Where do you start with serving God, or walking with the Lord on a daily basis? What is most important?
Knowing what the priorities are in your covenant relationship with God in Christ is vital to your success and spiritual growth.
Most of us come to God with heavy burdens and chronic issues we need to be healed of, and we often make our issues the priority in our relationship with God.
In the immediate sense, this is logical; when you need healing, the focus is the wound. However, we are designed to heal in the presence of God, and we do (Matthew 11:28-30, 1 Peter 5:7). As we continue walking with God, we continue to improve (Psalm 91:1-2, John 15:4-5).
If we are carrying wounds that aren’t healing, it’s because we have lost sight of the spiritual priorities that would keep us in the presence of the One who heals us (Exodus 15:26, Psalm 103:2-4).
In fact, if we find ourselves doing anything that isn’t working, it is because we have lost sight somewhere of the spiritual priority that we should be focused on that would align us with the mind of God (1 Corinthians 2:16, Philippians 2:5).
Jesus Reveals Our Priorities
Grace and truth have come by Jesus Christ, the Living Word, and so all our priorities flow from him and his word (John 1:1-18).
That makes sense.
But Jesus said a lot of things; how do we know where to anchor our spiritual focus?
We discover our framework for focus in the way Jesus taught us to pray 😀
Whatever the Lord tells you to pray for or about must be a priority; it is literally the command of God for your focus.
We find and clear outline and framework for our focus in the model prayer Jesus gave to his disciples, or what many people call The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:1-4).
Priorities in the Model Prayer
If we break down the model for prayer that Jesus gave us to as a pattern for personal communion, we find our priorities for daily living:
Our Father which art in heaven – Our sonship/covenant connection to the Creator who loves us; our Father residing in the heavenly realm
Hallowed be thy name – Sacred, sanctified, and holy is the character, nature, and authority of our Father
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven – We manifest heaven in earth by doing your will
Give us this day our daily bread – We call upon the resources and favor needed for today’s portion of the journey, and the nourishment we need to grow
Forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors – We submit wholly to forgiveness because our giving and our receiving are connected
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil – We desire to maintain focus on what is righteous without distraction and call upon heaven to help us to remain unaffected by evil
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever – Our reason for everything is the sovereignty of you and your kingdom, power, and manifest goodness – because it belongs to you, our focus and actions belong to you, Father
Amen – We agree and align with God’s will on the matter
What This Means for Me
If we examine the Model Prayer, we see that our spiritual focus and our daily living should be aligned with seeking and manifesting our Father’s agenda (Matthew 6:33, John 6:38) and staying away from things that would distract us from our covenant rights and responsibilities as his children.
This means that we should be actively surrendering to the will of God as we understand it at all times.
We can only align with God’s will and agenda if we sacrifice our own. We all have our own ambitions, ideas, or imaginations that we want to see realized in our lives. These things we desire for ourselves may be positive or productive, but if they are not inspired by our connection to the Father, they are distractions from what God wants to reveal through our faith connection and communion with him.
And what God wants for us is always better than what we would ever imagine for ourselves.
Do you want what you want over what God wants?
❤️
Scripture References
Matthew 6:9-13
Matthew 11:28-30
1 Corinthians 2:16
Ephesians 3:14-20
Matthew 6:9-13
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Ephesians 3:14-20
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
1 Corinthians 2:16
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
