God's Throne Room: You!
Monday, February 05 2007 @ 09:45 PM PST
I once heard a child ask, "What is the use of praying if God already knows what I want?" Legitimate question that has inspired authors to write countless volumes. Still, some are wondering how prayer works. Does it really move God to act in a way that either supplies our hidden desires or heal a loved one or is it simply a mode of communication with the Creator? Perhaps we can think of it this way: Satan and God both desire to set up their thrones where? Some far off celestial palace set in a galaxy beyond our comprehension? Or could it be our minds - the place of all judgement and reason?If you've wondered at prayer in your own life, you will enjoy Dorothee Cole's paper on the Lord's Prayer. In it, she describes something that transcends mere ritual and provokes a deeper understanding of what exactly God has intended for each one of us. She writes:
Jesus words were meant for everyone. He encouraged the poor, the hungry and the sick by assuring them that God was interested in their misery and willing to help them. But his words also convey a deeper spiritual meaning for those who, though filled with earthly bread, also hunger for spiritual food. The Lord’s prayer is one example of many where Jesus taught a lesson that had an immediate and tangible principle that could understood by all, but in addition, an underlying message of much deeper spiritual significance.Here is the prayer as recorded in Matthew 6:9-13 in the translation of Today’s English Version:
This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven: May your holy name be honored;What is the meaning of God’s name? When Moses asked God to reveal his glory to him, God “came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and pronounced his holy name, the LORD. The LORD then passed in front of him and called out, "I, the LORD, am a God who is full of compassion and pity, who is not easily angered and who shows great love and faithfulness.” (Ex 34:5,6)When Isaiah foresaw Jesus’ coming to the earth, he said “His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Is 9:6) And in Revelation, Jesus’ “name is called The Word of God” (Rev 19:13). This word is the truth, the good news, about God. A person’s name is thus synonymous with his character. Jesus came to reveal God’s loving and gracious character in every detail.So when Jesus says to his father “May your holy name be honored”, does he not mean, “may God’s true character, as revealed by me, be respected and loved everywhere?”When some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come, his answer was, "The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one will say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!” because the Kingdom of God is within you." “ (Luke 17:20,21)
If we were all true citizens in God’s kingdom, his will would be done on earth and everyone would have “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22,23) toward their neighbor. Everyone is waiting for his physical kingdom to appear, but how can we welcome him physically if we don’t first welcome him into our heart so he can work in us and transform us into his image. Give us today the food we need.As the absence of physical food leads to death, so the absence of spiritual food also leads to death. “Jesus said to them, "I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them to life on the last day. For my flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them.” (John 6:53-56) To those who stayed with him, Jesus explained the meaning of his words: “The words I have spoken to you bring God's life-giving Spirit.”(John 6:63)Without “eating and drinking” God’s word daily and fully internalizing the truth about God’s character as revealed in Jesus, we cannot survive spiritually. Jesus’ body and blood symbolize his life and death, which revealed to us what the Father is like – full of love, kindness, forgiving even his murderers.
This is the gospel, the eternal good news, which can heal our damaged hearts and minds.Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?" "No, not seven times," answered Jesus, "but seventy times seven, because the Kingdom of heaven is like this.” (Matt 18:21-23)When they came to the place called "The Skull," they crucified Jesus there, and the two criminals, one on his right and the other on his left. Jesus said, "Forgive them, Father! They don't know what they are doing."” (Luke 23:33,34)God’s kingdom is like that! Unlimited forgiveness for everyone, even those who reject him! We can only truly forgive others, if we believe our God to be this way. No matter what we have done, he always stands with open arms before us, ready to embrace us like a father embraces his lost son (Luke 15:11-24). The choice is ours and we are free to accept or reject his offer of life.Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.'“Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure.” (1 Pet 1:6,7)"If we are tempted by such trials, we must not say, "This temptation comes from God." For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But we are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires. Then our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (Jam 1:13,14)
God may allow us to be faced with difficulties, in order to reveal our shortcomings to us, but will then offer healing. He himself is not the originator of the trial, but he allows it to happen. When we face our trials and ask God for trust and healing, these trials may become blessings and little by little our character becomes molded into his image. Jesus is our example, as always, “It was only right that God, who creates and preserves all things, should make Jesus perfect through suffering” (Hebrews 2:10).May your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
As we begin to understand the deeper spiritual meaning of Jesus’ words, we realize that the temple of our minds can truly be transformed into a house of prayer. “I will come into their house and eat with them, and they well eat with me.” (Rev 3:20) Eating the spiritual food with Jesus, which is the truth about God! What could be more wonderful? And what is prayer anyway, but conversation with God as our best Friend.
This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven: May your holy name be honored;What is the meaning of God’s name? When Moses asked God to reveal his glory to him, God “came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and pronounced his holy name, the LORD. The LORD then passed in front of him and called out, "I, the LORD, am a God who is full of compassion and pity, who is not easily angered and who shows great love and faithfulness.” (Ex 34:5,6)When Isaiah foresaw Jesus’ coming to the earth, he said “His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Is 9:6) And in Revelation, Jesus’ “name is called The Word of God” (Rev 19:13). This word is the truth, the good news, about God. A person’s name is thus synonymous with his character. Jesus came to reveal God’s loving and gracious character in every detail.So when Jesus says to his father “May your holy name be honored”, does he not mean, “may God’s true character, as revealed by me, be respected and loved everywhere?”When some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come, his answer was, "The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one will say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!” because the Kingdom of God is within you." “ (Luke 17:20,21)
If we were all true citizens in God’s kingdom, his will would be done on earth and everyone would have “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22,23) toward their neighbor. Everyone is waiting for his physical kingdom to appear, but how can we welcome him physically if we don’t first welcome him into our heart so he can work in us and transform us into his image. Give us today the food we need.As the absence of physical food leads to death, so the absence of spiritual food also leads to death. “Jesus said to them, "I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them to life on the last day. For my flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them.” (John 6:53-56) To those who stayed with him, Jesus explained the meaning of his words: “The words I have spoken to you bring God's life-giving Spirit.”(John 6:63)Without “eating and drinking” God’s word daily and fully internalizing the truth about God’s character as revealed in Jesus, we cannot survive spiritually. Jesus’ body and blood symbolize his life and death, which revealed to us what the Father is like – full of love, kindness, forgiving even his murderers.
This is the gospel, the eternal good news, which can heal our damaged hearts and minds.Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?" "No, not seven times," answered Jesus, "but seventy times seven, because the Kingdom of heaven is like this.” (Matt 18:21-23)When they came to the place called "The Skull," they crucified Jesus there, and the two criminals, one on his right and the other on his left. Jesus said, "Forgive them, Father! They don't know what they are doing."” (Luke 23:33,34)God’s kingdom is like that! Unlimited forgiveness for everyone, even those who reject him! We can only truly forgive others, if we believe our God to be this way. No matter what we have done, he always stands with open arms before us, ready to embrace us like a father embraces his lost son (Luke 15:11-24). The choice is ours and we are free to accept or reject his offer of life.Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.'“Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure.” (1 Pet 1:6,7)"If we are tempted by such trials, we must not say, "This temptation comes from God." For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But we are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires. Then our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (Jam 1:13,14)
God may allow us to be faced with difficulties, in order to reveal our shortcomings to us, but will then offer healing. He himself is not the originator of the trial, but he allows it to happen. When we face our trials and ask God for trust and healing, these trials may become blessings and little by little our character becomes molded into his image. Jesus is our example, as always, “It was only right that God, who creates and preserves all things, should make Jesus perfect through suffering” (Hebrews 2:10).May your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
As we begin to understand the deeper spiritual meaning of Jesus’ words, we realize that the temple of our minds can truly be transformed into a house of prayer. “I will come into their house and eat with them, and they well eat with me.” (Rev 3:20) Eating the spiritual food with Jesus, which is the truth about God! What could be more wonderful? And what is prayer anyway, but conversation with God as our best Friend.
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