Lord, Teach us to Pray - Author ANDREW MURRAY

1828-1917

Author of over 250 books, he was the minister at the Dutch Reformed Church of Wellington (South Africa) from 1871 to 1906, and lived there until his death in 1917.

His vision for winning Africa for Christ led him beyond the borders of Wellington. Missionaries from Wellington penetrated into the heart of Africa.

He was a proponent and at the forefront in founding schools both of education for girls, and of Higher Education for women.

And it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, that when He ceased, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray. Luke 11:1

THE DISCIPLES HAD BEEN WITH CHRIST, AND SEEN HIM pray. They had learnt to understand something of the connection between His wondrous life in public, and His secret life of prayer. They had learnt to believe in Him as a Master in the art of prayer-none could pray like Him. And so they came to Him with the request, `Lord, teach us to pray.' And in after years they would have told us that there were few things more wonderful or blessed that He taught them than His lessons on prayer.

And now still it comes to pass, as He is praying in a certain place, that disciples who see Him thus engaged feel the need of repeating the same request, `Lord, teach us to pray.' As we grow in the Christian life, the thought and the faith of the Beloved Master in His never-failing intercession becomes ever more precious, and the hope of being Like Christ in His intercession gains an attractiveness before unknown. And as we see Him pray, and remember that there is none who can pray like Him, and none who can teach like Him, we feel the petition of the disciples, `Lord, teach us to pray,' is just what we need. And as we think how all He is and has, how He Himself is our very own, how He is Himself our life, we feel assured that we have but to ask, and He will be delighted to take us up into closer fellowship with Himself, and teach us to pray even as He prays.

Come, my brothers! Shall we not go to the Blessed Master and ask Him to enroll our names too anew in that school which He always keeps open for those who long to continue their studies in the Divine art of prayer and intercession? Yes, let us this very day say to the Master, as they did of old `Lord, teach us to pray.' As we meditate we shall find each word of the petition we bring to be full of meaning.

May God open our eyes to see what the holy ministry of intercession is, to which, as His royal priesthood, we have been set apart. May He give us a large and strong heart to believe what mighty influence our prayers can exert. And may all fear as to our being able to fulfill our vocation vanish as we see Jesus, living ever to pray, living and standing surety for our prayer-life.

`Lord, teach us to pray:

Blessed Lord! who ever livest to pray, Thou canst teach me too to pray, me too to live ever to pray. In this Thou lovest to make me share Thy glory in heaven, that I should pray without ceasing, and ever stand as a priest in the presence of my God.

Lord Jesus! I ask Thee this day to enroll my name among those who confess that they know not how to pray as they ought, and specially ask Thee for a course of teaching in prayer. Lord! teach me to tarry with Thee in the school, and give Thee time to train me. May a deep sense of my ignorance, of the wonderful privilege and power of prayer, of the need of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of prayer, lead me to cast away my thoughts of what I think I know, and make me kneel before Thee in true teachableness and poverty of spirit.

And fill me, Lord, with the confidence that with such a teacher as Thou art I shall learn to pray. In the assurance that I have as my teacher, Jesus, who is ever praying to the Father, and by His prayer rules the destinies of His Church and the world, I will not be afraid. As much as I need to know of the mysteries of the prayer-world, Thou wilt unfold for me. And when I may not know, Thou wilt teach me to be strong in faith, giving glory to God.

Blessed Lord! Thou wilt not put to shame Thy scholar who trusts Thee, nor, by Thy grace, would he Thee either. Amen.

-Bits and Pieces from writings of ANDREW MURRAY-

For a Biography on Andrew Murray and a list of books free to read go to:
http://healingandrevival.com/BioAMurray.htm

God's Got An Army - Ready Yourselves

1 Corinthians 9:23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.


Carman

God's Got An Army Lyrics 

(Chorus)

God's got an army
Not afraid to fight
Soldiers of the cross
And children of the Light
Warriors of righteousness
With healing in their hands
God's got an army
Marching through the land
Let me hear your war cry (YEAH!)
let me hear your war cry (YEAH!)

There are people with ears to hear and the hearts to respond
To spiritual needs of the nation
We're a showcase of what He'll do when we are strong
In Jesus to a whole generation

The world won't be the same tomorrow
Because we're here today
The kingdom of hell is gonna feel sorrow
Cause our war cry is worship and praise
Uh!

(Chorus)

The apostles and prophets are speaking forth
Flames of revival, they are burning
Like old Joshua we're marching out to possess
And there's no way our minds will be turning

There's joy in the battle so we commence
To change this nations course
The kingdom of God suffering violence
And the violent taken by force (Taken by force)
HOOAH!

(Chorus)

I'm a soldier in the Army of the Lord
I'm a soldier in the army of the Lord
We're not afraid to stand and fight
We cast out demons left and right
We're strong in battle, strong in prayer
We tell Satan, "GET OUT OF HERE!"

Sound off (Jesus)
Sound off (Is Lord)
Sound off (Jesus is Lord, Jesus... IS LORD!)

I was on FB and thinking about posting on my blog, and asked the Lord what He wanted me to post. The phrase "God's Got An Army" came next. Didn't know just what to think, so I went to google and typed in "God's Got An Army" and this song came up. I also found a youtube version of the song and it has footage of the Narnia Movie.

On FB I meet a lot of people who are devoted in sharing their favorite verse and giving words of encouragement and I am so thankful for all those encouraging words. There is no doubt in my mind that He was speaking about you all. Only the Holy Spirit knows how much I enjoy reading your encouraging posts. At that moment those words were said, I was thinking about the number of people who post and have christian blogs that do encourage other people by praying for and with them. What a witness you are to others.

I would like to say to you all, Thank You and God Bless You with All Spiritual Blessings. I am so glad to be a part of "God's Army", the only thing worth living for. My prayer for each of you is that you will hear these priceless words, "Well done, good and faithful servants, Welcome to your new home, where there is only unconditional LOVE that abounds for all".

Our Heavenly Home is a Prepared Place for a Prepared People

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3

We Must Prepare Ourselves so that We Can Inherit Our Heavenly Home

"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whore-mongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." Revelation 22:14-15

"For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Who shall change our vile body (our physical body), that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body (His Spiritual Body), according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." Philippians 3:20-21

The Lion and the Lamb

In Revelation 5, John himself is confronted with two very different images of Jesus back to back. The vision God gives him, puts right next to each other, two views of Jesus: Jesus as the Lion of Judah; Jesus as the slain yet living Lamb. The Setting

Recall that in Revelation 4, John sees a vision of throne room of God. In this room, God is right at the center. Around Him, praising Him, are four living creatures, representing everything that has breath. Around them are 24 more thrones, with 24 elders seated on them. These elders seem to represent all the redeemed of all time. They acknowledge that everything they have, all their rewards, all their accomplishments come from God. So they praise Him as the source of all, the creator, the One who freely chose to create. God is supreme, God is central.

And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. Rev. 5:2-4

The Lion

And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." Revelation 5:5

There is one who is worthy! There is one member of the human race who has not sinned: The Lion of the tribe of Judah!

Why is Jesus called a lion? Lions are powerful and dangerous. Lions are majestic - even in Jesus’ day, the lion was a symbol of royalty.

This is a specific reference to the prophecy that Jacob gave about the descendants of Judah in Genesis 49:

⁹ Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? ¹⁰ The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Genesis 49:9-10

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah” – and thus his kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom. “To him shall be the obedience of the peoples” – and thus every tribe and tongue and people and language will serve Him. Since Jesus is a descendant of Judah, all this is fulfilled in the images of Revelation 5.

The angel also refers to Jesus as the “Root of David”. This term comes from Isaiah 11 (although there He is called the “Root of Jesse”, David’s father):

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. ² And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. ³ And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, ⁴ but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. ⁵ Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. . . . the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. ¹⁰ In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples- of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. Isaiah 11:1-5, 9b-10

This passage pictures a perfect king, a king who will bring justice to the poor and the weak, a king who will punish the wicked by killing them with the breath of his lips, and striking the earth with the rod of his mouth.

So John expects to see a mighty, powerful, majestic Lion. He expects to see one who is able to overcome all opposition! This is the person he expects to take the scroll.

But that is not what he sees at all:

The Lamb

John hears a description of the Lion – then looks, and sees something completely different. This happens several times in Revelation. The contrast sheds light on the character of what is heard and has seen.

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Revelation 5:6

The Lamb must be spotless. Otherwise, the Lamb would have to die for His own sins. But since Jesus was sinless, He was the perfect sacrifice. As the book of Hebrews says:

in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15

He did not have to die for His sins. So He was able to take on the sins of all those who believe in Him.

The Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah, is God Himself! He is worthy of worship! He is the second person in the Trinity! Lion and Lamb

Jesus is the Lion and the Lamb. He is the King, coming to wreak vengeance on His enemies; He is the gentle lamb, dying for His people. As Isaiah writes:

Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. Isaiah 40:10-11

He comes to rule, He comes to pay back His enemies; He comes to gently carry His lambs.

See Him in His entirety! See Him in ALL His glory! Don’t try to tame Him, to limit Him, to box Him in!

• Love Him as the Lamb, dying for your sin!
• Love Him as the Lion, with all authority, might, and power!
• Love Him as the bridegroom, coming for His church!
• Love Him as the conquering, vengeful King with the bloody robe!

Love the complete Christ – and rejoice that He is king.

Bits and Pieces of a sermon by Coty Pinckney.