to create.

You were also created to love. A famous line from English poet John Donne, say, “No man is an island.” That phrase lingers in our literature because it touches a deeper truth that lives in our hearts. You and I were created by a loving God to love others.  “This is My commandment that you love one another, as I have loved you: (John 15:12).

It is the one thing that nobody needs to be taught how to do. We each own its truth in the deepest parts of our being. “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” God Himself encoded us with that Golden Rule, and it is the driving power of a life that lives in love.

When we love, we experience a deep sense of fulfillment. All other abilities and talents are launched from love; it is the power drive of our highest purpose as a individual. God is love, and He has called us into love; to live a life of love toward others. The Holy Spirit will assuredly lead us into this life if we follow Him. Indeed, “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us” (Romans 5:5)

You were created by God to create, to love, and you were created to give. We will talk more about this tomorrow….

“….for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

I once read where an economist said, “Unemployment is a characteristic unique to the human species only. All other creatures and created things seem to know what they are supposed to be doing—and are doing it.” Do you know what you’re supposed to be doing? And, are you doing it?

“Lord, What do You want me to do?”

Research shows that one of the greatest fears people face is having lived a meaningless life. Yet, research also shows that there is nothing more common than unrealized potential. Most of us live our lives caught in the tension between these two things. On the one hand we want to make a difference; on the other hand we seem willing to settle for things that we ourselves know are less than our best.

Why is this so?

Perhaps the thing that is missing is a deep and abiding sense of purpose.  It is certain that if we are being led by the Spirit of God then our path will inevitably intersect with those divine markers whereby we are taken into God’s higher purpose for our lives.

At the young age of twelve Jesus said, “I must be about My Father’s business” (Luke 2:49). We can see how this single, abiding purpose drove His every word and action….right up to the Cross.

On one occasion when He was challenged for healing on the Sabbath, Jesus said, “the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19). And in another place, “I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.” (John 8:28). And once more, “I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.” (John 12:49).

He was twelve years old when He said, “I must be about My Father’s business.” What were you doing when you were twelve? What are you doing now? Let me ask it this way, “What must you do with your life?” Sooner or later we each must be able to answer that question with clarity and conviction. The sooner the better.

Here’s something to help focus your life. All of us see others doing things and we say, “I could do that.” But we don’t; perhaps because its because someone else is already doing it. Or we say, “I should do that,” as if we are pricked in our conscience and feel the need to respond. Yet, somehow the moment passes and we still don’t do it. And then sometimes we say, “I would do that”–  but we follow with a good reason why we won’t do it; and it usually affixes blame to somebody or something else.

I’ve discovered that could do, should do, and would do – never do! They simply lack the power to move our hearts to action. No, what you are looking for is that defining moment when something deep inside you says, “I must do that!”

In that moment you have taken your first step into discovering your PURPOSE. We will talk more about this tomorrow.

“But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.” (Romans 8:24,25 NASB)

Once you head out on the highway to heaven, with Map in hand as the Holy Spirit leads you ever upward and onward, sooner or later you will hit a stretch in the road where something deep inside you tires to the point that you very well may just want to quit. It’s usually at this precise moment that we find the sixth sign on the Journey – the sign of Perseverance.

“strengthened with might by His power “

And know this –when you find this sign it will be your defining moment. This is where the road diverges and only those who are true go forward. This very well might be why so much of the New Testament is focused upon seeing that you safely navigate through this juncture enroute to your ultimate destination.

Jesus said that His followers would  receive His word into “an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance” (Luke 8:15). Paul assured us that we could, and indeed should “exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulations bring about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope” (Romans 5:3,4).

Some might think of perseverance as a sort of trudge through the sludge, without much cause for celebration until the ordeal is finally over. But this is not what it means at all! The Bible says, “we are strengthened with might by His power unto perseverance with joyfulness” (Colossians 1:11). One translations puts it this way, “His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy” (CEV).

The Greek word for perseverance means “cheerful endurance.” I love the way The Message puts it, “We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul–not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy.” (Col.1:11).

Life is filled with the inspiring stories of individuals who persevered through great trials and came forth with extraordinary achievements.

In his book Pursuit of Excellence, Ted Engstrom writes –

“Cripple him, and you have a Sir Walter Scott.  Lock him in a prison cell, and you have a John Bunyan.  Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington.  Raise him in abject poverty and you have an Abraham Lincoln.  Strike him down with infantile paralysis, and he becomes Franklin Roosevelt. Burn him so severely that the doctors say he’ll never walk again, and you have a Glenn Cunningham — who set the world’s one-mile record in 1934. Deafen him and you have a Beethoven. Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you have a Booker T. Washington, a Marian Anderson, a George Washington Carver. Call him a slow learner, “retarded,” and write him off as uneducable, and you have an Albert Einstein.”

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”(James 1:2-4)

You’ve come too far to back off now. You got to hang in there like a hair in a biscuit in a cheap restaurant!

“There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.” (2 Corinthians  4:18 The Message)

Richard Foster said, “Celebration is the fruit of perspective.” A bitter man can see nothing of the hand of the Lord in the circumstances of life. All he sees are the hardships, the losses, the set-backs, the disappointments, and the heartbreaks. Like Solomon, such a man discovers the ultimate consequence of a life lived apart from God — “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity!”(Eccl.1:2), or as the NIV translates it, “Everything is utterly meaningless!”

“All eyes are on You, expectant.”
(Psalm 145:15 The Message)

On the other hand, those who live by faith, whose lives are set on a course led by the Holy Spirit and guided within the boundaries set by the Holy Scriptures, can look backward with joy at the way the Lord has brought them.

“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father! There is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not; Thy compassions they fail not. As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be! All I have needed Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!” (Thomas Chilsom, 1923)

They can also look forward with anticipation of where He will take them. It is this perspective that gives birth to celebration. “One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4).

As a young boy in the Orphanage I remember one hymn we would sing often, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done!” And then there was that great old song that still carries weight in today’s contemporary church services. “When peace like a river attendeth my way; or sorrow like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot; Thou hast taught me to say, ‘Praise the Lord! It is well with my soul!’” Talk about a heavenly perspective!

Ethel Waters often traveled with Billy Graham and was beloved by millions around the world. Her signature song, which is also the title of her autobiography, is “His Eye is On the Sparrow.” This is one of the finest examples of the wonderful perspective that comes from being led by the Spirit.

“Why should I be discouraged? Why should I feel alone? Why should my heart grow heavy, longing for heaven and home? For Jesus is my portion, my constant friend is He. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me. So, I sing because I’m happy; I sing because I’m free. For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me!”

When we are led by the Holy Spirit He brings us to a place of perspective. This is what Paul is emphasizing in much of his writings. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all,” he said. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NIV)

A man or woman of faith will look for God in everything they experience – and they will find Him. This is the perspective that changes everything.

One stellar example is Stephen, as he stood before the enraged inquisitors who were already determined to put him to death. His face was like that of an angel as he gave his irrefutable defense (Acts 6:15).  At one point  the crowd went wild with rage and rushed upon him. The Bible says, “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, hardly noticed–he only had eyes for God’ (Acts 7:55 The Message).

His perspective lifted him far above the darkness of that moment. And the same will happen in today’s dark world for we who live by faith. And no matter how difficult the way may become, or how hard the trials may be – it will be worth it all when we see Jesus. That’s our perspective.

Light after darkness; gain after loss.
Strength after weakness; crown after cross.
Sweet after bitter; hope after fears.
Home after wandering; praise after tears.
Sheaves after sowing; sun after rain.
Sight after mystery; peace after pain.
Joy after sorrow; calm after blast.
Rest after weariness; sweet rest at last.
Near after distant; gleam after gloom.
Love after loneliness; life after tomb.
After long agony, rapture of bliss –
Right was the pathway leading to this!

Tomorrow we will discover the Sixth Sign that is posted along the route where the Holy Spirit leads us.

“Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept Thy Word” (Psalm 119:67 KJV)

In the Spring of 1996 I heard Chuck Swindoll say to over 40,000 Pastors gathered in Atlanta for the Promise Keepers Clergy Conference, “When God wants to use a man greatly, He must first hurt him very deeply.” A sobering silence fell upon the vast crowd of preachers. It was a moment in which we each realized the inescapable fact that pain and heartbreak are part of the road we travel to glory.

If we are indeed being led by the Holy Spirit then our way will be marked with the sign of Pain.

“No pain; No gain.”

Remember that the whole purpose of this journey is that we be conformed into the likeness of Jesus. That means the Spirit of God must intentionally remove all those things in and about us that make us unchristlike.

A sculptor was asked how he was able to carve a magnificent likeness of a mighty stallion out of a block of marble. “It’s simple,” he replied. “I just chisel away everything that does not look like a mighty stallion.”

That’s what the Holy Spirit is doing with each of us. And at times the process can be quite painful. Nevertheless, we have this calm assurance, “All things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” Good will always come out of the pain and disappointment we experience during those times when God lets contrary things happen in our lives.

The Psalmist said, “Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept Thy Word.”  And then he repeats himself a few verses later, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes” (Psalm 119:71). The Living Bible puts it this way, “The punishment you gave me was the best thing that could have happened to me.”

The best thing indeed. Some unknown saint penned the following words for each one of us to own personally:

“I asked for strength that I might achieve. He made me weak that I might listen. I asked for health that I might do greater things. I was given grace that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.  I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I received nothing that I asked for, but all that I hoped for. My prayer was answered.”

David summed it up the best, “weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning!” (Psalm 30:5). And I will give the Apostle Paul the final word on this subject. “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

If you do not see the sign of Pain, you have made a wrong turn somewhere and are no longer being led by the Holy Spirit.

Tomorrow we will look for the Fifth Sign. If you’ve made it this far, you’re gonna love this next sign!

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18).

The great old hymn says,  “What a fellowship, what a joy divine; leaning on the everlasting arms! I have blessedness, what a peace is mine; leaning on the everlasting arms!” (Elisha J. Hoffman, 1887). What escaped my notice as a child, I now see clearly as a man. We are leaning on the everlasting arms not only because of our love, but also because of our limp.

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

You see, there are bumps in the road. Bumps, and potholes; pitfalls and ditches; stones and barriers; and bandits along the way. There are tunnels, long and dark, where even the light of His presence is undetectable. Oh, to be sure, He is there – but its just no longer obvious.

We all go through these stretches – if we are being led by the Spirit

The apostle Paul faces us over and over with the inescapable fact that we who follow Jesus are destined for glory, but must pass through the portals of suffering and pain on the way.

It was Paul who said, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18). The word sufferings means “to undergo some hardship or pain.”

Mind you, this was not an objective, theoretical  opinion held by the Apostle. Rather it was his own personal experience. A brief review shows that he was well acquainted with hardships aplenty.

“As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way,” he wrote. “In great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger”(2 Corinthians 6:4,5 NIV). And this was on a good day!

He vowed to the Philippians, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings” (ch 3:10). And then he wrote to the Colossians, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church” (ch.1:24 NKJV).

The Greek word he used for suffering here is where we get our word sympathy. It means “to fully share in the interests or distress of another.”

If you are being led by the Holy Spirit, He will inevitably bring you to a place in your life where you fully share in the joys and heartbreaks of Jesus. This is a place of unspeakable privilege. It was John Nelson Hyde, missionary to India, who said, “To all and sundry we tell our joys; it is the privileged few, very near our hearts, to whom we tell our sorrows.”

Are you one whom the Lord can draw near unto Himself and entrust with a measure of His sorrows? Or, do you prefer to be around Him only when laughter fills the palace?

Be of good courage my travelling companion. Let’s talk more about this tomorrow.

“ One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples”  (Luke 11:1 NIV)

“Our Father Who art in Heaven”

Jesus prayed continually. It was such a constant part of His daily life that the disciples were compelled to ask Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

Jesus responded by giving them what is generally referred to as The Lord’s Prayer. Actually, it is our prayer, given to us by the Lord. It is brief, yet comprehensive; for it provides us the model of praying effectively in all things, at all times.

Here is what Jesus said. “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)

G. Campbell Morgan said, “There can be no desire of the human heart which is inspired by the Holy Spirit, no petition presented to the throne of the Father, but that it is included in this prayer.”

Let’s walk through it together.

Our Father in Heaven – At the outset we are faced with the grand issue of reconciliation and relationship. We are children away from home, travelling there as pilgrims in a strange land. Filled with love and honor for our Father, we implore Him each step along our journey. We are not alone; we have Him, and one another.

Hallowed be Your Name – We are not rebels, but sons and daughters who reverence our Father. We do not defame His name by any measure of misconduct, but walk in ways that are pleasing to Him – living in such as manner as to bring Him renown.

Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Will be Done  — We are men and women of submission and humility. We do not seek our own way, but the ways of the Lord. We do not exert our own will, but ask for His will to be done. We seek first – only, and always – the kingdom of God.

Give Us Today our Daily Bread – Our faith in God is focused upon His timely provisions for both our physical and spiritual needs. Inasmuch as man shall not live by bread alone, we are not just asking for food upon our tables, but also for that word from God that sustains us every day.

Forgive Us as We Forgive Others – It would be foolhardy to ask God for forgiveness, if we ourselves are unwilling to forgive others. It is here that the pray begins to change us as we pray it. “To pray is to change.” writes Richard Foster, “As Christians we will either allow prayer to change us, or we will stop praying.”

Lead Us not into Temptation – We are not seeking exemption from testing, for that would be contrary to God’s will. Rather, we are asking God to grant us the grace that prevents our selfishness from causing us to fall into temptation and sin.

Deliver Us from Evil – Yes, we are children away from Home; pilgrims journeying in a strange Land. And we have an enemy; one who has such hatred for our Father that his one design is to do us harm, and thereby vex our Father. So, we have been provided the full armor of God whereby we can withstand the evil one. And, it is worth mentioning here that after Paul shows us how to dress ourselves in this mighty armor, he then tells us how it works — “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18).

Thine is the Kingdom – We conclude our prayers with the affirmation of God’s power, which nothing can withstand; and the affirmation of His love, from which nothing can separate us!

Friends, if you want to see your prayer life revolutionized, take the time to walk through this model when you pray. Do it everyday, everywhere. Pray without ceasing. Do it with words you know to use, and if possible do it with words given by the Holy Spirit.

Just do it!

Tomorrow we will look for our Fourth sign along the Highway. Brace yourself….it may come as an unexpected bombshell.