Written on March 5th, 2005 - 11:32PM Last Updated: March 5th, 2005 - 11:38PM
The beginning of prayer is to recognize that the One to Whom you are praying exists.
Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
It is only after a person has come out of the darkness of rejection of Yahweh that they can begin to enter a dialogue with Him (Romans 1:18-22). With this newfound, simple trust—that the person has not come into being by their own desire, but that One greater than them has made them for a purpose—begins a relationship. Before this change of heart, a person is destined to flail around in the seas of foolishness, living their life in a way that rejects reality.
<<For the Chief Musician. By David.>> The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt. They have done abominable works. There is none who does good. (Psalms 14:1)
Have an honest and sincere heart. Do not be double-minded, or false, in coming to Him. He is greater than us and knows our hearts. We cannot deceive Him and it is fruitless for us to try. It will not do us any good but to tell Him exactly what we are already thinking. This is the beginning of a real relationship with any person—truth in speaking. Without this, we cannot hope to receive anything in return from the object of our prayer.
5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him. 6But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. 7For let that man not think that he will receive anything from the Lord. 8He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5-8)
Let your prayer be from love. Knowing the greatness of Yahweh by seeing what He has made, the amazing grace He has given us by revealing Himself, will instill in those who understand a real and true love. This does not even begin to speak to the knowledge of what He has done in giving up our Son to pay for our sins against Him. That knowledge will bring a deeper love that is unmatched by any earthly imitation. Truly, He is the beginning of our prayer, for He is the beginning of our love.
We love Him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
Finally, keeping in mind this foundation—of trust that God exists, being truthful with Him, and coming to Him from love—it is only natural that we would put Him before everything else. The love that follows knowledge of Him will bring us to a place of seeking Him before everything else. The importance of knowing Him and of spending time with Him in prayer will push aside every other pursuit. This act, of making Him preeminent in our lives, completes the beginning of what it means to pray.
I love those who love me. Those who seek me diligently will find me. (Proverbs 8:17)
Wisdom here, a type of both Yahweh's Son, Jesus, as well as His HolySpirit, draws us—not just as a mental concept of using knowledge correctly, but as the truth behind the concept, the Person of Yahweh.
As you read this site, you will hopefully come to know Yahweh more fully.
But all of this continuing knowledge is useless unless and until you come into union with Him. I use the word union because it is truly a marriage. It is that deep connection we all seek, for which we most often look in other people. However, the truth is that our hearts will only be fulfilled when we enter that union in fullness with the One Who made us.
This is the grace of God, that He has not stayed distant for us only to worship as Creator. But He has come unto us, even become one of us—in His Son, ChristJesus—in order to share an intimate union with us. He desires such closeness that it truly will envelope our entire life, transforming us into something new and wonderful.
You may have already entered this union with Him and only seek to know Him better through reading here. But if you have not, as you do read, let this Gospel sink into your heart as you read it now.
God loves you, and has cast your sins into the sea. He has sent His only Son as the Savior of the world—that includes you.
That Son, JesusChrist, was born as a man through a virgin who had given her life to Yahweh; He lived without sin, reflected the glory of His Father, God, in all His words and deeds, and was persecuted even unto death because of it.
His death upon a cross was the powerful explosion that separated you from your life of death. It remains for you, now, to enter into that death with Him. As you die to the one you are now, a person separated from God from your many sins, you will be born anew, with a nature predisposed to live rightly. This gift is free to you, with nothing you can do to earn it. It is the mercy of God to offer it to you, as He loves you so much! All you must do is receive it by trusting Him to have delivered you. Simply place your life in His hands and embrace the freedom that came through that death on the cross.
The Gospel is that Jesus did not remain dead, but rose again on the third day after His crucifixion! Death could not hold Him, as He was without sin. And so death will not be able to hold you, as you identify with Him fully through your trust in Him. Let go of yourself and confess Him as Lord of your life. The power of His death and resurrection will work in you all that your Creator has destined for you. You will truly enter a new life and experience that intimate union you have been seeking all of your life.
So ponder these words as you read here of this great God—Yahweh—and all that He has revealed to His creation. Let His Spirit testify to your heart that these words are true, that God is Love, and that He sent His Son so that you might receive the life that is unbound by time and space. As you feel that witness in your heart, simply believe and receive what He is offering to you, even now, and begin your new life as a child of God.
Please write to me and let me know when you take this step, as I will be your brother in Christ—we will be one in Him!
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