Claire's Prayer

Let’s take a minute to walk in Peter’s shoes for a moment. It won’t be hard; I know you have felt so much of what Peter felt. On the night that Jesus was seized by soldiers and dragged away, Peter was sitting by the fire, when people began to look at him stating, “I saw you with Jesus!” But Peter was quick to deny his friendship with the Savior; “𝙈𝙖𝙣, 𝙄 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩.” 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙋𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙋𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙, 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙢, “𝘽𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙮 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨.” 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙮.” Luke 22:60-62.

Can you picture Peter’s bitter weeping, how the cloak of shame must have enveloped him. Time and time again he would have asked himself, “𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴!” Shame latching on, gripping his soul, reminding him of how unworthy he was.

Have you ever felt like that? When the shame of what you have done sticks to you like gum on the bottom of your shoe. Shame. Deceptive. Treacherous even. For years I carried shame with me, it kept me imprisoned in my past.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻! 𝗔 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲. This wasn’t the end of Peter’s story. A week after Jesus arose from the dead, Peter decided to go fishing again. History repeats itself and they caught nothing, as they came into shore, Jesus was standing on the beach. He shouted out, “𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚.” 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝙣𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙞𝙨𝙝.” (John 21)

You won’t believe what happens next, 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁! I find this astounding, the risen King, glorious Savior, Jesus himself, made Peter breakfast. He didn’t confront Peter, compounding his guilt, asking him why he would betray him that way. No, He made him breakfast. He served him, he served the friend that had spoken badly of him and denied him. Honestly, not something I would think of doing.

After breakfast, Jesus asked Peter a question, and No – it wasn’t; “Peter, how could you do that?” or “Peter, do you know how disappointed I am in you?” Jesus said to him, “𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲?” Do you love me? Tears spring to my eyes, do you love me? Yes LORD, I do, oh how I love you!

Jesus responded by saying, “𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗽.” Join my mission. Expand my Kingdom. Become a leader of leaders. Take care of the children. Walk in your calling. Jesus knew Peter would be consumed by shame but didn’t beat him over the head instead He asked. “Do you love me?”

Peter walked away from shame that day and became one of the greatest leaders of all time, the one upon whom the church was founded. His decision that day was saying NO to shame.

Today I sense Jesus saying the same thing to you. “𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲?” If your response is “Yes,” then walk away. Choose to walk away from shame and leave it behind and expand the Kingdom of God. Step into your calling. Allow the LORD to redeem your story and begin a new chapter, one that is free from shame. You can do it; I believe in you!

Bible scholars have identified over 100 prophecies that were fulfilled that dark Friday when Jesus hung on Calvary. Imagine that. One hundred prophecies fulfilled at the cross! Our Abba Father wove a thousand thoughts into every little detail of His Masterpiece. Signpost after signpost pointing the way to Jesus, the corridors of history echoing the Messiah. One of those precious prophecies is one that is so easy to miss, why would we think about the clothes Jesus wore? But this one blows me away, it’s the story of a seamless garment, the one our beautiful Saviour wore!

John 19:23-24 says this about the seamless garment: “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔, 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔, 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒄. 𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒎, 𝒘𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔, ‘𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆,’ 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒔: ‘𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒔.’” What was so incredibly important about this seamless garment? About this robe that was woven in one piece?

Going back in time to Exodus 28, we first discover an ornate, seamless robe made especially for the High Priest. A robe woven with great care, not something that anyone else would wear because of the great cost. This robe was worn by the one who would enter the Holy of Holies, on behalf of the children of Israel, and bring offerings to the Great I Am for the sins of His chosen ones. The priest was taught that he must never tear his clothes, for if he did, he would invalidate his ministry as High Priest. Jesus wore that garment—that precious, seamless robe of the High Priest!

Have you ever noticed that when Jesus stood on trial before Caiaphas, the High Priest, Caiaphas ripped his garments once he had finished questioning Jesus?! “𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑯𝒊𝒎, “𝑫𝒐 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈? 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒚 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖?” 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑯𝒊𝒎, “𝑰 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝒐𝒅: 𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅!”𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎, “𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. 𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏.”𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔, 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈, “𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒚! 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔? 𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌, 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒚!” (Matthew 26:62-65) In rage and self-righteousness, he tore his robe and disqualified himself from the priesthood! Why? Caiaphas had been replaced! Replaced by a High Priest who would go to the cross as an offering for the sins of the world!

I love how the Father does all things well, right down to the tiniest detail. Christ’s seamless robe was never torn; the soldiers cast lots for this precious garment, and it remained intact for all time! It is the seamless robe of Jesus, our High Priest, who sits at the right hand of God, forever making intercession for us!

“𝑻𝒉𝒚 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑻𝒉𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉, 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏.”  Matthew 6:10

Surrender.  That’s the hard part.  The part where we really begin to pray, “𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗢 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻!”  And even more than that, “𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝗔𝗯𝗯𝗮 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲!”  Alan Redpath once said, “𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺, ‘𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦’, 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺, ‘𝘔𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘨𝘰’.”

It’s possible that you would have called me a ‘willful’ child – certainly if you speak to my Mother, she may say that.  Strong willed would be another way to put it!  Sadly, there is a stubborn streak in me that exists to this day, sometimes I try to play it off and say that I am tenacious.  To be fair, my tenacity has helped me to endure much!  I don’t believe in quitting and will hang on by my fingernails until the bitter end.  Perhaps that makes it all the harder to put someone else’s will above my own, but God has shown me over the years and over the many tears, that it is necessary to surrender.  That God’s way is oh so much better!

Often, I think back to the Garden, to that place of ultimate surrender in Gethsemane, a time in Jesus’ life where he was so “𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘, 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉.”  Matthew 26:39 tells us; “𝑮𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅, “𝑴𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒊𝒇 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒖𝒑 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒆. 𝒀𝒆𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍.”  Not what I want, Father, but what you want.  Let your will be done.  Despite the pain He knew He would endure, Jesus surrendered His will, His desires to the Father.

It was for the joy set before Him that Jesus endured the cross. (Hebrews 12:2). The realization that the plan of the Father was far greater, the purpose of the cross far superior to even the will of Jesus.  Absolute surrender.  “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

I have realized that it is only in surrender, only in the laying down of my will at the feet of my LORD, that I will have empty hands to receive what God has for me.  A much greater plan!  When our hands are full of our own stuff, when we hold our own desires tightly to our chest, then we cannot receive the incredible blessings and plan of our Father.

As we say the LORD’s Prayer and come to the part of “𝗧𝗵𝘆 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲,” we are saying that you Abba Father are the priority.  Your priorities are my priorities, and my priorities no longer matter.  As you pray today, take the time to lay it all at Jesus feet, all your plans, your will, and then with empty hands lifted high, make His will your priority.

“𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆.”  Matthew 6:9

Oh, the very beginning of this prayer!  Our Father!  Our Father.  Not just anyone’s Father, not just Jesus’ Father, but our Father!  The very fact that He is my Father threatens to overwhelm.  The level of intimacy that this speaks of is deeply personal, and not just any Father but a perfect Father.  A Father that never disappoints, hurts or frustrates, a Father that is ever present and always near, not distant or detached.

As Jesus introduced this way of praying to His disciples they would have been surprised.  Surprised at being ushered into the family, surprised at the thought of addressing the Great I Am as Abba Father.  Dearest Father.  Daddy.  It’s a little surprising to me too, this wonderful invitation to be a part of the family of God.  A family which takes me as I am, encircles me, beckons me to sit at the feet of our Abba Father.  I love how this prayer reminds us that this is no earthly Father, but a Father who is in heaven.  A heavenly Father, one that is omnipresent.

Like two beautiful bookends, the beginning of this prayer and the end start with Praise.  An absolutely appropriate way to begin any time of prayer.  “𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆!”  May your name, Abba Father, always be glorified.  The word “𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱” means treated as holy, dedicated, consecrated, set apart, sanctified.  We praise You, Father, as you are a holy God. When we think of praising His name, we are giving praise to the nature and very character of God, His reputation, His goodness, His love.  That right there is the very essence of glorifying God’s name.  He is set apart, different to us and as such His name needs to be treated with reverence, never leaving our lips in any other way, respected.

Psalm 9:10 says, “𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”  Those who know your name, who know your character, who know your goodness, who deep down inside have experience your love, they trust you.  We can know someone’s name and not ‘know’ them.  But we know the living God and so we trust Him.

As you begin your day, your time of prayer, as you sit at the feet of your Father today, start with Praise, glorify His name, worship your Abba Father – He is worthy of it all!

In John 7:37-38 Jesus said;“𝑰𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒆, 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓.” Jesus promised not only to fill those who are thirsty, but promised that rivers of life would flow out from their innermost being. 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻, 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁.

In Israel, there are two seas that are fed from the Jordan River. The Sea of Galilee, teaming with life, home to a myriad of fish, the soil is so fertile that almost any plant will flourish. The rabbis wrote, “𝙰𝚕𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚜, 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝙷𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝.”

The other sea fed by the Jordan is the Dead Sea. During the Crusades, this sea was sometimes referred to as the “𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹’𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗮!” Sitting at 1,300 feet below sea level, this lake is the lowest place on earth. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea. Nothing.

These two seas are in the same area of Israel, fed by the same river but one of them is full of life and the other quite dead! The difference is that the Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee and then flows out again, but the Jordan only flows into the Dead Sea, there is no outlet. The Dead Sea takes the river in and keeps it to itself. The result–no life at all!

If we become like the Dead Sea, wanting only to be poured into, the results will be catastrophic. We need to be like the Sea of Galilee, thirsty, drinking of the Living Water but letting that river flow from us. 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲, 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺. It’s only when we do this that we will begin to see abundant, rich fruit in our lives.