Steve's Most Terrifying Prayer Request...... Glorify Your Name

A day has yet to go by in my life that I don't marvel that Jesus defines the hour of His glory as ascending to the throne of the cross. 

Calvin pictures the scene this way - "For in the cross of Christ, as in a splendid theatre, the incomparable goodness of God is set before the whole world.  The glory of God shines, indeed, in all creatures, on high and below, but never more brightly than in the cross." (38)  

Darrell Johnson describes the stunning glory of the cross when he writes -  "Because in giving his life for the world, in emptying himself in servant love, the nature and character of God is fully manifested for the entire world to see."  (39)

When by grace, I can just glimpse a little bit of Christ's complete & passionate commitment on the cross to His unfaithful, abusive bride, I am awestruck & breathless.  The power & glory of His body broken for me when I was faithless crushes my knees.  His absolute mercy shatters my rebellious soul.  

Thanks Jesus for being the perfect revelation of love.  

Thanks Jesus that you inspire me by Paul to consider, "Don't you realize, that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's spirit lives in you!"

Jesus -- I timidly offer you this most uncomfortable & terrifying prayer - "Jesus, would you make me in your image of perfect love?  And glorify your name?"

Amen.  

Father, hallow your name!

"Jesus is inviting us to enter into the deepest passion of God's heart; "Father, hallow your name." - pg. 33.
The gentle reminder the author gave me was refreshing.  I can't hallow God's name on earth like it is in heaven- only He can!
"On earth as it is in heaven"
Only the Father and the Son know the reality of heaven.  I do not...yet...so Jesus teaches us to pray, "Father, bring the reality of heaven to earth!
The Father can hallow His name like no one else.   An incredible clarity comes upon me when I view life through the lenses of the Father hallowing His name vs. me hallowing His name (I should say- me attempting to hallow His name).

I echo the author's opening remarks, "What a great gift Jesus has given us in the prayer!"

Father, You Make Yourself Real

I was so caught off guard by the explanation of "let us hallow your name" in chapter two.  I am humbled to realize that this is another example of asking God to do what only He can do. I want to be part of the process of giving glory to God but I am not able to actually glorify God the way it should be done.  That thought is both humbling and freeing. "Only you can display the glory of who you are. O Father, you do it." (page 32). And help me to play my part!

Allowing His kingdom to come...

     In reading chapters 2 and 3, I found myself feeling like I was on the ocean - at one point, I'm at the crest of the wave, and then a few pages later, I'm in the trough. Let me explain...
     I love the part about praying back the names of God! His name - so many meanings - so very powerful. "El Roi" - the God who sees; "El Rophe" - the God who heals; "El Shaddai" - the mighty God - gives me hope that He sees, knows, feels these tough times with us, that He will heal my husband, the He is almighty, able to handle what we've been given. The "crest of the wave."
     Then in chapter 3, praying for His kingdom to rule in me..."King Jesus, illuminate every corner of my life with your healing light. Father, break through any resistance in my soul;...break the bondage that enslaves me; ...give me courage to follow You come what may" (pg. 51-52).  The "trough of the wave."  Of course I can honestly and eagerly pray for His kingdom to come - be unveiled - in the world today, in my non-believing friends' and family's lives...But to really pray that His kingdom rules in my life so that I am willing to go where He sends me, do what He asks me - am I willing to truly hand over the reins I so jealously guard? Yes, I am completely His and He is mine - yet still I cling to my selfish ways, wanting what I want, not absolutely giving Him total control. This is something I must be willing to pray - even if my prayer is that He makes me willing to be willing...! This is the taking up of my cross daily...this is praying that His kingdom comes in my own life. I'm working on it.

In Response to Reid's Post - A Comment that Became a Post

Your post challenges me to consider that when I feel like I am consciously competent, Jesus may reveal that I'm actually unconsciously incompetent.  What's amazing to me about Christ revealing foolishness is that He trips folks up (trips me up for sure) with the way that He reveals His Lordship.  When I fight to be first, he's in the back of the line washing filthy feet.  When I am fighting to save my life. He's dying on calvary.  Tonight I opened my bible and discovered that when I think I am competent by being first and saving my life Jesus through Paul writes to me -- "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God..... but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."   Your post has pushed me to consider how my lack of "God competence" keeps me from embracing Christ's call to foolishly abandon my "Steve competence pursuit of self-preservation." Your post pushes me to surrender to Christ's wisdom, give up the self-preservation game, and consider dying for my family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and enemies as the wiser, competent course.

"Lord teach us to pray"

"Have you ever observed that the only thing the first disciples of Jesus are recorded to have asked Jesus to teach them is, "Lord, teach us to pray"(Luke 11:1)? (Johnson, Darrell 57 Words That Changed The World)

I think that is incredible!  It is not recorded of them asking Jesus to teach them anything else.  Yet, They called Him "Rabbi" or teacher!  In 2014 disciples of Jesus often refer to Jesus as their "Lord" and "Savior".  These last two weeks because of the reading has caused me to take inventory of my relationship with Jesus.   How many times do I ask Jesus to teach me something?  Do I allow Him to teach me?  I thought about all the nuances of a student (me) / teacher (Jesus) relationship.  How do I respond when I don't understand something He is trying to teach me?  What kind of Student of Jesus am I?  Not in the sense of how much do I know about my teacher, (head knowledge) but how much do I allow my teacher to know me?

The disciples were born into a culture of prayer.  They prayed a minimum of three times a day.  They had lengthy prayers memorized  from the time they were six years old.  Prayer would have been a subject they had mastered!  Yet, what they saw in Jesus caused them to humble themselves and ask, "Lord, teach us to pray"!

What areas of my life and relationship with God do I believe I have "mastered"?  
What areas of my life and relationship with God do I believe I am good at?
What areas of my life and relationship with God do I believe I don't need Jesus to teach me in?

The 57 words recorded in Matthew known as the "Lord's Prayer" gathers up all of life, including my own and presents it before God.  It is as if Jesus through this prayer is telling His disciples and us, 
"There is more than you know - There is more than you see here!

I am excited to be a student of Jesus as He teaches us about prayer!

Chapter 1 - Encouraged & Inspired by God's Gracious Invitation to Participate!

“To pray the Lord’s prayer is to participate in heaven’s invasion of the earth.” (Darrell Johnson, 57 Words That Changed The World) 

I love the invitational quality that Darrell Johnson captures in explaining how we participate in God’s work.  I felt as I read the chapter that God’s passion is to bring His kingdom and God’s passion is to allow us to participate.  The chapter focused my attention on God's design to  INVITE us to participate in heaven's invasion through the cross and by prayer!

INVITE - We hold to four key discipleship points a Sonshine.  The points are Befriend, Encourage, Model, & Invite.  Recently I wrote in a journal about our fourth point, “Invite.”   I wrote, “Our natural mold is to serve.  Our master’s nature is pure servant hood.  Intimate communion with the master comes with practicing the dance steps of serving while trusting that the Lord of the Dance will sweep us away to the rhythm of His Kingdom come in us and through us.” 

I felt encouraged when Darell invited me to join "others across the face of the globe who are asking God to cause his kingdom to break in." (Darrell Johnson, 57 Words That Changed The World.)  I felt inspired when he gave his invitation the perspective that “each day we can join the Father’s Son and multitudes of his brothers and sisters in the cosmic act of bringing heaven down.” (Darrell Johnson, 57 Words That Changed The World.)