Kingdom's Keys Fellowship
Where God's Kingdom Meets Man's Heart.
In and Within 23 The Ignition Key for Prayer
We are still in the inner sanctums of Jesus’ teaching on prayer. Prayer is the ‘in and within’ spark plug the Holy Spirit fires up to bring our image-engine into the presence of God. The Holy Spirit is the personal current carrying who we are to God and through whom the spiritual current of the Father’s will embraces our life both on the conscious and unconscious level (1Cor.2:10-16). Our consciousness of Jesus as our Savior and Lord is the will of the Father and the work of the Spirit. Talking to the Father as Jesus teaches is predicated on the reality of our human condition and its basic needs. That is, how to overcome our separation from Him due to sin and the spiritual isolation, alienation and aloneness from Him and others sin has caused.
As we have noted many times before the life we live is processed in the invisible dimension of the mind, the heart and the spirit. 100% of all we do is processed, decided upon and motivated within, in the unseen. This is every single human being’s experience. The very words you are physically reading have an invisible meaning that cause an invisible process of discernment. Discernment then starts an invisible reasoning path of choice, also invisible. This is followed by a succeeding interior response resulting in an action or non-action depending on the invisible foundation you have developed for the process, again all unseen. This may sound over analytical but, brothers and sisters, if you don’t check your thoughts, their origin and how you process them, your life is vulnerable to all the ‘why-me’s?’ and the lonely emotional distress they bring. Further, the deep spiritual attacks and the self-deceit that come with thinking we can live with our own individually developed theories of control.
Why?
The invisible dimension is the environment wherein we experience the greatest and deepest questions, struggles and needs. This is where we are alone within ourselves. Without God there is no real connection to truth, to relational security and future assurance. It takes an attitude of humility, simplicity and acceptance to penetrate what sin has so fiercely complicated (Eccl.7:29). It is the Spirit that transforms attitude by exposing its self-centering purpose, to keep us separated from God and one another.
Sin causes us to invent reasons and excuses and then justify them in order to be in control of how we live. It gets us to believe our thinking is a way to outthink God. That is how sin has led mankind into an attitude of deniability that God is, that God is the source and the conclusion of everything. One just has to take a look at the outer world surrounding us to see the historic massive tangle of frustrated complication into which we have added our own obstinate injections. This is the context to which Jesus speaks in Matthew 10 and 11 in which He gives His prophetic view of the world’s rejection of Him and His ministry of miracles, our individual attitudes, being a disciple, and John the Baptist as the Elijah who came to prepare the way for Jesus’ arrival as Messiah.
So, given this enormous backlash of cosmic proportion how does Jesus teach us to approach the Father?
“At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure (Mt.11:25-26).”
You would think He would have given a detailed methodology for us to engage a way to handle the enormous problems of the world. But no, He doesn’t do that. He praises His Father and in His praise He shows His Father is Lord of Heaven and earth. Starting with praise we leave all our ideas of worldly wisdom and personal concerns and concentrate solely on the Father.
Jesus demonstrates three things.
First, the Father is in charge of Heaven and earth. He takes precedence in mind, heart and spirit.
Second, lay worldly concepts and concerns aside. Putting God first allows Him to adjust us as opposed us telling God what to do.
Third, be childlike. Trust Him with the idea, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.”
Prayer starts with praise. What Jesus leads us to do here is to take our mind, heart and spirit and just praise God. Praise His Lordship of Heaven and earth. He created everything and is therefore in charge and control of it all. He encourages us to be creative in the ways we can praise Him for who He is. Leave the tendencies we have to try and figure out the world and its problems. Just go to Him, admit our inadequacies and attempts at control, accept Him like a child regardless of all the worldly brilliance and raging idolatry luring us away from Him.
Praise the Father by remembering His hand covers history. He knows His people’s struggles. He has the power of love that changes hearts, which is where the real battles are fought, and He knows how to direct it. Remember, that in Jesus the Father has planted Himself, His compassion, forgiveness, mercy and mission. Use that memory to contemplate who He is and what He has done.
Again, praise is the beginning of prayer. It is praise that stabilizes us in spiritual reality as opposed to the destabilizing conflicts of our momentary concerns. As we praise the Father, we contemplate Him; it’s all about Him not me, not us. Praise enables us to shift our attention from self to the active Father who in Jesus wraps His arms around us. Praise brings comfort and peace. Praise lifts us up above the mundane and into the eternal. Praise reminds us of our final dependency on Him. Praise brings us to His lap as children, children who need His guidance, direction and empowering for service. Praise keeps us humble and honest within. It is the doorway that opens us up to our real needs not our perceived needs. Praise is the first cup of coffee in our prayer life.
Praise Jesus who has revealed the Father and praise the Holy Spirit who conveys the essence of God’s mind, heart and qualities through His Word. Be creative in how you praise Him. Think of how the Word describes Him and pray those thoughts. Jesus closes with this knowing inner assurance “Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure (vs.26).”
But this is not all. Jesus follows this brief prayer revealing the closeness of the Father and the Son. First, no one knows the Son except the Father, second, no one knows the Father except the Son and third, it is the Son who chooses those to whom the Father is revealed. His is a unique relationship that we are privileged to be part of (vs.27). It is in that spirit through the Holy Spirit that Jesus invites us to come to Him just as we are. Admit we have tiring burdens that keep us from resting. His gentle and humble nature is the yoke that replaces the too heavy weight of anxiety, worry and fear we carry in the world (vss.28-30).
Praising the Father, giving everything to the control of the Lord Jesus and reshaping by the Holy Spirit, is restful, easy and light for every next moment. And it all begins with praise.
As we have noted many times before the life we live is processed in the invisible dimension of the mind, the heart and the spirit. 100% of all we do is processed, decided upon and motivated within, in the unseen. This is every single human being’s experience. The very words you are physically reading have an invisible meaning that cause an invisible process of discernment. Discernment then starts an invisible reasoning path of choice, also invisible. This is followed by a succeeding interior response resulting in an action or non-action depending on the invisible foundation you have developed for the process, again all unseen. This may sound over analytical but, brothers and sisters, if you don’t check your thoughts, their origin and how you process them, your life is vulnerable to all the ‘why-me’s?’ and the lonely emotional distress they bring. Further, the deep spiritual attacks and the self-deceit that come with thinking we can live with our own individually developed theories of control.
Why?
The invisible dimension is the environment wherein we experience the greatest and deepest questions, struggles and needs. This is where we are alone within ourselves. Without God there is no real connection to truth, to relational security and future assurance. It takes an attitude of humility, simplicity and acceptance to penetrate what sin has so fiercely complicated (Eccl.7:29). It is the Spirit that transforms attitude by exposing its self-centering purpose, to keep us separated from God and one another.
Sin causes us to invent reasons and excuses and then justify them in order to be in control of how we live. It gets us to believe our thinking is a way to outthink God. That is how sin has led mankind into an attitude of deniability that God is, that God is the source and the conclusion of everything. One just has to take a look at the outer world surrounding us to see the historic massive tangle of frustrated complication into which we have added our own obstinate injections. This is the context to which Jesus speaks in Matthew 10 and 11 in which He gives His prophetic view of the world’s rejection of Him and His ministry of miracles, our individual attitudes, being a disciple, and John the Baptist as the Elijah who came to prepare the way for Jesus’ arrival as Messiah.
So, given this enormous backlash of cosmic proportion how does Jesus teach us to approach the Father?
“At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure (Mt.11:25-26).”
You would think He would have given a detailed methodology for us to engage a way to handle the enormous problems of the world. But no, He doesn’t do that. He praises His Father and in His praise He shows His Father is Lord of Heaven and earth. Starting with praise we leave all our ideas of worldly wisdom and personal concerns and concentrate solely on the Father.
Jesus demonstrates three things.
First, the Father is in charge of Heaven and earth. He takes precedence in mind, heart and spirit.
Second, lay worldly concepts and concerns aside. Putting God first allows Him to adjust us as opposed us telling God what to do.
Third, be childlike. Trust Him with the idea, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.”
Prayer starts with praise. What Jesus leads us to do here is to take our mind, heart and spirit and just praise God. Praise His Lordship of Heaven and earth. He created everything and is therefore in charge and control of it all. He encourages us to be creative in the ways we can praise Him for who He is. Leave the tendencies we have to try and figure out the world and its problems. Just go to Him, admit our inadequacies and attempts at control, accept Him like a child regardless of all the worldly brilliance and raging idolatry luring us away from Him.
Praise the Father by remembering His hand covers history. He knows His people’s struggles. He has the power of love that changes hearts, which is where the real battles are fought, and He knows how to direct it. Remember, that in Jesus the Father has planted Himself, His compassion, forgiveness, mercy and mission. Use that memory to contemplate who He is and what He has done.
Again, praise is the beginning of prayer. It is praise that stabilizes us in spiritual reality as opposed to the destabilizing conflicts of our momentary concerns. As we praise the Father, we contemplate Him; it’s all about Him not me, not us. Praise enables us to shift our attention from self to the active Father who in Jesus wraps His arms around us. Praise brings comfort and peace. Praise lifts us up above the mundane and into the eternal. Praise reminds us of our final dependency on Him. Praise brings us to His lap as children, children who need His guidance, direction and empowering for service. Praise keeps us humble and honest within. It is the doorway that opens us up to our real needs not our perceived needs. Praise is the first cup of coffee in our prayer life.
Praise Jesus who has revealed the Father and praise the Holy Spirit who conveys the essence of God’s mind, heart and qualities through His Word. Be creative in how you praise Him. Think of how the Word describes Him and pray those thoughts. Jesus closes with this knowing inner assurance “Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure (vs.26).”
But this is not all. Jesus follows this brief prayer revealing the closeness of the Father and the Son. First, no one knows the Son except the Father, second, no one knows the Father except the Son and third, it is the Son who chooses those to whom the Father is revealed. His is a unique relationship that we are privileged to be part of (vs.27). It is in that spirit through the Holy Spirit that Jesus invites us to come to Him just as we are. Admit we have tiring burdens that keep us from resting. His gentle and humble nature is the yoke that replaces the too heavy weight of anxiety, worry and fear we carry in the world (vss.28-30).
Praising the Father, giving everything to the control of the Lord Jesus and reshaping by the Holy Spirit, is restful, easy and light for every next moment. And it all begins with praise.
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