SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES
Psalm 68:5-6) (5) “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation." (6) "God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land."
(Galatians 4:6) "And because you are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts crying Abba Father."
(1 Corinthians 8:6) “Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things are and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are and through whom we exist.”
(James 1:17) “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
(Isaiah 64:7) “Yet, Lord, you are our father; we are the clay and you our potter: we are all the work of your hand.”
(1 John 3:1) “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The world does not know us because it did not know him.”
PREFACE SUMMARY
Did you know that God, in His infinite love, desires each of us to maintain a personal and intimate family relationship with Him? Even though He already knows our needs, He wants us to come to Him trusting and believing that He can meet them and desires to meet every one of them. Because we are not just members but His beloved children, God desires that we ask Him for what He already longs to give us.
Our prayer life, a powerful tool, not only prepares and empowers us to enter His presence to receive His loving instruction and blessings but also serves as a key to deepening our relationship with Him. It's a direct line of communication that connects us to our Father, making us feel empowered and deeply connected to Him. This message will open our eyes and understanding that how we approach God and what we are willing to ask Him for will reflect how we view Him as the model father we can all approach for our needs.
"THE FATHER HEART OF GOD."
This message is about getting to know the God of the universe, who created all things, both seen and unseen, as Father and praying that he may reveal his heart to us that he is not only a wonderful master planner before the world was formed but also loved to be referred to as the Father of creation.
God is Holy in his character and deeds and is not bound by space and time. Beloved, this is what distinguishes and separates Him from all other created things.
God has granted us the gift of prayer so that we can enter his divine presence and discover that he is seated on his throne in Heaven with his angelic host and that his Spirit is also here on earth with us.
This revelation awakens something like a deep voice, saying this world is not our true home. We are just passing through, yes beloved, our treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue where a loving heavenly Father is looking down with love that chose us in him before the foundation of the world, for he stated in (Isaiah 49:16) that he has us engraved on the palms of his hands.
Prayer causes us to realize that there is more around us than we can see, and because of the circumstances involved, it may take some time to see physical results.
We need to receive revelation that God knows all, sees all and looks at people around us when answering our prayers because, beloved, He is observing what effect our answered prayers will have on them.
Prayer is the means to satisfy our desire to know Him, who delivered us from sin. It gives us a deeper desire to commune with Him in His presence.
"THE MODEL PRAYER."
(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, forever. Amen."
In the book of Matthew, the Lord instructs His disciples concerning the proper way to pray and approach God, and most people love to refer to this passage of scripture as "The Lord's Prayer." Here, we find the preacher of all preachers standing overlooking the Sea of Galilee, instructing His disciples concerning the right way to pray and approach God.
The Lord placed special emphasis in these scriptures on instructing His disciples to take their prayer life seriously and not exploit themselves like the heathens, who love to pray in public and be known for their educated words.
The Lord instructed his disciples to enter their closets and pray in secret, assuring them that their Father, who sees in secret, would reward them openly. The Lord began His prayer by addressing God as our Father, and it was not uncommon for Kings in the Middle East to be addressed or called the Father of their people.
Did you know that history reveals that George Washington was often called the Father of America?
Did you know that when we address God as our Father, we identify ourselves as the children of the King and confess that He is our sovereign, Lord?
This is a Kingdom prayer. Did you know that in this prayer, we are not only praying for a time He has set in the future when His Son will sit on His throne here on earth and reign in righteousness, but we are also making a statement that we acknowledge His right to rule over all people, including us?
Jesus delegated the same authority given to Him by the Father to His church, which is His body. As His children, we need to realize this same authority has been delegated to us. When we pray to our Father, who is in Heaven, we need to direct our prayers to ask God to mold us to become one unified body doing His will, even as it is already being done in Heaven.
When we pray the words “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” we enter a new level of respect for God and reverence for His person. Can we pause in this study for a moment and thank him for not giving up on us, even when we were not so good? Lord, we praise you for who you are and what you have done for us.
When we praise him for who he is and what he has done in our lives by placing Him on the throne of our hearts, even as He sits on His throne in Heaven, we are willfully giving into His will and calling upon our lives to acknowledge His supreme power to rule over us.
Did you know that when we approach God this way, we express to Him that we have a burning desire for our lives to reveal His love and character to a lost and hurting world?
Did you not know when we practice this in our everyday lives, both in private and in public, we are demonstrating to a hurting world that we have something that they need, and it does not take long for those around us to know if we believe in what we are presenting as something they need?
"THE PERFECT FATHER."
The world is filled with hurting people who bear the memory of a rough childhood with an abusive father who showed very little love toward His family.
Did you know that God expresses in Psalms 68 of his Holy word that He is a Father to the Fatherless?
I never heard the words, "Son, I am proud of You." From my youth, my father always told me, "You will never amount to anything," and acted as if he were in competition with me.
Did you know that, unlike an earthly father, our Heavenly Father desires to develop a loving relationship with us? Through His word, God clearly shows us the true characteristics of a model father.
The word states in (Matthew 23:9) that for us to call no man on earth father but beloved, in the Greek language, the word instructs us to not refer to any man on earth as the model father because beloved, only God can fulfill that position.
To better understand this, we can study the life of the Apostle Paul and find in (1 Corinthians 4:15) where Paul refers to himself as the father of the gospel to the people God entrusted to his care.
If we desire to see a true model father, we need to look no further than God's word, for it declares that God possesses a Father’s Heart, a Father’s Love, a Father’s Strength, and a Father’s Concern for His people.
We can rejoice in discovering that we have a father who will never change or lose his power.
(Isaiah 9:6) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
This scripture reveals to us the attributes of God our Father, and here we might comment that something is lovely. Still, God says let me show you wonderfully as you view the risen glorified Christ that has been made both Lord and Christ who is mediating and representing you before the courts of Heaven.
God, through the prophet Isaiah, gives us a picture of the incredible mighty power of God that is available to us and that can save and deliver us from all temptation and bad habits. God, our everlasting Father, will never change how he feels about us and will never die off or lose his power.
In this world, we can experience the peace that comes from knowing God, and as His recognized Sons and Daughters in His royal family, we have peace with Him. This special connection is a clear demonstration of the love of a true father.
It's an incredible truth that we were predestined to become God's sons and daughters through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. God lovingly reaches out to us by proclaiming the significance of the cross, urging us to embrace Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
Embracing Jesus marks the initial step in God's intricate plan for our lives, a plan that was predetermined for us even before the foundation of the world. His Spirit is empowered with the divine blueprint for our lives and diligently operates within us to fulfill our unique purpose.
Do you know that sometimes, we tend to make our requests based on what we understand about His character and that beloved could and will affect how we approach him for our needs?
Do you view God as one who works on a merit system that requires you to satisfy some demand to gain His favor, like other religions, or do you approach Him as a loving Father who loves His children?
May I ask you to think a moment and think about how would a child who has an abusive father approach their father? I have listed three important questions on how a child might approach their father.
1. What will they ask for, and how will they approach them?
2. Will they be fearful that he may burst into an emotional uproar?
3. Are we, as God's children, approaching Him with fear, having the mindset that He is waiting for us to fail, or can we approach Him as the model Father full of compassion and love and determined to bring us to a good end?
In summary, how would you fill it out if God gave you a blank check? Would you use it to better yourself or help others advance the Kingdom of God?
Did you know that the one crucial thing we must recognize in our petitions to the throne of God is understanding that timing is everything in the Kingdom of God?
If we desire our prayers to be answered, we must not pray one-sidedly. We must stay in His presence, allowing Him time to place His burden in our hearts. We must understand that He is looking at everything that will be affected by our prayers and how they will affect those around us.
We need fresh bread, which will produce daily strength to continue this journey. What we had yesterday is not sufficient to face what we may encounter today. When we come before Him to express our needs, we need to recognize that He instructs us throughout His word to ask because He is concerned about the needs of His children.
Because we know him as Father, we can stand with confidence, knowing that our God is able and has a sincere desire to answer our prayers and fulfill our needs, that he may leave his signature through us to a hurting world that is looking for answers and a reason to live.
Have you noticed that the Lord linked the word “and” in the phrase between asking for daily bread and forgiveness?
(Matthew 6:11-12) "(11) "Give us this day our daily bread." (12) "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
Because we do not know what dangers we may encounter, we need God's hand of protection to cover and protect us. Therefore, in the Lord's prayer, we are instructed to pray, "Deliver us from evil."
Did you know that as God's children, we must discover in His word that all temptations must have His approval before they can be sent against us?
We can be confident in knowing that we have a heavenly Father who loves us with pure, intimate, providing, and unconditional love. Therefore, we may come boldly to him, making our requests and petitions boldly, confidently, and humbly.
May we thank God our Father for extending His grace so that we can come boldly to Him with praise and thanksgiving, for we are His adopted children, whom He has engraved on the palm of His hands.
MY CONCLUSION
Did you know that we were predestined to become God's Sons and Daughters at the cross of Jesus Christ, and Father God approaches us with the preaching of the cross, which encourages us to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord?
Accepting Jesus is the first step in God's plan, which was predestined for us before the foundation of the world. Every year, Father's Day is a special Sunday set aside to recognize the fatherhood of dads.
Many of us no longer have earthly fathers, but we who know God as our Father have learned to trust and depend upon His Fatherhood. Through years of experience, I have discovered that God used all our heartaches and disappointments to develop character, harden and mature us, and prepare us to preach in other nations for the glory of the King who chose and called me at a young age.
The parable of the Prodigal Son provides a compelling portrait of God's unconditional love and boundless capacity for forgiveness. This story illustrates God's love for all His children and willingness to show compassion and mercy to those seeking forgiveness. It serves as a powerful reminder of the profound nature of God's love and the grace that awaits all who turn back to Him.
I remember the powerful and moving poem "Two Sets of Footprints." The poem tells the story of a man who notices only one set of footprints in the sand at various points. Confused and disheartened, he questions God why there was only one set of footprints during the most challenging times. God tenderly responds, "My precious child, that is when I was carrying you." This poetic imagery beautifully captures the idea of divine support and carrying us through our most challenging moments.
God wants the lonely to know they do not have to be lonely. He wants the widows and widowers to see that they do not have to suffer loneliness, for they, too, can become a part of his royal family. There is hope for lonely mothers who may have a son or daughter on death row to find comfort in a True, Loving, Heavenly Father who wants nothing but the best for them and their families.
(Romans 8:37) “Who can separate us from the love of Christ, shall trouble, hardship, persecution, hunger, poverty, danger, or death, “Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” A-Men
International Evangelist
Jerry W. Hulse, Ph.D.
Miracle Life Church International
