“Redigging the old wells” is when we go back to something that had meaning for us in a previous time – it ministered life to us – it impacted or changed our lives. Then, things happened
– time moved on – we moved on – situations changed and we ended up doing other things. But then there comes a point where the Lord begins to beckon and harken us back to those wells that gave life before, and he wants to bring life to them again – but we have to go back and re-dig them – revisit them.
One of those wells that the Lord is calling us to is where we go into a solitary place – a place away with him – a place of peace and quiet. We welcome him into that place by saying, “Good morning Holy Spirit – Lord Jesus – Abba Father,” making it personal to the Trinity – to the Godhead. Also, God is leading us to pray through the Lord’s Prayer. Many of us learned it in the King James version:
“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” – Matthew 6:9-13 KJV
Some of us can remember reciting the Lord’s Prayer in school – in Elizabethan English – possibly our first introduction to Scripture. God now wants us to return, and re-dig some wells in particular, in prayer. If there was ever a time in our nation and in this world that we need to be praying people, it’s now. The world is spinning out right now and we have the opportunity and we have a choice. We can spin up and spin out ourselves, or we can spin down and dig down, and recover, and speak into the situations in the world.
Many times we think, “Wow, but do my prayers make a difference?” When we pray about powers and things across the planet that are infecting and affecting our lives, there are times when we may feel feeble, and wonder if it really matters that we’re praying. We need to know that our prayers really do matter.
The Lord wants to help us be specific and is presenting to us the opportunity for some structure in our practices, and it’s the Lord’s Prayer – the Lord’s model prayer. As we begin, we pray, “Abba Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, thank You for Your Word that is living, active, and sharper than any two-edged sword that pierces into the marrow and joints – that goes deep in our hearts, souls, and spirits, and we ask You to speak into the deepest places of our hearts – as deep calls into deep – and, by Your Holy Spirit, awaken us, prepare us for the harvest, revival, and outpouring – unprecedented in our lives.
“We’re not trying to recreate the works and movements of yesteryear, we’re saying, Lord, whatever new thing You’re doing, we want to be in time with You, and on board with You because Your heart is for the lost and the broken of this world, and we want our hearts to beat
– to resonate in time with Your heartbeat. Give us a burden for those who don’t know Jesus Christ as Savior, and open our eyes to see that the world is in trouble and You’ve allowed us to co-labor and co-operate with You to bring change, and it starts on our knees in the secret place where we pray to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Twenty-one seconds to change your life
Whenever the darkness of depression comes over us and against us – whether it’s situational, environmental, chemical imbalance, or spiritual warfare – something we can’t seem to break or shake off – when the enemy is telling us that we don’t have a prayer, God, however, is telling us we do have a prayer – that he gave us – and that we need to go back to the Lord’s Prayer. The question now is, if you knew it would change your life, would you take twenty-one seconds and step into it?
In a survey by Oak Hills Church, in response to the question, “What do we want our church to teach us?”, the number one answer was “teach us to pray.” Number two was “How can we hear God’s voice?” and number three was “How should we read or study the Bible?”
Matthew 6:5-8 NKJV
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”
God already knows what we need, and yet he still wants us to articulate it.
“Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.’ So He said to them, ‘When you pray, say…’ ”
We already have a prayer in the Lord’s Prayer, given to us by our Lord, himself. This is much broader than we sometimes think. Matthew 6:8-9 says, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name…” Verse 13 says, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” He begins with “hallowed” and ends with praise, adoration, and worship – the bookends of the Lord’s model prayer.
Never underestimate the power of praise. In the Psalms, it tells us that God literally dwells in, and inhabits the praises of his people, Israel. And he inhabits the praise of his Church today. When we worship in this atmosphere, it is our effort at excellence in trying to host the Presence of God, because, according to his Word, he inhabits our praise. If we believe the Bible is God’s Word, and that we are responsible to receive it and step into obedience to it, then we have something to do here, and it is to learn what it means to hallow his name. The word hallow means holy – we are declaring, “Holy is Your name!”
In the book of Revelations, the angels around the Throne say day and night, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” – the beautiful word declaring the holiness of God (the word holy is from the Greek word hagios and literally means to be set apart – consecrated – to not be connected to the whole, but to be above – lifted and separate from). When we declare the holiness of God we are saying, “Father, You are holy! You are majestic! You are amazing!”
So, when we lean into this as our prayer, we begin with praise and adoration. Then we end with praise and adoration. In many churches in America, people have become so familiar with God to where he has become their buddy or their bro. We have lost, in a very real sense, the fear of God. We believe in grace but also know that intimacy with God doesn’t mean that we can break protocol. We need to give him the honor that he is due.
How often have we barged into the presence of God, not thinking in terms of protocol, as in Isaiah 6:5, where he came before the Lord saying, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” The Presence of God undid him. He was taken apart by the Presence of God.
Honor before God doesn’t need to turn into just outward adornments, but neither should familiarity cause us to sacrifice the honor that we owe him. We aren’t afraid of him in the wrong way, but his character and nature demand that we show him our honor. The Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10). Elisabeth Elliot said, “When you fear God, you will fear nothing else.” We need to approach him with the right attitude.
1. What you pray matters – i.e. my prayers matter.
The Lord’s Prayer begins, “Our Father…” not “My Father…” The body of Christ that he was raising up – the ekklēsia (ek-klay-see’-ah) on earth – was not about “me”, it was about “we”. As we recover the awe and majesty of God – the fear of the Lord – let it become the beginning of wisdom for us.
2. Why we pray matters – obedience to His Word – He told us to.
Our world doesn’t like to be told what to do, but we’re talking about a holy God who created the world – the One who created us. The Bible says that when we do what is right “in our own eyes”, there’s an end that is not good. Luke 11:2 says, “When you pray, say…”
Jeremiah 29:11-14 NKJV
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.”
In the middle of their captivity, they were expected to pray – to communicate with God. We are being presented an opportunity to be led, and to see others around us led out of captivity.
3. Where we pray matters – you are the temple wherever you are.
You are his dwelling place, and not just on Sundays. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God…?” We pray wherever we are – wherever we go. We are missionaries in our spheres of influence, and to those to whom God has called us to bring the Kingdom.
As we step out into our world in a practical way – driving down the road praying, “Father, thank You for my car that started today…” We can turn our car into our cathedral. The presence of God will be with us as much wherever we are or ever will be as he is in the church sanctuary. We pray together, and in secret in our closet at home, but also wherever we are. We can actually live in a mentality and an attitude of prayer – as we go – an ongoing conversation with him. “Our Father Who art in heaven – Holy is Your name – Majestic is Your name!”
The fear of the Lord is: “You are amazing! I reverence You! I’m in awe of You!” When we walk in the fear of the Lord, as we elevate and honor him, he elevates us. We rediscover a peace that passes all understanding – a joy inexpressible – because we fear, honor, and reverence him.
“Our Father, hallowed be Your name!” This week – every day – say the Lord’s Prayer – even throughout the day. Pray the Word. Pray what Jesus told us to. Pray how he told us to, and where he told us to. …then pray again!
Prayer
Father, in Jesus’ name, we honor You. We revere You. Hallowed be Your name. We, together, hallow Your name – You are our Father. Teach us, Holy Spirit, how to apply what we’re hearing and learning. Lord, as we go, may we not just close the chapter and then not think any more about it, but we’re asking You to bring these things up in us – remind us to get back to Your Word – back to this, the Lord’s Model Prayer. We thank You for it. In Jesus’ name. Amen
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on The Bridge
Featured Image by Chris Liverani on Unsplash
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