PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Ephesians 3:20–21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
CONSIDER THIS
So what is fasting?
The dictionary defines it as abstaining from all or some kinds of food or drink, especially as a religious observance.
Here’s how I define it. Fasting is the lifelong process of becoming a peculiar kind of person who learns to exercise a particular kind of power for the good of the world and the glory of God.
Sound familiar? Yep, it sounds like the same definition I offered for prayer. And to prayer and fasting I would offer a third element: giving. Jesus singled out these three ancient works for special focus. I believe they are three parts of an indivisible whole. Through them, God mysteriously works in us to receive and impart the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Think of them as the three legs of the stool whose seat enthrones the righteousness of God. We must understand, however, that righteousness is God’s gift of himself to us. This is how he rewards us. We grow in this righteousness through secret devotion to God through giving, prayer, and fasting.
I have mostly thought of prayer and fasting and for that matter giving as means by which we get God to do things on our and others’ behalf. Certainly, this is a key dimension of prayer. I would call it the dimension of delegation. I think there is a more critical dimension of prayer that receives far less emphasis and yet I believe it is far more important. I would call it agency. In prayer as delegation, we are a participant in a limited fashion. In prayer as agency, we are a direct actor; moving through the world as the agents of Jesus Messiah. As agents of Jesus, we live and act and have our being in the seamless movement of prayer and action. Agents abide in Jesus in the real world and in real time with ever-increasing levels of attention and attunement to his voice. As Jesus demonstrated, “I only say what I hear my Father saying,” and “I only do what I see my Father doing,” we follow suit. As we will see, this is why fasting plays such a key role as a means of physically embodied abiding.
When a participant says, “I will pray for you,” they mean I will go somewhere else, and at another time I will lift your need to God in an act of delegation. An agent says rather, “I am praying for you.” It is not a mere shift of words but signifies they are living and walking in union with Jesus and carrying his authority in such a way that Jesus is actively demonstrating his power in and through them for their good. Just as with Jesus so with his agents—it is an active encounter with the living God. An agent moves with given authority in gifted activity. Giving, praying, and fasting forge the holy habitat in which divine agency and activity flow in and through a human person. Read the text today in this light:
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
We are quite comfortable with prayer as delegation while reminding God—in our prayers no less—that he is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. For some reason, we seem to forget the next ten words—the clarion call of divine agency: according to his power that is at work within us.
May I be bold? Jesus is not looking for more people to delegate divine activity back to him. He is looking for more people who will receive delegated authority to move with divine initiative in the abiding exercise of divine power. That is what according to his power that is at work within us means.
As we will soon see, this is why giving, prayer, and fasting is the lifelong process of becoming a righteous person who learns to effectively exercise divine power for the good of the world and the glory of God.
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
THE PRAYER OF TRANSFORMATION
Lord Jesus, teach us to pray.
I receive your righteousness and release my sinfulness.
I receive your wholeness and release my brokenness.
I receive your fullness and release my emptiness.
I receive your peace and release my anxiety.
I receive your joy and release my despair.
I receive your healing and release my sickness.
I receive your love and release my selfishness.
Come, Holy Spirit, transform my heart, mind, soul, and strength so that my consecration becomes your demonstration; that our lives become your sanctuary. For the glory of God our Father, amen.
THE QUESTION
Are you seeing the difference between prayer as delegating responsibility back to God and prayer as moving with divine authority to exercise human response-ability?
THE HYMN
Today we will sing the hymn, “My Faith Looks Up to Thee.” It is hymn 351 in our Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise.
For the Awakening,
J. D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com
Subscribe to get this in your inbox daily and please share this link with friends.
5 Responses
“How are you?” I asked. The Walmart self-checkout employee looked troubled. “Hanging in there,” she replied.
I followed with my pat response, “Hope you using both hands.”
In the parking lot, The Lord spoke into my spirit, “Pray with her.”
Before I drove off, I did what He asked. I prayed.
As I was driving through the parking lot, He spoke again, “I say with her, not for her.”
Ah.
U-turn.
As I was walking toward the entrance to Walmart, the spirit of fear began its barrage of what-if scenarios of vulnerability. Doubt was trying to underscore the Lord’s purpose.
Surprisingly (why should I be?), the self-checkout area was empty except for the employee.
I approached her and said, “The Lord told me you needed prayer; what can I pray with you for.”
I have learned the significance of praying “with” instead of “for” someone when possible.
A final note. My pat answer to the phrase, I’m hanging in there,” is now, “I hope it’s by the fringe of His robe.”
Staying 💪’n Christ
Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
Wow, so beautiful, Doc! Thank you for obeying the Spirit and then sharing it with us this morning!
What I see is this: As we yield to the Holy Spirit through humble submission, manifested through prayer, fasting, and giving; we are being transformed into conduits of God’s grace. Therefore, our very lives become a means of grace to the world. This is how “participation in the divine nature “ (2 Peter 1:4) is accomplished within us.
Yes indeed, Bob! It’s all about being free-flowing, Spirit-led conduits for the risen Jesus and His presence, power, and love. Thank you for expressing it in such a powerful way.
According To His Power That Is At Work Within Us
I woke up at three this morning with these words working within me. They inspired me to write a new blog post that I just posted. Then I came to Wake-Up Call and was so blessed by the confirmation I read here.
Let God’s Spirit prompt
(“Hear what the Spirit is saying,”)
What you do and say
(“Walk in the Spirit,”)
And soon you will stomp
(“The God of peace will soon
Crush Satan under your feet,”)
And drive fear away
(“Perfect love casts out fear,”).