Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the NET, netbible.org, all rights reserved)

Always rejoice, constantly pray, in everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (emphasis added)

Can we even do this? To pray constantly without stopping? In English, constantly means with regular occurrence; without variation, deviation, or change; continuously over a period of time; and always. That’s pretty close to the Greek which is adialeiptós (ad-ee-al-ipe’-toce). It means unceasingly and without remission. To cease is to willingly stop or make an end. We are to pray. We are not to render our prayer life inactive, to do away with it, or to bring it to nothing (that much babbling without saying anything Jesus warned against in Matthew 6:7-8). Our prayers are not to be constant in the sense of uninterrupted, but are to be something that is constantly recurring. But if Adonai already knows our needs, why are we supposed to be praying consistently?

It comes down to HOW we are supposed to be praying. There are a LOT of books about prayer. Keys to doing it. Patterns to follow (many based on the Lord’s Prayer – Matthew 6:9-13). I like some of them. I don’t quite see eye-to-eye with others. I’m knocking NONE of them. Today, I am going to be thinking specifically about heart intent or mindset. Prayer is not for Adonai’s benefit. We’re not letting Him in on anything. Humanly speaking, prayer is usually two things: Hey, thanks or Hey, help. We’re simple people (Psalm 103:14). We ALWAYS have more to thank Him for than we realise. Nothing wrong with that. It’s the ‘help’ one that is the issue. First off, He doesn’t NEED our call for help to know what is what. He knows our needs before we do (Matthew 6:8). He longs to fulfil our needs (Philippians 4:19). We can stand on the fact Adonai provides for us (Psalm 23:1; Matthew 6:33; Psalm 37:4). It doesn’t matter if the need is physical or spiritual (2 Corinthians 9:8; Psalm 84:11). And we know it is motivated from is love for us, from His desire to care for us (1 Peter 5:7 ). That part of it is covered.

Prayer, like everything in the Kingdom, is motivated from and toward the position of Yahweh’s Glory and Yahweh’s Will. If it isn’t His will, and it doesn’t bring Him glory, He isn’t in it. “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous” (Proverbs 15:29). Does that mean He doesn’t HEAR the prayers of the unrighteous? No. If He couldn’t HEAR them, NONE of us could have been saved. It is all about HEART intent. When the wicked pray, they want something. Period. There is nothing else in it. It is either save me or gimmie. It has NOTHING to do with Adonai or anything He has said. The prayers of the believer are supposed to be different. Jesus’ disciples wanted to learn to pray. They asked Him about it and He gave them a model. Now a LOT has been written about the phraseology of that prayer and how we can adhere to it. It comes down to three things: Praise you, Father. Your will be done, Father. Thank you, Father. That’s it. That’s the whole Lord’s Prayer right there. Praise Him. Seek His Will. Thank Him.

Jesus prayed like that. “He went away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.”” (Luke 22:41-42). He acknowledged His Father and His Father’s position – that is a form of praise. He stated that His Father’s will in the situation was more important than what He wanted. He subdued His will and chose the Father’s will, assured that the situation was well in hand. Praise, seeking, thanks. That was Jesus’ model of prayer. It is how He chose the twelve (Luke 6:12-13). It’s how He raised Lazarus (John 11:41-42). It’s how Jesus prayed for us (John 17). It is how WE should pray when we pray in His Name (John 14:13-14; 16:23-24). Praying in Jesus’ Name is not waving around a power of attorney while demanding things. Praying in Jesus’ Name is not bending Adonai to our will. It is US praying in accordance with Jesus’ nature as shown us in the Word. To pray with the same sense of obedience, dependence, and submission that He Himself had on Earth. You can’t have those attitudes if you aren’t in full trust with Elohim and the Word.

When we are praying, we are wanting something. We’re seeking something. But the question REALLY is: what is going to happen when it is answered? At its core, prayer is a CONVERSATION. It is THE conversation that comes out of THE relationship we have with Adonai. Is it a drive by shouting? OH LORD HELP ME THANKS MUCH! …. and nothing? Are we ONLY seeking Him in prayer because of trouble? Because of hardship? Many do. It’s a typical ‘trap’ the believer falls into. We get very full of what is happening in our lives and only look to Adonai for the stuff that seems SUPER out of control. We think we can handle a LITTLE out of control. Like stock market crashes and riots crazy is fine. But when ninjas attack our luggage and a super villain freezes our car, then a little supernatural help would be good. Part of it comes from the lie we swallow from the world that there is a certain level of trouble, defeat, sickness, and problems that are acceptable because they are ‘normal’ and everyone deals with it. While I DO see the help in normalising problems so that those suffering from them don’t feel alone and ostracised, but at the same time why are we calling them NORMAL? Just because people have them does NOT mean they are normal. Carnivores eat meat. They kill and eat other animals flesh. This is what happens. We accept it. But it is NOT normal and was NOT the will of Elohim (Genesis 1:30). It is a condition of the Fall, a condition of sin, and is NOT normal. We accept a level of ‘hassle’ that we should not. We need to stop thinking about situations and problems from a dichotomy of ‘we have this’ and ‘Adonai has that one’. We should be coming to Adonai in prayer sooner and for better reasons than HELP.

We do not pray to Jesus. We pray to the Father in the Name of Jesus. Jesus hears us alongside the Father and mediates for us. Ruach HaKodesh we do NOT pray to. He helps us pray. He is the one we can converse with, plan with, come up with the right thing to say. The whole thing should be submitted to the will of Elohim. We should be approaching it in humbleness. In an acknowledgement that this is our GOD. Our CREATOR. Our SOURCE. We should not be letting that go. He provides our job, our money, our everything. We should be looking to Him for it. Where it’s coming from, how to receive it, what to do with it, and when to let it go. Which means we always have to be checking in with Him. We don’t need to pray more than ten minutes at a time if we’re not going more than ten minutes before we check in again. That’s the trick. Regardless of time, checking in AGAIN. Jesus REGULARLY prayed and fasted. We should to. Not in a production. Not taking out an add in the church bulletin or posting the steps we take on social media. But quietly, looking to Him, one on one, just talking to Him. We’re supposed to be seeking the Father’s will in order to carry it out, not to get our problem solved. Our problems being solved are a byproduct of the relationship. They are not the relationship.

Healing was released on the cross. Through Jesus’ bruises, stripes, and wounds, all the healing that Jesus is EVER going to do, got done. We never need to pray to BE HEALED. We WERE ALREADY healed. How to get the gap between the healing through the cross and the physical arrival of it here in our lives now is where we struggle. We pray and pray and believe and believe and trust and trust and it still doesn’t always seem to happen. Where is the relationship in that? That’s just us struggling to achieve something. A way of thinking. A belief system. a viewpoint. And we should have all those things. But we don’t DO it. It happens because of who JESUS is to US. It happens because of relationship. “But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

When we seek HIM. When we get into a relationship with HIM. The relationship Jesus died and was resurrected for. The Communion. The Covenant. The eternal life of KNOWING the Father. THAT is the point of everything. When we seek Him with THAT focus. Humbly. Obediently. Consistently. THAT is when we find victory unrolling on our doorstep. THAT is when we find miracles happening. THAT is when the supernatural physically arrives. It is a BYPRODUCT of being in relationship with Him. When we pray to solve a situation or to receive something, we’re missing the boat. We’re banging on the open, unlocked doors of heaven. Get into a relationship, spend time listening and spend time communing. When we do that? The rest follows. Check in with Him again and again. Don’t we touch base with our friends? Don’t we touch base with out Spouses? Our children? Why not do it with Him? We need to do it. If we are trying to emulate Jesus in our speaking with the Father, we’ll find ourselves emulating Jesus in our lives. If we’re looking to the Word to find His Will, we’ll be giving the Word a chance to work on us. To change us from the inside out. Effortless change. Organic change. Wonderful change. Less of us and more of Him. It is a natural byproduct of a relationship based on TRUST in Him. Believing without doubting. Getting to know Him. This is His will for us. Start today. And don’t ever willingly put it down.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Daniel 7:13-14

“I was watching in the night visions, and with the clouds of the sky, one like a son of man was approaching. He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him. To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty. All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving him. His authority is eternal and will not pass away. His kingdom will not be destroyed.” Messiah would ascend into heaven. He would not be an ordinary person heading into the grave and staying there. No. Messiah would be the suffering servant, but even though He would die for us, He would also ascend into heaven. “After he had said this, while they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud hid him from their sight. As they were still staring into the sky while he was going, suddenly two men in white clothing stood near them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.”” (Acts 2:9-11). Witnessed by those who knew Him. Seen by human eyes. Proclaimed by angels as being true. Jesus ascended into heaven. Jesus IS Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:16b