A new understanding on Prayer.

Administration comment.

Luke 11:9“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

For many of us, over the years of our walk with God, we have had questions that have been asked, and no answer has been forthcoming.

Yet plainly, Jesus states that we WOULD have an answer.

I personally, have always struggled with questions regarding worth and the relationship I could expect with God as a one on one. We after all are a sinful product so far distanced to his presence by our ancestor Adam. Daily we pray for forgiveness, we pray for intercession, we pray that he might look down on us and not be incensed by our sinfulness, “please lord, do not be irritated with us any more” type of thing.

Last night, I was at the weekly wednesday night Bible study that I attend in Florida, and looked round the room at the men who attend. We are currently immersed in the Book of Acts, up to chapter 17, discussing the time period involved for the journeys, and looking at the message the apostles were now telling the Jewish nation about Jesus and the new covenant. I was struck by the faithfulness of each one of these men. These men have been a source of great encouragement to me in difficult times. We all lean on God to lead us.

I digress. What stuck in my mind was the phrase, “new covenant.”

A scripture came up, just in passing, and I noted it, just in passing.

(Romans 4:25) He was delivered up for the sake of our trespasses and was raised up for the sake of declaring us righteous.

Later that night, at home, I was thinking about it and what it meant, and suddenly, I knew there was far more to it than just a statement. I ran to the computer and started cross linking scriptures both in time period, in idea, in content, and in continuity.

Last night, I received the answer to a 30 year request for understanding.

Romans 3:24and it is as a free gift that they are being declared righteous by his undeserved kindness through the release by the ransom [paid] by Christ Jesus. 25 God set him forth as an offering for propitiation through faith in his blood. This was in order to exhibit his own righteousness, because he was forgiving the sins that occurred in the past while God was exercising forbearance; 26 so as to exhibit his own righteousness in this present season, that he might be righteous even when declaring righteous the man that has faith in Jesus.

Ok, let me get this right. According to the above statements, Lord God almighty has let Jesus not only take on the sins of the world, but has ALREADY reconciled us to himself now?

(Romans 5:6) For, indeed, Christ, while we were yet weak, died for ungodly men at the appointed time.

Ok ok… I know this, the whole Bible is a detailed timed prophetic book leading to the birth of the messiah who would take on the sins of Adam and replace the law covenant of Moses with himself as high priest…..but…?

(Romans 11:15) For if the casting of them away means reconciliation for the world, what will the receiving of them mean but life from the dead?

So this refers to a future resurrection or a spiritual awakening…what?
(1 John 2:2) And he is a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours only but also for the whole world’s.

Yes, so Jesus has been proclaimed the sacrifice that took away the sin of Adam in an exchange, Im beginning to not see the point here any more…

(Isaiah 43:25) “I—I am the One that is wiping out your transgressions for my own sake, and your sins I shall not remember.

Wait a minute, back in Isaiahs time, it was prophecy that you would not remember our sins? You would eradicate our mistakes, our back sliding? You would forgive?

(Romans 5:18) So, then, as through one trespass the result to men of all sorts was condemnation, likewise also through one act of justification the result to men of all sorts is a declaring of them righteous for life.

Righteous for life? All these scriptures indicate that God has reached out to us with more than just the fulfilment of his word that an exchange would happen for our eternal lives..this is also the ending of irritation with mankind?

Acts 13:38 “Let it therefore be known to YOU, brothers, that through this One a forgiveness of sins is being published to YOU; 39 and that from all the things from which YOU could not be declared guiltless by means of the law of Moses, everyone who believes is declared guiltless by means of this One.

Oh my! He is not angry with me or us anymore.! We have truly entered into a forgiven state over and above a future promise. It is now.

Although we are sinners due to adamic failure, and do not measure up to the standards originally set by God, we no longer are under his anger. His son Jesus, the Word, the Logos, did more than die for us, Jesus put us in personal relationship with the Father as long as we go through the high priest, which is Jesus, and we can have a one on one relationship with no barriers.

2 Cor 5:19God was by means of Christ reconciling a world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and he committed the word of the reconciliation to us.

You may be sat at home reading this and saying to yourself, this affects me how?

Let me tell you how….

Your prayers will change. The content will become richer. You no longer have to supplicate on the basis of Gods anger with mankind. He is not angry at us any more. We are reconciled through Jesus. So much so that:

Luke 2:14 says,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

This said by the angels at the birth of Jesus.

We have more than just a sacrifice for our sins. We now have a relationship with God.

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post note.

I have seen these scriptures over the years and never collated them into a cohesive understanding. If God is no longer angry with us, then we can use JESUS as the intercessor for mankind. I no longer believe we have to plead on behalf of our sinfulness, it has been done. It is Jesus job, after all, he is sat next to God and is pleading for us…

Our prayer need to be filled with asking for direction and strength to do Gods will. All humanity is forgiven and need only to seek out God through Jesus. All that The Father desires for mankind is now ours if we have the faith to accept it. Yes, we are still under the adamic results of sin. Sickness and death are here until his total word is fulfiled. But….. we are reconciled spiritually RIGHT NOW.

What a Loving Father.