Let us Pray!

Let us Pray! I have been mulling over prayer and how important it is.  The topic comes up occasionally in my devotionals and I always think, I need to dig deeper here.  So, I decided to write out the Lord's prayer, the prayer Jesus gave us as a template of the perfect prayer, and expand on what each part means based on the study notes I find, and what it means to me.

So, here goes:

Matthew 6 vs 5 - 14

The Lord's Prayer

(5) “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  (6) But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

(7) “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.  (8) Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.  

(9) Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

God is our Father, we are His children, Holy is His name

(10) Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

May Your ways and order come to us, may Your plans and purposes be done, here on earth as it is where You are in heaven.  (May how Your perfect will is experienced in heaven, be experienced here on earth)

(11) Give us this day our daily bread, 

Give (please Lord would you supply) to us our daily needs, not wants.  (We acknowledge that You are our provider and sustainer and we trust You to provide for us daily)

(12) and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Forgive us all we have done wrong to others, to ourselves and to You, as we should/have/must forgive what others have done to us.  (Restore us to perfect relationship with You)

(13) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Please don't allow us to be put into temptations way or be led into temptation by our friends, lifestyle, life, etc, but if we are, help us to recognize that temptation and give us the strength to overcome it in Your name, and deliver us from it and any evil intent connected to it.

(14) For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, (15) but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

PLEASE NOTE:  notes in BLUE are mine and what I believe the Lord's prayer means to me.  If I am wrong, I trust the Lord will open my eyes to it as it is my heart's desire to know what it is God's word would have me know!

                                                     

My ESV notes state that the Lord's prayer has 6 petitions, the first 3 petitions focus on the superiority of God, and the next 3 petitions focus on our personal needs.  

I think this is a great passage of scripture for when one does not know how to pray.  It is a great start which emphasizes God's holiness and authority over our lives.  He is the source of anything good we have or need, and it is He who protects us from the evil one.  

There are many scriptures about prayer and I will seek them out and do another post on prayer so that I dig deeper into what the Word, God's manual to us, leads us to do and how to do it!

I would love to hear from you and what the Lord's prayer means to you.

God bless

Tracy

The Beatitudes should be our "Attitudes"

The Beatitudes

Matt 5 vs 1 - 12:  (1) And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. (2) Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

(3) “Blessed are the poor in spirit,  (the humble, dependent on God)
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
(4) Blessed are those who mourn,  (loss from sin, loss from not living as the world does)
For they shall be comforted.
(5) Blessed are the meek,  (the gentle, unwilling to use force to get what they want)
For they shall inherit the earth.
(6) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,  (those longing for God's way)
For they shall be filled.
(7) Blessed are the merciful,  (kindness and merciful to others)
For they shall obtain mercy.
(8) Blessed are the pure in heart,  (those who pursue honesty, truth)
For they shall see God.
(9) Blessed are the peacemakers,  (those who pursue peace, Jesus' way)
For they shall be called sons of God.
(10) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,  (wrongly treated for their faith)
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(11) Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 

(12) Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Note:  Italics are mine

My bible's notes say that the Beatitudes can be understood in 4 different ways:

1. They are a code of ethics for the disciples and a standard of conduct for all believers
2. They contrast kingdom values (what is eternal) with worldly values (what is temporary)
3. They contrast the superficial "faith" of the Pharisees with the real faith Christ demands
4. They show how the Old Testament expectations will be fulfilled in the new kingdom.

These should be taken as a whole.  These Beatitudes should be our attitudes!

Jesus was telling His disciples at the time, to expect that life could become tough as a believer and follower of His, and that handling things the world's way is not the answer.  

The answer to living IN this world, but not OF this world, is:

• to be humble, 
• pursue peace, 
• consider yourself blessed when you are persecuted for your faith in Christ, 
• walk in meekness (which is NOT weakness, but power under control), 
• strive for honesty and purity of heart, 
• and be merciful to all, especially those who are not merciful to you.  

These are the ways in which we walk through this temporary world, into eternity with Christ!

God bless

Tracy

Ahithophel - Why?

Ahithophel was one of David's most trusted advisers.  And at the time when Absalom tried to take over the kingdom from David, his father, Ahithophel went with him, against David.  He advised Absalom against David.  The story is in 2 Samuel 15.

As I was reading this, I wondered why Ahithophel would go against David.  He was after all, David's most trusted adviser, and a very wise man.  Why did he turn on David?

Once Ahithophel realized that Absalom's rebellion would fail, he went home, put his affairs in order, and hung himself!  Why?

So, I decided to dig a little deeper.  

Ahithophel was Bathsheba's grandfather!  Ahhhhhhhh!  Anyone who has experienced a loved one being taken advantage of, or has themselves been taken advantage of, can imagine the thoughts and frustrations going through the mind of Ahithophel at David's dealings with Bathsheba.  He must have seen all David's manipulations to get what he wanted, and then to cover up the resulting consequences of his actions.  And, in the case of Ahithophel, he must have let those thoughts and frustrations grow into bitterness, which never leads to anything good.  And as can be seen by this example, bitterness eventually destroys the one who is bitter!

When the opportunity arose, Ahithophel turned on David!  His bitterness blinded him to the fact that David was still God's anointed king.  He wanted revenge on David and again his bitterness blinded him to the fact that, despite David, God did as He chose to do, and through Bathsheba, Solomon was born and used greatly of the Lord.  Ahithophel could not see God's hand through his bitterness.

Ultimately, I think once he realized that David would remain king, and Absalom's rebellion would result in nothing, he recognized David was placed in that position by God, and he knew that he had gone too far in his bitterness to make peace with the king, so he saw no way out but death.  Would David have forgiven him?  Would he have been restored back into his confidence?  Only God knows that, but Ahithophel's bitterness did not allow him to find out.

For me, the lesson here is not to let bitterness get out of control.  Nip it in the bud!  Uproot it!
Ephesians 4 vs 31 - 32 says:  (31) Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  (32) Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

God says in His word in Hebrews 12 vs 15:  See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.

Bitterness defiles who?  The one who is bitter
Bitterness destroys who?  The one who is bitter

Let bitterness go, remembering that firstly God has forgiven us of much, and expects us to do the same.  Secondly, realize that God sees everything and if a wrong has been done to you, or a loved one, you have to trust that God will avenge in HIS WAY, in HIS TIME, with HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.  It is, at the end of the day, about trusting that God knows, and trusting that He will do as He sees fit, and we have to trust Him in that AND make our peace with that truth!

God bless
Tracy

DAVID - Trust Regardless!

This morning I was reading about how David and his people left the city of Jerusalem, for its protection, and his, when Absalom his son declared himself king.  Along the way, a man called Shimei, from the tribe of Saul started hurling abuse (and rocks) at him, and cursing him, saying pretty much that David was getting his just deserts due to ousting Saul and his family, etc. 

David's men, in particular Abishai said to the king, let us cut off his head, why should he curse the king.  David's response was to say to Abishai and all with him, 2 Sam 16 vs 11 - 12: (11) "Behold, my own son seeks my life;  how much more this Benjaminite!  Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to.  (12) It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today."

So, they continued on in silence!

It must have been very humiliating for David to put up with this derogatory behaviour.  And his men, they must have lost respect for him in that moment thinking that David, this king, was not standing up for himself. 

Earlier, on this trip away from Jerusalem, David had told the priests to take the Ark of God back to Jerusalem, saying:  2 Sam 15 vs 25 - 26:  (25) "Carry the ark of God back into the city.  If I find favour in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place.  (26) But if He says, 'I have no pleasure in you,' behold, here I am, let Him do to me what seems good to Him."

My bibles notes say that firstly, David may still have thought God was continuing to punish him for his sin with Bathsheba (the consequences thereof declared by Nathan), and secondly, David did not want to use the Ark of God as a sort of good luck charm to keep him safe on this journey.

As I read these verses, I had this realisation: 

• David trusted God despite wondering if God was still punishing him for past sins.  
• David trusted God even though his own son was seeking to kill him and overthrow him.  
• David trusted God despite being ridiculed by people along the way observing the king "running away".  

I often feel badly done by.  Why is this tough time here to hurt me?  Have I not repented of my sins?  Am I being punished for something still, or because of something I have not acknowledged?  And I get all bent out of shape and my attitude is really quite injured towards the Lord.  How can He be doing this to me or, letting this happen to me?  Firstly, God is not "doing anything to" me.  Anything and everything good is from the Lord.  Secondly, there are consequences to our actions even when we seek forgiveness.  I do believe though that God is gracious to us in those consequences when we turn to Him.  Thirdly, my trust in God should not dissolve because of the weight of a scary/unjust/unfair/uncalled for circumstance.  Or, for that matter, a circumstance as a result of consequences.  I should be trusting God regardless!

In the verses above, not only does David choose to trust God to treat him as He wishes, but he also speaks hope:  - "It may be the Lord will see this wrong done to me and repay me with good ...."

and - "If I find favour in His eyes, He will bring me back to see the Ark and His dwelling place ...."

David states his hope in God, but says if God does not take pleasure in him, then God must do to him what He will.  David trusted God to be just, regardless of how that affected him!

What an awesome mindset to have.  A great attitude to aspire to.

I hope you are encouraged, as I am, to trust God regardless of how things look and what it is He is doing in your life, whether you understand it or not!

God bless

Tracy

Just a footnote re the above:  

• Shimei, the man who threw stones and insults, on David's way back to Jerusalem fell on his knees before David and begged him not to hold his words and actions against him. (2 Sam 19 vs 16 - 23). 
• Absalom, David's son was killed going into battle against his father
• David got to return to Jerusalem triumphant, and with much support, and he chose to be gracious to all who had turned against him in those moments.