Fifth Connection

Having shown four life-altering connections to the game, On the Bank: In the River, as being the Place of Position, the Place of Person, the Place of Power and the Place of Privilege, we are most thrilled to receive this fifth connection.  

The fifth life altering and life-changing connection to the game is in the Place of Pleasure. As with this vibrantly exciting, demandingly energetic and fully enthusiastic game, one must love it and find deep pleasure with it, not just to play it and sit down, but to play the game and want to continue to play it. For those of us who have played it, don’t you remember your young, energetic pleasure and almost overwhelming delight to play, even when you were out? When you were, ‘caught out’, as it were, and had to wait for that round to be completed, you never sat down. You kept jumping and laughing and clapping and so much more, while your friends played on. As soon as the round was over, you jumped right back into the game. Yes, you, I and countless others found deep pleasure in that game. No one had to coax us, force us, or provide us incentives to play. The game itself carried all its attractiveness and incentives.

Look at Jesus’ disciples. Don’t you think they found great pleasure in being with Him and receiving His words and ways?  We follow Jesus because it pleasures us. He must be our single delight, our excitement and energy, so that we need no kind of incentives to be one of His team. Don’t be fooled. We can have the position of being where Jesus is, be known as a person with Him, as He has given us privilege and power, and yet not be actively in communion with Him. Having all these good things does not mean that we find absolute pleasure in our Lord and His ways. We must be pleasured and find great delight in obeying our Lord. When we delight in the Lord, we receive His special promises. This is what He says to His people who delight in Him. Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken. Isaiah 58: 14

Unimaginable wisdom and learning have been set before us from this one verse of Scripture. Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road? Mark 9: 33. Who, but the Omniscient Holy Spirit, is able to take what is so fully carnal and ply full spiritual truths out of it? Who, but the Omnipotent Divine, can stop to scoop up what is so impotently useless and form out of it undiluted facts about the Place of Prayer with our Lord? Yes! You heard correctly. The Place of Prayer is the place where this has led us.

All along, like Mary Magdalene, we have been following, talking, listening and receiving, but we have remained blind to what is really happening to us. Even when Jesus, Alive and in Living colour, stood in front of her, in flesh and bones, she did not recognize Jesus. Prayer has been before us, with us, guiding us, guarding us and we have not recognized Prayer. Do you remember what happened with Mary to bring her to resurrection Light? Jesus had to call her name and instantly she was on His side as it were. In other words, she was no longer, ‘on the road’ but she was now, ‘in the house’ with Jesus.

Many of us have been brought to see that prayer has been dead and continues to be in such a fruitless state to many a follower of Jesus, because Jesus has died to us. When Jesus is half-dead, three-quarter dead or one-quarter dead in us, in the Church, it is because of the position of our faith in Him. Let’s see where we have been.

Do we really stand in the Position of Prayer? Does your Church stand in the Place of Prayer? What is your present position? Prayer is the activity, the action for every single believer. In the same way breathing is the action, the activity, if you care, of every living human being, without exception, likewise is prayer. For all who are born of the Spirit, prayer must take place. In other words, without prayer, you and I are out, not in the team of those in Jesus, who pray daily.

In the same way life is given to all humans born of flesh, so too, prayer is given to all humans who are born of the Spirit. Jesus Himself has given to us this rich, unbelievable, remarkable treasure of prayer. Jesus, through His Suffering and Death, broke the barrier, rent the curtailing curtain, in two, freely and fully opening up the Holy of Holies to us. We are given privilege to enter into the throne room of grace, at any time and in any condition, to speak to our Father, who is in heaven. The place is prayer and we are in the given position of prayer. Please note that everyone does not stand in this position because, although everyone hears, many of our responses are all awkward, amiss and askew. We cannot be a part of prayer, since we are disobedient to the call of the Lord in prayer and about prayer.

Remember the game. When the call is to be on the banks, why is one foot still in the river? What’s the position of your body of prayer?