Losing our Religion: Dare to Pray Bold and Powerful Prayers

5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 2 Timothy 3:5 NKJV 









 We've begun a series of study exposing the traditions of men. We've seen the necessity of dropping religious tradition and the great benefits that accompany that decision. We've seen how religion weaponizes shame. Today, I want to address an issue of great importance.

 What is vital in our walk with God, is hearing the truth that affects our daily lives. We all want to hear something that is practical. Something we can put into practice in our daily lives. As believers, the subject of prayer is of great importance. Prayer is not a religious exercise. It isn't some spiritual chore that needs to be completed or we won't get our proverbial gold star. 

 Prayer isn't a religious duty or obligation. Prayer is communion with our good Father. Prayer is fellowship time with God. Prayer is a conversation with the One who cares for you the most, is interested in all aspects of your life, and rejoices in time spent with you. 

 More than likely, the reason prayer seems dull, unfulfilling, like a chore, we must complete, a duty that must be fulfilled, an obligation that must be met, is due to the fact that prayer doesn't seem to produce anything in our life. We pray and it seems nothing happens. We find prayer to be more disappointing and hopeless, seeing we rarely see answers to what we pray about. 

 So how do we get from dull, monotonous, tedious and uneventful prayer to seeing answered prayers? How do we go from mere obligatory religious duty to actually sense the presence of God more and more as we fellowship with God? What's the key?

Righteousness: the Key to Powerful Prayers

 We must change our thinking about prayer. We must stop being timid and seeing ourselves as unworthy sinners in God's eyes. We must stop seeing ourselves as a mere pauper begging for crumbs, leftovers, and scraps from the Master's table. 

16 Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results. James 5:16 TLB

 The prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective. They're bold prayers. They are prayers prayed with confident assurance of our good Father. They are not silent, timid, powerless prayers.

 What makes the prayer of the righteous so powerful? So effective? What causes the Lord to hear the prayer of the righteous? 

 Sadly, religion twists the passage we just shared into a performance-based standard. That when we live up to a certain standard we will then qualify for the answer. We will somehow be found worthy enough for God to hear us. 

 What makes the prayer of the righteous so powerful is whose righteousness we are walking in. The Finished Work was the great exchange. When we believed we partook of that exchange. We exchanged our spiritually dead sinful nature for a new nature, Eternal life, His very life, and nature. We exchanged our filthy rags righteousness for His perfect righteousness. If it's His righteousness we received, then we are just as righteous as Jesus.

 The power behind this prayer is not our goodness or ability to perform well or our perfect obedience. The power rests in Christ and what He has already accomplished and fulfilled in the Finished Work. Think, what is the basis of your asking God anything? Are you desiring to receive based upon your goodness? Your obedience? Your behavior? Or are you coming to God based on Christ's goodness and not your own?

 You can ask him for anything, using my name, and I will do it, for this will bring praise to the Father because of what I, the Son, will do for you. 14 Yes, ask anything, using my name, and I will do it! John 14:13-14 TLB

 Our Father blesses us because He is good not because we are good. Too often we try to qualify for the gift. We try to qualify or be found worthy to receive by our actions. Is this how Jesus said to pray?

 Put your faith and trust in Jesus' faithfulness and obedience, not yours. Now some tradition-minded become highly agitated when we suggest this. They cry foul. They say no, we are to become faithful and obedient and then and only then will God bless us.

 Let me illustrate this trusting in Christ's goodness and not our own. Suppose you were seeking a home loan, a mortgage. Now suppose the bank just told you that you don't qualify for the loan, what do you do? Work hard, be more diligent at becoming more qualified? That's the only option for you. Now suppose a billionaire philanthropist happened to be there at the bank and decided to intervene in your situation? What if they said, put the loan in my name, I will make the payments monthly, and any charges incurred over the life of the loan I will pay? 

 In the future, would you be going to the bank concerning the loan, in your name or the philanthropist's name? If the bank sought to charge you whose name would you invoke? Of course, you would operate in the authority, and resource and good name of the philanthropist and not your own. Your financial state would have no bearing on your standing with the bank concerning this loan. 

 A performance driven mindset would have us still seeking ways of receiving approval for the loan. Even as the loan has been approved by another on our behalf, the one trying to qualify in their own goodness, and faithfulness would look for ways to earn this approval. This is religion. Trying to earn, what is already purchased on our behalf. 

 This is what it means to be the righteousness of God in Christ. This is what it means to pray, asking in His name. It's coming to God, based on Jesus' goodness, obedience, and supply. It is asking of the Father based upon the perfect obedience, holiness, and right standing of the Son. It is never approaching God based on our good deeds, faithfulness or righteousness.

 What does it mean to ask in Jesus name? For so long many thought this meant simply we ask because of the authority of His name. Though there are power and authority in His name, we must go deeper in understanding what that means. Asking in Jesus name is saying He is my representative. That I am asking based on His right standing, His supply, His goodness, and His obedience and never my own worthiness, or faithfulness or behavior. 

 When tradition says we must be faithful and obedience to receive. That our behavior determines whether or not God will bless us we have removed Christ and His perfect Finished Work out of the equation. In truth, we are no longer asking in Jesus name. All we are left with is our own track record. When we are basing our receiving on our own faithfulness and obedience we are in reality asking in our own name;

"Father I have been faithful and obedient, and am therefore asking for this answer in Jerry's name, in Freddie's name, in Ken's name, in John's name, in Mike's name, in Rodney's name I pray amen."

 In summation, if you would like to see your prayer life transformed, realize that prayer is intimate fellowship with your Father who is always overjoyed with gladness to fellowship with you. See all that His Finished Work procured for you. Know who you are in Him. Then dare to come boldly before Him and pray as if Jesus Himself was asking. No more feasting on crumbs, but dare to take your place as His righteous, perfectly accepted child and sit at the King's table and partake of all He has prepared and provided. 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Losing our Religion: What about Paul's thorn in the flesh?

5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 2 Timothy 3:5 NKJV 





We've started a series of study concerning the benefits of letting go of the tradition of men. We are seeing more and more how stifling religious tradition is to intimacy with God, maturing in our walk with Him and how it turns people away from God. As we study more, we see God in all His goodness and love and turn loose of any traditional religious thinking.

 Today, it seems good to share on a subject that has held many believers in bondage. This account in Scripture has produced so many traditions that cause people to not trust God for wholeness in every area of life. I am speaking of Paul's thorn in the flesh. You can read the few verses of the account here.

The enemy loves to sow discord and confusion into the Church. This event in Paul's life has caused much confusion and brought about much debate among the saints. The Scriptures rightly divided offer no confusion, but traditional religious interpretations of God's Word will create uncertainty and misunderstanding.

The Three Main Traditions Concerning Paul's Thorn:

 There are three main traditional views of Paul's thorn. Let's address them in order.

1. God gave Paul a thorn in the flesh to keep him humble and to stop him from becoming prideful/Paul was getting too prideful and needed humbling.

 Look at many commentaries and you will see this taught. Some translations even put this in the text. Is this an accurate understanding of what it means to be exalted above measure? Is it also accurate to think, the enemy would be the agent used to ensure Paul would remain humble?

 In order for this to be the right assessment of why Paul was given this thorn, we need to see if satan would keep Paul from being prideful. In order to properly evaluate this, allow me to remind you of something.

He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride.” Job 41:34 NKJV. 

 God declared this about satan. He said the enemy is the king over all the children of pride. In fact, what was the original sin found in satan? Pride! 

  Now, let's use some wisdom and sound judgment. Why would God in His infinite wisdom assign satan the task of keeping Paul from becoming prideful? This leads to another obvious question. Why would the enemy want Paul to remain humble? Wouldn't the enemy do all he could to tempt Paul to become more and more prideful? 

 This view is twisted logic. It's based on the twisted and inconsistent concepts of the traditions of men. This teaching that God wanted Paul to remain humble so He brought satan in to ensure it clearly contradicts the whole of Scripture and the very nature and character of God and the enemy. 

2. Paul's thorn in the flesh was some sickness or disease. 

 This is one of the most widely held traditions concerning Paul's thorn. The idea is God sees Paul is puffed up so He makes him sick and disease-ridden to keep the pride away. 

 What's at root here is the twisted religious idea that God brings evil to better us. That He brings destruction to our life to straighten us out. That in order to get our full, undivided attention He brings to us destructive, tragic circumstances or He puts a crippling, tormenting disease upon us.

 Jesus was God in the flesh. When He walked the sandy shores of Galilee He was fully God. When did He ever bring a debilitating disease on Peter to correct his erring ways? When His inner circle of disciples wouldn't watch with Him for one hour, did He cause them to experience bankruptcy, or kill their loved ones in some terrible accident? Did He whip up some devastating storm that destroyed all they owned? Did He bring a pestilence upon them?  Really nothing like that to perfect them, to instruct them? Nope, nothing at all. 

 When Jesus was here on Earth, we have no record of Him bringing destruction, disease, death or famine on any persons or nations. Think. Jesus said a kingdom divided will not stand. If God our Father made people sick and Jesus turned around and healed them, they would be actively working against each other. The Kingdom would be divided and therefore not stand. 

 You may say but Paul said it was a thorn in the flesh. This must mean it was a sickness. Not true. This was merely a figure of speech. Much like today, have you never heard someone say this is a pain in the neck? Is it literally a pain in the neck? Of course not. Some even go so far as to say this or that is a pain in the rear. If Paul had used that expression, some "theologians" would suggest Paul experienced painful hemorrhoids all his life. 

 If we follow the Scripture you can see these types of expressions used. Here are just a few examples, here. Another place here. One more here. Proving again, this phrase is merely an idiom used to describe a situation facing Paul.

3. God told Paul, "No!"

 This is the saddest thing to hear taught. Imagine coming to God our Father for help only to be told no. Does this sound like God? Is this what a good Father would tell His children?

 The idea taught by tradition is Paul asks God for help, healing, and deliverance and God tells him no. God basically tells him to keep suffering it is best for you. They see where God says my Grace is sufficient, and come to the conclusion that God told Paul, the fact you're saved is all you need. Be content in your suffering. 

 This is not what God said to Paul. He never told Him no. He simply told Him Grace is sufficient. In other words, what you already have is sufficient to deal with this. 

Clearly Understanding Paul's Thorn

Going back to the text, look closely at what is going on. Don't isolate this account and try to use it to explain difficulties and challenging circumstances. The truth is we live in a fallen and fractured creation. Nothing will be perfectly just and right until Jesus returns and completely transforms this place.

 Paul speaks of visions and revelation he is given. What is this revelation? It is the revelation of the New Covenant. It is the revelation of the righteousness of the believer apart from performance and observance of the Law and Jewish ritual and practices. It is also the revelation that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile in Christ. 

 Paul says in order for him to no be exalted overmuch he was given a messenger of satan to buffet him. This word buffet is to attack, strike hard with a fist. Is God assigning satan to beat Paul up to keep him in humility? 

 No, for two reasons. One God commands us to humble ourselves. He didn't say I am going to use satan to humble you. Secondly, He says He will exalt us in due time. So being exalted doesn't always mean prideful arrogance. 

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 1 Peter 5:6 NKJV

This phrase about being exalted above measure is used only twice in Scripture. Here and in the Epistle to the Thessalonians.  One describes arrogantly exalting oneself describing the end time work of the enemy. This phrase here Paul is speaking of exalting over the measure of the enemy's influence.

 The enemy was fighting this New Covenant. He wanted to keep the Jews bound to Law. He wanted to put the Law on the Gentiles. Paul had this revelation of Grace and was sharing it setting so many free. The enemy, the messenger of satan, the word used for angel or messenger, was a religious spirit stirring up the religious to publicly resist Paul wherever he went.

 This is what the thorn was. It was the religious trying to prevent the people from experiencing the freedoms of Grace and the New Covenant. Everywhere Paul preached they would be stirred up. Paul did seek God for deliverance.

 God didn't tell Paul no, just suffer. What He said was my Grace is sufficient. This word sufficient means to be possessed of unfailing strength. It speaks of defense and the ability to ward off an attack. In this strength, it also connotes the idea of contentment. 

 Grace is the unearned undeserved favor of God. What God told Paul was Grace is more than enough. The more the enemy attacked the more Grace superabounded. This is why Paul began to rejoice when He was insufficient in himself. He knew then that his ability couldn't bring it to pass, but God and His strength and power were more than enough to get the job done. 

 Look at Paul's life. Yes, the enemy brought much persecution. Yet all in all Paul's message of Grace, the Gospel, righteousness and the New Covenant was boldly proclaimed everywhere and the message continues to this day.

 In summation, let go of twisted religion. God was there for Paul just like He will be for you. In fact, there is an end to this story. God did, in fact, deliver Paul. 

 11 persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me 2 Timothy 3:11 NKJV

 God is our good Father. We can lean on Him. Trust in Him. Rest in His favor for us. The enemy is defeated and Jesus is our triumphant King and He has made us more than conquerors, so rejoice! 

image courtesy of jeswin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Losing our Religion: Shame

5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 2 Timothy 3:5 NKJV 






We've begun a series of study exposing the lies of religious tradition. We are seeing the truth of the Gospel versus the lies of the spirit of religion. As we progress we will see more and more the benefit of losing the traditions of men and embracing God's over the top, too good to be true but true Good News Gospel of Grace.

 Today, I sense the leading to address this area of shame. What is shame? How do we define it in the context of exposing religious traditions? Shame is a painful sense of humiliation. It accompanies guilt and condemnation. 

Sometimes when we actually do something wrong afterward we are ashamed of our actions. Certainly, I understand no reasonable person wants to celebrate a poor choice or the act of hurting someone. Though that is true, shame is not God's method of bringing correction.  In the context of religious tradition though, shame plays a major role. 

 Under religion, shame comes to us whether we actually did something wrong or not. What I mean is this. Tradition has their rules and regulations and places a demand that you follow them. What they call preaching often is just the leader harping on the perceived notion of how little commitment the people have. How they are doing less and less and should be doing more and more.  How they come short in their giving and church attendance. How the falter in spiritual disciplines. If we aren't beaten up a little, we don't feel like we've actually heard good preaching.

 When someone messes up shame comes from the enemy. He wants them to take that mistake and allow it to define them. The enemy wants them to allow it to derail them from fulfilling God's plan for their life.

 Tradition backs up the enemy's claims. I have heard horror stories of people made to come to the front of the church and recount their sin. You may say, brother, didn't Paul the Apostle of Grace teach us that we are to rebuke before all those that sin?

 Glad you brought that passage up. In full context, Paul isn't speaking of shaming people. He is speaking of leadership. In essence, he is saying don't entertain disgruntled people's claims. However, if in fact, a leader has indeed taken advantage of people and hurt those he leads, the behavior should be corrected and let the people know the behavior is wrong. 

 God is offering guidelines to protect people. If a leader is scamming the people, taking their savings, or if they are physically taking advantage of them, he should be rebuked or corrected. Correction isn't about shaming someone. So this passage isn't talking about shaming the people every time they mess up.

 Under religion, shame creeps up to us subtly. Tradition will drop hints about how we are failing to measure up to their rules. They may mention things like watching the ball game instead of praying. They may speak of missing church meetings so you can visit family or participate in a prior engagement. They will challenge your "love for God." They will challenge your level of spiritual hunger or maturity. 

 Then the people will do some heavy introspection. It isn't Spirit-led. It is religion led. It leads people to see themselves as continually failing to measure up. I read somewhere a great example of this. A person goes to church and they forgot to silence their cell phone. It rings, and the leadership stop and shame the person for disturbing the meeting. Not realizing the person was going through a tough time already, so they go to the local bar. There they are greeted by a warm smile from the bartender. After they are seated they mistakenly spill their drink. The waitress, says that's ok we all make mistakes, let me get you another drink. Another Bar worker cleans up the spill, saying again its no big deal.   The person never went back to church, but always goes to the local bar.

 Look at your own life. In your own experiences with religion, how has shame played a part in your spiritual journey? Have you ever felt like an outcast? That your sin was too much for even God to handle? Did you feel you never measured up in the eyes of others? That they were always more spiritual than you, and therefore God favored them more? Did you ever feel like God would never answer your prayers because you are not as faithful and committed as others?

 Shame is the tool the enemy equips traditional religion with. Tradition can only show how you are always failing and how you need to continually improve. Grace says otherwise. The Finished Work reveals your infinite value to your Father in Heaven. Under Grace God says you're more than a conqueror. That Christ has made you accepted and approved. Not religious approved but Jesus approved! Even when you fail, Grace reminds you of who you are. You're the righteousness of God in Christ, free from condemnation and no one is able to lay a charge against you. 

 In summation be free from the religious tradition of men and embrace what Grace says about you. When they say you are failing to measure up, rest knowing Jesus already measures up and He says you're approved. When they say you're letting God down, remember you're not holding Him up, so you can never let Him down. Rest knowing Jesus is the complete shame remover. Embracing Grace brings us to a place of rest free from shame and condemnation.