Living: The Model Prayer

Your Love is Strong

"Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective" James 5:13-16 

I'd like to share one of my favorite songs today. "Your Love is Strong" is by Jon Foreman (the lead singer of Switchfoot) and it can be found on his Spring EP from 2008. I love it because each time I give it a listen I can really feel the passion and love behind the music. The lyrics come straight from scripture and Jon cries out to God from the depths of his heart, praying the Lords Prayer. Each time I hear it I am moved and challenged to do the same. I hope after giving it a try that you will be too!

Heavenly Father
You always amaze me
Let your kingdom come
In my world and in my life
You give me the food I need
To live through the day
And forgive me as I forgive
The people that wronged me
Lead me far from temptation
Deliver me from the evil one

I look out the window
The birds are composing
Not a note is out of tune
Or out of place
I look at the meadow
And stare at the flowers
Better dressed than any girl
On her wedding day

So why do I worry?
Why do I freak out?
God knows what I need
You know what I need

Chorus (3x):
Your love is
Your love is
Your love is strong

The kingdom of the heavens
Is now advancing
Invade my heart
Invade this broken town
The kingdom of the heavens
Is buried treasure
Will you sell yourself
To buy the one you've found?

Two things you told me
That you are strong
And you love me
Yes, you love me

(Chorus 3x)

Our God in heaven
Hallowed be
Thy name above all names
Your kingdom come
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us today our daily bread
Forgive us wicked sinners
Lead us far away from our vices
And deliver us from these prisons

The Lords Prayer in Scripture

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close your door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

"This, then, is how you should pray:
'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.'"

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
Matthew 6:5-15

Learning: From Paul on Persecution

Why doesn't God always take away our pain? Why does life sometimes seem harder after becoming a Christian?  Can our trials really be used for good? How can we find happiness in them?  

In 2 Corinthians, the apostle Paul writes…

 ^"Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:8-10  

     In this life we can expect to suffer. We know that at some point we will face trials and we be persecuted in some way or another. Why? Because Jesus was. Is he not greater than we? Are we not to mirror our lives to his as best we can? And where is our hope in our suffering?

First a thought:

To find happiness in our trials we must appreciate them as a gift and understand that whatever we are going through God will ultimately use for his glory.

"Paul reckoned his great trial to be a gift. It is well-put. He does not say, "There was inflicted on me a thorn in the flesh," but "There was given to me." This is holy reckoning. Child of God, among all the goods of your house, you have not one single article that is a better token of divine love to you than your daily cross. Whatever would be good for you, Christ's grace is sufficient to bestow. Whatever would harm you, his grace is sufficient to avert. Whatever you desire, His grace is sufficient to give, if it be good for you. Whatever you would avoid, His grace can shield you from it if His wisdom shall dictate." C H Spurgeon

     We trust in God so why do we suffer anyway, especially after we are saved? Because we are not of this world. Once we are saved we have a new identity in Christ:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." John 15:18-20 

^"You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master." Matthew 10:22-24

     Where is our hope in all of this?

The Beatitudes
"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."  Matthew 5:10-12

     When our own strength is exhausted by suffering, we can clearly see that true strength is rooted in God’s power and that true courage is inspired by his love.

“To be serious about following Christ means suffering for Christ. The more serious we become about being salt and light in the world, the more devoted we will become to mission and justice, the more concerned for the least and the lost, the more stubborn about forgiving those who don’t want our forgiveness, the more determined about exposing the works of darkness -- and the more we will suffer. And yet, ironically, if ever we’ve suffered in this way for the sake of Christ, then we know the power of weakness, that spiritual force and joy of obedience that energizes us to endure the suffering with grace. It is what enabled Paul to declare, "I delight in weaknesses, I am content in insults, I am glad with hardships, in persecutions and in distress that I suffer for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." Daniel Harrell, Park Street Church, Boston

     Spiritual burdens are allowed in hopes to cure us of our pride so that no one could attribute their success to their own talents. When we keep pushing on through our weakness people begin to truly see the light of God through us. That is the way that ‘In our weakness he is made greater’. Our hope is in the sufficiency of his free grace and the promise that he brings. We must remember that he will never give us more than we can handle with his help and lastly that we are never alone!

^“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

Today I challenge you to count your blessings and to thank God for your trials, and for the wisdom, conviction and passion that they will someday bring. Take up your cross with joy.

Love always!

P-John