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.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matthew 6:11-13.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
If you become a person of prayer, fear can no longer master you. Life is nothing to be scared of when you walk it out with Me. Life is nothing to be scared of when you live it according to My Word. Then life becomes something to embrace and enjoy with Me.
Live life by prayer, which means live life with Me. Let Me show you how to live and then you will not be afraid of death, and you will know how to die. You will have no fear of death anymore. “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, Jesus Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” Hebrews 2:14-15. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4.
Today, as we continue our series, “LORD, teach us to pray,” we are on Life Lesson No. 6: “How to pray—what to say, Part 3.” We have now come to the third part of the pattern of prayer Jesus gave you to follow in the way you pray: “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:11-13. This is the stewardship aspect of prayer. It involves the good management of your life, that is, your total well-being. This aspect of prayer involves two prongs: The first is about petition for your own needs, protection, provision, and desires, that is, making withdrawals from your heavenly account that I have filled with every spiritual blessing and with all that you need for life and godliness. It is about accessing and living in your Kingdom covenant blessings. The second aspect involves instruction, direction, correction, guidance, and leading. It is about receiving My wisdom and instruction on managing your life in all aspects—spiritual, physical, emotional, financial, your relationships, and the use of your time, treasure, and talents. It is where you tap into My good plans for your life and get direction on how to walk them out. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.” Psalm 32:8. But if you do not lift your eyes to My eyes you will not receive the direction you need.
This aspect of prayer determines whether you have a long satisfying life filled with peace or a life of turmoil filled with strife, stress, and regrets. Without prayer you cannot find your purpose. It is the difference between a life of wandering in the wilderness and a life lived in the Promised Land. “So Joshua said to the Israelites: ‘How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you?’” Joshua 18:3. “The LORD our God said to us at Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain.’” Deuteronomy 1:6. “You have circled this mountain long enough.” Deuteronomy 2:3. You see from these passages that I do not want you wandering, stuck at some mountain in your life that you just keep circling about. I want you walking in victory. “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go.” Isaiah 48:17. If you recall, in the parable of the Master and his servants to whom he gave the talents to invest, he rebuked the one who merely buried his in a hole and never did anything fruitful with his life. The Master had handed him the means to do so and the instruction of what to do with it but he did nothing.
I delight in your prosperity as a good Father in His children. And I desire above all that you prosper and be in good health, even as your soul (mind, will, and emotions) prospers by walking in the truth. “But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” Deuteronomy 8:18. I desire for your life to be a good journey, a BLESSED journey. But as making any journey, you need direction, guidance, leading, protection, deliverance, and provision. And this is what the stewardship aspect of prayer is all about.
There are spiritual laws that must be followed to obtain the results they promise. One of these is that you must give to receive. And this includes time in prayer and in My Word. “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Hebrews 6:11-12. “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.” Mark 4:24-25. If you are spending more time on social media and watching worldly news broadcasts, videos, movies, magazines, newspapers, and TV shows than you do in prayer, listening to preaching and teachings on My Word, and reading My Word, the little guidance you have received will be eclipsed and dry up. “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:13. Prayer puts your bucket back down into the well of living water to draw up treasure.
You see this aspect of prayer in Jesus. Jesus received direction in prayer. I showed Him the works to do and the Words to say. When the woman was caught in adultery and they demanded Jesus to answer their questions, He paused and waited for Me to give Him the appropriate response that would turn what they meant for harm into good for all, and I did give Him words and a wisdom no one could take exception to or contradict. Jesus rose early and prayed before beginning the day. He prayed all night before He chose the twelve disciples.
One prayer can change everything. Turn to Me and seek My counsel. One prayer can give the battle strategy and the victory. Look at Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah whose heart was turned towards Me, when three enemy armies united together, way outnumbering the army of Judah, and advanced to take Jerusalem, his first reaction was fear. But he knew what to do with that. He turned to prayer and cast that care on Me. He called all Judah to join him at My house, the Temple in Jerusalem, and they came. One person’s faith can draw a nation together, while one person’s fear can set a nation fleeing and scattering, each just looking out for himself. And they turned it all over to Me, but they began in confident worship and fellowship and put Me in remembrance of My promises to My people of the land and of My sure response to prayer made in My temple. They called on My protection, deliverance, and wisdom. They were at a loss of what to do but they fixed their eyes on Me. And that was all that was needed. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.” Psalm 32:8. And I gave My Word to the prophet in their midst and their battle became Mine. But that was not the end. They had to partner with Me and go out against the enemy. They did with confident joy, knowing I had promised to fight for them. They sang My praises in holy attire as they marched towards the vast throng of the enemy. And true to My Word, I routed the enemy. The moment the people of Judah’s praise came up like incense in golden bowls and was placed on My altar, the angel threw down the censer and the enemies coming to plunder My people and My land destroyed each other. “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life.” 2 Corinthians 2:14-16. When My people got to the lookout on the top of the hill, all of the enemy lay dead. Sweet victory was theirs and I gave them all the treasure of the enemy. The wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous.
But may I ask you—what would have happened if Jehoshaphat had not prayed the prayer of faith? One prayer can change everything.
Jehoshaphat’s response to a dire situation of overwhelming odds shows you the stewardship aspect of prayer in both prongs. First he came with confidence to My throne of grace with his petition to find mercy and grace in time of need. And when he received his provision from the riches of Heaven in the Word I gave the prophet it contained an instruction of what his part was in partnering with Me to have it manifest in his life and that of his nation. Fellowship with worship, petition, instruction, and doing the instruction resulting in manifestation.
You see this same sequence with David in what appeared to be a devastating defeat at Ziklag. David took his men to join a battle and was sent back (that is another story in itself), but when he returned to their refuge city of Ziklag, the city had been attacked, burned down, and the wives and children, along with all their goods, of David and his men had been captured and carried off by a raiding party of Amalekites. At first all David and his men could do was lament, weep, and begin to blame David for the devastation due to his leaving the city unguarded. They were going to stone him. But David did not run or admit defeat at that point, he turned to Me in prayer and put Me in remembrance of all the great things I had done for him. He entered My gates with thanksgiving and My courts with praise went to the Holy of Holies with his petition. And, due to Saul’s murder of the priests, with David was a priest with the Ephod, which he consulted. And I gave him the answer to his petition. I told him to go after that raiding band and he would recover all. That was all he needed and his faith moved the men to valor. Off they went, not knowing where they were going but believing My Word they went forward, forgetting what lay behind. And I showed them the way and brought them to that band to make a surprise attack and David and his men recovered ALL plus MORE—there was extra spoil taken from plundering other towns by the raiding band. And none of their wives, families, or goods had been harmed at all.
One prayer was enough, but it was based on years of fellowship and worship. Fellowship, petition, instruction, and obeying the instruction and the promise manifested. And David knew this. He never went into battle without consulting Me for the strategy and he never lost. He called Me the “Master of the breakthrough.” Do you know Me that way? You can. But you won’t know Me if you never spend time with Me in prayer.
Psalm 103, Psalm 91, Psalm 25, and Psalm 23 are all stewardship prayers. David did not let himself lose remembrance of any of his benefits and not use them. Psalm 103:1-5. Many of David’s prayers were stewardship prayers. “Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; for I trust in You; teach me the way in which I should walk; for to You I lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8.He loved to inquire in My Temple as he beheld My beauty, which was delightful to him. Psalm 27:4.
Looking again at the pattern of prayer, you see what stewardship, the management of your life, is all about. “Give us this day our daily bread.” This is about your personal needs and desires– about supply and provision for your needs and good works. This is about casting your cares on Me so I can care for you and having no anxiety about anything. Philippians 4:6-7. This is about seeking the Kingdom first and My righteousness so all is added to you. This is about giving and receiving. This has to do with tithes and offerings and so much more for Me to show you to obtain what you need. I know what you need and I will show you what it is and how to obtain it by My Word.
Next, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” This is about obtaining mercy for yourself, that is, your sins, and grace so you can forgive others. Hebrews 4:16. My grace is sufficient for you to be able to forgive and do My Word. And it is also about receiving instruction on how to do it—that is, how to renew your mind and what to say and think upon and why it is so vital to your own benefit and answered prayer. Philippians 4:8-9; 1 Corinthians 13:6-8; Matthew 7:1-11.
“And do not lead us into temptation,” this is about direction of how to run your life—where to go, what people to know and join with, and so much more. “But deliver us from evil.” This is about protection and discernment.
And these all involve the gifts of the Spirit as well.
When you consider My apostle Paul’s prayers for you in the letters to the Ephesians and the Colossians you will see that he is praying about you awakening to your inheritance in Me, your call, and the power that I have put in you. You are to steward these with My revelation and instruction and he asks that I open the eyes of your heart to understand the greatness of what you have and the importance of walking it out with Me. It is about tapping into My plans for your life and the provision and power that I have set there for you by grace which you must take by faith.
My commandments are all about the management, that is, the stewardship of your life. Actually, the third chapter of Paul’s letter to the Colossians is a stewardship chapter and so are chapters 4 and 5 of Ephesians. They are about how to manage your life in a way that will give you maximum righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
There is so much more to talk about here and examples thereof from the lives of those believers who are now cheering you on as a cloud of witnesses from the grandstands of Heaven. But I will close for today’s Life Lesson with just one more thought for your meditation and encouragement to pray.
Prayer is precious to Me. Precious, precious, precious are your prayers to Me, My Son, and My Spirit. And precious means of tremendous value. Your time with Me is precious in My sight and My delight. Prayer is in the secret place. It is in the garden enclosed filled with the fragrance and the sunshine of our love. Prayer is first love. The Ephesian church left their first love. They were no longer spending time in prayer with Me but were very busy doing the works of the ministry. They were working for Me but not with Me. There is a difference. They had no time for prayer they were so busy in their good works. There was no incense coming up, no sweet aroma of prayer.
I call your prayer incense before Me. It is so precious it is stored in golden bowls held before My throne and placed on the golden altar of incense before Me. Why do I put your prayers there? If you recall, the only way the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies was in a cloud of incense, otherwise he could not enter. The only way you access entrance to My throne of grace, the very Holy of Holies, is in the cloud of prayer.
Maybe you will consider making time for prayer, knowing it is precious to Me. Is it precious to you? It tells Me how precious I am to you by whether you take time to pray. And you can be anywhere at any time just by keeping your eyes on Me during your busy day and consulting Me before you say or do things. Like Jesus. And that is prayer without ceasing. Stewardship. Management of your life. Do not spend your life wandering in the desert and going around the same mountain. It will keep you very busy but you will be going nowhere worthy of your life.
I love you. “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:11-13. There is so much there it will never be exhausted, but My Son, like Me, can put things in very concise terms that will take a lifetime to unravel all the beauty contained therein. As My beloved John observed, there would not be enough books in the world to contain them all.