Reversing the Master's Order

 O how often we have sought to be able to pray the effectual prayer for much grace to bear fruit, and have wondered that the answer came not.  It was because we were reversing the Master's order.  We wanted to have the comfort and the joy and the strength first, that we might do the work easily and without any feeling of difficulty or self-sacrifice.  And He wanted us in faith, without asking whether we felt weak or strong, whether the work was hard or easy, in the obedience of faith to do what He said:  the path of fruit-bearing would have led us to the place and the power of prevailing prayer.  Obedience is the only path that leads to the glory of God.  Not obedience instead of faith, nor obedience to supply the shortcomings of faith; no, but faith's obedience gives access to all the blessings our God has for us.  The baptism of the Spirit (John 14:15-16), the manifestation of the Son (John 14:21), the indwelling of the Father (John 14:23), the abiding in Christ's love (John 15:10), the privilege of his Holy friendship (John 15:14), and the power of all-prevailing prayer (John 15:16), - all wait for the obedient.

~Andrew Murray, School of Prayer - 23rd Lesson

   

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I have been reading through Andrew Murray’s “School of Prayer” and this paragraph resonated so with me, particular this sentence:

“We wanted to have the comfort and the joy and the strength first, that we might do the work easily and without any feeling of difficulty or self-sacrifice.”

This statement pretty much sums up my flesh.  This has been changing over the years, but initially this was was really strong in me.  Wanting the milk before the cow, so to speak.  It has taken a process for me to see that the difficulty of seeing my flesh needed to lead me towards gratitude and obedience.  I didn’t initially feel grateful to be seeing my sin, it just felt icky and I wanted to be changed.  Though I had been a Christian for many years, obedience at the heart-level in all the particulars of my life, especially in my relationships at home with my family, was a new and foreign idea to me.  I wasn’t accustomed to the obedience God was actually looking for and I didn’t necessarily want to go through the "process of change," I just wanted to be changed.

Thankfully the Lord doesn’t leave us in the condition we are in.  When we come to see our need to seek Him, He is right there where He has always been right next to us waiting for us to receive His love that has also always been there.  Through my process with the Lord He has shown me that it is suppose to feel icky when I see my sin, and that He is showing it to me so that I feel icky enough to be motivated to do something about it... according to His leading.  There were many times that after seeing my sin I did something, the wrong thing according to my understanding, and He got my attention again drawing me to Himself with correction and instruction on what to do different the next time.  This cycle has been repeating, with the Lord patiently and lovingly correcting and instructing, drawing me closer and closer to Him, showing me what more to surrender and how to walk in obedience and cooperation with Him.  It is through feeling the difficulty and continuing to see our need to increase self-sacrifice, all the while cooperating with the Lord that we can begin to feel the comfort and the joy and the strength.

I still occasionally find myself feeling the difficulty of seeing my sin and I am so thankful to experience God’s presence in the moment reminding me that it is He who is showing it to me and that He is doing so with purpose to help me.  He reminds me that I have a choice to make, and that I no longer have to stay stuck in the difficulty, or go into self-condemnation or self-pity but that I can surrender self and begin to work in cooperation with Him.  He has been helping me put things in order, in His order.

Are you letting God work with you, are you letting Him walk you through the difficult and the self-sacrifice and trusting him for the comfort and joy and strength?  Are you letting God put your life in order, in His order?

                                        Isaiah 55:8-9

                                       “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

                                             neither are your ways my ways,”

                                             declares the Lord.

                                       “As the heavens are higher than the earth,

                                             so are my ways higher than your ways

                                             and my thoughts than your thoughts.

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Scripture referenced above by Andrew Murray:

Baptism of the Spirit

John 14:15-16 (AMP)

If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever

Manifestation of the Son

John 14:21 (AMP)

The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]

Indwelling of the Father

John 14:23 (AMP)

Jesus answered, If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him.

Abiding in Christ’s  Love

John 15:10 (AMP)

If you keep My commandments [if you continue to obey My instructions], you will abide in My love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commandments and live on in His love.

Privilege of His Holy Friendship

John 15:14 (AMP)

You are My friends if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do.

Power of All-Prevailing Prayer

John 15:16 (AMP)

You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as [b]presenting all that I Am], He may give it to you.

Giving and Receiving Gifts (Part 3 of 3)

Learning to Live (Series)

Lately the Lord has been opening my eyes to my reality.  He has kindly and lovingly been showing me the areas in my life that have been void of correction and instruction of His ways, void of experiencing His love in the general activities of learning how to live.  This has included revelations that go back through my childhood up through my present relationships with my husband and children.  He is redeeming these voids a few at a time, here and there, showing me what is and has been missing and following up with what needs to be exchanged or filled in.  I have been lost and pretending to live, but thankfully the Lord has prepared me for this season of learning from Him, personally, how to live.

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In Giving and Receiving Gifts – Part 1 I shared that the Lord has been showing how preparation and sacrifice are valuable character elements of giving gifts.  In Giving andReceiving Gifts – Part 2  I shared that the Lord has been showing me how presentation and heart-felt sentiment are valuable charcter elements of giving gifts.  Here I continue with more that the Lord has been showing me, but about receiving gifts.

Receiving

Receiving a gift that has been given with such love as described in the past two posts ought to stir up a grateful heart for favor towards us which leads to an expression of thankfulness for the favor toward us.

It seems to me that receiving a gift involves a two elements. 

One part being that the gift exudes a feeling of “being known,” which is evidenced through the thought and preparation that noticeably went into the gift given.  When we feel “known” we feel loved and valuable, which draws us to have a grateful heart.

 (My daughter crocheted my son an Angry Bird 
knowing he likes to play Angry Birds in his free time)

Another part seems to include an attitude of having our eyes open and looking for the blessings, a willing and eager heart to “receive” blessing.  For example, if the gift was handmade, gratefulness includes noticing and paying attention to the details of the work done and receiving the love directed toward us with thankful expressions.  Being grateful seems to have an element of taking our eyes off of ourselves and directing thoughts of appreciation toward the one who gave so freely and sacrificially.

This makes me think of the Lord and how He gave us the gift of salvation so freely and sacrificially.  Do we have our eyes on Him, noticing the preparation, the sacrifice, the great details of the love He wants to pour out on us?  Do we have a grateful heart in all the details of life and are we expressing thankful sentiment toward Him?  He is the example of lovingly preparing and pouring Himself into the gift of salvation and continues to prepare our permanent home in Heaven.  My desire is to have a grateful heart in all things.

Summary

As I have worked through this series of posts, it all seems so very elementary, yet my understanding was so void and empty for lack of training in the ways of Love, in the ways of Christ.  In turn for these past years, I raised my children with an equally void understanding of Christ and how seemingly every day activities can model His love, but rather gave them experiences filled with empty flesh related ideas.   My heart is so grateful that His love is so good and so gently and never too late, that we have been given this opportunity to bring new loving ideas into our home that reflect Christ’s love.