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Teach Me to Pray
After many years of not being able to pray I promised my late Wife, Lynette, during last few days of her life that I would start praying again.I asked Jesus to teach me to pray!
I knew His Disciples had asked Him the same question while He was on earth.They saw how He spent many hours praying and they saw the strength and authority He received after He prayed.They wanted, as I now do also, to receive that same strength and authority.He replied to their request with what we call “The Lords Prayer”.
At that time the Disciples had little knowledge of God The Father and His Love for us, nothing about the power and authority we have with the presence of the Holy Spirit living within us. They did not know of the Cross, Jesus’ victory over sin and death, His Resurrection, nor His Ascension and His sitting at the Father’s right hand interceding for us.Forgiveness from sin was something Jesus bestowed on others but could they ask for themselves and be sure of their request being given?They were just learning the importance of forgiving others but being cleansed from the effects and power of sin was still foreign to them.The idea us being present in Christ and being able go boldly to join The Godhead in Heaven would have been a pipedream, but is possible for us.I am sure they were not fully aware of the extremely close relationship we can have with The Godhead and the ongoing provision we have for all our needs.
We can now pray from a place of knowing, as we have confessed our sin, our sins are forgiven and we are cleansed from all unrighteousness.Knowing we have received power over sin and can live in the power and authority of the Resurrection.
Just imagine we are seated with Christ in the Throne Room. As we get used to our surroundings, looking straight ahead being very conscience of our surroundings we suddenly notice out of the corner of our left eye an extremely bright light.It is then we realise it is our Heavenly Father
From this close association with both The Son and The Father the wording of our Prayer would require some subtle changes.
In this place of intimacy there is no need for us to cry out loudly for The Father is very near!We just need to whisper our desires and He hears.We do need to pray according to His Will and this is what we must seek. But as we can listen to the prayers of Jesus on our behalf all we need to do is copy His Prayers and say Amen! Would we dare to ask anything different?
It is by the Holy Spirit within us that we can discern this close intimacy.
How then did Jesus teach me to pray?
Dear Heavenly Father I Praise and Worship You and thank You for this opportunity to come into your Presence in Heaven.I come to You because Your only Son died for me and enables me to be seated with Him in Your Heavenly Presence.I sinned against You and others of Your Creation but I have confessed my sin and forgiven those who have sinned against me and You have freely forgiven me and cleansed me from all unrighteousness.I am now seated with Christ in Your Heavenly Presence accepted by You as a Son and Heir.Father here in Heaven Your Kingdom is established and Your Perfect Will is carried out. I humbly ask that Your Kingdom reign on earth and Your Perfect Will be established in the Earthly Realm.Dear Father I thank You for the new found power I have over sin and death because Jesus rose from the dead.I have freely received and I have freely given back to You and You provide all my earthly needs.To Thee be all the Glory and Praise, Amen.
Once during my time of listening I once felt to pray the following.
The need is great in our nation and the task of facing such a task may well feel like facing Goliath. But I do not face the task like the Israelite Army but boldly like David. David had already been taught by You and went boldly towards the enemy. He knew that the enemy was insulting You and Your Presence.It is like that in New Zealand at this time. The majority mocks both You and Your people.Give me the strength and authority to speak out as David did and to send out the spiritual weapons to defeat the enemy.
Help me to persevere in prayer like Daniel when he heard of your Promise of deliverance for Your People after 70 years in captivity.I believe You told me that when the numbers of Your True Believers in New Zealand got down to a remnant of 10% then You would move in a mighty revival to reverse those numbers. As I believe this is set in Heaven as Your Will, I ask that the Truth as it is in Heaven, be portrayed on earth.
I am conscious of the fact that when Your People Israel got down to just a remnant and they humbled themselves, turned from their wicked ways and cried out to You, then You heard their cry and healed their land.As I come to You at this time there is no sign of any repentant attitude from the bulk of out nation, however I thank You for Your Mercy and Grace towards us and ask You send forth Your Spirit to encourage true repentance.I thank You that it is Your desire that all be saved but, in Your Love You have given all a free will to accept Your Loving offer of Your Son as an offering make atonement between Yourself and mankind. Therefore I also humble ask that you do draw all men to Yourself through Jesus Christ. Knowing that unfortunately not all be take up Your offer.
I continue in thanking You that You did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world but that through His death on the Cross all may be saved, I ask that You continue to show forth Your Love all over our nation.Again I thank You for the move of the Holy Spirit in many places throughout the nation. I especially thank You for all the young people coming to You. Individual lives have been changed, families and marriages restored and whole communities improved to Your Glory.
To this end I proclaim, “Now is the Time for New Zealand.”
This prayer has two main objectives: (1) Minister to God out of an intimate personal relationship; and (2) bring the reality of His rulership (the Kingdom) to earth.
An outline of Matthew 6:9-13 gives us the Kingdom approach to prayer:1.Praise and worship2.Praying for heaven on earth
- a. Heaven’s effect on material needs
- b. Heaven’s effect on personal relationships
- c. Heaven’s effect on our relationship to evil
3.Praise and worship“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33)