April 23 – May 18, 2024
Call to Prayer
Is anyone else looking at the tsunami of cultural shifts right in front of us, involving such hatred and confusion and division and wondering ‘How do I respond? How do I join You, Lord, in Your will? How do I pray?’
I look to the example of the disciples seeking for Jesus to teach them to pray and I echo it these scores of years later.
So – I will be reciting the Lord’s Prayer at 5 pm everyday. Passover began yesterday and Pentecost is Sunday, May 19. This is the timeframe I choose to do this. This is an invitation for anyone to join. We, as those created in the wonder and image of God, can remotely and yet together join voices in unison.
Think about what that sounds like as it pierces our atmosphere and is raised toward the Lord. An anthem, a praise, a call to unity as we proclaim “Our Father…’, serving as a weapon against division and spiritual darkness. The enemy who seeks to divide cannot triumph against the unity of God’s people. Let’s not give him any room for division.
We are not defined (or divided) by the color of our skin, our gender, the place where we were born, our economic status, our ability/disability… all of these are ways the enemy wants to steal our identity, unity, joy and power. Yet he knows he is powerless against the mobilized prayers and praises of God’s people in one accord.
We are defined by Our Father, Creator and Redeemer. We belong to His family. We belong to Him. This is who we are.
PS So, yeah, I guess its the teacher in me – (hopefully the capital “T” Teacher in me) but I wanted to add:
What this is NOT –
This is not about legalism. Do not recite it rotely without thought over each phrase
This is not a ‘special charm’ seeking for God’s hand of favor.
What it IS –
This is about seeking to follow Christ’s teaching specifically about prayer. We are seeking His face.
This is about seeking and aligning our hearts with HIS.
So, as I pray, I will pause after each phrase and join with Jesus in mind and spirit and heart.
“Lord, teach us to pray…” The Greek word for ‘pray’ is proseuchomai “literally, to interact with the Lord by switching human wishes (ideas) for His wishes as He imparts faith (“divine persuasion”). (Strongs)
This is the kind of praying we need to be doing. Anything less is just sharing ‘wishful thinking’, but exchanging our thinking and aligning with HIS desire and purposes is POWERFUL!!
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 debts….
As we forgive our debtors…
And lead us not into temptation….
but deliver us from evil……….
FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM…..
AND THE POWER….
AND THE GLORY FOREVER….
AMEN…………..
If you join me each day reciting these precious words of life, in order to be more mindful and responsive, I will break it into phrases each day, adding a few thoughts to pray back to Him. But they are meant to deepen and root the phrases deeper into my heart. I hope as you pray, you will also meditate on the phrases in His prayer and pray those thoughts back to Him that the Spirit brings to YOUR mind.
As we pray the prayer Jesus gave as a model, we are changed. Transformed. Our minds become open to seeing as He does, our hearts embrace feeling what He does for others. We see God as He is. We receive His truth and His direction. It is a gift He gave us to lead and guide us through life. It is something precious He entrusted to us, something with meaning, something with purpose. Something not recited mindlessly, but mindfully. Daily.
We can join Him in His heart to change the world – His words, our voice – one prayer at a time.
Meditation #1
“OUR FATHER….”
I think about all the names You could have begun with (Creator, Redeemer, Sovereign, Lord…) yet You, Jesus, draw me in to relate to God as my Father, just as You did, describing a close bonding relationship.
My loving Father is approachable.
You are my Father. Mine, wholly and completely. I am not alone. I am not fatherless. I belong to You.
Your heart is for me, inclined to me, available constantly. All those things that describe and celebrate a good, loving, kind, providing, protective father are true of You. You can’t NOT be any of those. And You are so much more! As my Father, I have my identity in You. I am Yours, You are mine. Fully mine.
Fully – and yet not solely. You are not only mine alone. My heart that is sadly inclined to “me, myself and I” shares You with others. In a world of selfishness found in my own heart and the hearts of us all, You chose to be ‘our’ Father. You are our common heritage. You join us in a way nothing else on earth can, transcending that which is seen and physical. Your ‘Father arms’ are open to all those You have created in Your image. You created each of us each with a human spirit, ready to be revived by Your own eternal Spirit. No one is outside of Your touch, Your heart, Your love.
So we as Your disciples and family, pray to You, our Father, in unison. We choose to join ourselves to You with one voice and one heart, to the One who is our Father. Let Your love for us and our love for You bring us together – all peoples, tribes, nations, tongues. We pray along with Jesus’ prayer that we be one as You are One with Jesus and the Spirit. One with another in spirit, one with You. Without division. ALL coming as one before OUR Father, ready as Your children to follow Your voice and purpose and example and will.
Our Father – invited to join in fellowship and kinship as Your forever family.
Meditation #2
WHICH ART IN HEAVEN….
Yes, You clearly reveal the distinction between our fathers on earth and our Heavenly Father. Thank You, Father, for setting the standard, one which no one can reach on earth but yet it is one that inspires us to aspire to.
You are a GOOD Father. You set the standard for goodness. You always have our best in mind, even to Your own hurt and sacrifice, beautifully demonstrated on the cross. You provide for us in more ways than we realize, in big ways, small ways and behind the scenes ways. You amply provide circumstances to equip us, to strengthen and establish us in our faith walk, though we often question and doubt Your love as we walk in those ways. But because You are good, Your heart is to bring out the good in us and through us.
You are kind, You are love, You are life.
You protect, provide, plan and purpose all things to work together for wholeness and wholesomeness and ask us to walk by faith and not sight in the process.
You are set apart from our earthly fathers; ones who fail at meeting Your Holy Father standard. Many try and fail, and many fail and don’t try. Many have hurt their children badly. Many have carried their own hurts and pas them along in this broken world. May we find it in our hearts to forgive them for not being You or acting more like You, our perfect Father.
But as our Heavenly Father, we all stand equally in Your love and promise no matter what our earthly father may have been like. You seek us out. You comfort us. You renew our minds, restore our hearts, regenerate our spirits and rescue us from our own selfish ways. No earthly father can do that for us. You adopt us into Your forever family and no one can remove Your love from us.
Yes, thank You for being our Father in Heaven, above the powers of the world. You are not untouched by those things that touch us, but You are not subject to any earthly power. You see it all, when we see only in part.
By You all things exist, live, breathe and have our being.
Thank You for being our Father in Heaven………….“With the goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack? Surely we are the most favored of all creatures.” – A.W. Tozer- A man of God
Meditation #3 –
HALLOWED BE THY NAME
Lord, Elohim, Adonai, Yahweh, God…
Jehovah-Jireh, Jehovah-rapha ….
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…
You are the King of Kings and Lord of Lords
Your name is higher than any other name.
You have infinite names that describe infinite facets of Your nature.
You alone deserve first and primary place in my heart. As we hallow Your name, we set it apart from any other. We do not treat it as ordinary or common, or even use it in anger. It is high and holy, Lord, and deserves sacred reverence because it is a reflection of You.
You, set apart and high above all other names or powers, have none that comes close to compete with You. And You need nothing to complete who You are. You are fully whole. Out of Your perfection and holiness and love, You bring wholeness to our dark and broken world, and complete the broken, sinful places in our lives because You long for relationship with us. You have gone to great sacrificial lengths to give us Your name and the authority that goes with it. Amazing love! How can it be, that Thou, my God, should’st die for me?
There is none that compares or even comes close to You. Thank You for revealing Yourself through Your many names, Your many qualities found in Your hallowed, holy, high-above-anything-ordinary name. You are not a nameless being, but One Whom we can know by name, and live by Your name. We respond to You and lift Your name high, magnify and elevate it so Your glory can shine through.
Forgive us for elevating anything else in our mind, whether individual, or agenda, or creed or dream. We take captive anything that lifts up itself in competition to You.
We hallow Your Name and we hallow You.
Meditation #4
YOUR KINGDOM COME, Lord.
Yours. Not mine. Not others. No ideological, geographical or political group or party has claim on it, though it is available to all who desire to become a citizen of Your kingdom. Thankfully, Your kingdom is high above any earthly kingdom where people vie for power and control over one another, and where fear and pride rules, and has sadly been so since the fall in Eden. Because of our selfishness, we truly are unable to govern ourselves without Your Spirit. Without You as King in our hearts.
We long for Your kingdom where we offer honor and praise for You, our Savior-King, out of love and gratitude, not out of fear.
‘My kingdom is not of this world,’ You told Pilate.
You rule Your kingdom in:
Truth – not based on the shifting sands of public opinion or earthly sub-standards
Righteous judgment – we look on outward appearances and wrongly ascribe motives and make sweeping judgments based on what we see, but You, our Father and King, know our hearts. Your judgments are true. You alone can truly see the hearts and motives of all on earth. None is hidden to You.
Love and grace – the law of love is the law of Your kingdom. You emulate and cultivate a culture to bless and bring out the best in and through each of the citizens in Your kingdom. Forgiveness and redemptive ways bring forth the fruit and the freedom we experience in Your kingdom!
Praise – we were made for praise. We were made to worship the One greater than ourselves. You alone are worthy of our praise. We praise You, our King.
We were made for love. We were made for truth. We were made for relationship – with You, and with others created in Your image.
In Your kingdom we join hands with those of all different shades, abilities, sizes, capacities and anything else that separates us on earth. We raise our voices not against one another, but to You in worship and praise – from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Our eyes will be on You alone. Our hands will be raised to You in worship and not in fists or fingers pointed against one another. You alone are the focus of our hearts, hearts free from sin and self, hearts joined in unity. This is the promise of Your kingdom.
Yes, Lord, may Your kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven!
Meditation #5
THY WILL BE DONE
ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
Your will. Not mine, not the ‘will of the people’, not any random will. Yours. Alone. No more, no less, no different.
Lord, forgive me when I question Your will, an indication of my lack of trust in You. You, who alone are worthy of all my trust. You Who created me, designed me after Your image to walk in Your ways. Yet, it is doubt that blinds me and binds me from fully walking in truth and freedom to follow You.
I confess that I have not grown up liking the words obey or submit. To put my ‘will’ under that of another?
Yet as my King who literally gave Your life for me, my grateful response is to honor You and serve You with my allegiance. To come under the wisdom and magnitude of Your mission in exchange for my own selfish mission of protecting myself. But, when You remind me of the truths of who You are, You created a pathway for me to take Your hand and follow You in humility and trust. Obedience to You is an evidence of my trust in You.
Not because I have to, but because I get to as an act of worship, a demonstration of love.
This commitment to Your will is a demonstration of trust in You and Your ways, and flies in the face of why Satan and his following were banished from You in heaven. Satan did not want Your will, he wanted his own. He did not want to be under You, but wanted his own rule and sought his own glory. The outcome of his rejection of You as King of Kings and Lord of Lords is evident when he tempts humanity on earth. When Adam and Eve chose their own will rather than Yours a curse came upon the whole earth with sin and shame and death. Even though Your heart and will has been to bless Your creation and people through our aligning with Your holy ways and purposes, we continually spiral away from You and Your wisdom and righteousness and choose our own way. Sin is literally choosing our independent ways, and not Your will and Authority as king.
So we cry together and declare that Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Meditation #6
“Thy will be done’ (continued) –
You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Your name is higher than anything that lifts its head against You. I can rest in Your might and deliverance – and in the wisdom and power of Your will and purposes on earth.
Your love has captured my heart, but it can sometimes be a battleground of wills. Free me so You can rule uncontested in my heart. Free me from any voice or vice or will grasping for control and exerting against Your own. I yield my right to pick the rules I follow, make my own rules, or determine the conditions through which I choose to follow Your chosen assignment for me.
Yielding my ‘rights’ to You is an act of live, of faith and of worship. This is what it means to be loved and to abide in it, this is what it means to trust and obey, to walk in true freedom and discover the path to peace and fulfillment in responding to Your invitation to follow Your mission. This is the pathway to true joy.
May Your will be done unreservedly in and through me.
You are my holy example, as found in another “Lord’s prayer” that You prayed in Gethsemane, when You yielded Your will to the Father’s as You were faced with gruesome suffering and death. You did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but came as our Servant and therefore rose in authority. Authority through obedience to the Father, demonstrated through servanthood and sacrifice. You revealed Your complete trust in the Father’s plan when You proclaimed, “Not My will, but Thine be done.”
May this also be my declaration.
‘As You wish, Lord’
Thy will be done.
As is Your will in heaven, so let it be in my heart, and in the world around me.
We are given a crafted model of prayer by Jesus Himself. One which honors God, shows love to others and positions ourselves to be His salt and light on the earth.
As we pray this in unity, daily, thoughtfully and heart-fully, I pray it will accomplish much in bringing revival and unity to His people and spiritual awareness in the darkness. The enemy knows the power of unity, of obedience, of worship, and of forgiveness, and will literally stop at nothing to divide us and cause us to distrust God and one another. His strategies have not changed.
But our posture is in opposition to his schemes.
Meditation #7
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD –
Give us this day our daily bread….Thank You out of Your wisdom giving us a need for daily sustenance – and then filling that need from Your own provision; for reminding me that You are my Source. You provide all that I need, in fact You know my needs before I do and are way ahead of me. Your Father heart is to provide for Your children, Your kingly heart is generous in all Your ways.
May we be led by faith in Your goodness and generosity and provision and not driven by fear. You provide not only physical bread but spiritual Bread and manna – You, Yourself are the BREAD OF LIFE broken for us. May we not feed on the crumbs the world has to offer so that we are not hungry for You and Your manna. May our hunger for YOU ever increase and our hunger for anything else decrease.
Meditation #8
AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS
Kind of lengthy but a very broad subject. And critical one.
Matt 6:12,14 Amplified version
‘And forgive (to discharge, ‘send away”) us our debts (“something owed”), as we have forgiven our debtors [choosing to let go of both the wrong and the resentment].
(14 For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.)
Lord, forgiveness is hard! To take the offenses of another and ask You to take it requires me thinking of them and You, and not counting myself. It takes love! Of course You know that more than any! And yet by Your design, forgiveness toward others is the key to my own freedom! It is the universal key to the freedom we all need, without exception. As I take Your model prayer to heart, I tremble to think that in this prayer You are telling us to ask You to forgive us in the same way we forgive others. You call me to love others in the same manner as You have loved me, but here You have transposed it and added another layer. What wisdom You use to ensure that I forgive others in the same manner You forgive me!
And what manner is that?
Your forgiveness is:
sacrificial, complete and whole, without condition
and available even before I acknowledge and ask.
My human forgiveness falls short of that. Human nature wants others to ‘pay’ for their offenses. Divine nature literally pays the debt owed. I need Your divine power in order to forgive. I cannot fully forgive on my own. What You ask is also what You provide.
How can I even consider the faults, shortcomings and offenses of others when I measure it against how I am in need of Your ongoing daily forgiveness? You not only release me from the debt of my sin, but You paid for it by offering Your own pure life.
Before I can forgive, I need to see myself as You do in humility, and see others as You do in compassion.
May I never withhold forgiveness from others, stopping the flowing fountain of Your life toward them. If I dare to stop the flow of being Your instrument to bring freedom to others, I in effect enslave myself!
Freely You have given to us, so that freely we can give to others.
Thank You for Your forgiveness which is offered generously. May I be a vessel through which You extend Your for-giveness – a giving forward of releasing blessing and freedom to others through such a beautiful and divine act. Thank You for this gift that sets us apart from most other religions, creed and beliefs in the world.
You know we all need it more than life itself.
Forgiveness is one of the most precious gifts to receive and to offer to others – there is nothing to compare to its power! Wars would cease, neighbors and families would be reconciled and the reaches of darkness would be quelled by the light of forgiveness, and the joy and freedom of being forgiven.
Help us forgive ourselves. Help us forgive others.
Forgive us for the many ways we personally, and as a nation, have sinned against You. Lord, we have so much to repent for as Your people, called by Your name. And as a nation once set apart as a city on a hill.
Meditation #9
…and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil….
We know Your leading is not into temptation but providing Your power through it, or leading us through an ‘escape’ away from it. Satan would like us to live in doubt of that, for us to consider Your nature questionable or Your power ineffective. You lead in paths of righteousness, and You also provide ample opportunities to test my faith in the face of temptation to either cave in to fear or run to comfort that is outside Your path. You know my vulnerabilities and Your heart is set on establishing me totally and completely in You,
resisting temptation with Your path of escape, and
standing victoriously in the face of trials and afflictions.
You know my frame and provide me with the same words to utter as Jesus, “May this cup pass from me…but nevertheless not my will, but Yours be done.” These are not words of weakness, but words of strength! You allow me to recognize my poorness in spirit, my inability to stand on my own power, my calling to You to relieve the pressing in of trial or temptation. You are the only One who can! YOU are my source of strength.
You as my Guide will never lead me into temptation, but You as my DELIVERER will always provide the way around it, through it in victory or out in that divine way of escape because You have given me everything I need for life and Godliness by giving me the Holy Spirit within. ‘Greater is He within me than he that is in the world’ is an anchor for my spirit. I cling to the promised One committed to my fruitfulness as You deliver me from the evil one bent on my destruction.
And this model prayer is for Your family, a collective prayer of unity.
Lead US as Your people to not be tempted to leave You and follow the ways of the world.
Lead US to stand in unity, looking solely to You, worshiping solely at Your feet, calling upon You together in repentance, seeking Your justice and deliverance, and not the ways of man.
Deliver us from the evil one whose strategy is to divide and conquer, to steal our Christ-redeemed identities, our peace, our joy, and our power.
Deliver us from his deceptions, his working to divide brothers and sisters in Your family.
In unity. In heart. In prayerful posture.
I praise You FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM
Meditation #10
In all the vying for kingdom power on a world-wide scale or even those who desire to ‘rule’ and control a personal kingdom, You reign high and above all earthy desires and powers and authorities. There is none who come close to matching You.
Yours is the KINGDOM – we declare ourselves under Your rule and authority, humbly and yet confidently and with hearts of worship before Your throne. Abiding in Your kingdom principles
AND THE POWER – Abiding in Your Word and Spirit which empowers us to accomplish Your purposes on earth as it is in heaven, breaking down strongholds and lifting You up
AND THE GLORY FOREVER – bringing You glory as Your glorious light and love and peace cascades and is shed abroad in and through our hearts.
Amen