May 4, 2008

Francis Frangipane: Not a Pleading...but a PROPHETIC PRAYER: "On Earth As it IS IN HEAVEN!"

We
have recited it in private and also prayed it publicly in unison with
others; we have even sung it in reverence on select Sunday mornings.
It's been a familiar prayer at somber cultural events. Yet I wonder if
we really grasp what was in Jesus' heart when He gave His disciples the
words to "The Lord's Prayer."

Remember, they had asked
Him, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1). Contrary to its most typical
uses, the Lord did not give His disciples a prayer just to help them
cope. What He gave them was almost militant in nature; it was vibrant,
not passive.

For many centuries the holy realities of
this prayer have been obscured by traditions of religious unbelief; its
potential was relocated strictly to eternity, and thus disbarred from
affecting conditions on earth. In recent years, its truth is again
filling the words of this heavenly anthem: Thy Kingdom come! Thy will
be done!

These are emphatic statements. They ought to
be punctuated with exclamation marks. This prayer is Heaven's Pledge of
Allegiance.

This not a prayer limited to the
Millennium. It is a decree that God's will, through our living union
with Christ, should be accomplished today on earth. Where is the room
for compromise in those words? Jesus is saying that, with miraculous
power, abounding joy and unwavering mercy, God's will is destined to be
fulfilled on earth, just "as it is in Heaven!"

We call
this The Lord's Prayer, yet more appropriately, it might be called The
Disciple's Prayer or The Kingdom Prayer, for it is something Jesus gave
to ignite fire in the hearts of His followers. Indeed, this prayer is
revolutionary. It is the kind of prayer a spiritual extremist would
pray.

Fighting Words

We have been too
polite with God. I do not mean we should be disrespectful or
irreverent; I am saying the Lord's Prayer is not a weak, pleading
prayer. Yes, there is a time for pleading with God, but this is
prophetic prayer. There is not a "please" anywhere in it. Jesus taught
His disciples to pray with power, not merely pleading.

We
already know it is the "Father's good pleasure" to give us His Kingdom
(Luke 12:32). Jesus is not instructing us to beg for a blessing or two;
He is commanding us to call for God's Kingdom to rule on earth. This is
a prayer of authority. The Son of God wants us to pray like we were
created to bring Heaven to earth. Our prayer simply aligns us with what
is already God's great pleasure to give us.

Of course,
it is vital we embrace repentance for both our sins and the sins of our
forefathers. But there is another type of prayer that builds upon
repentance. It is the prayer of those fully committed to the vision of
God! It embodies the expanse of what Jesus came to establish. Although
men and women are both called to proclaim the words of this decree,
this is decidedly a masculine prayer. These are fighting words.

Remember,
this form of prayer is not my idea; it's Christ's. He told faltering,
fumbling, often sinful disciples to pray like they were mature,
victorious warriors. He didn't say this prayer should be prayed only
when they had become perfect. No. He was saying this is how we should
pray right now, even while we are imperfect. Yes, we humble ourselves;
yes, we confess our sins. Yet, we must learn to pray with unsheathed
spiritual authority, with heroic faith, and with the fire of divine
possibilities burning in our souls.

Beloved, a time is
coming when God's people will have reached the depth of their
repentance. Knees bent and worn from the weight of prolonged kneeling
will slowly creak upward. Heads will lift, and then hands. Like the
rumbling of a volcano no longer dormant, the cry, "Thy Kingdom Come"
will begin to gather and then rise from within the inner spirit of the
redeemed.

Yes, even now, the armies of God in Heaven
are beginning to unite with the armies of God on earth. Lightening-like
power is beginning to fill the backbone of the redeemed. From every
nation, a holy people shall stand upright before the Most High. In
their mouths will be the words taught them by the Son of God Himself:

Thy Kingdom Come! Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!

Francis Frangipane

Ministries of Francis Frangipane

Email: francis1@frangipane.org



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