Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Two levels of Prayer

1 Thes 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

There are two levels of prayer that should be part of our daily life experience. The first is an “ongoing” worshipful communion with our Lord throughout the day (“pray without ceasing”), as we maintain His abiding presence. The second are “set apart” times in which we “come apart” to pray. Our set-apart time of prayer should begin with a flow of pure worship to the Lord. (Proverbs 8:17) As we see His provision we offer thanksgiving for all He has done for us. We make any needs known only after we have confirmed that our lives are “fully submitted” to Him and to His will and purpose for us.(Luke 12:31) Our prayer life should be the expression of an ongoing communion with our Lord as “a branch” receiving life from “the Vine”… confirming of our dependence upon Him for every aspect of our lives. We invite the Lord to “abide” with us, and make His “manifest presence” known to us and through us to others as we go about our daily lives. The value of a prayer life that begins in the morning as we start our day making ourselves available to the Lord is “immeasurable”. When we step out of time into eternity we will be made to know that this was the “single most important” choice we made each day. In His house are “many mansions”… (Levels of spiritual experience) … “Only” as we make ourselves available each day can He prepare that place of “eternal habitation” and “expression”… some 30 fold …some 60 fold…some 100 fold… “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” … eternity will be “very different” as we are "rewarded" for the choices we make each day..“emptiness” here is “fullness” there.