I think that the most awesome thing on earth is the Word of God. After many years, I'm still exploring the scriptures in amazement and joy. There is always something new to discover, and examine. Even if I memorized the Bible from cover to cover, and continued to study it for decades more, there would still be something new to be revealed- something new that the Lord is speaking through the scriptures. This quality is just one of many that makes the Bible a "living" Word. That very fact brings me to a cautious place, however. It means that at any given moment, my knowledge and understanding of the Word is imperfect, and incomplete. There is a saying, "He knows just enough to be dangerous." That idea comes from a quote by the English poet, Alexander Pope, who said, in part, "A little learning is a dangerous thing."
The scriptures are a wonderful gift to us from God. They are life, and wisdom, and Jesus, Himself. The washing of the Word transforms us, and renews us. However, the minute we think we are "expert" in the Word, or even "knowledgeable" in the Word, we really only know just enough to be in danger, and dangerous, on the edge of a pitfall. The Word is not the danger, only our own confidence, or self-assurance, in our knowledge and understanding of the Word is the danger. We could study scripture all of our lives, and we would have only scratched the very top-most surface of the riches found in its depths. If we seem to know and understand one level, there are infinitely more levels underneath waiting for us to explore for the first time:
"Great is our LORD, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite." Ps. 147:5
However, the Word is so powerful, that even the limited knowledge that we may possess at a given time can save, heal, and deliver to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25). We are called to know, and understand the Word of God. It is God's will for us to know the deepest things (1 Cor. 2:9-10), but this is a process that will continue throughout our lives. Because of this, the conclusion we must come to in all of our study is "the more I know, the more I find out how much I don't know." Every new revelation also reveals what we didn't know the day before. As I judge or evaluate situations, myself, and, God help me, other people, according to the Word of God, I do so with an imperfect understanding and an incomplete knowledge. It must be so. It is this that can also be dangerous.
The Apostle Paul talks about his "abundance of revelation" (2 Cor. 12:7), and his years of study under the most eminent rabbis (Acts 22:3), yet he also tells us that however much we may know, it is partial knowledge at best:
"Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect (complete, of full age, uttermost, ending, purpose) has come, that which is in part will be done away....Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." 1 Cor. 13:8-12
I think there is a powerful example of this in the story of Job. He was a man whom scripture describes as blameless and upright (Job 1:1). As we know, Job became greatly afflicted, and in the midst of the affliction, he struggled with his knowledge of God. Job describes his love for the Word and ways of God: "I have not departed from the commandments of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food." Job 23:12
Job also had great revelation from God, only one of which was about His Savior. Job spoke of his yearning and love for his Redeemer, Whom Job knew lives, Whom Job knew would walk on the earth, Whom Job knew he would see even after his death (Job 19:23-27). Like Paul, Job walked in revelation that he did not receive from men, but that he could only have received from God (Gal. 1:12).
In Chapter 29, Job talks about his life before he was afflicted, when God's "lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light, I walked through darkness." The Almighty was with him, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for him. With the esteem of other men, Job sat in the gate of the city, and in the open square, because of his great knowledge of God. Job was so knowledgeable, that princes and nobles sat quietly to hear him. By his Godly wisdom and knowledge, he delivered many poor and fatherless. Righteousness and justice clothed him. He said, "I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame. I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the case that I did not know...Men listened to me and waited, and kept silence for my counsel...They waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain...I chose the way for them, and sat as chief..."
Not only was Job learned in the commandments of God, and filled with His knowledge and wisdom, he was also anointed and did works of deliverance. All who knew him recognized that Job was a man of God, full of wisdom and counsel. None had more knowledge and understanding than Job. Most of us, even after the Cross, do not walk in the kind of understanding and anointing in which Job walked before the Cross.
Yet the LORD, when He finally speaks to Job in the middle of his affliction, starts by saying of Job, "Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?" Job. 38:1-2
God continued to challenge Job in his ignorance, asking Job, "Where were you when...?", and "Do you know...?". He tells Job all that Job doesn't know. God reveals things in chapters 38-41 that even our modern science, to which the world gives so much honor, belief, and dependence, has only just recently discovered a small portion.
Job's friends, who came to try to reason out with Job why he was afflicted, couldn't tell Job anything he didn't already know, hadn't already considered, and eliminated. Job's deliverance did not come from the great store of knowledge and understanding that he had. It came in the moment when he bowed his head before the even greater that he didn't know, and didn't understand:
"I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of yours can be withheld from You. You asked, "Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?" Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know....I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see You. Therefore, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Job 42:1-6 (Jn. 14:9, Lk. 5:8)
Job was brought to a deeper understanding through a very difficult path. It is a testimony to the greatness and kindness of God, Who, though He corrected Job, gave an even greater revelation to Job. Before this, Job knew of the Redeemer, Jesus, by revelation. Now, he saw his Redeemer with his eyes. Seeing his Redeemer brought Job to a place of deliverance through repentance.
The one thing Job hadn't considered, because he was so confident, and had been so honored by men for his great knowledge and wisdom, was that before God, he was really quite ignorant, as are we all.
Every time I open the Word of God, I want to do so with the understanding and acknowledgement of all that I don't know. When I speak to others, I want to keep in mind that I do so with a partial knowledge and understanding at best, keeping my head bowed before all that I do not know, nor understand. If I forget this, then I teeter at the edge of a great pitfall, and may even pull in others after me.
Our Father is all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.
"Teach Me, Lord"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L30y4zQWyEo
Rabbi Moses ben Maimon
1135-1204
"I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the mashiach, and though he may tarry, still I await him every day."
--a popular paraphrase of Principle 12 of Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith
"Nine red heifers were offered from the time that they were commanded to fulfill this mitzvah until the time when the Temple was destroyed a second time. The first was brought by Moses, our teacher. The second was brought by Ezra. Seven others were offered until the destruction of the Second Temple. And the tenth will be brought by the King Moshiach; may he speedily be revealed. Amen, so may it be G‑d’s will."
I think I have been praying incorrectly. Lately, I have had to re-evaluate, and re-prioritize in prayer.
There is nothing wrong with making our requests known to God:
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests (root- to ask, beg, crave, desire) be made known to God." Phil. 4:6
The meaning of the word "requests" tells me that whatever I bring to the Lord should be heartfelt. Hannah prayed so fervently, and with such deep emotion, that the priest thought she might be drunk. But when we are praying, what is it that we are begging for, craving, and desiring? It could very well be things that have nothing to do with what the Father wants to hear. Usually, I spend most of my prayer time praying for the needs of my household, or for the needs of others. Most of the time, these needs are financial, for provision, which always seems to be lacking. Sometimes these needs are serious and pressing, and I spend many words, and much time petitioning the Father over them. "Father, we need this", or "Father, we have great need for that. Please open a door, and make a way."
However, I looked at this again, and went back to the Word, after reading the quotes above from Rabbi Maimon, also know as Maimonides. It turns out that there is something vitally important that I have been overlooking.
Jesus, in discussing prayer, assured us that the Father already knows what we have need of before He is even asked (Mt. 6:8). So, for what then should we be asking, praying, desiring, begging, craving? Let's look at what Jesus says NOT to do:
"...do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words." Mt. 6:7
He describes these wordy, repetitious prayers as like heathens' prayers. That's not a good thing. He also says:
"For after all these things (everyday needs expressed in v.25-31) the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things." Mt. 6:32
So praying for these things, these daily needs over which we become so anxious, shows no greater understanding than the unknowing Gentiles. That's not good either. In Luke 12:29-30, Jesus talks about the same thing again as being things that the nations of the world seek after, and pray for, and again assures us that the Father already knows that we need these things. Jesus expresses this instruction three different ways! But these are the very things for which I have spent most of my time and effort praying!
So our prayers for our needs, which is often how we pray, are the same incorrect prayers of the heathens, the Gentiles, and the world. My prayers are like those of unbelievers, the uncircumsized, and the unsaved. That's really not good.
James says, "...Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." Ja. 4:2-3
James says we pray this corrupted way because we have lust and warfare in our hearts that come from our desires for pleasure, and our friendship with the world. He even calls us adulterers and adulteresses! He is not writing to unbelievers, but to Jewish believers ("the twelve tribes abroad", Ja. 1:1).
Paul also teaches this about prayer:
"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Rom. 8:26-27
Jesus tells us that we are not praying correctly in many cases. James and Paul agree that we are not praying what the Spirit is praying, but rather what the world is praying.
So what then, do Jesus and the Holy Spirit say we should be praying first, and foremost?
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (which is in Jesus:see Rom. 5:21, 1 Cor. 1:30, 1 Jn. 2:1, Heb. 7:2), and all these things (the daily needs) shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Mt. 6:33, and Lk. 12:31-32
Jesus, immediately after telling us how not to pray, says that we should be seeking first the kingdom of God. He says that it is the good pleasure of the Father to give it to us. Haven't I sought the kingdom in my love for Jesus and the Word of God? This is where I need to stop and ask, "What is "the kingdom"? The word used here means "royal power, kingship, dominion, rule, the royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah, the reign of Messiah", from the root meaning "leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king."
The kingdom is not a "what". It is a "Who". It is specifically, the Messiah and His triumphant rule, not only in heaven, but His rule and reign in me, and here on earth.
Jesus says this is to be our first priority. Among our requests (see above), the return of the Messiah to rule and reign, should be our greatest desire, begging, and craving.
What is the Spirit, who Paul says prays the will of God through us, praying from within us so earnestly and deeply? According to Revelation 22:17and 20, the Spirit is saying "Come". The Bride of Christ is to have this same prayer on her lips, and in the deepest desires of her heart, with fervent desire (Lk. 22:15), begging and craving. Jesus is saying, "Surely I am coming quickly", and the Revelator says in agreement, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"
What about all of my needs, and the needs of the others for which I have been praying? Ultimately, our praying and seeking for the kingdom, and the reigning Messiah, works for our benefit. Jesus said that having prayed for, and sought the kingdom in this manner, all of these other things concerning our lives shall be added to us. The source of all of these things is in the triumphant rule and reign of Messiah, the Prince, and His kingdom.
Rabbi Maimon, was one of the most important figures in the history of Torah scholarship. According to the quotes at the top of the page, one of his most heartfelt desires was the coming of Messiah. He awaited King Messiah "every day", he said, and prayed that God's will would hasten His coming, in effect praying, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done." It is taught that whenever the Jews make even a mention of the Messiah, they are to also include a prayer for His soon coming, as Maimonides did. Shouldn't this be our most heartfelt desire also, we who have beheld Messiah's face, the face of Jesus? Shouldn't the return of our King, Messiah, be the most frequently and fervently expressed request in our prayers? Scripture says that if we will seek this first, our Father will give us all other things. That's how important this is in the will of the Father. Jesus said that we won't see Him again until we have fervently prayed and desired His return (Mt. 23:39, Lk. 13:35, Ps. 118:25-26).
God knows all those things that we need, but tells us to seek this first.
Our Father says to seek His kingdom, the rule of His Prince, His Messiah, first.
"Even So Come"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s0Zb189Sco
There are many weapons in our spiritual arsenal. One of the most underused and forgotten is "thanks". I think it is also the most powerful weapon. Thanks is not just in words we say to God, but it must come from the attitude of our hearts, and that attitude must be carefully, and diligently cultivated. God knows that our hearts are full of thanks in times of joy and victory. He also knows that thanks is far from our hearts in times of testing, battle, exhaustion, sorrow, pain and disappointment, but this is when thanks is most needed. This is the key for turning the worst into a miracle. In order for thanks to become part of our being, it must be diligently cultivated in our hearts, and cared for like a tender shoot that is barely poking its head above the soil. It is fragile in our hearts, but powerful in the spirit. Like that tender sprout, it has the power of life in it. We must care for it and encourage it to grow until it becomes a mighty tree of thanks that will withstand the ice, the storms, the floods, and the heat of the day.
When we first see a seedling emerge, it is bent over, with its folded leaves still buried in the soil. It looks so vulnerable and easily destroyed. It certainly doesn't have a look of power and might. The essence of its life was confined to that small, hard seed casing, but it had the power within it to split that seed casing and push upward to the light, and to grow roots downward to minerals and water. This is the same power contained within thanks. Because that power is unseen, we tend to overlook it. I would like to look at some scriptures pertaining to thanks.
This is the first mention of "thanks" in scripture:
"Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name." 2 Sam. 22:50 (Psalm 18:49)
In this case, thanks is given among the heathen. Heathen can mean Gentiles, people, or nations, but it can also mean "swarm of locusts, other animals".
I read a description of a swarm of locusts on a mid-west farm in the 1800's. The farmer had had several years of puny crops because of adverse weather conditions. However, this year's crops had grown well and abundantly. As he and his new wife were outside one clear late summer morning, he looked out at the horizon, and saw a black cloud approaching. He knew immediately that this was a swarm of locusts. He told his wife to gather all of their clothing and bed linens, blankets, and quilts, and use them to cover the kitchen garden they had growing near the house, while he went to gather the farm animals into the barn. If the animals were left in the swarm, they would run away from terror. She cried out, "What about the fields of crops?". He answered that there was nothing they could do to save the crops, but their garden was the food that they would need to survive the winter. They must do all they could to save as much of those vegetable plants as they could.
The farmer's wife gathered everything she could find to cover the plants in the garden, even removing her dress, to use it as well. Before she could cover even half the plants, the swarm was upon her. She screamed and flailed as the locusts hit her in the face, eyes, and opened mouth. She gathered her wits, and continued covering what she could, sometimes covering the locusts also that had already settled upon the vegetable plants. Her husband came to help her, but some of the garden could not be covered in time.
After the swarm had eaten its fill and had moved on, the farmer and his wife surveyed the damage. The crops, which were their future finances, were destroyed, but some of the garden had been saved. Their rain barrels full of fresh water were now filled with the carcasses of locusts. Even after they removed the locusts from the water, the water was no longer clean tasting, but bitter from the bodies of the locusts. It was a devastation they could not fight against in their own strength. They were helpless before it.
Our scripture verse tells us to offer thanks to the LORD in the midst of the swarm of locusts and other devouring beasts, but as we can see, it would be almost impossible, and against our natural inclination, to do so in the middle of the swarm. Ultimately thanks is not something we can offer lightly, or easily when we need it the most, during the worst circumstances. However, it must become a part of us, part of our living sacrifice.
The only way it would be possible to offer thanks in the midst of a spiritual devouring swarm would be if we had deeply incorporated thanks into our hearts for just such a time as this. Another scripture to help us understand the warfare power and necessity of thanks is the following:
"And with them Heman (faithful, steadfast, sure, stand fast, verified, father) and Jeduthun (from the root yadah meaning thank, confess thanksgiving, CAST OUT, CAST DOWN, THROW DOWN, TO SHOOT ARROWS), and the rest that were chosen (clean, purified, bright, test, prove, make shining, POLISH ARROWS), who were expressed (appointed, named, designated, PIERCE, PIERCE THROUGH, HOLES, CURSE) by name (famous, report, glory, monument), to give thanks (again yadah, to thank, praise, confess thanksgiving, CAST OUT, CAST DOWN, THROW DOWN, TO SHOOT ARROWS) to the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever (olam meaning eternity, continual, perpetual existence, ancient, from the root alam, meaning concealed, hidden, secret thing) ."
1 Chron. 16:41
This verse is not just about thanks as we know it, but thanks as a weapon of spiritual warfare. Thanks in the midst of the enemy swarm makes no natural sense, but it is a secret, hidden truth from ancient days into eternity. It is an everlasting, undying, supernatural (unseen with the natural eyes of understanding) truth.
The Hebrew letters of the word for thanks, yadah, יָדָה , also give us a powerful picture:
The letters are yad, daleth, and he: "Behold, the door, path, way of life, to the finished work, the deed done".
Look at the door, the way of life, of thanks that has been revealed to us, that finishes and accomplishes a work (power).
A Messianic name for Jesus is the Lion of Judah. Judah also comes from the Hebrew word yadah used in the above scripture. When this Lion of Judah roars, He roars thanks and praise to His Father, God. That roar, at the same time, shoots arrows, and casts down, throws down, enemies.
"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ."
1 Cor. 15:57
"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place." 2 Cor. 2:14
"...we give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come (see olam eternity, above); because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned."
Rev. 11:17
"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
1 Thes. 5:18
Thanks is not an option. It is a command from the will of God for each of us- a command for our benefit, welfare, and victory. The world does not know this hidden thing, but it has been revealed to us. Now, we need to believe it and live it.
Our Father commands us from His will to give thanks.
"Praise You in this Storm"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCpP0mFD9F0
"Thank You, Lord"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K44trVhtZX4
"Thank You, Lord"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXCwGESxsDg
