Before the universe(s) existed, the Kingdom of Heaven had been a thriving civilization.
We know this because the Bible says that when God created the Earth, He had an audience:
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the Earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” – Job 38:4-7
Though the Godhead is much larger than creation (Jeremiah 23:24), we see Jesus saying multiple times (at least three times in Matthew) in the Four Gospels that His Father dwells in Heaven (Mark 11:25).
At the beginning the Earth was a colony of this Kingdom of Heaven and Humanity was the Kingdom’s Ambassadors. At that time Humanity looked and acted like God, and were even clothed with God’s Own Glory.
Before Earth’s creation Heaven had its own civil war. Crushing Lucifer’s betrayal and rebellion would’ve been child’s play for God, but The Godhead decided to allow Satan to publish his views and let the rebellion play itself out so that, when all was said and done, the superiority and justice of God’s Government would be clear to all.
With God’s Permission, Satan was given a shot at His new Colony and Ambassadors; unfortunately Adam and Eve made the wrong choice and the consequences are simply a matter of history.
Then we come to the Cross of Jesus Christ which is the Turning Point of human history and the beginning of the end for both Satan and those who–both demons and humans–share his attitude. From the Cross we learn two critical truths:
God possesses His Deepest Love for the Human Race and has gone to unfathomable lengths to save it from His Own Incomprehensible Wrath and Terror.
Unregenerate Humanity has no affection for God whatsoever, enjoys existence without Him, would rather that He never existed at all and, if possible, would murder Him without shedding a tear.
All of that was just a background for those less familiar with the Bible. What THIS blog entry is about is Prayer: the ONLY means by which a relationship with God can be developed and maintained in a manner that could be considered anywhere near “healthy.”
Apart from the Grace of God, for many new Christians, Prayer is the most difficult of spiritual exercises and, when times get tough, the first thing that they stop doing.
Why? Most of the time it’s because THEY DON’T FEEL ANYTHING.
There’s no singing angels, no visible manifestation of heavenly glory, no sense of God’s Presence…
…NOTHING. All they (and we mature Christians) have to go on is what is heard in church or on television or the radio and what is read in the Bible.
The key to success in Prayer (The Christian’s Primary Link to the Kingdom of Heaven), however, is HOW YOU RESPOND IN YOUR HEART to what is heard in church or on television or on the radio and what you read in the Bible.
The proper response of the human heart to God’s Word is FAITH: to believe FROM THE HEART that God’s Word is TRUE despite what I feel or remember from my own experience up to that point.
That requires that, when I MEDITATE on the Word of God, that I USE MY IMAGINATION to picture in my mind what the Bible is saying…live through the historical experience in my mind as if I were there the day Adam was created, or the day Israel stood on the Red Sea or the day Christ appeared to Mary after His Resurrection.
I constantly EXPOSE MYSELF to the Bible (and those who teach and preach it) until my imagination and heart are engaged and its (the Bible’s) historical truths become my own.
During this process, over days and weeks and months and years, God Himself begins to communicate to me through the Truths that I have embraced, and His Grace, through the Agency of the Holy Spirit, transfers His Nature from The Godhead to me.
Point of Fact: THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO TOUCH GOD OR BE TOUCHED BY GOD THAN THROUGH HIS WORD… both Living (Christ) and Written (the Bible).
When I pray to God, I pray the Bible.
Praying my feelings, my thoughts and my opinions is OK TO A CERTAIN POINT…that point is the moment I realize that my feelings, thoughts and opinions CONTRADICT God’s Word. At that moment I am expected to re-feel, re-think and review my opinions so that they match what God says.
The problem with many church folk is that they are far too enamored with themselves and how they think and feel and never learn to become enamored with God and how He thinks and feels (yes, God FEELS).
Prayer is difficult for what the Bible calls the “carnal” mind… …so was walking… …and speaking… …and reading… …and writing…
…but we LEARNED, until these things became second nature and easy. Walking, speaking, reading and writing were and are skills essential to our maturity as humans; Praying is even more critical to us as Citizens of The Kingdom of The Heavens.
Amen.
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