BEING HEARD IN HEAVEN
“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission” (Hebrews 5:7).
We don’t often hear the specifics of Jesus’ prayer life when he went off by Himself to quiet, secluded places to seek the face of the Father. We see multiple occasions in Scripture that allude to how He connected to God, and we know from Jesus’ own admission that He never did anything apart from the Father: “Jesus gave them this answer: ‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does’’ (John 5:19). He was intimately linked to the heart of God. Yet, the author of Hebrews gives us a profound insight into the powerfully intimate nature of our Savior’s prayer life.
Let’s break down this verse and examine it for insights into how we can follow the example of prayer that Jesus clearly intended us to step into as His followers:
“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth…” – Jesus clearly sought the face of God throughout each day of His life. He didn’t have a quiet time silo within which he dealt with all of the things upon His heart. Instead, this conversation was characterized by continual connectivity. Jesus certainly prayed without ceasing. I can imagine that in His humanness, he felt inadequate and uncertain without being closely aligned with the purposes of God within each and every encounter He made with the people God had sent Him to redeem.
“…he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears…” – A very clear picture of such praying in Scripture is when Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane: “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44). We don’t see much of this kind of praying these days in our nation; however, in other nations around the world, especially in places of extreme poverty and persecution, God’s people cry out passionately to Him. Perhaps we are not hungry enough for more of God in our lives and not desperate enough to cry out as Jesus did! What must we do to cultivate such a depth of passion within our own prayer lives before the circumstances of our dire situation closes in on us and forces us to fall upon our faces before our Holy God?
“…to the one who could save him from death…” – The One who saves all of His children from spiritual death did not save His Son from the cross, because to do so would have negated His ultimate purposes. Jesus, in His humanness, desired to be rescued from the painfully gruesome death He was facing; however, in His divinity, He willingly laid down His life for the glorious plan of the Father…the Resurrection that redeemed all believers for all time. Are we, His children, willing to surrender what we want or what is comfortable, for the kingdom purposes of God as Jesus so obediently did…even if it could mean physical death?
“…and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” – How often do we desire to do things our own way, or feel entitled to say whatever we want? How unlike Jesus that is, and perhaps this is the very reason so little prayer is answered with the approving stamp of God upon our requests and intercessions. We are not reverently submitted to our Father. Jesus sought His Father’s face with humility and reverence, fully yielded, completely surrendered and obedient.
I long to approach the throne of grace with Christlikeness. So, as I continue to ponder and wrestle with the practice of prayer, I am going to imagine myself holding the hand of the One I love most as we walk into the throne room together.
Lord Jesus, teach me to offer up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the One who has saved me from spiritual death. Show me what it means to submit myself reverently before the Father so that I may be heard. It’s in Your Name I ask this! Amen!
Biography
Kim serves as the Executive Director of Harvest Prayer Ministries which she co-founded in 1993 with her late husband, Dave (1953-2022). Her ministry involves teaching/training and consulting as well as writing and developing resources. She is content coordinator for HPM's teaching platform, PrayerU.com and also compiles and edits HPM’s free daily devotional, Connection! as well as Prayer Tip Tuesday.
Kim has written multiple books and has published articles in a variety of magazines and publications. She is a member of America's National Prayer Committee and serves as President of Gospel Revivals, Inc. (Herald of His Coming).
Kim has a BA in Psychology and a Masters degree in Spiritual Formation and Leadership.
Some of Kim's Books
ALONENESS IN PRAYER
ALONENESS IN PRAYER
This morning as I was preparing for work, I thought through all that was on my plate for the day and began to feel a bit overwhelmed. Then, a small thought came into my mind… “Maybe you need some aloneness in prayer.” It occurred to me that it was exactly what I was needing…even craving – aloneness.
As I sat with the word for a bit, the concept became clearer to me. Aloneness isn’t just being alone…and it isn’t loneliness. It is an attitude of prayer that takes every thought captive in order to dwell within the heart of God for a season of time. There is no conversation. It is simply being with God. Clement of Alexandria called this kind of prayer “keeping company with God.” It is relationship rather than a rigorous discipline. It is prayer that is simple, honest, pure and uncomplicated. It doesn’t involve doing …the act itself is an expression of love towards the Father, and an opportunity to receive love from Him. I equate it to simply sitting beside my husband, being comforted that he is there, knowing that he loves me and I love him…but not needing to say anything at all. There is aloneness in not feeling pressured to have conversation…but to simply hang out together.
The Praxis of Aloneness
How does one practice “aloneness”?
1. By being “okay” with the feeling that one doesn’t need to do anything except “be.”
2. By recognizing when it is time to stop activity for at least a short season of time…
3. By loving God enough to cultivate relationship that has no expectations or requirements in moments of aloneness. There are no “rules” to aloneness. It is not a legalistic practice…it is an essential one.
What Are the Benefits of Aloneness?
1. Jesus beckoned His disciples to come away with him to a quiet place to get some rest (Mark 6:31) during an especially intense and busy time of ministry. Rest is a power benefit of aloneness.
2. Focusing upon simply “being” with God deepens and strengthens our love relationship with Him.
3. Allowing our minds and bodies to rest in the love of God opens our hearts and guides us into moments of trust and peace.
4. Aloneness cultivates faithfulness and gratefulness because we are not too busy to keep company with Him.
As God’s people discover the importance of aloneness with God, our effectiveness for the kingdom will grow exponentially. Continual striving leads to burn-out, discouragement, stress, etc. When we bring our lives intentionally and prayerfully into His Presence, all of our kingdom work will be fueled from the depths of His love poured into our waiting and receptive hearts.
“I said to myself, ‘Relax and rest.
God has showered you with blessings.
Soul, you’ve been rescued from death;
Eye, you’ve been rescued from tears;
And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling’” (Psalm 116:7-8 MSG).
Biography
Kim serves as the Executive Director of Harvest Prayer Ministries which she co-founded in 1993 with her late husband, Dave (1953-2022). Her ministry involves teaching/training and consulting as well as writing and developing resources. She is content coordinator for HPM's teaching platform, PrayerU.com and also compiles and edits HPM’s free daily devotional, Connection! as well as Prayer Tip Tuesday.
Kim has written multiple books and has published articles in a variety of magazines and publications. She is a member of America's National Prayer Committee and serves as President of Gospel Revivals, Inc. (Herald of His Coming).
Kim has a BA in Psychology and a Masters degree in Spiritual Formation and Leadership.
Some of Kim's Books
PRAYER IN SUFFERING
PRAYER IN SUFFERING
Recently, I have heard the heart cry of several friends and family who have been enduring significant seasons of suffering. Some are dealing with physical and emotional struggles; others, with financial stresses and setbacks or prodigal children. Still others are agonizing over the suffering or loss of family members or friends. Most are in a place where their prayer lives have become paralyzed. I have been in these dark places of despair, and struggled with the “Why me, God?” questions. Yet, it was in these times of desolation and anguish that God spoke most clearly and it was in the hopeless places where I found the most hope . . . and where I learned without a doubt that the God of all comfort was very present.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 has always held for me the all-important key to enduring difficulties: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.”
This passage came to the forefront after experiencing a devastating season of suffering in my own life which I thought might never end. I began to see something happen that I had never expected, and did not fully comprehend until time had passed. But our grace-filled Father patiently used my painful experiences and trials to minister into the lives of others who were walking through similar circumstances. It was the fulfillment of the truth from 2 Corinthians taking root in my life. Seeing this promise come to fruition was life-changing for me, and has allowed me to see suffering in an entirely different light. I don’t have to like it, but if I patiently endure it, God will be faithful not only in the midst of what I am walking through…He will take it and use it for His kingdom’s purposes!
To punctuate this point, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” If God’s will for me is to joyfully and prayerfully give thanks in the midst of every circumstance, then I must be an obedient child, even when I am unsure…even when I am angry…and even when I don’t feel like praying, trusting that He will make use of every season I am in! I would suggest that it is best when we don’t feel like praying to do two things. First, just breathe the name of Jesus into the space around you. His Name keeps the enemy at bay and His Name releases the power of Christ into our situations. Second, play worship music so that your surroundings are permeated by the Presence of the God of Comfort. He is attracted to our worship, so as we focus on Him rather than upon our circumstances, He will reveal Himself in ways we may never expect.
Biography
Kim serves as the Executive Director of Harvest Prayer Ministries which she co-founded in 1993 with her late husband, Dave (1953-2022). Her ministry involves teaching/training and consulting as well as writing and developing resources. She is content coordinator for HPM's teaching platform, PrayerU.com and also compiles and edits HPM’s free daily devotional, Connection! as well as Prayer Tip Tuesday.
Kim has written multiple books and has published articles in a variety of magazines and publications. She is a member of America's National Prayer Committee and serves as President of Gospel Revivals, Inc. (Herald of His Coming).
Kim has a BA in Psychology and a Masters degree in Spiritual Formation and Leadership.
Some of Kim's Books
INVITATION TO INVASION
INVITATION TO INVASION
I believe that one of the most powerful, transformative prayers that can be prayed in any circumstance, is the heart of the Model Prayer: ” Your Kingdom Come, Your will be done.” As I was praying this one day over a particular situation, I sensed from The Lord that this was an invitation for an invasion. An invasion of the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of my own little world.
We all have a strong tendency to serve as rulers over our own kingdoms. We make our own rules and set up our own boundaries. Of course, our little kingdoms are a wreck. The problem is bad leadership…and yes…we are each the incompetent leaders of our individual kingdoms. Sometimes the best thing that can happen is a benevolent invasion.
Years ago I was visiting in the totalitarian nation of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. In a fascinating conversation with a Burmese taxi driver, he said he wished that the United States would invade his country. He said they would be much better off under our leadership. Quite apart from the morality or rightness of such an invasion, it was a very revealing statement. This taxi driver saw the suffering of his people under bad rulers, and wished for a beneficent invasion.
Perhaps we need the clarity of that Burmese driver regarding our own personal kingdoms. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us we are blessed when we recognize that we are spiritually poor. With the humble awareness that we are miserable rulers of our own kingdoms, perhaps we will begin to pray for a new ruler of a new kingdom. We will offer an invitation to an invasion as we pray in each and every situation of life, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.”
THE VOICE
THE VOICE
When my husband calls me on the phone, he never has to identify himself. I know his voice so well that further identification is not needed. At the risk of embarrassing us both, I will share that almost every phone conversation begins with Dave saying, “Hi Gorgeous!” and my response of “Hi Handsome!” The calls almost always end with “I love you!” I know his voice, and even after the call has ended, the pronouncement of being known as his “beloved and beautiful bride” is always embedded in my heart. I feel loved and cherished, even in the simple act of hearing his voice on the phone. How much greater the love of Jesus is for me, for you…and for His Beloved Bride, the Church.There are two things about prayer that resonate deeply with me in the simple act of a phone call with the person I love most on earth. First, I know his voice, and he knows mine. Yet, how well do I know the voice of the One who created my innermost being? Jesus, whose voice I should fully recognize and follow? In John 10, Jesus states that those who are His sheep know His voice, but do not acknowledge the voices of strangers. I must be a good listener to the voice of the One who is always present to me and within me. I need to learn to discern His voice above every other…to cherish it, and to obey it. Listening prayer is a transformational spiritual discipline. Until I can determine Jesus’ voice above and in the midst of all of the others, I cannot discern and live in the kingdom of God in all of its fullness. Living in and leaning into the presence of Christ reminds me always that He is my Beloved, and I am His. He loves me beyond any love my husband could ever hope to have for me, or I for him. His voice instructs, admonishes, encourages, builds up, convicts, and is filled with all of the peace, wisdom and strength I need to love Him fully, and to love others with the love of Christ.
How does one practice listening prayer? First of all, listening requires slowing down and paying attention. It is not emptying one’s mind, but filling it with Christ alone. Jesus is the Word of God. Therefore, Scripture is perhaps the best way to, as Psalm 46:10 states, “Be still and know” that He alone is God. Any “voice” that does not agree with this Word, is not of God. This is why knowing the Word is so important to listening.
I know my husband well, and because we have lived together for so long, we often finish sentences for one another, or think the same things at the same time. This is how we should continually live with Jesus. Sometimes walking in nature or contemplating the beauty of what He has created draws me into an acute awareness of His Divine Presence. Sometimes it is dwelling upon the character and nature of Jesus. Perhaps I will settle on His loving kindness, His compassion or His power and meditate on one of these characteristics, asking Him to reveal more of Himself to me. Listening helps me to know Jesus better as He unfolds Himself into my heart. I can “be still” at any time of day or night for He is fully present to me 24-7 unlike any human relationship.
Secondly, I know from his voice that my husband’s love remains with me always. Even when we are not physically present in the same place, I feel that love and know it to be true and real. This knowledge stays with me always…even when we disagree or when we hit a rough patch or season in the midst of life. Jesus, the One I love even more than my own husband, lives with and within me. His presence is continual. His love will never fail because He is the Divine Love.
Jesus tells us: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5). The verb abide is closely related to the word stay. Just as my husband’s words and love stay with me continually, how much more do the words and love of Christ abide with me? Most importantly, my husband cannot always be physically present with me; however, Jesus is continually abiding within me, and, if I am obedient to Scripture, I also stay continually with Him. Being aware of this spiritual mystery is vital to all believers.
Yet, how does one abide continually with Jesus so that fruit can be produced? We must stay attached to the Vine, and prayer is the best way I know to do this! Prayer is a love relationship with God. It is continual remembrance of what Henri Nouwen calls our “belovedness” in Him. It is living within that love that gives us strength to live it out as fruitfulness. We must first abide (stay) in Him, recognizing also His presence in us so that we are available to love Him fully and to take part in the work of His kingdom that extends His love to others. It is cultivating a continual awareness of His presence.
Jesus has promised to be with us “to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). In his book Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life, Henri Nouwen states, “Staying with Jesus and he with us requires walking the road together, not turning back, anticipating seeing Jesus in unexpected ways in our hearts.” He is referring to the revelation of the person of Jesus in the lives of the two men on the road to Emmaus. Jesus opened the Scriptures to them, but it was not until they begged Him to stay with them…and he accepted their invitation and broke bread with them that they recognized who He truly was. They did not yet recognize His voice, even though their hearts were “burning” within them. It was an act of remembrance (taking communion together) that triggered the recognition of His Presence. They had lost hope that Jesus was truly who He said He was until this moment. They were not yet completely attached to the Vine. Once this connectivity was established, the fullness of the kingdom was theirs! Their eyes were opened to the presence of the living Jesus! It is this awareness that fuels relationship and recognition. My guess is that these two men never again had trouble recognizing that Voice!
Prayer as every day life includes abiding with Jesus and listening to His voice. The longer we dwell in His presence, the more we will know that we are His beloved and He is ours!
Biography
Kim serves as the Executive Director of Harvest Prayer Ministries which she co-founded in 1993 with her late husband, Dave (1953-2022). Her ministry involves teaching/training and consulting as well as writing and developing resources. She is content coordinator for HPM's teaching platform, PrayerU.com and also compiles and edits HPM’s free daily devotional, Connection! as well as Prayer Tip Tuesday.
Kim has written multiple books and has published articles in a variety of magazines and publications. She is a member of America's National Prayer Committee and serves as President of Gospel Revivals, Inc. (Herald of His Coming).
Kim has a BA in Psychology and a Masters degree in Spiritual Formation and Leadership.