{"id":2045,"date":"2012-10-06T06:00:07","date_gmt":"2012-10-06T11:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=2045"},"modified":"2013-01-24T19:48:21","modified_gmt":"2013-01-25T00:48:21","slug":"lord-teach-us-to-pray-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2012\/10\/06\/lord-teach-us-to-pray-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Lord, Teach Us To Pray: Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today we continue a series entitled Lord, Teach Us To Pray<\/em><\/strong>!\u00a0 Do you ever cry out with that same desire as Jesus\u2019 disciples did –\u2013\u201dTeach {me} to pray\u201d?<\/p>\n

Each Saturday over the next couple of months, we will intentionally pursue asking the Lord to do just that\u2014teach us to pray.\u00a0 I believe that, as we continue to look at learning how to pray through the Scriptures, we will develop into daughters who pray\u2014who delight, yearn, love to pray to their Father.\u00a0 This is my heart\u2019s desire.<\/p>\n

Jesus was asked this important question by His disciples. One of the places that it is recorded is in Luke 11, verse 1: \u201cThen He was praying in a certain place; and when He stopped, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray\u2026.\u201d They had observed Him going off to pray many times.\u00a0 In the Gospels it is spoken of numerous times that He \u201carose early,\u201d \u201cwent off to pray,\u201d \u201cwithdrew\u2026to pray.\u201d Jesus PRAYED; He spoke with His Father. And His disciples wanted to be like Him!\u00a0 When asked, Jesus very simply taught His disciples how to pray to God.<\/p>\n

Listen to the words that He spoke to them when they asked:<\/p>\n

Pray, therefore, like this:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our Father<\/em><\/p>\n

Who is in heaven,<\/em><\/p>\n

hallowed (kept holy) be Your name.<\/em><\/p>\n

Your kingdom come,<\/em><\/p>\n

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.<\/em><\/p>\n

Give us this day our daily bread.<\/em><\/p>\n

And forgive us our debts,<\/em><\/p>\n

as we also have forgiven (left, remitted, and let go of the debts,<\/em><\/p>\n

and have given up resentment against) our debtors.<\/em><\/p>\n

And lead (bring) us not into temptation,<\/em><\/p>\n

but deliver us from the evil one.<\/em><\/p>\n

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.<\/em><\/p>\n

Amen.<\/p>\n

Matthew 6:9-13<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last week we focused on the very first and most important aspect of Jesus\u2019 instruction\u2014addressing God Almighty as: \u201cOur Father….\u201d We looked at verses from the Scriptures which taught us about the level of relationship that God (the Creator, the Almighty, El-Shaddai) wants to have with us.\u00a0 We found that He wants to be our Father…our Abba Father!\u00a0 We learned that \u2018Abba!\u2019 (today we would say \u2018Daddy!\u2019 or \u2018Papa!\u2019) is used when talking about \u201ca close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person.\u201d<\/p>\n

This week we are looking at the very next aspect of prayer that Jesus deemed of importance\u2014\u201cWho is in heaven.\u201d\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 first attribute relating to God showed the depth of relationship we have with God.\u00a0 This next attribute also pertains to relationship but tells of the utmost importance of Who God is.\u00a0 He is in heaven.\u00a0 To me this relates to His being The Creator…\u2019heaven\u2019 always has been.\u00a0 It is where God IS, where He exists (though certainly without any limitations).<\/p>\n

In Genesis chapter 1, we read \u201cAnd God saw everything that He had made…\u201d (v25).\u00a0 Think for a moment…if God was observing what \u201cHe had made,\u201d it couldn\u2019t include where He was at.\u00a0 So, where was that?\u00a0 By exclusion, it must have been beyond everything that He had made.\u00a0 God, His existence, is beyond time and space and any limitation within our scope.\u00a0\u00a0 After all, He is ELOHIM, The Creator.\u00a0 Everything belongs to Him.<\/p>\n

Deuteronomy 10:14<\/strong><\/p>\n

Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens<\/em><\/p>\n

belong to the Lord your God,<\/em><\/p>\n

the earth also, with all that is in it and on it.<\/em><\/p>\n

Many times throughout the Scriptures, our Father is spoken of as \u201cthe Lord, the God of heaven\u201d… \u201cthe God of heaven and earth\u201d … \u201cHe Who sits in the heavens\u201d … \u201cWho speaks from heaven\u201d … \u201cPossessor of heaven and earth\u201d and in similar other ways.\u00a0 The heavens are His.<\/p>\n

When Solomon finished building the Temple, in His prayer to Almighty God he voiced,<\/p>\n

But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth?<\/em><\/p>\n

Behold, the heavens and heaven of heavens<\/em><\/p>\n

[in its most extended compass] cannot contain You;<\/em><\/p>\n

how much less this house that I have built?<\/em><\/p>\n

1 Kings 8:27<\/strong><\/p>\n

Solomon, the wisest man on the earth (by God\u2019s blessing) knew that surely a building couldn\u2019t contain the glory of the Lord…the Lord\u2019s presence…if the \u2018heaven of heavens\u2019 was not able to!\u00a0 He knew God was above all.<\/p>\n

And that brings me to one of the most awesome promises contained in the Scriptures.\u00a0 A promise from Almighty God, Elohim, our Father to you and to me:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ephesians 2:4-8<\/strong><\/p>\n

But God, who is rich in mercy,<\/em><\/p>\n

because of His great love that He had for us,<\/em><\/p>\n

made us alive with the Messiah<\/em><\/p>\n

even though we were dead in trespasses.<\/em><\/p>\n

You are saved by grace!<\/em><\/p>\n

Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up<\/em><\/p>\n

and seated us in the heavens, so that<\/em><\/p>\n

in the coming ages He might display<\/em><\/p>\n

the immeasurable riches of His grace<\/em><\/p>\n

through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.<\/em><\/p>\n

For you are saved by grace through faith….<\/em><\/p>\n

Sit there, please, for one minute and meditate on this promise: in the coming ages, you and I WILL be seated together with Jesus in the heavens.<\/p>\n

In the coming ages, we WILL be seated together with Jesus in the heavens.<\/p>\n

We will dwell for all eternity with Jesus and Almighty God \u201cWho is in heaven.\u201d\u00a0 Oh. How. He. Loves. Us. So. <3<\/p>\n

—————————————————————–<\/p>\n

This week in our blogs we have talked about recognizing our worth.\u00a0 We have looked at it from various aspects: how we feel about ourselves; within our relationships—family, friends, boyfriends, school; our hopes, dreams, plans for the future.<\/p>\n

I put before you this thought:<\/p>\n

How much worth,\u00a0 ______ (insert your name here), do I have if God Almighty has promised
\nthat I will sit with Jesus in the heavens? <3<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOur Father, Who is in heaven…\u201d<\/p>\n