TEACH US TO PRAY - St. Luke 11 vs 1

At the beginning of 2016 I wrote a vision statement for my life.  One of the things I highlighted was my desire to improve my prayer life. I then went to church and another lady expressed a similar desire. So I began sharing with her the material that I was going through because it was one of my goals that I had moved towards immediately. Then I decided I should blog on the subject.
This blog is for you if you fall in any of the following categories:

• You have 100% answer to prayers like Jesus
• You pray for 2 minutes and fire fall from heaven and you are able to open and shut up the heavens like Elijah
• You believe there is something lacking in your prayer life and need to see God manifest Himself in a real way.

What is Prayer? Why do you want to learn to pray?
It was one of Jesus' disciples that said "Teach us to pray" St. Luke 11 verse 1- And it came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples. So the model 'The Our Father Prayer" is recorded in the gospels -  St. Luke 11 verses 2 - 13 and St. Matthew 6 verses 9-13.
Dr. Myles Munroe does an excellent job of the interpretation of the Our Father Prayer in his book Understanding the Power and Purpose of Prayer.  He looks at the "ACTS" Principle outlined in the prayer. The acronym "ACTS" stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Sanctification.
I have heard prayer defined as the muscle that moves the arm of God.  However, I ask myself why does God need to be prodded to move? From all my research I have come to the conclusion that God will never violate His own principles.  He honours His word above His very reputation Psalm 138 verse 2.  In the Garden of Eden God gave man rulership over the earth Genesis 1 verse 28.- Be fruitful, multiply replenish the Earth and have dominion.  That means for anything to take place on this Earth God needs a human.  The first Adam gave up his dominion mandate to the devil when he sinned.  God restored this mandate with the coming of the second Adam Jesus Christ.  Jesus is our perfect example and He prayed, it simple means that we also have to pray.  As with all things in God there are certain precepts, laws or principles governing the ways things are done.


Types of Prayer
There are different types of prayers.  We will look at the more common types.

1. The Prayer of Agreement 

This prayer was introduced in St. Matthew 18 verse 19 by Jesus when He said "Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on Earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my father which is in heaven."

This prayer only works if people are in agreement. You must be on the same page.  In fact this agreement is so important that is St. Matthew 18 verses 15-17 Jesus spoke to the resolution of relationship issues before praying this prayer.  In a corporate setting you should not be coming before God in prayer with unsettled issues between brothers.

    2.   The Prayer of Faith

The prayer of faith, also known as petition prayer, is the prayer that most people think of when the term "prayer" is used.  Petition prayer is between you and God.  It is asking God for a particular outcome.  The key verse for the prayer of faith is St. Mark 11 verse 24 in which Jesus says "Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

 The rule of thumb is to believe when you pray.  Not after you pray, not when you feel something, not when you see something. When you pray (the moment you pray) you must believe that you receive what you asked for.  Hebrews 11 verse 1 speaks to faith being a substance.  This is something tangible or real.  It is the evidence of the unseen. 

 God answers prayers, and He will answer your specific prayer in line with His word, but it is your faith that brings that answer out of the spiritual world and into the physical world.  God will not do something against your will.  God cannot violate free will. If you don't have faith to do something, He wont arbitrarily override your lack of faith.

    3.   The Prayer of Consecration and Dedication 

In St. Luke 22 verses 41 - 42 "And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, Father if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine be done."

In the absence of direct instructions the prayer of consecration and dedication says you will allow God to set your direction or make your decisions.  

    4.   The Prayer of Praise and Worship

 In this prayer you are not asking God for anything.  You are praising God for who He is, His character and not your needs.  This is the part of the Our Father Prayer that says - Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name St. Luke 11 verse 2.

The capstone is to be found in Phillipians 4 verse 6 "Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanks giving let your requests be made known unto God. In all things give thanks! 

     5.  The Prayer of Intercession

Intercession means you are intervening on behalf of another.  The synonym I like is mediation.  It may involve praying in a general way for such things as the church or the government or for a specific need based on prior knowledge. 

Examples: Moses intercedes for Israel after they sinned -  Exodus 32 verses 30-33, Paul intercedes on behalf of the Christians at Ephesus  - Ephesians 1 verses 15 - 20 and The entire chapter of St. John 17 is a prayer of Jesus on behalf of His disciples and all believers.

     6.  The Prayer of Binding and Loosing

This prayer is found in St. Matthew 18 verses 18-19 - "Jesus says, Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on Earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again, I say to you that if two of you agree on Earth concerning anything they ask, it will be done  for them by my Father in heaven."  There are a number of take aways in Jesus' statement

• As stated earlier we have authority on this Earth by virtue of our covenant rights through Jesus.
• Action is initiated rom Earth not heaven, whatever you bind on Earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth will be loosed in heaven.

This type of prayer as with all the others work only in line with the word of God and His laws.  You cannot bind things willy nilly.  Binding and loosing has to be based on the authority God has granted you in scripture, not on some desire you have.

    7.   The Prayer of Imprecation

Imprecatory prayers are found in Psalms 7, 55, and 69.  They are used to invoke God's judgement on the wicked and thereby avenge the righteous.  The Psalmists use this type of appeal to emphasize the holiness of God and the surety of His judgement.  Jesus teaches us to pray for blessing on our enemies not cursing St. Matthew 5 verses 44 - 48.

IN CONCLUSION
This is a speaking Kingdom, God used His words to frame the world "Hebrews 11 verse 3".  So the only way to learn to pray is to start by speaking; not just anything.  You need to do some work, you need to learn the word of God.  The Bible says the angels of the Lord hearken unto His words "Psalm 103 verse 20 not ours.
King Solomon says there is nothing new under the sun-  Ecclesiastes 1 verse 9.  The book of Corinthians says that what is happening to us is common to man, God has already made a way of escape - I Corinthians 10 verse 13.  Make the Bible your dream book, follow the protocol laid down in St. Matthew 6 verses 9-13 and start ruling and reigning in your garden of Eden.  Have dominion Genesis 1 verse 28.
I have by no means exhausted the subject, there are many material available out there.  However, I have listed a few videos on YouTube below you should watch:

• Pastor E.A. Adeboye - Wonder Working Prayers
• Pastor Mensa Otabil - Praying Prophetically
• Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo - 31 Insights of Prayer
• Dr. Myles Munroe - The Kingdom Culture of Prayer and Fasting

So until my next Blog which will be entitled 'HOLINESS'.  À bientôt- it is supposed to be French for see you soon.

THE ATITUDE TO BE - The Beatitudes

INTRODUCTION
As a Children's Ministry teacher this was one of my all time favourite topic to teach next to Ephesians 6 verses 10 - 18 - Putting on The whole Armour of God. I I guess the reason I love this passage is because it is easily broken down into eight (8) sample lessons that one can easily share with the children.re
The only other gospel that had any mention of the beatitudes was St. Luke 6 verses 20 - 23 which dealt with four (4) 'blessedness' in this particular scripture.


THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
The sermon on the mount was Jesus' first sermon.  In St. Matthew 3 verses 16 - 17 He was baptized and affirmed by His Father.  In St. Matthew 4 verse 2 He fasted for forty (40) days and forty (40) nights. (In the future we will write a blog on Is There a place for Fasting in the Church).  In the same chapter of St. Matthew 4 verses 3 - 11 He was tempted of the devil.  He then recruited some Disciples.  In verse 23 it says ' And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom ( we will deal with this gospel of the kingdom in another blog), and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
And we come to St. Matthew 5 verse 1 'And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain (Why a mountain?) and when He was set His disciples came unto him.
Verse 2 and He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying (Why opened His mouth? Was His mouth closed all this time?
From all these questions we can see that there was some urgency to this message.  We can surmise that Jesus Christ spoke with earnestness; He enunciated clearly and spake loudly.  He lifted up His voice like a trumpet  and published salvation far and wide like a man who had something to say which He desired His audience to hear and feel.
He sat in His place as Rabbi of the Church, the authoritative legislator of the kingdom of heaven, the monarch in the midst of His people; come hither and listen to the King in Jeshurun, the divine Lawgiver delivering not the ten (10) commandments, but the eight (8) or, if you will, the nine (9) Beatitudes of His kingdom.
Mountains have always been associated with distinct eras in he history of the people of God; Mount Sinai is sacred to the law and Mount Zion symbolical of the church.  Calvary was also in due time to be connected with redemption, and the Mount of Olives with the ascension of our risen Lord.
A sermon published on Thursday July 29, 1909
At the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit in the Year 1873 www.godrules.net


THE BEATITUDES
St. Matthew 5 verse 3 Blessed are the Poor in the Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Let us look at the word poor - This means either to lack material possessions, or be of a low quality, humble or unpretentious. Spirit the non-physical part of a person that is the seat of the conscience.  In this verse the word poor does not necessarily have to do with the lack of material possessions.  It has more to do with the condition of the heart being humble and unpretentious.  The Bible speaks to God resisting the proud but giving grace to the humble.  In I Corinthians 4 verse 7 it points to the fact that all that we have we have received.
So to the humble in heart belongs the kingdom of heaven.
St. Matthew 5 verse 4 Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.
The word mourn means to 'feel or show deep sorrow or regret for' one can basically mourn on two levels i.e. the individual level one sorrows about their life recognizing the fact that if it was not for Jesus one would be hopeless.  Isaiah 53 verses 4 - 5 states 'surely He hath borne our griefs .....
One can also mourn on a societal level.  One can mourn about what is happening in the Society.  The sinfulness, depravity and rebellion against God. But those who mourn have their comfort in God.
St. Matthew 5 verse 5 Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the Earth.
The word meek means to be quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on, submissive.  In Numbers 12 verse 3 it states now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the Earth.  You find that when one has an encounter with God due to revelation knowledge one can afford to be gentle, because you are aware that your confidence is in an unfailing God. 
So only the gentle ones will inherit (get) the Earth.
St. Matthew 5 verse 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
The major words in this blessedness are hunger, thirst and righteousness.  The meaning of the verb hunger is to have a strong desire or craving for, to covet.  Thirst is a feeling of needing or wanting to drink something, a dryness. Righteousness simply speaks of being in right standing with God.  There is nothing that we can do to save ourselves that has not been taken care of by Jesus taking our place on the cross.  The Bible says our righteousness is as filthy rags Isaiah 64 verse 6. 
So it is the believer that has a craving  (coveting) a dryness, wanting to drink after the holiness of God that shall be filled.
St. Matthew 5 verse 7 Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.
What does it mean to be merciful?  The dictionary says it is showing or exercising mercy.  So, what is mercy? Mercy is compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.  The Bible says that God commended His love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5 verse 8Romans 5 verse 8,  St. John 15 verse 13 - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends, Yet Christ lay down His life for  us when we were not His friends.
As God's ambassadors on this Earth we also have to show mercy to those around us.
St. Matthew 5 verse 8 Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.
The two (2) words one wants to look at in this verse of scripture are pure and heart. What does it mean to be pure?  it means not to be mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material.  The synonym I like is 'uncontaminated'.  By heart here, I don't believe the Lord was dealing with the physical organ .  The heart speaks to the centre of a man the conscience.  Proverbs 4 verse 23 speaks to keeping the heart with all diligence, out of it comes the issues of life. Man is a trichotomous being, Spirit, soul and body.  The spirit comes from God, spirit speaks to our conscience, the intuitive part of human beings; the soul speaks to the mind, intellect and emotions.

See Dr. Myles Munroe - 'How to Stop Thinking Sinful Thoughts' -
The body is the physical part of man the part that is visible.
So the one whose thoughts and ways are uncontaminated is blessed and shall see God.  Sin cannot stand in the presence of a holy God
St Matthew 5 verse 9 Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of god.
What does it mean to be a peacemaker?  A person who brings about peace, especially by reconciling - adversaries or one can use the synonym conciliator.  Lets look at the word adversary which signifies one's opponent in a contest, conflict or dispute.  The Bible refers to Jesus as the Prince of  Peace Isaiah 9 verse 6.  This is just one of His characteristic mentioned in this verse.
So a peacemaker is a person that brings reconciliation between adversaries.  This is what Jesus has done for mankind reconciled us back to the father from who we were estranged through Adam's disobedience in the garden of Eden II Corinthians 5 verses 18 - 19.
St. Matthew 5 verse 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The two key words here are persecuted and righteousness. Persecuted is to act in a cruel and hostile manner towards another person for example Paul before he was converted persecuted Christians Galatians 1 verse 13. The prophets St. Matthew 5 verse 12; Jesus St. John 15 verse 20 and the first Christians Acts 8 verse 1 all experienced persecution.  We have already defined righteousness but it bears repeating. Righteousness means to upright or honourable and free from wrong.  Our righteousness is in Jesus Christ.  He made us upright or justified before God.  Righteousness includes such qualities as kindness, unselfishness, truthfulness and justice.
So you are blessed when you go through cruel trials because of your uprightness God has given you the kingdom of heaven.
St. Matthew 5 verse 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake
                        verse 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.


IN CONCLUSION
It is not a matter of if you are going to be persecuted and reviled, accused falsely and treated cruelly for the gospel.  However, when it does happen the posture through this can be found in verse 12 'rejoice and be exceedingly glad , others have already gone through and endured.  After all, it is he that endures to the end that will have eternal life.
I enjoyed just re-establishing some of the fundamental things, the righteousness knowing who you are in Christ, the holiness of God and the pure heart. I find from my own walk in the Lord that if you miss them especially if they are not firmly laid out at the beginning of your walk with Christ, it tends to make your walk full of missteps.
So let us all remain BLESSED that was the mandate from the garden of Eden Genesis 1 verse 28.

Until next time this is me Raphleta, Lillene`s baby girl coming to you from Brampton, Ontario.

À bientôt

THE UNCHANGING GOD

Purpose
This is my maiden post in this exciting area of digital literacy called BLOGGING.  As such, from the outset I would like to clearly define my purpose for starting a blog.  The title of the blog is 'THE I AM GOD' and that is deliberate.  My main reason is to use this medium to explore the character of God.  Look at how the many attributes of God have manifested in my life over a period of time and to generate discussions around those attributes.  The number one purpose is EVANGELISM.

The next thing is that for a number of years I kept a journal.  Unfortunately, I had a very bad experience 2 of my journals were stolen. So I have stopped journalizing.  While this cannot be as intimate as my journals were it will give me an opportunity to express my thoughts on one of my favourite topic 'the character of God'. The next purpose is CREATIVE EXPRESSION.

The third reason is the  DEVELOPMENT OF MY WRITING skills,  I am actually in the process of writing a book and blogging I am finding can go a long way in helping with the development of the themes in my book. Finally, by producing quality content I can develop a blog that is worth reading and sharing thus developing a following so that I can make some  money.

Having established where we are going what should be the first topic?

Another thing that I need to establish from the outset is that Jesus Christ is Lord and the Bible is the constitution.

Why don't we just take a brief look at the whole issue of God being the Unchangeable Changer.  I must confess that I have gotten this expression from the Nigerians.  I stumbled into a Nigerian church in Canada we will not discuss this further.  Suffice it to say I am very fascinated by the expression.

The Immutable Nature of God
The Immutability of God is an attribute where “God is unchanging in his character, will, and covenant promises." God's immutability defines all his other attributes: he is immutably wise, he cannot but be merciful, good, and gracious.
Hebrews 13 verse 8  - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever
Malachi 3 verse 6 - “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
Numbers 23 verse 19 - God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
James 1 verse 17 -  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.


The Unchanging Nature of God in the Lives of Abraham and Sarah

We have Abram turning up in Genesis chapter 12 verse 1 with God instructing him to leave his people and his country and go to a far country that He would provide.  In verses 2 and 3 of the same chapter we have God promising that He would make Abram a great nation, make his name great and bless him exceedingly.  At that time Abram was seventy five (75) years old. 
In Genesis chapter 13 after separation with Lot in verse 14 God visited Abram and reconfirmed that He would make him a great nation. 
Again we see in Genesis 15 verse 5,  God again appeared to Abram and promised that he would have many descendants.  And the Bible said verse 6 Abram believed and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 
So what took place in Genesis chapter 16 when Abram was now 86 years old,  11 years after he was promised fruitfulness.  Sarai who was now much older herself  thought it was time to move God's plan along.  Resulting in the birth of Ishmael.  That story is for another discourse. 
We are now in Genesis 17 Abram is now 99 years old.  In verse 4 God reconfirmed His promises and in verse 5 He changed Abram (exalted father) to Abraham the latter in Hebrew  means 'Father of many'.  God also mentions in verse 6 that He would make Abraham fruitful.  In verse 15 Sarai (quarrelsome) became Sarah in Hebrew meaning lady, princess.  In verse 17 Abraham laughed at God at the thought of Sarah conceiving in her old age. The question is why did God change their names.  Simply because He wanted to build their faith by changing what they were saying to each other and hearing  Romans 10 verse 17 Faith cometh by hearing and hearing the word of God.  In Genesis 17 verse 21 God became very specific and Isaac the child of covenant was promised. 

In Genesis 18 Abraham had a visit from 3 angels in verse 10 and 14 they reiterated the promise of the birth of Isaac.  In verse 12 Sarah laughed at the thought.
In Genesis 20 we see where God had to personally intervene on Abraham's behalf when a King had taken Sarah. 
However in Genesis 21 the Bible says that God remembered Sarah who was 90 years old and Abraham 100 years old and Isaac was born.  Why did it take 25 years the Bible says in Hebrews 11 verse 11 that "Sarah herself also believed".

Life Lessons

So what is the take away even in my own life I am just coming to understand the ways of God.  In Jeremiah 29 verse 11 the plans that God have for us are for good and not for evil to bring us to an expected end.  He knows the end from the beginning.  All we have to do is live a life that is pleasing unto Him and He will take care of the rest.  Abraham veered not to the right nor the left but was constant in His service towards God.  He was always building altars in worship to God.  God is a sucker for worshippers.  Whatever you do never let anything affect your worship to God.  If you have to decrease your worship then you are already defeated.  Remember holiness at all times Hebrews 12 verse 14. So the next time you think things are not going your way just remember it is a part of the process and however long you remain in the situation depends on you.  Remember Sarah had to believe also.  So you need to believe God also. So while God is steadfast He is waiting for us to be yielded. The unchanging changer.


Well that is it until my next post!!  I am still trying to decide how frequently I will be posting.  As the Lord leads.