The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Warrior's Prayer, #7

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears (verse six).

We do not have to understand spiritual principles or pray complicated prayers. In the hour of distress we are to call on the Lord. We cry, Jesus! Save me! The Lord's warriors understand the value of this simple prayer. They have many occasions on which to utter it. They know the reality of the resurrected Christ. They know of His speed and power in coming to the aid of the embattled saint. When the saints are attacked they call out to the Lord immediately. They "blow the trumpet" when danger threatens (Numbers 10:9).

God hears our voice out of His Temple in Heaven. There is confusion today between the internal Christ and the external Christ. Some Christians conclude that because they have Christ in them His power comes from within them. This may seem logical but it is not true. The error of looking for Christ's power to come from within us can result in our not calling on God in prayer, not diligently seeking Him.

Christ was (and is) filled with all the fullness of the Godhead. Yet when He prayed He lifted up His eyes and prayed to the Father in Heaven.

It is true that Christ is being formed in us. It is true also the Father and the Son come through the Holy Spirit and make their abode in the new creation being formed in us. Our inner man is being fashioned from the Divine Nature, and in the image of the Divine Nature. God and Christ are dwelling in the re-created inner man.

It is true also that the Father and the Son are in Heaven above. We never pray to God who is in us but to God who is in Heaven. We do not trust in God who is in us but in God who is in Heaven.

It is a fact that the Holy Spirit is dwelling in us. The Spirit of Truth prevents us from being deceived by the spirit of religious delusion that proceeds from the False Prophet. The Spirit of Truth is greater than the spirit of error.

Nevertheless we always pray to the Father and Son in Heaven.

Some believers of our day may not spend nearly enough time in prayer because they are trusting in the indwelling of the Godhead to respond in the hour of crisis. This is a misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God. Today the Father and the Son are about to make Their eternal abode in us in fulfillment of the Old Testament feast of Tabernacles. But—at least in the present hour—we pray to our Father who is in Heaven. Our cry comes before Him in His temple in Heaven.

The warrior does not call on Christ who is dwelling in him but on Christ who is at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. God in Heaven always hears the cry of those who are performing His will. Jesus pointed out to us that the Father continually is with Him because He always does the Father's will (John 8:29). The same is true of us (John 9:31).

The Light who is dwelling in us will be revealed from within us in the Day of the Lord. All the nations of the earth will behold the Glory who is in the saints, and beholding will believe on Christ. To what extent God and Christ will remain external to us in the coming ages will be made known at that time.

To be continued.