God's Purpose Will Prevail!

Over the past wee while I have been drawn to Proverbs. Moving from chapter 16 and a couple of the chapters that follows it says of how regardless of the x amount of plans we make God's purpose will prevail.

Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 20:24
A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?

God Speaks Through the Silence

God doesnt always speak in a loud voice - often he speaks through the silence. These words from the hymn writer John Greenleaf Whittler who writes Dear Lord and Father of Mankind have often struck a chord with me:

With that deep hush subduing all
our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of thy call,
as noiseless let thy blessing fall
as fell thy manna down

Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, John Greenleaf Whittler 1807-1882

Does God Hear?

We have prayed and we say sometimes God hasnt really heard what we are saying or the answer seems to be a long time in coming! If you feel this then these words are appropiate from Exodus!

Exodus 2:23-25
During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.
24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.
25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

The Israelites may have well been seen to be putting their complaints and groans before God for a long time but note God did take action. There is indication of an active God.

God hears

God remembers

God looks

God is concerned!

These verses appear at the end of chapter two but as you move on God is going to act on their behalf. He sends Moses to be their leader. God demonstrates his power through signs and miracles which ultimatlety point to their freedom/salvation.

The First Step

Well congratulations to our little daughter, Catriona who took her first steps towards mummy yesterday with me looking on! It has taken a long time in coming. I was discussing this with someone recently. It must be something for a little one like Catriona to take her first step. It feels for us like a long time coming but we have waited paitently. We suspect that for a while she has known what she has got to do but yet gradually we have seen her putting it altogether like moving from holding with two hands to one then none! For us who have been walking it becomes a part of our normal life but for a little one it is the first big step!

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Without being too spiritual about it, we often pray for things but yet we know sometimes what we are meant to do and just need to take that first step of faith. God is always there granting us the strength to carry out what we have been called to do. While this blog is entitled a "Prayer Blog" - prayer should never be an excuse for no action.

Answered Prayer

So easy to say what the bible says about prayer - isnt it exciting when you see answered prayer! Everyday, I guess you see evidence of God at work. We are thankful as a family for providing a job for us this past week after a number of months applying for stuff and waiting on God to provide! This doesnt mean that we are going to stop praying for his will. But rather how much more do we day by day need to know his will for us as a family.

Praying For your Town or City

Througout this post you will see pictures I recently took of the town I live in:


















Do you ever sit back and pray for the town/village/city etc that you stay in? What effect would it have on our towns etc someone signifcant in the life of that community were to make a decison to follow Christ?
It is good to pray for our towns and many do this individually or as a couple. Many have prayed in the old tried and tested idea of prayer triplets. There is also other ways of praying such as Christians getting together to pray for their town /street /workplace.


Newham is a borough on the edge of London and stands to benefit from development as result of the olympics coming to London. Christians there are encouraged to pray for their street or block. These are entitled Neighbourhood Lighthouses and Workplace lighthouses. To view more about the Transform Newham click here

Obstacles Crowding the View?

Well today, I took up painting today after a number of years - I attended a local watercolour class. In watercolour and any kind of painting, it is important that we have a focal point and to have just one thing as the main focal point. Otherwise the person looking on to the painting which has many focal points trying to compete to catch the viewers eye. And often we can be distracted from the thing which is realy meant to be the main focal point.
How does this all relate to prayer? We are part of busy lives and we have to make sure that we keep Jesus as our main focal point.

Colossians 3:1-2
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Lord's prayer

This now comes to the end of postings on the Lord's prayer. There is 11 postings with it beginning on the 19th May and ending yesterday (9th June). It is so easy to pray this prayer so rigidly. It is a prayer that looks forward to being united with the Heavenly Father.

Temptation

Matthew 6:13

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. '

Does God lead us into temptation? By no means what so ever! Why does the author pray such prayer? Please note that when it is speaking about temptation here it is referring to testing.
Jesus who is teaching them to pray has experienced testing. Before he went into the ministry he was tested in the wilderness but yet he did not give into it. Jesus brings up the matter of temptation in the wilderness. Jesus knows that these disciples will not go through their Christian lives with facing testing and temptation. But yet Jesus knew no sin! What are we saying when we pray this prayer? We are asking Jesus to be Lord over every situation that we come accross.
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To view a post on the theme of temptation click here

Forgiveness From God and Forgiveness From Others

Matthew 6:12
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Verses later expand upon this

Matthew 6:14-15

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Does this mean that we have to work for our Forgiveness by forgiving others? No but having said that it important that we come before God right with our fellow man. In the incident, God forgives us and what amazing lengths he has gone to forgive us. He sent his only son to die for us. That is his mercy for us. Should we not follow his example and be a merciful people? Looking at it another way does God limit his forgiveness to one and not the other.

Matthew actually encourages us to be right before our brother. He says that if we have come to place of worship to offer and are not right with our brother, we should first go to our brother and make things right.

Our Daily Bread

Matthew 6:11
Give us today our daily bread

Today we get paid monthly and possibly weekly or fortnightly but it is very rare that we might earn daily. Essentially, in those times they worked today for tomorrow's keep! Praying this petition means that we have to trust the Lord for his provision.
All these recent phrases about Lord's kingdom coming in and His will to be done are looking forward to the future and in a sense this is too. Psalm 23, the Shepherd Psalm, we see how our shepherd and companion prepares for us a banquet in the presence of our enemies. By recieving today's daily bread we get a foretaste of that final day in glory when the King of Kings will prepare a feast for us.

The Father's Will to be Done!

Matthew 6:10
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

Having prayed for His Kingdom to come, he now prays that the father's will would be done. The Father's perfect will for us is modeled in heaven as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit relate to one another. As we see the trinity relating to one another so perfectly, so we want to pray that this would be modeled on earth.

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to view a previous post on the father's will click here

Looking Forward to the Kingdom!

Matthew 6:10
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The next phrase prayed in the Lord's prayer is to pray that the Lord's Kingdom would come. The coming of the Kingdom was something which was often prophesied about in the Old Testament. John the Baptist preached about it and was looking forward to its coming.

Matthew 3:2
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

As Lord was teaching the disciples to pray, the idea of the kingdom was something that the disciples were still coming to grip with. Jesus later on teaches in parables (matthew 13) so that those who are able to hear will hear what he has to say on the kingdom. Those who are spiritually hard of hearing will be closed to what he is saying. To those who were receptive and accepted the message which Jesus brought they will begin to live in the Kingdom, where Jesus is the messianic King. But yet there is a future element which we will never truly know or experience til we are reunited with the Lord in glory. So we pray Father let your kingdom come!

I Will Honour the Father's Name

The phrase I want to look at within this post is "hallowed be your name" in the Lord's Prayer. Hallowed means to honour his name - recognising that the heavenly Father we have addressed in prayer is holy. This means we do not take his name in vain (like the 10 commandments speak about) but lift his name on high. From day to day to we see demonstration of His Lordship and in return, we should turn and honour his name. A couple of verses from Ezekiel, demonstrate this:

Ezekiel 36:22-23

"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.

Abba Father

Do you know the Father? The one which the Lord's prayer is addressed to? If you look at Matthew 6, you will find if you tally it all up that the Word "father" is mentioned 10 times from v1-18 0f this chapter. Notice that He is our Father in heaven and indeed, he is reffered to as Heavenly father in verses throughout Matthew.

The prayer addresses Abba Father. It is probably either translated to best fit our language as "Daddy" or "Papa". It speaks to us of Father who we have a close intimate relationship with yet we respect/fear him. Those who have respect for their heavenly Father will not want to try and manipulate him or seek their own way/glory.
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Ephesians 3 is another prayer which addresses the father, there is a posting on this to view click here

Will I be Heard Because of my Many Words?

Simple answer is not neccessary but lets read further into this passage of the Lords prayer to see the answer to the proposed question.

Matthew 6:7-8
"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. "Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him.

Pagans and Jews alike thought they could be heard because of their many words. To do this they used what the prayer describes as "meaningless repetition". We need to hold on to this thought that it is not requirement for us to pray long lengthy prayers in order for us to be heard.

The encouraging thing is that before you come to him surrendering yourself in prayer, the Father in Heaven knows what you need. So it is not even the case we need to pray long in order to inform him of the full story. It is good to know that the Father is waiting for us to surrender ourselves in prayer to him.

In prayer, we do not look for praise from others nor are we trying to manipulate God so that we get our own way. This is why we pray Father, let your will be done in the Lord's prayer!

God's Creation IV

The Secret and Corporate Place of Prayer!

Matthew 5:5-6
"And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

When we read these verses they come with a disclaimer: Jesus is not banning corporate prayer but rather speaking about people who pray to be noticed, they pray in public to impress. These are the kind of people Jesus is calling Hyprocrites. They are like actors who pretend to be something they are not!

There is nothing like the quiet place when you spend that time in prayer getting to know Jesus more and it is to be commended and particularly needed if you find yourself in a period of busyness. Yes, Jesus is present even in that secret place.

There is nothing like the corporate place of prayer when we spend time together praying and sense the Spirit moving and the Spirit is showing us the direction! But our corporate prayer times shouldnt turn into a showmanship!

Jesus Help us to Pray!

2,000 years on we still long to be taught how to pray! Back to basics, we must go. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. The Lords prayer gives us key things to pray for! Yet within these statements made to the heavenly father there is some content. We will look at some of these over a few postings.

Matthew 6:5-13
5 "And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
8 "Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him.
9 "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.
10 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
11 'Give us this day our daily bread.
12 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.'

Jesus & Prayer

Mark 1:35-38
And in the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there. And Simon and his companions hunted for Him; and they found Him, and *said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You." And He *said to them, "Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, in order that I may preach there also; for that is what I came out for."

I was just studying Mark and found these couple of verses. Talking about being still and being busy - here is Jesus taking time out to pray. People were seeking him out but he needed to spend time in prayer with his father. Luke also records on a number of occassions how Jesus often withdraws to spend that alone praying with his father.