Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven. . .'

-- Matthew 6:9

This prayer begins where all true prayer must start, with the spirit of adoption: "Our Father." There is no acceptable prayer until we can say, "I will arise and go to my Father."¹ This childlike spirit soon perceives the grandeur of the Father "in heaven" and ascends to devout adoration, "hallowed be your name." The child lisping, "Abba, Father" grows into the cherub crying, "Holy, holy, holy." There is but a step from rapturous worship to the glowing missionary spirit, which is a sure expression of filial love and reverent adoration-"your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Next follows the heartfelt expression of dependence upon God-"Give us this day our daily bread."

Being further illuminated by the Spirit, the one praying discovers that he is not only dependent but sinful; so he cries for mercy, "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors"; and being pardoned, having the righteousness of Christ imputed, and knowing his acceptance with God, he humbly prays for holy perseverance, "Lead us not into temptation." The man who is really forgiven is anxious not to offend again; the possession of justification leads to an anxious desire for sanctification. "Forgive us our debts"-that is justification; "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"-that is sanctification in its negative and positive forms.

As the result of all this, there follows a triumphant ascription of praise, "For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen." We rejoice that our King reigns in providence and shall reign in grace, from the river even to the ends of the earth, and of His dominion there shall be no end. So from a sense of adoption, up to fellowship with our reigning Lord, this short model of prayer conducts the soul. Lord, teach us then to pray.

¹Luke 15:18

Another Post on Prayer

I must say Josh's post back in June with links to two articles on the Pyro site really messed with me. I forget when I read them exactly but they shook me up so much I decided "What is the point praying if I don't understand what it is/is not and I don't know what to pray about?" Thus it has been at least 2-3 weeks since I have prayed on my own. (I have prayed with Randy, Katy, and ya'll, albeit confusedly and half-heartedly.) The biggest thing is that I am still so tired all the time that to even think about thinking about it all stresses me out so I avoid the topic and the act entirely. Deep down I know that's not good.

So finally today I read a post that was listed in the comments of this article Josh posted previously. It was very refreshing and can be found here. I still haven't prayed because I've been too busy (which I know is a totally lame excuse). But I am encouraged that the times I have heard God speak in a still, small voice have not, in fact, been negated, nor that I am some freak for having these experiences.

I am curious--have any of you heard from God in ways other than scripture? I will say most of the time it IS in scripture that He speaks to me with a still, small voice bringing this or that scripture to mind in response to a plea, question, etc. But when I was debating whether to stop breastfeeding God distinctly said, “Do what you need to to enjoy your daughter.” Not audibly per se. But clear as I’m sitting here. ¿Y tú?

1 Cor 11 Head Coverings

I'm bummed we missed last week. I sure would have liked to hear what people think about head coverings, as well as eating and drinking judgement to oneself with the Lord's supper.

Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying, disgraces his head. But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying, disgraces her head; for she is one and the same with her whose head is shaved.

~ 1 Corinthians 11:4-5

I just went to bible.org to read about head coverings, and found this article: What is the Head Covering in 1 Cor 11:2-16 and Does it Apply to Us Today? It lists the most common positions on this and then writes of each one in turn.

Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord... For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.

~ 1 Corinthians 11:27, 30

Now, for all the times I've said "warnings (with consequences) don't really have an effect on me," I'll admit this warning about taking the Lord's supper in an unworthy manner makes me nervous. I'm not aware of doing so, but it makes me want to think about it very carefully. And sickness and death as a result of this - do our churches ever consider, if many of our members are sick or dead, that we may be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord?

I'll probably hit you all up at dinner tonight for a recap on last week.

Posts on prayer

Here are two posts on prayer over at the Pyromaniacs blog.

I post them because the first one I have read a few times in the past couple years (it was just reposted today by the blog author) and thought about it quite a bit. It certainly stirs my thoughts.

I want to say that I am on-board in agreement with what is being said in both posts. In the first post I agree completely with the statement that prayer itself has no power, it is the one that we are praying to. And I also believe that the Bible does have power. (I am going to guess that most people are going to agree with these points as well).

What I am going to guess stirs the most debate is 1) If "prayer" is 1-way or 2-way and; 2) If prayer is 1-way, then what we "hear" back is revelation / prophecy, and; 3) (This wasn't really explored in detail in the linked post) We are not prophets. (This deals with cessationism and dispensationalism which are huge topics that I haven't gotten my mind wrapped around yet).

I find the second post linked refreshing--I guess this was the first time that I saw prayer/petition and the unchanging will of God all lined up.

Something that Stuck

Remember back when we were reading 1 Timothy...

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and

thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who

are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life

in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight

of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and come to the

knowledge of the truth.

1 Timothy 2:1-4

We talked about praying for those in authority. When God answers these prayer for political leaders, it results in tranquil lives for Christians living under their authority.

This is a strong urging from Paul, but I remarked that I really had no desire to do this. We discussed how being in danger and persecuted for our beliefs would bring some motivation, and that we can pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who face this persecution.

I subscribed to Voice of the Martyrs to get email prayer requests of persecuted Christians around the world. It started as a small step of obedience without much desire, but now I am "hooked" on praying for persecuted Christians.

I just wanted to share this, because it a tangible thing I can point to from Bible study, where I learned something new and it translated into a direct action. The glory belongs to God.