Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder
Be With Me is a daily 7 minute chronological walk through the New Testament hosted by Michael Smith. It is for everyone who is curious about what Jesus actually said and did in the gospels. Most episodes will leave you with at least one good thought to chew on for the rest of the day. We start with the Bible and hopefully end with Awe. We are walking through the chronological events of Jesus' life and then thoughtfully considering them. It is meant to spur the devotional life of the Christian and the not-yet-Christian. We occasionally venture into the Old Testament when it helps our understanding of the New Testament events. Everybody has 7 minutes. Everybody needs to wonder. Be With Me is hosted by Michael Smith who has absolutely no special qualifications to do a podcast. He is not a pastor. He has not been to seminary. He does not lead a mega-church. He is not a professional and he has no more credentials than you do. He does, however, follow a great God with an observant eye and a curious heart. Each day, he starts with a study bible and aims for astonishment. ‘be with him’ for 7 minutes as he sets out daily to discover the God who invites us to ‘Be With Me.’
Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder
God the Father is Calling You s31e74 Mt6:5
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What would happen if you were invited into a conversation with God Himself? What if you knew you would be seen, known, and truly understood in it?
Join me for just 6 minutes to be summoned to a secret chat room with God the Father. He has made the invitation. He has made the pathway.
Will you RSVP yes? He'd love to hear from you today.
https://youtu.be/DDTb88WAT6A
God the Father is Calling You s31e74 Mt6:5
What if I told you that you can pray. And, that when you do you WILL BE HEARD by God.—really heard. SEEN. Understood
You are going to be invited in today’s passage into fellowship with Godthe Father. You will watch as we see some knuckleheads, aka hypocrites get this process perfectly wrong. But, For those that do this right, their private places transform into heavenly portals
The Lord’s Prayer
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
God made prayer
Communication tool. Contact device. Interaction portal.
He invented it. He defined. He refines in in Matt ch 6
But more than just the structure of it: asks us to use it
You can pray anywhere.
Your private place can be the throne room.
Your backyard can be an auditorium of worship.
Your traffic jam in a car can touch heaven itself
You can pray …wait for it…to God.
The actual God of everything. King, creator, life giver
He receives and even requests an audience with you
You have been invited. You have been summoned
God would LOVE to hear from you
You can pray. No training, no seminary, no righteous acts,
You are seen when you pray
Two men are compared and contrasted as they are seen
God sees the man who prays in secret
God hears in secret
This is a characteristic of God: seeing, hearing, discerning
You are KNOWN before Him; no mistakes
We are UNDERSTOOD
Other guy. Knucklehead God sees the man who prays in public
God sees the heart that wants to be seen by men
In a sense they are praying TO men
Getting the TARGET wrong is prayer is called hypocracy
Here’s how to pray wrong:
Stand in the wrong place
THAT YOU MAY BE SEEN by the wrong eyes
That you request the wrong things
When you pray you are seen .
On one hand this is terrifying.
All thoughts and efforts are before Him
His judgement is accurate in the good stuff such as generosity
His judgement is accurate in the bad stuff such as lust, anger, pride,
When you pray you are seen .
On the other hand this is comforting
We do are not unseen. We are not unheard.
Our desires and longings and hopes are heard and known.
The Lord desires to know us and to hear from us
Prayer is rewarded
God is a rewarder of those who pray6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
God has some thing for those who pray
What that thing is is GOOD—called a reward
This prize is worth pursuing
I don’t want to only be a reward seeker, but I also do not want to be ignorant as to the economics of prayer.
Efforts are met with rewards
Conclusions
Everybody prays. Calls out somehow. Yearns towards something, someone. Let’s put direction to it: yearn for God Himself. Father.
Similarly, God yearns for YOU.
He wants to hear from you. Waits for you
He wants you to stand before HIM,
not some knuckleheaded audience on a street corner
You have been invited. You have been summoned
He requests the favor of your presence
He calls for you. He is waiting for you
Jesus calls for you . The Father waits for you.
He wants to be with you by using this particular communication tool
He’s invented.
When we pray: We are seen, heard, understood and Known by God
Call out to God.
How to call out to God: privately, sincerely, non-complexly,
What do I want you to do as we finish this? Pray.
Simply. Privately, personally,
In response to a pathway, a portal of access
In response to His desire that you use it;
that you say yes to His invitation
Let’s rsvp to God: tell Him you are coming to His throne
Don’t keep Him waiting.