This is a continuation of the thoughts presented in the previous post. Please take a moment or two to read that post before reading this one. It will help. Thank you.
When we begin our journey in transformational prayer, there is one thing that comes to my mind. The Scriptures! They are full of the understanding that in our Heavenly Father, there is sufficiency always. I will highlight a couple of very familiar ones here.
The first one is Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” KJV Our modern translations will put it very plainly, “I will not lack.” David understood a very important thing in belonging to his God – that our God is a God of sufficiency. He takes care of every need, not before it occurs, but as one trusts Him for it. Oh yes, there is that “faith” or trust element again. I’m not talking about what some call “positive thinking” and “positive speech,” but the last time I read Philippians 4:4-9 that is the only thing we are to think or do. Just a bit of extra understanding that we need to believe deep within our core. Our concentration of thought must begin to believe what He has said, and what the Holy Spirit has breathed out into those Holy men of God who wrote the Scriptures down for us.
The other very obvious Scripture is only obvious when one has access to the Greek. So if you will just read with me again, let’s go to Philippians 4:10-13.
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, to be content (GK – self-sufficient). I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,…
Paul is explaining to the good people in Philippi that he really doesn’t need the support that they sent to Him, because the Lord has trained Him to have an attitude of self sufficiency in his relationship with Him. In other words, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” He has learned and been instructed not to be alarmed at all by what looks like a huge need that there are no funds for. He has also learned to live in a mindset of abundant provision in the middle of what looks like “need” and “lack.” Thats what the passage, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” means. Whatever, is ok. Not because we are oblivious to the situation, but because our God, our Father, is aware and has it all in His hands.
Faith is not what kind of religion we believe, it is instead a deeply implanted trust that the Lord has given each of us (Romans 12:3) to access supply. It is not for us to generate – He has already given us all we will ever need and it is His faith, which is always powerful and able to move whatever mountains need moving. We begin to relate to Him, not in reference to all we see that is needed, but in reference to His nature.
So, as we take in all these things, moving from transactional prayer into transformational prayer is an automatic move of faith. In our prayer time, as we with full trust in an Almighty God, believe what He is – our supply, we begin to be spending more time in getting to know Him personally and interacting with Him in trust. Since, each and every encounter in Him changes us, we automatically begin to be transformed by His nature into His likeness. (Romans 8:29) May it be so in me – and in you, my precious reader friend.
Mannaword 