Is there a Christian prayer that is certain to bring about radical results in the life of an artist? I'm asked that a lot.
Don't we all love formulas, recipes and step by step instructions? We hope that in diligently following them we could be assured of certain results.
If you thought that I was going to dissuade you from such a happy hope, you are wrong. While I cannot give you a formula, I can guarantee success if a few prerequisites are met!
The Bible is replete with Christian prayers prayed by ordinary people in all sorts of desperate situations. If you began anywhere and diligently prayed ANY of them, trusting God to hear and answer, your life will never be the same!
NOT A METHOD, BUT A RELATIONSHIP!
We are obsessed with discovering a method to follow, while God is eager to pursue a relationship. We would love to disassociate our hearts and minds, perform some religious action, and move on to whatever has currently caught our fancy. How easy to repeat a memorized prayer a couple of times and then get on with our lives!
But having our prayers answered, requires fully engaging our spirit, mind and all our senses. Surely that is no challenge for us as artists!
"Seeing is believing", people often flippantly declare. But as Christians, we are to "believe TO see!" And we do that by developing the ability of "seeing" in a different realm—the realm of faith! Only then will "see" answers in the physical realm. So go ahead and "see" this Christian prayer as granted when you pray. Hold fast to the mental image of your answer, until you "see" the answer tangibly with all your physical senses.
There is a caveat to having any of our prayers answered. Nothing will be granted to us if we harbor unforgiveness, bitterness or anger toward another, or approach any prayer with a skeptical mind. Faith and obedience is what God responds to, not any memorized words.
So with those preconditions fulfilled, join me in this prayer that is centuries old and as powerful today, as it was when it was first prayed! It's guaranteed to be answered, if prayed in faith. Just put your name in as you pray it. Paul prayed it for the people of the church in Colossae, and you can pray it too!
"...ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light." Colossians 1: 9-12
Let's break it down to consider its ramifications with YOU/ME in it:
"I ask God to fill you (ME) with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Colossians : 1:9
Consider the peace of having the full knowledge of His will.
Spiritual wisdom trumps natural wisdom
No more striving with our own plans
No more stress about what to do next
No more fear about tomorrow.
His will is perfect for us for the moment. The next moment is not our concern. When we get to it, we will be filled once more with full knowledge!
Determine that as soon as we know His will, we WILL obey, cheerfully and immediately.
that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Deciding to do His will, as it is revealed, makes our lives worthy.
Aspiring to live worthy of Him, pleases Him.
He is more than willing to grant me wisdom to understand what pleases or displeases Him. (It must come as no surprise that it is diametrically opposite to what popular culture deems worthy!)
being fruitful in every good work
To bear fruit, we must first be filled with His wisdom, then LIVE out that wisdom in our lives, which in turn pleases God. Then fruit is assured.
and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Then, and ONLY then, does He give us glimpses of who He really is.
A friend of mine loves to call it "an upside-down-kingdom!" God's kingdom is actually right-side-up. Our familiar world is what is truly upside-down! That's why we're puzzled when our striving only brings emptiness, our grasping leaves us empty, and our lofty ambitions eventually leave us cold.
To be right-side up once more, let's just follow His way!
strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
Righting our upside-down world takes discipline, persistence and constancy.
You're also guaranteed to face immediate and powerful opposition. But He knew that. When we weaken and grow weary, we've been promised strength to persist and endure, until we are
giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance
The details of this inheritance are so vast, that the title deed to it is what the Bible is all about! I certainly can use wisdom to understand and avail of it. After all what good is an inheritance, if it remains unused, locked away, its riches never enjoyed?
of the saints in the light."
In this kingdom of light, I finally ‘see’ as I was meant to see (not blindly groping about in spiritual darkness)
I'll respond to my world correctly and create as I could never have otherwise created.
Like a curtain being slowly drawn aside, the power of this prayer, if believed, can be phenomenally transformational.
Have I experienced the answer to this prayer in my own life? Absolutely!
Yet like many things of faith, only in part. I remain patiently before that curtain of understanding. I've watched in awe, as it was parted just a little, thrilling me beyond measure and filling me with the determination to remain steadfast for more.
In faith, I am confident that as I continue, more will be revealed to me, until my final hour when I will step beyond and "see" completely. This is a marvelous journey with Jesus, listening, obeying and being led one step at a time!
The sooner we begin the journey the farther we'll travel, wouldn't you agree?
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