IDENTIFYING WITH THE FATHER

It has always been the intent of the Father to beget Sons after His own kind. This eternal purpose was fulfilled in Christ Jesus making us One with Him. It therefore grieves the Father if His perfected new creation denies its oneness with Him. This workmanship of God cannot be taught as mere taught theory that needs to be proven to have factual significance because of the spiritual disposition of the Saints. In order for the Body of Christ to enter into effectual prayer, it must comprehend God’s perspective for prayer. Most of the prayers of the Saints go unanswered simply because as James said, “they pray amiss.”

James 4:3

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

There are books written on prayer, however, most only contain definitions and procedures that promise to just educate and enrich our prayer experience. Because of that, the majority of the Body of Christ remain frustrated with their prayer life. They have participated in many prayer rituals, fasted and offered all types of supplication with the hope of “getting a prayer through” or getting a prayer answered. Some have achieved great success in their communications with the Father, but far too few.

It is the Father’s will and desire to commune with His children. to establish His presence in their lives. Prayer has been rendered as some deep, mystical thing, however the Father is not responsible for this perception. This is because of ignorance which lies at the very foundation of the knowledge of God and our oneness with Him. There is no way to be successful in prayer without first identifying with what the Father has already done in His Sons. There are some basic truths that you must believe and make a part of your being. You need to see your oneness with the Father, and not an erroneous perception of who God is in your life. Let us start this journey through the Spirit by first rendering a simple working definition for prayer. PRAYER IS COMMUNICATION WITH GOD. If you can only absorb that simple, yet powerful word, the eyes of your understanding will indeed be enlightened. In order to put prayer in its proper perspective, we must go back to the beginning or conception of the Church. A good place to start is the conversation the disciples had with Jesus concerning prayer.

St. Luke 11:1-4

1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples

2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

I realize that most teachers automatically go to this passage as a foundational source of knowledge and direction. However, Jesus made it clear that a new dispensation was about to begin. God could actually be addressed as Father. In that encounter they asked the Lord to teach them how to pray. By no means does this imply that these men were not men of prayer. We know from other Scriptures that these disciples were men who really kept the Jewish religious traditions. However, due to their association with the Lord, they realized that a new era was unfolding right in their midst. No doubt they witnessed the Lord’s intimacy with the Father. I can only imagine how they felt when Jesus declared, “greater works will you do” (St. John 14:12). Somehow they knew communication with the Father was essential if they were to be anywhere near as effective as their Master. The Lord’s response to their request was what has become known as “The Lord’s Prayer”. This prayer is literal in content and is the foundation of all that will lend itself to identifying the true Sons of God.

St. Luke 11:2

And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

According to the prayer, we are now to consider ourselves Sons of the Most High. We are His offspring, begotten by His Spirit. Jesus said, “That which is born of flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (St. John 3:6). This simply means we are the offspring of Almighty God; we are partakers of His divine nature. However when all the ramifications are put before them, some saints find it hard to accept. When the Pharisees and others of the Sanhedrin Council rebuked Jesus for implying that He was the Son of God, He responded by quoting a prophecy that was recorded in the 82nd Psalm.

Psalm 82:1-8

1 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.

2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.

4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

The 6th verse of this psalm is a statement the Father made concerning the Church. He calls us gods. But how could we be anything less, seeing as how our real Father is a mighty God. Nevertheless, the Lord also admonished us to accept this testimony concerning the Church as fact, or we will die as mere men. In this psalm we also learn that which is expected of us by the Father. He is quite specific in His instructions.

I. How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Obviously we are to do righteous judgment in all situations.

II. How long will we accept the person of the wicked? As I was writing, the Lord spoke to me and said, “How long will you mix and co-mingle righteousness with that which is sinful and perverted, and put it on display as my Church?”. I began to reflect on many of the scriptures the Lord has ministered over the years. How long will the Church accept the personality of Satan as a part of its identity?

2 Corinthians 6:15-18

15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Oftentimes in the the name of love, or because of lust, greed and religious protocol, some leaders have nurtured, protected and made excuses for the wickedness of those who dwell in the Household of Faith. This has led to the wicked to be be identified as Christ. The “Nobody is Perfect” and “Dual Nature” doctrines have also added to the destruction of holiness in the Body of Christ. This is not what the disciples saw in Christ.

III. Defend, deliver and do justice to the poor, afflicted, fatherless and needy. How exactly does one fulfill this commandment? Well, the answer is simple. We must become champions for their causes. Paul insisted that our ministry is to those who are ignorant and out of the way

Hebrews 5:1-3

1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:

2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.

3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.

These are good deeds that are an expression of the love of Christ that dwells in us.

1 John 3:17

But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

IV. Deliver the poor and needy. Rid them out of the hand of the wicked. Now we come to a commandment that can only be fulfilled by those who operate in the spiritual authority given to them by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The apostle, Paul, goes on to say, “They are ignorant, without understanding, and they walk in darkness” (Ephesians 4:18). The Father has given us the responsibility of deliverance. We are the light of this world. Therefore, we are able to show men the way to God. We have to grasp the reality of this call to action that is placed on the life of every Son of God. God is the only hand that is strong enough to bring a man from the powers of darkness to the Kingdom of Light. The Father worked this great power through Christ to bring the disciples into His Kingdom. Now this ministry of reconciliation has been given to us. We are now made the gods to this world. We can deliver men and women from the kingdom of Satan by simply imparting the Life of Christ, which flows through us. We are the hope and life the world needs.

V. But you shall die as men and fall as one of the princes. If we do not embrace the fullness of this call and purpose for our lives, we too will fall as did Satan. It is time to identify with God in character, purpose and spiritual authority. How is it possible to enter into effectual prayer and fellowship with a God we either cannot or do not identify with? Communication with God, (prayer) can only be rendered within the knowledge and acceptance of our divine nature. You must embrace what it means to be a Son of God. You simply must accept who you are in God.