“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…”
They still say that word of mouth is the most powerful advertising. It’s what people enjoy, fear, or hate that tends to spread the quickest. Recently, the news has been full of the Coronavirus; but I’ve also noticed that everyone is talking about it, and how it may affect their lives - we talk about and share what’s filling our minds and hearts and without any training!
Today we will consider how “Hallowed be your name” is also a prayer that those outside the church would come to worship Him, and this, principally, happens as Christians speak about the gospel, and live for Him in ways that authenticate the message.
Evangelism springs from worship
Evangelism springs from worship. Love for God spurs us on to speak and serve the world, because we want others to find the life that we have found. If we want to become more effective at sharing our faith, it starts with knowing God as our Father in heaven and knowing His holiness - His inestimable goodness.
The word ‘evangelist’ means, ‘a messenger of glad tidings, a proclaimer of the gospel story, of the facts of redemption’; It goes without saying that the more we are astounded by the good news, the more we will want to share it!
Like you I’m sure, I know that I could do with being more worshipful; I’d love it if I could say that my love for God is overflowing in generously sharing my faith and praying for people. However, there is hope! Jesus teaches us that worship and prayer are the keys to our growth and effectiveness in the world. So let’s pray together,
“Father, Hallowed be your name in the world and the communities that I’m a part of. Please fill me with your Spirit so as to love you and love others enough to share about you in appropriate ways. Amen”
RESPONSE
During this series, let's aim to memorise and meditate on The Lord's Prayer.
TIPS ON MEMORISING SCRIPTURE
We will only do this, and persevere in doing this, if we believe that it's truly important to hide God's word in our heart. So get faith!
Don't disqualify yourself if it's hard - it is hard!
Write the text somewhere that's easy to find and use - a note on your phone, a post-it on the fridge...
Include the reference (book/chapter/verse) throughout the process
Read it slowly and carefully x 10 (Don't rush or dismiss this accurate repetition)
Recall it, without looking as much as possible x10
Do this a few times through the day - a habit is best formed by doing this at the same times, and places each day.
Revise regularly (and revise previously memorised verses)
Make it a habit to learn new verses - skill comes over time
USE IT! Actively use it to pray, worship, counsel, prophecy, and counter temptation and lies by quoting truth - it’s the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17).
TIPS ON BIBLICAL MEDITATION - THE 'COME TO JESUS DAILY METHOD'.
Biblical meditation is to prayerfully read, repeatedly, a section of the bible and pray, worship and respond as God leads. Here are a few tips and questions, what I call the 'come to Jesus daily method', to help you when meditating:
PRAY - Ask for the Spirit to help you and to speak to you. Keep the goal in mind - having a relationship with God!
WRITING- Writing/journaling is often a great help as you answer the questions below. Remember, don't allow worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar, perfection... to stop you from writing - it's between you and God. In meditation, I encourage you to write in the first-person, speaking to God - "I see that you are...I sense you speaking to me about...I pray for...."
GOSPEL- What does God, through this text, say to you about salvation through Jesus?
UP- What does God, through this text, say you about Himself – His worth, character, attributes, will, promises…?
IN- What does God, through this text, say about you, His church and how we are to relate?
OUT- What does God, through this text, say about non-believers and our mission?
RESPONSE – Is there anything else that you want to pray, worship God about, do, ask forgiveness about, ask God to help you to change…?
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