Part 2


So we see that in all our efforts to please ourselves when we pray, we find out that we never touch His heart. We seem to fall short of the throne of our Father in heaven, don't we? 


So what has to change in our walk to move us to a place of desperation?
 

The Father's Son knew that a very real death would end His time on earth. His destiny and real human journey led Him toward the stubbornness of a very religious angry mob. He knew He would lose His life and that these Satanically filled humans were waiting for him on that fateful Passover day in 30 AD. But still Our Yahshua set His face and stride directly toward the scariness of an unfriendly Jerusalem - His holy city. 


A real death had to be faced and endured. Jesus was a perfect man - the very lamb of God. It was very real to Him, just as our pain and fears are very painful to us. Like our Lord modeled for us we see that without pain we don't pray. His frightful walk also drew out of Him the vehement cries of a broken man. Don't you see that this kind of walk is what moves us closer to our Father and into deeper association with His Son - Yahshua?


We are humans, not robots or computers, we are supposed to feel fear and worry.  Jesus was completely naked and vulnerable when He prayed to the Father. 


Mt. 26:36-42


Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples , “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me”

And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will,” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. “He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.”


From this passage we see that Jesus was blatantly honest with His Father, don't you think His people should be just as vulnerable and honest with the Father when they pray?


Before we move from this point, lets consider the implications of what I am saying here: 


Does trusting in Jesus mean just letting Him take over everything including the timing and method of our deliverance? 


Even from the snares of a very real life and death situation?  


Has not Jesus said, “if you inclined to come after me, then take up your cross and follow Me”


We must not shield new believers from the realities of living the christian life.


When Jesus commanded all His followers to take up their cross and follow Him, the scripture clearly reveals that many walked away from Him. His very critical call was understood by those following Him. Thats why a bunch of them walked away from following Him and His teachings. How did we get so duped into thinking that in our modern time that following Jesus is anything less than what He told those listening to Him carefully in His time of public ministry?


Friends, we actually need setbacks, hardships, and persecutions to finally get to the place where we pray according to God's will.


We have had our fill preachers and ministries selling us a “less than” gospel message. The results are in and they clearly reveal that its not working. The Lord is separating unto Himself those who see what He sees and are willing to cry out for His Grace and Power to enter in and take over their pieces of their broken lives.


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It's time to deal a dead blow to this soft and easy way. The modern preacher is afraid to offend and to set forth the reality of our condition. Another reason why so few cry out in sincerity of heart. Sin is not exceedingly sinful. 

A well crafted mindset is set forth and accompanied by the endless cascade of ministries that want to sell a faith that is cross-less... it is impossible to make gruesome cross look nice and appetizing.


So in order to “pray right” we have to be thinking right!  We have to be honest with ourselves and our sin. We must turn back to the ancient wells from which our sacred “long lost” faith has been dug.


We have an incredible pedigree of faith to follow. Not only in our ancient times, but today, as we watch the demise of our dying American existence we look forward to what Our Creator is going to do to make us uniquely His People. 


Until we get to the place of ridding our hearts of the falsehood of our religious garbage, we will not move the heart of Our God. And we will make no real progress toward pleasing our Father in heaven until we repent of our sins and the sins of our nation. We must collectively cry out to see real “re-vival” come to our communities and our nation.


Its hard to admit, but it is true nonetheless. The way of faith is filled with divinely arranged setbacks that press out of soul real “cries” of the heart that are sincere and will move His heart to deliver us from our calamities.  


By dwelling on the reality of our real state before the Righteous Throne of Our God we will be broken and sad and it will drive us to cry from the depths for the real and the true people of God to rise up and take over the dead compromising church that is destined for judgment.


None of Jesus twelve disciples were confused by the seriousness of His claim over their future, after all, Jesus of Nazareth is the long anticipated Messiah. Son of David, King of Israel, but they did not like the way of the cross. Note Peter's attempt to stop Our Lord from going to Jerusalem:


Mt. 16:21-23 


1 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, " God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." 23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."



Messiah would make bold claims of Lordship,wouldn't He? He would battle our greatest foes. He was and is our long-awaited King. Israel had prayed, even cried out, for many generations that He would come and deliver them from a very real bondage to Rome. But look at what Yahshua was required to do to become Our King.


You could say a certain urgency marked their attitude about Jesus the Messiah. So to in our times we will come to realize the realness of our bondage to Babylon and our sins as her subjects. 


God's true people must move forward with urgency, for the time is short.


Here would be a typical Jewish person's cry before Messiah came: 


“Oh Messiah, please come and lift the shackles of bondage from me, my family, and our needy nation!” Fill your temple with your presence, just like you did back in Solomon's day. Don't delay, hurry for we are desperately in need of You and only You! If you're gonna delay then please supply grace for me and my family to wait on You and Your time. Please come quickly. Fulfill your promise to David!


Think of it many millions of Jews around the world are still praying this prayer today with blinded eyes. Be assured when the men of Israel really pray from the depths and they see that they rejected their true Messiah, He will answer their cries immediately because they are on the verge of extinction as a people.


How hard is it to pray these kind of prayers? When we finally see the ultimate plan of God to save Jews and Gentiles and make them His People and gather them in Israel, we say, impossible, no way, but if we know for sure this is the will of Our Messiah, it will pull out of the depths of our hearts real guttural cries calling for His purposes to be realized in the world. 


Read the level of urgency in Daniel's prayer


Dan. 9:2-19


2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. 3 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. 6 Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.


7 "Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. 8  Open shame belongs to us, O LORD, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; 10 nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. 11 Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. 12 Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. 14 Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.


15 "And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked. 16 O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. 17 So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. 18 O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of  any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. 19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name."


With this incredible prayer before us, why have we made prayer so perfunctory and religious? 


Pray over this prayer


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What kind of prayers then really move the Father's heart and change our circumstances? 


The kind that Daniel prayed in Babylon, a “heart cry” that weaves in the prescribed will of God written for His people. An honest, truthful, and forthright account of our real condition for His holy Throne. A sincere petition to the Father on behalf of our neighbors will move His heart. For this is what Jesus died to accomplish on our behalf. He become our Melchizedek, the Great High Priest and He intercedes for us before the Father constantly to insure the fulfill His Covenant with men.


Do you remember that old blind man on the road to Jericho, Bartimaeus? 


He who simply cried, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” When the blind man was told to be quiet, he cried all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Why did he utter the words, “Son of David”?  Messiah was and is the Son of David!


The scripture says at this point (Lk.18:40) says that, “Jesus stood still, and commanded Him to be brought to Him.” Imagine that? The Maker of the Universe, stood still? What made Him stop and listen to the cry of a poor beggar? Was it not the anguish and neediness of His heart? Was it not is petition directed specifically to Messiah? This man knew that Jesus was the Messiah, that was a big deal to Jesus.


Jesus then, as Messiah, goes on to ask a very direct question of the blind man named Bartimaeus. Jesus asked this very probing question, “What do you want Me to do for you?”  The blind man smartly gets right to the point and says, “Lord, that I might receive my sight!” 


The scripture goes on to reveal that the man immediately received His sight! What more did that blind beggar need? With working eyes he could plainly see the Savior of the world, Jesus or Nazareth. 


Are we not all in the same place as this blind beggar was 2000 years ago? Are we not all blind to what is really going on in the world around us? Some of us are so blind that we are making retirement plans in a world that is about to flipped upside down.


What are we thinking? Are we mistakenly planning on staying for an extended period of time just to grab a little more gusto and zest from this fleeting and temporary existence? Why don't you feel God's heart for His People? Why don't you long to see His Kingdom full with all the tribes and people groups scattered all over the globe? Why are your priorities so messed up?


And what will it take to change your heart and long term plans?


Over and over we have seen from our modern history and ancient history that life is but a vapor. Good kings and leaders rise to power and then we see the bad ones coming after them. The world is on the verge of world war because we are not directly under the loving Hand of the True King -- Yahshua! Even so come Lord Come!


There is no utopian existence outside of knowing and living in God's presence. We have been shown so clearly from the sacred writings of scripture that a normally blessed life consists of three score and ten years. Yet so many of us want to suck a little bit more out more of the deal, and for that extension we prefer to live unto ourselves.


I frankly can't wait for Messiah to come. Only then, will this crazy world make any sense to me. Men today are doing what pleases them. Their plans are what matter; they make no reference to God's plan and His work in the earth. 


Many will pay lip service to the idea of doing God's will, but it's not the “ache” and “cry” of their desperate hearts. A true follower of Christ and a man of real prayer is the same person. People who see the state of things and pray according to what they see. Our spiritual state in America is horrible, we are under a black cloud. The only prayer that will change our calamitous situation is a heart felt cry directly to our Messiah. Only He can heal our diseases, both physical and spiritual!


Our Maker and Sustainer holds the cards on our particular way and path. He chooses the type of life we have here and that is conditioned by our behavior toward His Law and righteous ways. The pure in heart will see God. Those who follow Him with all their heart, have a different attitude. 


The People of God will pray incessantly, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”


Either God comes down to dwell with His people or we go up, either one is fine for a true christian man, women, or child. But fire and tribulation is destined either way. We can choose to join Him in the end time work of gathering His People to prepare the Land for His appearing. Or we can live without reference to His plan, never move His heart, and perish in the way. 


Ps 2:12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
 

Far better to be with the Lord than here on a planet of confusion and self-will. We will stay only to serve Him and do what He wishes us to do to build His kingdom on the earth. 


I believe that these kinds of uncontrived and simple faith-filled prayers move the heart of God. Would you search your heart to discover their power? These prayers flow out of a very serious heart commitment to do the mandate of heaven, when we pray this way, we will find access to the heart of God... this is all that matters in the end!



Many blessings,


Jonathan