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from The Prayerline Newsletter by Darrell C. Porter

"Prayer Is..."

January - March, 2004

 Prayer is not as difficult as you might think.  Nor is it the privilege of certain select people.  Prayer is for everyone.  It is meant for every believer.  These things may sound rather simple.  But the truth is prayer can be very simple yet very effective.  Even pre-school aged children have been known to pray; and their simple faith has moved the mighty hand of God.

  You see, God does not look more favorably upon the mighty or the well-spoken in prayer.  Rather, He looks upon the lowly in spirit, the humble in heart.  The interesting thing about children is that they understand, quite, naturally, that they are little.  They also understand something that is wonderful about God – that He is looking out for them. They accept the fact that He is good and that, like most good people, if you just ask Him He’ll do it.  

  There really isn’t much else that children know and understand.  They don’t know all the Scriptures.  They don’t know all the different kinds of prayers or the big words to say.  They generally talk to God like they talk to people – plain and ordinary.  More importantly, they genuinely believe in God and naturally trust Him. So when these little hearts are taught that they can talk to God, personally, and that He will listen to them, they believe it and that’s what they do.  

What is most touching is that Jesus held up a little child in His hands and said to His adult followers that you must become as one of these in order to enter into His Kingdom.  "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Mt 18:3)  Aside from baffling this scene must have been quite humbling for these adults followers to have the Son of Heaven tell them: you’re  wrong in your idea about how to come to God. He’s not after the worldly wise "adult".  He wants attitudes that are as meek as these little children.

        There is something about the spirit of a child that is simple, clean and plainspoken.  Children are little encumbered by the cares of this world.  There also are no elements of manipulation in their minds that try to get God to do what he wants by "acting" or "sounding" a certain way.  None of that is there.  Those are learned, adult, behaviors, that are plainly visible to God, and from which He stands away.

  When Jesus said you must become as a little child, understand, He was not saying you must be perfect. Every parent knows that children are far from perfect. They are often mischievous, selfish, argumentative, head-strong, disobedient, wild and messy.  So in no way was the Lord saying that little children are perfect creatures, in and of themselves.  We, as adults, likewise need to know, that the possibilities of intimate communion with our heavenly Father are not withheld from us either because of our many imperfections.  For the Lord knows we have them.  

  Surely, one of the most baffling things about our God is the fact that He does know us. He KNOWS our short-comings. Still, and in spite of all of our many imperfections, He fully invites us to come unto Him in prayer.  

  Now if both child and adult are widely imperfect in their ways then why did our Lord hold up a little child as the model for divine acceptance?  How is it that only child-like ones will enter the Kingdom of God?

        The answer markedly fills the pages of Scripture.  It is also plainly viewed in the life of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  First off, Jesus had a parent, God the Father, unto Whom He was subject in all things.  He lived as a faithful Son under His Father’s direction and rule every day.  

       Many adult Christians have lived for years as though they have no divine parent over them at all.  They name God as God and Jesus as their Savior, but their minds do not see Him as their divine parent and authority.  The result is that many church-going Christians actually live as though they were not sons and daughters of God their Father.  For them God is no more than One to Whom they do religious duty.  There is no intimate, connecting, personal relationship with Him as their personal Father.

       We have children in our homes today who live as though their parents do not exit.  They call them mom and dad.  But they are aloof from them, disconnected, and not subject to their word and wishes. At every opportunity they hurry to do whatever they want.  Jesus’ life, on the other hand, showed what a Godly son ought to have in his relationship and duty to his father.

       Secondly little children NEED their parents.  Their whole world is centered around them.  They long to be with their mom and dad a lot.  Children are like little rubber bands.  They will stretch out to play, to be with friends and relatives, and so forth; but they habitually and quickly "snap" back to mom and dad.  It’s natural.  It’s automatic.  Jesus said you must be as one of these in your relationship with your heavenly Father. You may go to work; you may go to a place; but you can’t wait to "snap" back to your heavenly Father.

       Thirdly, when children have "heart-to-heart" talks about their problems, fears, concerns, wants and wishes, they speak plainly and truthfully about them.  They don’t know the tricky ways of saying something you really don’t mean, or hiding behind hard to understand words or saying things a certain way just to play with another’s mind or emotions.  No.  Children don’t have these adult quirks.  When they speak to God, from their heart, they tell Him what they really mean.  And funny, God hears them.  He hears their often awkward and mispronounced words and expressions and He answers them.  How so?  The heavenly Father reads through their words and sees into their hearts, their intentions, what they are really trying to say, and in His grace and goodness and mercy He transposes the words, corrects the spelling, so to speak, fixes the grammar and straightens out the "facts" and then smiles upon them and grants them what they are truly seeking and trusting Him for.  

      God doesn’t look for perfect prayers.  He looks for pure hearts that pray in faith.  He looks for truth on the inside.    

        Amazing as well is the fact that the Spirit of God will often rest upon a child to guide him in prayer.  He will fill their mouths with good things to speak unto Him.  He will place in them a desire to pray and lead their tender hearts in prayer.  How so?  Because they trust Him. Their souls are open to His love and goodness upon them. God will do this to a little child; and yes, to any of child-like faith, though they be a fully grown adult.

        For only those who trust God can enter into His presence.  That is the way He has made it to be; and the rewards are wonderful.

       Heaven is like a realm of great possibilities and blessings; and few ever enter into it.  This is in spite of the fact that the Lord delights in giving YOU His Kingdom.  Think about it for a moment. The Lord, the Maker and Master of the heavens and of the earth, takes personal delight in giving to you – YOU – His Kingdom.  What mind is this that God actually enjoys blessing you and me and all those who trust in Him?  Think about it.  Go outside, sit in a park and think on that fact.  Kill the TV, sit in a quiet room and just quiet yourself and think on that.  God delights in blessing your home, your family, your finances, your health, your work, your very life.  Think about that for a moment.  

       Take a good look at the fact that when you asked Jesus Christ to come into your heart as Lord and Savior of your soul that in Him you became a child of God.  That’s right.  You are His Son, His daughter.  He is not only your God (for He always was and always will be God) He is now your Father. Father!  Have you ever looked unto Him as your true Father in heaven?  

       Maybe you’ve never known an earthly father.  Now, in Christ, you have God as your real and heavenly Father.  And you are His son, His daughter; Whom He loves just as dearly and deeply as His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  That’s right.  He loves you no less than His perfect, obedient Son, who lived and died that you might be born into His family.  (Rom.5:8)

       Because of this family relationship, secured by Christ, you now have a blessed right to come to heaven in prayer anytime you want and talk to your heavenly Father or ask Him for whatever’s on your heart. (Jn 16:24)

       If your words are not perfect, don’t worry about it.  If certain syllables are not right don’t be concerned.  Just tell your heavenly Father plainly and truly what’s on your mind.  Talk to God.  Tell Him what you need.  He’s looking out for you.  He’s looking out for your good.  And He has made an everlasting promise to you, that He would "supply all of your need according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus." (Php.4:19)  

       You don’t have to take on the impossible task of trying to manage all the affairs of your day.  You don’t have to play that impossible "adult" role any longer. Even the One through Whom the LORD created all things – the Lord Jesus Christ – didn’t do that.  But He was subject unto the Father in all things and called Him Abba – Father.  Now if our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, was a Son unto His Father, how much more ought you and I be as dear children unto our God and Father?

       Pick up the cross that puts to death that independent spirit of an "adult" in you and follow the gentle and lowly Spirit of Jesus, Who was dependent in ALL things upon His Father.

       It is that child-like dependency on God that makes us men.  Men are not made from the stuff of their own strength but from the stuff of God.  Men are made from the humbling bottom up, not the top down.  It is from meekness and humility and dependency on Christ that we are able to receive the heavenly "ingredients" for maturity and holiness and strength and wisdom and courage and love. These pure elements do not come any other way.  Like the mustard seed of faith they start small but through continued grace and truth grow us up in the very stature of Christ. (Eph.4:13)

        When you approach God humbly, honestly, trusting in the things He has said, you become a candidate for more grace.  For He gives grace to the humble. (1Pet.5:5)  Such grace will grant you your request. Indeed His grace delights in giving you exceedingly abundantly above all that you can ask or think. (Eph.3:20) Your humility brings on God’s prosperity to your soul.

        It is in this Spirit, this Name -  the Name of Jesus – that we are to pray.  It is His holy Name – His nature upon us – that God receives. Hence, when we come as a little child – it is in His Name, His nature, His Spirit that we pray.

        God doesn’t wait for you to become perfect before you can pray.  Your Father wants you to pray so He can perfect you through His grace. This is why we are called to pray always.   (Lu.21:36)  Your heavenly Father wants you to remain in Him. When you are in Him you see Him more, desire Him more, love Him more.   You grow in grace and are victorious.  When you are in yourself you see yourself more, your short-comings more, your mistakes more; and you grow in anguish and despair and are defeated from within.

        Prayer is God’s remedy for health and life and peace and victory and courage and strength and joy and answers and understanding and wisdom and power.  Without it you cannot live for God.  You cannot grow spiritually.  You cannot see what He wants you to see and be what He wants you to be and do what He would have you to do.  

        If I come as an independent adult, with my to-do list for God and …  I will be frustrated, realizing that He is not really hearing me.   I will then see myself as His helper and will take it upon myself to do what I think should be done.  I will realize that God is good but that maybe He needs a little more help to be good to me like I want Him to.

        We are to come to God in prayer like as a child with nothing to offer but our certainty that He alone is God, our trust that He is well able to do it and our humble resolve to just rest in Him.

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The PRAYERLINE Newsletter is a quarterly publication of Darrell C. Porter Evangelistic Assoc., Inc.

www.oneaglewings.com

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