The
Disciple’s Prayer: A Position of Our Heart
D.L. Moody asked himself, “Can I pray this
prayer?” In fact, D.L. Moody said that
each of us should ask ourselves, “Can I pray this prayer?” “Lord, teach us” should be the prayer of
every person who follows Christ.[i]
If the disciple’s nearest to Jesus needed to be
taught to pray, how much more do we today need to be taught? What they were asking Jesus was, “Teach us to
pray “heart-felt,” “heart-searching” prayer.
The kind of prayer they witnessed Jesus praying, the kind of prayer that
they witnessed Jesus living when He went about life in this world. Even when Jesus was not on His knees in
prayer…He was on His knees in prayer.
Though His body was not on bended knee as He went about daily living; His
heart was always “bent” in submission to the heart of God the Father.
What would Christians….what would followers of
Christ look like today, if they lived a life that others could see? … That even
when they were not on bended knee, their heart was “bent” in submission to God,
the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit?
I think that it would entice others to want to draw
closer to this peculiar sight…a person wholly on fire, to be proof of holy fire…like
Moses who drew near the burning bush in (Exodus). He was amazed that the bush was on fire, yet
not destroyed by the fire. God was
represented by that flame…I want to be aflame for God like that, and I invite
you to the same.
But…before committing - know that it will cost us
something… something we hold dear…something we protect at all costs… something
that we worship before anything else… it will cost us the idol we hold dear (you
know that idol…that thing which we regard with blind admiration, that leaves us
crazed, amazed, dazed…but sadly ultimately lost, empty, and confused)…The cost
is that we each die to self.
We die to all the “me” that we adore…We Die to our
pride… we die to our swag…We die to our right to assert ourselves as first… we die
to our fear of what people may think when we don’t follow the crowd, the glitz,
the glam, the bling-bling of this world, because I have the bling of eternity
blinding my eyes instead… we die to our right to assert our will, our wants, our
desires, our rights, die to the right to inflate my self-esteem at the cost of
deflating yours, die to the empty value found in instant gratification while I
let God show me how to develop true patience, and Christ-like integrity in a
microwave mentality, DSL, GPS, Facebook, Twitter, Message me now, text me, power
of 4-G world that exists all around me.
Which only facilitates my notion that people are
“its” instead of “thou’s” (a product of my enjoyment or comfort, instead of
person made in the image of God)…as I reduce them to what makes me happy, where
and when they fit into my idea of community, or what they can ultimately gain
me…die to that false pursuit of happiness and self-security that changes like
shifting sand as my fickle self grounds and re-grounds the source of my
happiness…in my fleeting feelings, my irrational fears, or that person who just
happens to give me scraps of attention which I hurriedly collect and treasure
as evidence of my self-worth thereby adding value to my self-identity.
Die to that mentality that arrogantly demands
another human being to stand in line for my time and my attention while I
consult my smart-phone, my I-pad, my kindle, my nook...die to the notion that I
must know if other people are as in as much admiration of me as me, please hold
on a few more minutes while I reduce you, your time, and your importance…I only
need a second or two while I pull up my social media and take a look.
I must die…….which is to trust that to be on bended
knee means that a holy God is healing me from the scars that loving myself so
fiercely has inflicted on me.
I must die…which is to trust.
I must die…which is to trust that on bended knee
means that a holy God is forgiving me for replacing Him on the throne of what it
means to supremely be a worshipped deity.
I must die…which means to trust that to be on bended
knee is to mean that a holy God is loving me when He asserts His majesty and I
must confess that God is the boss, it is not me.
I must
die…which means to trust that to be on bended knee is to mean that a holy God
is listening to me when His answer is no to things I seek to receive, and to
trust that God (who is infinite) knows so much better than me.
I must die…which means to trust that to be on bended
knee means that a holy God is teaching me what it truly means to be human…as He
directs me to His Son, the actual standard by which I am to measure my humanity.
I must die…which means to trust that to be on bended
knee is to mean that a holy God is giving me my hearts desires…as His Spirit
comes to dwell in my heart, my mind, my soul…and my heart learns to beat after
the heart of God, and for the heart for God…His desires become my desires as we
chat on bended knee. …and eternal/abundant life truly enters me for the first
time.
I must die…which means to trust that to be on bended
knee is to mean that a holy God sees me…empty handed with nothing to offer that
can bridge that gap between my garbage and His glory…
…except His Son, Christ Jesus, who died for me.
I must die…which means to trust that to be on bended
knee is to mean that a holy God is receiving me…because Christ died for me, and
also rose for me, and now He too stands in the gap between my garbage and God’s
glory.
I must die…which means to trust that to be on bended
knee is to mean that a holy God hears me join with Christ, His Son, who in that
gap (between my garbage and God’s glory) is once again on bended knee in the
midst of heart-felt prayer.
He my Lord, and I the disciple who meets Him
there…His glory...and my garbage…But Wait!! …it is no longer there…because in
the gap with Him on bended knee (and in the eclipsing glory of all that Christ
has done on behalf of me) – the Cross and resurrection of Christ has
become something that extends to me…me and my garbage has been transformed by
His identity.
A brilliant flame marks me as His.
I am to die…which means to trust that to be on
bended knee is to mean that a holy God empowers me to truly live…not only for
my sake, and for yours…but first for His.
The exchange is really all in my favor…He was
beaten…I am mended. He was denied and
abandoned…through Him and His Spirit I am never alone. He died…so that I can truly live. Through His resurrection I have assurance of
life…now, and with Him after I pass through the doorway of death into eternity.
I mean He has really turned my world upside down,
hasn’t He?!
Exodus 34 – God is faithful, merciful,
compassionate, and just – He does not let the guilty go free.
Yet, instead of holding us to our guilt, God came
down as man, and received the punishment that we deserve because we live in
rebellion to His authority.
God came down as a baby born to a virgin and began a
rebellion of His own to make a way back from our garbage to His glory. Imagine God, the creator of the universe
coming down as an infant dependent upon humanity for His self care. He first taught us how to die to self…an
infant dependent on humanity…deity willing to embrace vulnerability. He does not call us to what He has not first
showed us to do.
Then He lived this life as a human with a heart bent
toward submission…God, the creator of the universe to whom all glory is due,
showed us how to kneel in order to receive.
He demonstrated His great love for us through his
life, death and resurrection, taking our place when punishment was ours to
receive. And, now He offers us His
Spirit to live inside of us, so that we are in constant contact with Him.
What are the things that God is asking you to die
to…so that you don’t actually settle for a counterfeit version of bling? What are the things inside you that God wants
to celebrate over, as you submit to the Lordship of Christ? God wants your personality in all the
uniqueness it entails, He only wants it to be shape and brought in line to the
Lordship of Christ. He wants to
celebrate the talents and skills that He has placed inside of you, when they
are submitted to Him and His direction.
You know it’s funny…God gave Adam and Eve a whole
garden…there was only one tree that He asked them to leave alone. Freedom was found when their focus was on the
vast expanse of what God offered, and bondage occurred when their focus became
too small, too narrow, too limited.
“Teach us to pray Lord.” “Teach us to have heart-felt prayer, and
heart-searching prayer.” “Teach us to
follow You, as You follow the Father.” “Teach
us the posture of prayer and to live Your way, and by Your truth.”
The Disciple’s Prayer
Our Father who are in heaven hallowed be
thy name…
God, You are God…You are creator…You are boss…not
me. You are greater than that which I
can ever think or reason, or suppose…You alone are God…not me.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…
It is not about me, it is not about my way, it is
not about my swag, or making a name for myself. It is about You, Your name,
Your fame…Your will…You are the boss.
Place your desires in my heart, show me how to get my ego out of the way
long enough to see Your plan and to welcome Your plan.
Give us this day, our daily bread
You are at work when I am sleeping, or awake…show me
where and how you are at work…and how to enter into that plan in a way that
makes you famous and not me. Your Word
is my daily bread. God, I don’t always
feel like reading, and sometimes I don’t like reading period…but pull me past
myself that I may come to truly know You.
Help me understand the totality of the Bible and its message (Your
message). Reading the Bible is not contingent
on my preferences, but Yours. As I read
it, make Your message clear, and teach me how to love you by bending the knee
of my will and heart to it…which is ultimately to You.
And forgive us our debts/trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
You have forgiven my garbage, and You replace it
with Your glory…show me how to also forgive the garbage, issues, hurts, and
hang ups of other people, who are broken people like myself. We are broken, hurt people, who tend to break
and hurt others…teach me to be a person that You work in and through to bring
healing, truth, health, and wholeness instead.
I know that this will mean learning to reflect and respond on why and
how I do things, instead of merely reacting.
I no longer want to react out of all the me that I know, I want to
respond out of the Christ that I know.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
God, You are my safe place, You don’t lead me to sin
and rebellion, You lead me in how to come to You on bended knee even when I am
going through the daily grind of life.
You prove Your faithfulness to me over and over again. God I know that temptation is not sin, Christ
walked through temptation. When I am
tempted help refocus my eyes so that I can see the ‘Exit” signs you have along
my path calling me to change my path. I
know that most times it is listening to Your voice inside of me, instead of my
voice spouting excuses along the way that will bring redirection.
For thine is the kingdom…
I am not the center of the world, You are. And the world that I experience is small in comparison
to the whole of the earth…which is where You want Your Kingdom to reclaim. Refocus my vision, and thinking to see that
the bible, the world which I experience, and all the earth…revolves around
You. Even when people do not recognize
You are God…You are God. Help me live for
and love You in that truth.
For thine is the power
I cannot do this one my own. I know that You require me to put forth
effort, even when I think I am not strong enough for the job…but the success is
from You, the empowerment is from You.
You are the power that created the universe, and you hold it
together. You are the power that lived
in Christ…who is both man and God. You
are the power that raised Christ from death.
And, You are the power that can keep me living in You and for You. You supply the power for me to die to self
and live for you.
For thine is the glory…forever and ever…
God, I am sorry that I worship me so easily…when I
should truly be worshipping you. Help my
need to make me famous…I desire to make You famous.
Amen
It’s a deal then Lord. You died for me, now I will live for
you. I am excited to see what happens in
this adventure of life we are going on together. You are for me, not against me. Help me live for You, not against You. Help me point away from me and back to you.
