Samuel Chadwick: Our Lord bases prayer on personal relationship. He taught us to call God our Father, and the implication of sonship changes the whole aspect of prayer.
Whatever difficulties may remain, intercourse must be possible between father and child, and to suggest that a child may not ask of a father would be to empty the terms of all meaning. It is a child's right to ask, and it is a father's responsibility to hear in affectionate sympathy and discerning love. (lisabuffaloe.com)
The wonder is not that God hears prayer, but that He is our Father. The greater wonder includes the less. The revelation that God is Father establishes the possibility and reasonableness of prayer. The one establishes the other.
God would not be Father if His children could not pray. All the teaching of Jesus about the supremacy of the child-heart in the Kingdom of God is rank blasphemy if God is not our Father.
The relationship carries with it accessibility, intimacy, and fearless love. Sons of great men have sometimes remembered their father as an institution rather than as a father, and God is to some of His children little more than an institution.
Our Father in Heaven
There is no lowering of His majesty in the intimacy of the family relationship. He is still the Holy and Most High God; the High and lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity.
The Sermon on the Mount, with its relation of God to sparrows and lilies, detracts nothing from the majesty of Isaiah's vision of Him:
"The everlasting God the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth." He is still "the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God . . . the Blessed and Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach; whom no man hath see, nor can see " (1 Tim. 1:17; 6:15-16).
There are many such revelations of the Divine Glory and Majesty, and it is well to ponder them in adoring worship; but Jesus Christ turned them into terms of filial virtue. He is our value. He is our Father! That is the crowning fact.
To the child He is just Father. Others may cringe in fear, but the child-heart is a stranger to terror. I have never forgotten the dread that gripped me when, as a youth, I was invited to go for an interview at the manse.
I walked past the door several times before I had courage to ring the bell, and as I stood at the door my heart throbbed in my ears. Imagine my surprise, when shown into the room, to find the great man on all fours, giving a ride to riotously happy children who turned his long beard into driving reins! He was their father!
They knew nothing of the awe in which others stood of him, and as they grew older and knew something of his greatness their reverence deepened, but their fearlessness was not diminished. The children of the house are free and fearless.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Let's pray-
Father, Jesus based personal relationship in our praying. He taught us to call You our Father, which helps us see that our sonship changes our aspect of prayer.
As it is a father's responsibility to hear his child's request, we know, as our Father, You will hear us in affectionate sympathy and discerning love.
This relationship carries with it accessibility, intimacy and fearless love. There is no lowering of Your majesty in this intimacy of the family relationship; You are still the Holy and Most High God, the High and lofty One, that inhabits eternity.
Thank You for providing the way for this relationship! We give Christ Jesus praise for all that He was willing to accomplish on our behalf, so we could join with Him in sonship and free intimacy with You, our Father.
We pray in His Name for help to live daily in communion with You through Him. Amen.
As it is a father's responsibility to hear his child's request, we know, as our Father, You will hear us in affectionate sympathy and discerning love.
This relationship carries with it accessibility, intimacy and fearless love. There is no lowering of Your majesty in this intimacy of the family relationship; You are still the Holy and Most High God, the High and lofty One, that inhabits eternity.
Thank You for providing the way for this relationship! We give Christ Jesus praise for all that He was willing to accomplish on our behalf, so we could join with Him in sonship and free intimacy with You, our Father.
We pray in His Name for help to live daily in communion with You through Him. Amen.
Today's Bible verses-
James 1:5 (AMP “If any of you lacks wisdom
[to guide him through a decision or circumstance],
he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to
everyone generously and without rebuke or blame,
and it will be given to him.”
Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV) “Call to Me, and I will answer
you, and show you great and mighty things,
which you do not know.”
Rom. 15:13 (NKJV) "Now may the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that
you may abound in hope by the power of the
Holy Spirit."
Today's quote-
Bill Crowder- As we trust in what Jesus has done for us, we find that death is overcome and life reigns again. Jesus said, "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life: (John 5:24) . Through this new life, God begins the process of creating within us a capacity to love as He loves For those who have not yet met Him, may you find in Him the true life your heart is longing for." (ODB "A fresh start" from March 2019)
Did you know?
~ The effect of the power and presence of Jesus in the unbeliever's surroundings is what draws him to God.
~ How we love each other as Christians brings strength to one another, glorifies God and draws people to Christ.
Today's next 5 posts of 100 things Our God Is . . .
61. Greater in Us Than He That Is in the World
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62. Unto Us Wisdom, Sanctification & Redemption
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2 Cor. 1:30
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63. For Us
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64. Never Leaving Us or Forsaking Us
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65. Always Leading Us in Triumph in Christ
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Today's question-
Why should every home be a "little church"?
Where else may the children see real Christianity practiced daily?
There will be opportunities to honor the Lord in our homes, which can influence our children to love and serve Him while growing up, and which can have a profound effect on what they'll do with their lives.
We have the charge from God, to teach our children about Him and His love for us, and what that meant in the reality of Christ's sacrificial death on our behalf, and why. If it means everything to us, we can pass on our faith to them, to believe and to trust the Lord for themselves.
The following are reasons why a family devotions time is important in our homes:
1. Centers the home on faith in God
2. Encourages the children to believe in Christ
3. Encourages Christian character
4. Helps to create peace
5. Binds the family
6. Provides common knowledge
7. Learn what worship is
8. Reinforces Spiritual headship
9. Establishes systematic training
10. Learn respect for one another
ABC of family worship:
Adaptability
Brevity
Consistency
Take advantage of tough times to teach the children how to trust God to guide and to help. This will build a legacy to leave with them to follow.
Why should every home be a "little church"?
Where else may the children see real Christianity practiced daily?
There will be opportunities to honor the Lord in our homes, which can influence our children to love and serve Him while growing up, and which can have a profound effect on what they'll do with their lives.
We have the charge from God, to teach our children about Him and His love for us, and what that meant in the reality of Christ's sacrificial death on our behalf, and why. If it means everything to us, we can pass on our faith to them, to believe and to trust the Lord for themselves.
The following are reasons why a family devotions time is important in our homes:
1. Centers the home on faith in God
2. Encourages the children to believe in Christ
3. Encourages Christian character
4. Helps to create peace
5. Binds the family
6. Provides common knowledge
7. Learn what worship is
8. Reinforces Spiritual headship
9. Establishes systematic training
10. Learn respect for one another
ABC of family worship:
Adaptability
Brevity
Consistency
Take advantage of tough times to teach the children how to trust God to guide and to help. This will build a legacy to leave with them to follow.
Upcoming posts-
How to Prepare for the Reality of Suffering as a Christian
6th- Saturday's post by Zane Pratt
#27 Pray to Thy Father which is in Secret
9th- Tuesday's post by Samuel Chadwick
#28 In the Glory of His Father
11th- Thursday's post by Samuel Chadwick
Running the Race
13th- Saturday's post by Lisa Samra
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| Girl with sunflower |
Jean's blog (Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts)
Helpful ways the Lord helped me in my marriage
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