I was reading a book about prayer.  The author was discussing prayers as they were offered during the Greek and Roman era.  He had found many instances where the worshippers bargained with their gods or goddesses as they besought their favours!

Here's a quote.  "Reciprocity was the key to ancient Roman prayers!"  That means that the worshipper was to do something for the god ... then the god would do something for the worshipper!

In prayer the average Greek or Roman would tell his god all the good things he'd done for this particular deity ... and then demand certain things in return!

Again, that's called "reciprocity."

Prayer was to them an "informal contract."  A "tit-for-tat."

It was "counter-service" in action!

But, oh, how different is Christian prayer!

See if you discern any bargaining in this request:  "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner."  Luke 18:13

Or get what Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-8.  "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

See any counter-offers here? 

Or think of the words of the old hymn "Rock of Ages" that says ... 

"Nothing in my hand I bring;
Simply to Thy Cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to you for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly,
Wash me, Saviour, or I die."

Thank God for the "grace" of prayer!

The Epistle of Hebrews even calls God's very dwelling place "The Throne of Grace!" (Hebrews 4:16)

Exercise that great privilege of petition and intercession and thanksgiving today!

Pray!

                                                                      --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

ARTICLE 11:

I saw this view of the Lord's Prayer a couple of weeks ago.  It has thrilled my heart.

It "sets" the model prayer Jesus taught us in the "light" of Bible history.

It makes it the most "logical" thing one could ever pray!

Let me show you what I mean.

The "text" I'm following is that of Matthew 6:9-13.

"Our Father Which art in Heaven"  God as a personal "Father" is NOT generally an Old Testament doctrine. It fits more into the gracious New Testament pattern. ("Abba" Father!) However, we do find the term used a few times in the Jewish Scriptures.  Notice Exodus 4:22-23.  "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: and I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn."  Or again you can see it in Hosea 11:1 where God says:  "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt."  Observe that in both texts the subject is Israel being brought out of Egyptian bondage!  That's history!  (Redemptive history!)

"Hallowed be Thy Name"  At the burning bush experience God emphasized the meaning and the holiness of His Name!  "And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God."  Then God's Name is introduced into the conversation.  "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations."  And Psalm 111:9 adds this about God's Name:  "He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name."

"Thy Kingdom come"  This was God's very goal for historical Israel.  He would be their King!  Their Lord!    Jehovah was grieved when they wanted a man as King, a Saul son of Kish!  In Exodus 19:6 here's what God said to Israel:  "And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel."  Wow!  As we all now know, Israel rejected God's offer ... but Jesus will still some day sit and rule as "King of the Jews!" (This is a millennial text!)

"Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven"  This petition reminds me of the Old Testament Tabernacle with all its beautiful pictures of Christ Jesus!  God had come down to earth.  The Brass Altar is Jesus on the Cross!  The Candlestick is Jesus the Light of the Word!  The Mercy Seat is Jesus the propitiation of sin!  (In fact, when John tells us of the Incarnation ... He said:  "And the Word (Jesus) was made flesh, and dwelt (the verb = "tabernacled") among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."  I'd surely call That God's Will!

"Give us this day our daily bread"  Here we historically see the Manna in the wilderness!  (Which manna was simply a Type of our Lord Jesus Christ, the True Bread of Life!  Remember Jesus' statement:  "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." John 6:35)  God still feeds us day by day ... both physically and spiritually!

"And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors"  I wonder if this may indirectly refer to their "borrowing" from the Egyptians as they did.  See Exodus 3:22 or 11:2. "Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold."  Now I am not implying that they did anything wrong here. They were just following God's orders.  But there is also no doubt a further historical inference here.  The people of God sinned again and again in the wilderness.  They needed and at times sought God's forgiveness.  Moses illustrates this fact with his great prayer in Exodus 32:32 where he intercedes: "Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written."  Wow!  This also might have in view every 7th "Sabbatical" Year or even the 50th Year of "Jubilee!"  God can certainly set us free!

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"  This is a prayer for God to defer or remove certain "testings" from their pathway.  Israel has always faced trials and persecutions.  This very request acknowledges that God is their supreme Controller!  BUT ... here Israel may have been asking God to remove (not His testings and trials toward them, but ...) their selfish and carnal testings toward God Himself! Often Israel rebelled against God and vexed or grieved Him on their journey!  (In Numbers 14:22 God directly states that Israel had "tempted" Him again and again!  "Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice."  Wow!  Ten times!  That may mean "repeatedly.")  Paul in 1st Corinthians 10:9 says that Israel "tempted" the Lord too. "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents."  Lord, don't let us do that!

"For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, for ever."  And some day ... some glorious day ... Israel will be humbled (the Tribulation) and convicted and saved (at Armageddon) by the Grace of God!  She then will bow before Her Messiah Jesus, King of all, and ascribe to Him the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever!  "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn."  (Zechariah 12:10) Paul adds in Romans 11:26-27 ... "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins."  Glory to God!

Then, lastly, "Amen"  Even this little word has historical significance for the Jews! It was used early in their national life when they agreed to the blessings and curses of obeying or not obeying God's Word!  (Twelve times you'll find "amen" in Deuteronomy 27!)  They used it in the days of David as worship was lifted to God! See 1st Chronicles 16:36 --- "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD."  It was used in the days of the great Revival in Nehemiah 8.  See verse 6.  It was used repeatedly throughout the Psalms.  It was used in the New Testament era.  Fifty (50) times I find it in the New Testament!  Paul used it habitually!  And ... according to the Book of Revelation they are using it in heaven right now!  "Amen" means TRUE, FAITHFUL, RIGHT!  In fact, it is Jesus' very Name:  "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God."  That's Jesus talking!

There you have it!

Certainly this is not the only way to view the Lord's Prayer.

It may not even be the best way.

But it is one way ... and it's lovely!

This sure teaches us to pray to our Lord our of our daily experiences, doesn't it?

Amen!

                                                                           --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

ARTICLE 12:

I had a godly old Professor in Bible College who had this habit.

It was a "prayer" habit!

Every time someone would call on the phone ... before that conversation ended ... he would have prayer with them!

(I wonder how that would work with "telemarketers!")

If it was a church member ... he prayed with them and for them!

If it was a relative ... still the same!

Or even a salesman!

He also included wrong numbers!

That's just the way it was with him!

He used every phone call as a "prayer pointer!"

That has me thinking.

Why can't one expand the area of "prayer pointers?"

Why can't every red light remind me to pray for my wife?  That would be a thirty second to _____ minute(s) prayer!  Some of those things last a while!

Why not let a trip to the mail box be prayer time for the Pastor (or someone else)?

Or "loading the dishwasher time" be converted into intercession for your Sunday School teacher?

Even "vacuuming time" might work!

And men, when Spring comes, grass cutting time too!

There's no limit to the possibilities!

But ... what would be the Biblical Basis for such praying?

Ah!  I've found it.  And it is predictably from the pen of Paul:  "Pray without ceasing."  1st Thessalonians 5:17

If someone resolves to try this little plan, kindly let me know ... and I'll pray for you as you begin this new spiritual adventure!

                                                                              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

ARTICLE 13:

Any growing Christian needs it!

Lots of people!

Paul believed that.

Everywhere he went he sought to enlist prayer helpers for his ministry!

Watch:

All these flow from the pen of that great Apostle.

In Romans 15:30 Paul asked for the prayers of his friends in the Capital city!  "Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me."

And he knew the Philippians were praying for him.  He had asked them to do so again and again no doubt!  In Philippians 1:19 he says:  "For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ."

And here's how he asked the Ephesians to help in prayer.  "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel." Ephesians 6:18-19

Even in Colossee too!  "Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak."  Colossians 4:3

And maybe the best example is found here.  "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:  and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith."   2 Thessalonians 3:1-2

Even the little Epistle of Philemon contains an example! "But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you." Philemon 1:22

Paul literally built an "army" of prayer warriors and intercessors on his behalf!

Fellow Believers, if we are wise, we will do so too!

They talked about praying the Names of God!

Later, as I was driving to a Revival Meeting one evening, I thought of someone dear to me who is sick.

I needed to pray for her.

I then became an intercessor, one who prayed to God for another person.

I was asking our Almighty God, my Heavenly Father, to meet the needs of my wife, a believer in Jesus Christ the Lord.

Then it occurred to me, why not pray one of God's Names concerning her sickness?

But which Name should I invoke?

It just seemed that immediately the Holy Spirit prompted my memory.  Jehovah God has a Name that deals with physical healing!

Let me show you.

Listen to what God promised the Jews in the wilderness of Sinai.

"And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee."  Exodus 15:26

Well, my wife obeys the voice of the Lord.  And she also seeks to do right in His sight.  Then perhaps I can claim the rest of the verse too!

"I AM THE LORD THAT HEALETH THEE!"

In Hebrew the words "LORD THAT HEALETH" are spelled Jehovah Rapha.

It is one of His compound Names!

If God's Name is the God Who Heals ... may I not claim that part of His Essence as I pray?

Of course I can!

We are commanded to pray in His Name!

The next time you seek the Lord for physical strength and healing (whether for yourself or someone else) ... remember His Name, His Healing Name!

Jehovah Rapha!

If He so chooses, He can keep those "diseases" away from us!

Blessed be the Lord!

                                                                                  --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

ARTICLE 15:

It is really a prayer to the Lord.

The faithful servant of Abraham, on his way to find a bride for Isaac, asked the Lord for two things in Genesis 24:12.  Here's how he worded it:  "And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham."

Now in subsequent verses this faithful servant asks other things ... particularly concerning the bride whom he had come to acquire.  However, for today we shall just look at the two-fold petition I've printed in the above paragraph.

I think the words of this prayer are powerful!

I do not know why I can't pray them yet today!

His prayer is directed to the LORD God!

These two specific Names of God are Jehovah (LORD ... all capital letters) and Elohim (God).  They are the two main Names for the Lord in the Bible.  LORD occurs 7,836 times and God another 4,444 times!

The Name Jehovah specifically emphasizes God's eternal nature (The Great "I AM") and is used Biblically for the God Who loves His people and has entered into a covenant relation with them!  He is the God Who saves!

Whereas Elohim includes the prefix that means strong or powerful!  An omnipotent God!  Also it, having a plural ending, depicts a Triune God; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

Then the request comes, "send me good speed."

The Hebrew Text is constructed so that it places the intercessor's name next: "to me" (literally "to my face") send ....  This is a personal thing now!  Eliezer (the servant's name) wants God to do something for him as an individual.  Lord, before my face please meet this need!