One of my children (I won’t mention who!) is my helper. Any chance she gets to help Phillip and I with something, she does. She especially loves baking and wants to help in the kitchen. Now, I love being a mom and most of the time I am fine with messes that arise from wild imaginations, but it is a sacrifice for me to invite the kids into the kitchen. I prefer to make things quickly and with little mess. Over the years though, I have invited her in and now I am seeing the fruit of that as she is eager to bake or assist with making dinner and she does a really good job with it!
She also loves to help Phillip. Actually, all of the kids do…I guess he is more fun! Phillip is phenomenal at giving the kids jobs that include them in whatever he is working on and he doesn’t mind the mess that comes with having them help.
I love that Phillip sees the value in inviting them to work alongside him. It allows for a unique and special bond between him and the particular child as they work together to create something. Many sweet conversations have taken place while building something together. And the thing that they create together then becomes a springboard to create more and often causes the other kids to want to create something with dad as well.
My kids love to work with their dad. How special is that!
As a reminder, I am collaborating with my pastor, Rev. Dr. Blake Wood, over the next several weeks to walk through the rooms of God’s House, using the Lord’s Prayer as our guide. I will be taking a brief hiatus from it though after today as we celebrate Easter and the weeks surrounding it, but will come back to it in May, so stay tuned!
The Lord’s Prayer was spoken by Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13 as a means to teach the disciples how to pray. Not only is this prayer just plain old powerful because the words are Jesus’ words, but it is also a pattern by which we can use in our own prayers. It’s simple and yet comprehensive words flow from one idea to the next and build on each other all with the intention of being in right communion with God.
We began by entering the front porch.
Our Father who is in heaven…
We remember that though our earthly fathers are far from perfect and may have wounded us, when we enter into prayer, we are engaging with our perfect heavenly Father. This Dad, God the Father, has no brokenness in Him, he has no evil in Him, he has no ability to wound our hearts because God the Father is love. All the fullness of love- kind, forgiving, gracious, merciful, truthful, just – is embodied in God the Father.
And this Dad says that we are His.
We are His daughters and sons and we are fully loved, forgiven and known by Him.
We then went into the next room, the Trophy Room.
Hallowed be Your Name…
The triune God – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit – is absolutely and completely holy. There is nothing false in Him, there is no darkness in Him, there is no sin in Him. There is only a perfect nature.
This perfect nature is unattainable for us. No matter how hard we try, we will always fall short, but God, in His holy and perfect love for us, gave us His Son, Jesus, so that we would be covered by His perfect robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). Praise be to God!
God is holy.
And in response to the holiness that embodies Him, we hallow His name by giving Him a heart full of our most passionate praise and worship.
After we have focused our hearts on the goodness and greatness of the Father, we enter into the next room, the Work Room.
May your kingdom come and your will be done…
When I think of a work room, truthfully, I think of a messy space! Phillip’s work room is far from organized and it is cluttered with forgotten projects, wood shavings, random screws and tools.
But God’s workshop is a place of order. It is organized. Things are in the exact place they should be and because He is sovereign, He knows exactly where everything is, He knows how every project is going and He knows the next thing that needs to happen on each of those projects.
God is the master builder.
And just like my kids want to work on a project with Phillip and he lets them even though He doesn’t need them, we too, as believers, should want to go into the work room with God to work alongside Him. God does not need our help, He can do it on His own, but, in His rich kindness and love for us, God invites us to share in His work. He invites us to work alongside Him to expand His kingdom. He invites us in and He gives us work to do that is uniquely and personally designed for each of us.
We get to share and join in on the work that God is doing…how amazing is that?!
And when God, the master builder, invites us into His work room, and we accept and we do the work that He has called us to do, we experience adventure and joy and excitement and peace like nothing else can offer.
Thank you God!
So as you enter into prayer with your holy Father and as you worship Him with your whole heart, be ready to listen for His voice giving you an assignment that is uniquely catered to you. The assignment He gives you will not only grow you in your relationship with Him and challenge you in all the right ways, there also will be a ripple effect with those around you. Just like Samuel asking to work with Phillip after he saw what Phillip and Caroline created, your obedience to what God says to you will affect those around you, hopefully in ways that cause them to grow in their relationship with Christ as well.
If you are like me though, sometimes I wonder if I am actually hearing God’s voice or if I am just hearing my own voice. Is He telling me to do something or am I just making something up because I want to do that thing?
Here’s a quick guide to go through –
- Ask yourself – Is this consistent with God’s word? God is never going to ask you to do something that goes against what He says in His word, so if what you think you’re hearing is inconsistent with His word, then it’s not from God.
- Ask yourself – Is there a call that goes along with what I’m hearing? God doesn’t want us to just keep the treasure of Him to ourselves, He wants us to do something with it. Is there an action – it may be a call of action to go out and share God’s truth with someone, it may be to go on a mission trip or to help out at a food pantry. It may be a call to just say a kind word to a co-worker or to sit and listen as a friend cries. It may be a call to actively pray on behalf of someone. It also may be a call of action to stay and wait on the Lord. Is there a call?
- Be on the lookout – Is there a confirmation? God knows that we sometimes can second guess our hearing of Him, so often He gives some sort of confirmation. It might not be until after you have already stepped into the waters of that action, but there will be some sort of confirmation.
What a privilege and honor it is that God Himself invites us into His work room to join with Him in the work He is doing.
May you enter in, listen for His voice and be ready to get your hands dirty for the glory of God!
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10.
God, may we listen for your voice and be willing and ready to do the work you have for us.
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