Fellowship:
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20.
Partnership:
“I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.” Isaiah 42:6-7.
Stewardship:
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.” Isaiah 48:17.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
To talk to someone intelligently, you have to know to whom you are speaking. And you really do not know someone if you do not know their name, though you may speak with them at a store or on the street. And you definitely cannot entrust your life to someone without knowing their character and their ability to care for and protect you. And certainly if you are going to entrust your life to them and follow their direction, you want it to be someone you can trust to act in your best interest.
The same is true in prayer. You cannot meaningfully relate to Me if you do not know who I AM. Do not pray to Me like a worthless idol. Do not pray to Me without expecting an answer. Do not think that you are heard by a sheer multiplication of words. Lip service without the heart being engaged is nothing. Jesus told you, “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Matthew 6:7-8. I am a Person, not a concept, a thing, or a force. When you call to Me, I answer you, and tell you great and mighty things you could not know. Jeremiah 33:3. You are in My image and likeness and we can fellowship together. You can know Me.
Today, as we continue our series “LORD, teach us to pray,” this is Life Lesson No. 2: “Know to Whom you are praying.” So, let Me introduce Myself to you as I did to the first man and woman, as I did to Noah, as I did to Abraham, as I did to Isaac, as I did to Jacob, and a multitude of others. And in the New Covenant I tell you that ALL shall know Me from the least to the greatest. It is time you pressed in to know Me. “So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD (יְהוָ֔ה אֶת). His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and the early rain watering the earth.” Hosea 6:3. I am with you, coming as certainly as the dawn to light up your life and make it new and with showers of blessing.
And that is how I have introduced Myself from the first man till now: I AM the One who BLESSES YOU AND GIVES YOU A NEW LIFE. And when you let Me into your life, that is what I do.
I am the creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. Even though Adam corrupted My creation, you can still see the majestic beauty and careful plan of the mountains, the hills, the valleys and plains, the rivers, streams, and waterfalls, the trees and flowers, the clouds, the rainbows, the blue sky, the sea, the sunrise and sunset, the moon and stars, and so much more. In My creation you see My creativity reflected. I think BIG (Beautiful in God) and the layers of My creation are vast indeed, from particles you cannot see to galaxies light years away. Nothing is too small to Me and nothing is too large for Me. And time is no hindrance to Me. I am the first and the last. I live outside time in the eternal, yet I can enter time, as Jesus did, but at the same time He made an eternal redemption.
There is no other god but Me. I know everything and sustain everything. At the Words of My mouth the Heavens were made, at the breath of My mouth their hosts. I number all the stars and call each by name (and yet for man it is impossible to count the stars, there seems to you to be no end) and I have every hair on your head counted. There is nothing and no one that escapes My notice. I know your thoughts from afar and before a word is on your tongue I know the whole of it.
I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb and I called you by name. You are Mine. I am the living God. I am with you and when you seek Me with all your heart you will find that I am right there at your side. My loving eyes are always upon you. “I will look from My dwelling place quietly like dazzling heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” Isaiah 18:4. I know the plans I have for each one of you, unique gifts and plans for each person, and they are plans for your shalom (wholeness in every area of your life: peace, prosperity, health, days filled with good) and not evil, to give you a future (an eternal one) and a hope (the anchor behind the veil). Jeremiah 29:11. I am for you.
And you can know Me. “For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea and its waves roar (the LORD of hosts is My name). I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to plant the heavens, to found the earth.” Isaiah 51:15-16. I made you to rule and reign with Me and I gave you dominion over the earth. The highest Heaven is Mine, but the earth I gave to you.
I introduced Myself to the first man and woman by blessing them and giving them new life and authority over the earth and all the works of My hands thereon. Before I formed them, they had no life, but I breathed My own life into them and they became alive. But they took My life in them and shut it down to give their hearts to the devil, but that did not stop My plan for man. I am the One who blesses you and gives you a new life. In blessing I shall bless you and in multiplying I shall multiply you. And I swore that to you by oath.
Men turned away from Me but I continued to seek those who would open their hearts to Me. I found Seth, I found Enoch and he walked with Me, he let Me introduce Myself to him, and I found Noah and he walked with Me. And I blessed Noah and his family and gave them a new life. I gave them again the dominion of the entire earth. After that, I introduced Myself to a man named Abram, a descendant of Noah’s son Shem. And how did I introduce Myself? As the One who would bless him and give him a new life. And he came to know Me and I called him My friend. I revealed things to him ahead of time. I even taught him the gospel beforehand. Jesus told you that Abraham saw His day and rejoiced. I told Abraham My Name as “El Shaddai,” that is, Almighty God who is there to meet all your needs. I also gave him My Name as “El Elyon,” God the most high. And Abraham named Me “the LORD who sees ahead and provides.” Abraham responded to My invitation and walked in newness of life with Me until he was satisfied and full of years, ready to leave this world for eternity.
And then I introduced Myself to his son Isaac, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, for the sake of My servant Abraham.” Genesis 26:4, 23. And even though there was a famine in the land, I told him to plant seed, he did and despite the drought, he reaped a hundred-fold. Why? I gave him underground wells to tap into. I blessed him and gave him a new life and he became increasingly great.
I blessed Isaac’s son Jacob and gave him a new life. Genesis 28:13-15. And I blessed Jacob’s son Joseph and gave him a new life, and then Joseph blessed the whole Middle East and Africa in a time of famine and gave a new life to Pharaoh and to his father, Jacob, and his brethren and their children.
And then came Moses. I blessed his parents and Moses with unusual favor and gave them new life. And even when Moses ran into the wilderness for forty years I came to him and introduced Myself to him and I gave him MY NAME. My covenant Name. LORD, that is YHWH. And I showed Myself as one filled with compassion for the cries of My people in bondage. I created man to be free, to have dominion of the earth, I never planned for anyone to be enslaved by humans or by evil spirits. And yet you have not known Me, though I was always available, and have submitted to other spirits that are inferior to Me. Many have given their lives to demons calling them gods. But I came to save and deliver you from bondage. I am the great deliverer. I am Salvation. I am your redeemer. And I am holy. I told Moses to remove his shoes, for where I am is holy ground. Do not trample My sanctuary with the filth that has clung to your feet, do not be distracted from Me by the anxieties of the life, learn to lean on Me, learn to focus on Me. Jesus washes your feet.
I told Moses I had a plan, a good plan, to bring My people out of slavery richly blessed with goods and health and to lead them out in order to lead them in and give them the land I had promised to Abraham and his descendants. A goodly land flowing with milk and honey, a place of abundance, where they would rule and reign in freedom and peace. And Moses was to be the one to carry out My plan on earth. I came to bless him and make him to be a blessing. And so it came to pass.
And later Moses asked to know Me better, to see My glory. So I passed by as I hid him in the cleft of the rock and showed him My goodness. But first I introduced Myself to Moses again, “The LORD descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the LORD. Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.” Exodus 34:5-6. And that is who I AM. And I continued to reveal My Name to Moses. I introduced Myself as “the LORD who heals you,” and the “LORD your victory (banner, miracle).”
I then brough Joshua into My plan in partnership with Me and I blessed him and gave him a new life of a conqueror. And I introduced Myself to him as the all powerful One who was with him wherever he went so that he would not fear or be dismayed by any circumstances, no matter how daunting. And I introduced him to the heavenly Host and to their commanding prince, My Son.
And I could continue on with Deborah, Gideon, Ruth, Hannah, Samuel, David, Solomon, Jehoshaphat, Esther, Daniel, and numerous kings, prophets, and those I called on assignments to bless, to warn, to protect, and to conquer. But to everyone who would open to My call, I blessed and gave them a new life.
And ultimately it was all summed up in ONE PERSON who came to bless everyone on earth and give everyone a new life who would receive Him. And in seeing Him, you see Me. JESUS. Yeshuah. Salvation.
Jesus is the one who introduces you to Me. When I sent Jesus as one of you into the world, “No one had ever seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed, disclosed, and explained Him.” John 1:18. It is because of Jesus that all in the New Covenant can know Me from the least to the greatest. “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” John 14:21.
When you see Him, you see Me in action before you. John 14:9-10. “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature and upholds all things by the word of His power.” Hebrews 1:1-3. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” Colossians 1:15-20. No one knows the Son but the Father, and no one knows the Father but the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him.
And what do you see in Jesus? You see the LORD your healer reaching out and healing all who came with faith, you see the LORD your provider multiplying bread and fish just because the people were hungry, you see the LORD your refuge, redeemer, rock, and deliverer stopping storms, rebuking fevers, casting out demons, setting people free from the bondage of sin and death, blessing everyone’s lives He touched. You see Him serving everyone, even washing his disciples’ feet. You see Him feeding you with His own body and blood, sealing forever His covenant with Me in which you all join in Him. You see Him forgiving, healing, and giving a new life to those like the woman with the issue of blood that touched the edge of his garment, the woman caught in adultery, the leper who came to be cleansed, the man with the withered hand, the man who had not walked for thirty-eight years, the man blind from birth, the woman bent over with a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years, the boy possessed with a mute spirit that threw him into convulsions on the ground, and crowds that were all healed on the hillside as they gathered to hear and be healed. You see Him raising Jairus’ daughter from death to a new life and you see Him doing the same for Lazarus at the tears of Martha and Mary. You see Him taking willingly and bearing all your sins, diseases, shame, guilt, and infirmity in His own body and taking your judgment and condemnation as He went to the dust of death in your place as your substitute. And you see Him as I raised Him up from the dead, from the lowest reaches of hell, with all justice satisfied and all sin gone for those in Him, that is, those who have confessed Him as Lord and believed in their hearts I raised Him from the dead. His grace is available to all who will call on His Name. I so loved the world I gave My Son for you that you who believe will never perish but have eternal life.
And Jesus became a curse for you to redeem you from the curse of the law and give you the BLESSING of Abraham and the promise of the Spirit through faith. And in Him I gave you a new life. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. Put off the old man and walk in newness of life. You have it.
You can entrust your life to Me, for I am a faithful Creator. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.
Jesus has shown you My glory, that is, My character (goodness and love), My presence (He is with you and in you always) and My power (He gives you authority over unclean spirits, disease, and death).
I AM the One who BLESSES YOU AND GIVES YOU A NEW LIFE.
What is blessing? It is benefits. It is increase. It is goodness. It is a life of freedom and good things. David knew the blessing and summed it up in benefits, he sang, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; He pardons all your iniquities, He heals all your diseases; He redeems your life from the pit, He crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; He fills your days with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.” Psalm 103:2-5.
Moses described the blessing as follows: “Blessed shall you be in the city and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in and blessed shall you be when you go out. The LORD shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you. The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will be afraid of you. The LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.” Deuteronomy 28:1-14.
Be blessed in all you are, have and put your hand to. The Blessing of the LORD makes rich and adds no sorrow with it. I am love and there is nothing harmful in love. Come to Me with confidence and I will make you joyful in My house of prayer. “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.” Psalm 36:7-9.
When you know Me you will not fear. Isaiah 41:10, 1 John 4:18. I am with you. Joshua 1:9. From everlasting to everlasting, I am God. Psalm 90:2. The creator, Genesis 1:1, the Almighty, Genesis 17:1, the Most High. Genesis 14:19-20. Yes, I AM who AM. Exodus 3:14. I AM there for you. Jeremiah 33:3. I AM your Healer, Exodus 15:26, I AM your Provider, Genesis 22:14, I AM your fortress, 2 Samuel 22:2, I AM your shield, Genesis 15:1; Psalm 144:2, I AM your Refuge, Deuteronomy 33:27, I AM your Shepherd, Psalm 23:1;Ezekiel 34:16; John 10:11, I AM your Righteousness, Jeremiah 23:6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, I AM your Victory, Exodus 17:15, 1 Corinthians 15:57, I AM your peace! Judges 6:24. Whatever you need, I have it and I am there for you. Psalm 50:10; Philippians 4:19. I AM with you now. Ezekiel 48:35, Matthew 28:20.
I love you. Be mindful of who you are praying to. “For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’” Isaiah 41:13.