Lord, teach us to pray…
Filed in General |Journal,
Today Nathan brought the most awesome message on prayer that I’ve heard in a long time. In fact I don’t recall ever hearing a teaching on prayer with as much spiritual insight that Nathan put into it. I’m not saying this because Nathan is my son. The Lord has simply given Nathan the wisdom and the ability to make truth come alive. And the very heart of prayer came alive today! And yet it was so simple that a little child could understand it.
In fact today’s teaching today was so insightful and simple that I plan to include a link to it on one of my next blogs. (Just as soon as it is published on the Christian Challenge site.) It is the kind of teaching that every child of God should have access to. It will knock all this ‘banging on the gates of heaven’ kind of praying in the head.
The title of his teaching was ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ His text was from Luke 11:1-4. The ones asking to be taught how to pray were the Lord’s own apostles. You would think that these men would not need a lesson on praying. Think about it — If the apostles wished to be taught how to pray, what about the rest of us? Hmmmmm.
Well, I’ll hold off on any details of the teaching except to make one point. Nathan was careful to speak about the very first word that puts prayer on the level that it belongs, which is the word, ’Father.’ His point was that prayer is all about relationship. Would you believe that Nathan actually came over and sat on my lap. 
Anyway, what makes this even more interesting is that during my devotion time this morning, the Lord placed on my heart to continue teaching on prayer this coming Wednesday evening. In fact He gave me something to give to everyone who attends the service. It’s a small but weighty gift.
I’ll also be introducing one of my newest friends this Wednesday. His name is ‘Dean,’ but he goes by ‘Tiger Eye.’
Don’t mean to be too suspenseful so I’ll share a bit about Tiger Eye. He came as a result of something the Lord shared with me on Monday, August 20th. That was the day the dove appeared over my head while I was at my special meditation place on the hill behind Christian Challenge.
What a moment of time. The Lord was preparing my heart for the healing He was bringing to me. The Lord had already spoken to me earlier in the month to ‘Expect the unexpected’. Expect the unexpected had to do with my trip to MD Anderson concerning cancer. Now He was giving me instructions about songs. David talks about songs of deliverance.
Anyway, I was reading from the New Living Translation concerning Hezekiah’s ‘poem of praise.’ This is where the Lord gave me to sing the victory before the victory over cancer was pronounced by my doctor in Houston.
Two things in Hezekiah’s poem really stood out. One to me and one to Betty. I’ll explain the Betty’s part in a moment.
Hezekiah’s poem of praise is found in Isaiah 38:9-20. Verses 16 and 17 stood out especially to me: “Lord, your discipline is good for it leads to life and health. You have restored my health and have allowed me to live! Yes, it was good for me to suffer this anguish, for you have rescued me from death, and have forgiven all my sins.”
But it was the very last verse in Hezekiah’s poem that caught Betty’s attention; “Think of it — the Lord has healed me! I will sing his praise with instruments every day of my life in the temple of the Lord.” (Verse20)
So? Well, Betty reminds me quite often that I must dust off my music and begin giving the Lord praise for my healing. And that brings me to ‘Tiger Eye.’ The secret must be told. Tiger Eye is my newest guitar. Betty bought it for me before we went to M.D. Anderson. And this Wednesday, Tiger Eye will be making his debut. If you can put ip with my singing.
In fact I’ll probably share two songs, ‘What Kind of Man is This,’ and, ‘The Year of the Jubilee.’ If you would like a foretaste on a deliverance song that the Lord gave me many years ago, here it is: (The Year of the Jubilee)
http://www.christianchallenge.org/audio/music/01_Year%20of%20Jubliee.mp3
Looking like an Australian Bushman…
Guess I’ll need to tell this. From the day of my birth I’ve always had straight hair. Not so anymore. After my chemo treatments my hair began to come back curly and wavy. Anyway, Betty decides that she needs to comb my hair real proper like. So she goes about making my curls appear in all their glory.
And would you know it — When I walk into the kitchen where CJ is, he looks up and begins to howl. I didn’t know if he was laughing or mourning out of sorrow. I said, “CJ, if you don’t stop laughing at me, I’m going to box your jaws!” He just snorted and sat down. But he couldn’t take his eyes off my hair.
Guess we’ll just have to see where all this goes. Betty reminded me that Andre’s hair is wavy and that he must have gotten it from me. That’s a joke. Betty is the one who has the wavy hair. Oh well — Just call me ‘Buddy, the Australian Bushman.’ (Don’t take me up on that. I’m so mean that I scare myself sometimes.)
Why the emphasis on prayer and ‘expect the unexpected’….
All my devotions over the past number of weeks seem to point in the same direction. For example when the Lord told me to ‘expect the unexpected,’ I felt in my heart that this word from Him was not merely for me alone. It was a message for all God’s people. And all the teachings of late have been teachings of ‘will’ alignment.
But since both mine and Nathan’s ministry is to Christian Challenge, I truly believe the Lord is telling me (us) for Christian Challenge members to begin preparing their hearts for the ‘unexpected.’ This does not mean that we will be setting aside special healing services. (I’m really not for that kind of thing.) What I believe the Lord is saying is that we most surely will see healings take place, but prayers of all sorts are going to be answered in ways totally unexpected.
It is almost as if there is a spiritual building time in the process. My last teaching at Christian Challenge (Wednesday, September 6th) I taught on the subject, ‘There is Something About Pleasing God.’ That message came out of a devotion that I had earlier, where the Lord spoke to Jeremiah saying, “I have made both the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight.” (Jer27:5)
The point I wish to make is this — If there is something going on in your life that is not pleasing to God, that very thing is going to hinder His blessings upon your life.
With that in mind I want to share a prayer that I recorded in my prayer journal some months ago. “Father, restore to Christian Challenge our scattered sheep and restore to us our passion and love for one another and for godly service. Let not the enemy gain an advantage in any way over the ministry and over our lives individually or collectively. In Jesus name. Amen.” – Recorded that prayer Monday, July 24, 2006 –
Well, it’s happening. And it is going to happen much more in the days ahead. May we all become ‘kingdom focused’ children of God.
Much love coming your way,
Buddy
