You Can Be Satisfied | Authentic Prayer

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: If we want to be heard by the Lord in such a way that he responds with joy to our prayer, we need to be humble. And we need to talk to him, not trying to impress other people. What is authentic prayer? It's so different than what many people think prayer is. A lot of times when people think prayer, automatically their head goes to religion. But prayer is not about religion. I don't even like talking about those two words in the same sentence. Because God's not about religion. God created you and I in his own image so that we could walk with him, so that he could have a relationship with you and I. We were created to know God. We were created to experience his glory and to love him back. And that's really what prayer is. Prayer is about creating that connection between our creator and ourselves so that we can live in our destiny. The Bible tells us that eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and never has it even entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those that love him, for those that are called according to his purpose. And what are these mysteries that the spirit is talking about? The greatest of the mysteries is simply knowing God. We're talking about authentic prayer. Jesus said, "This is eternal life." Now think about this. We have been called to receive eternal life. That's the gift of God. To as many as believed him, to them he gave the gift of eternal life. But what is eternal life? Jesus said in the Gospel of John, "This is eternal life, that they would know God and Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, Yeshua of Nazareth, whom the Father sent." And so prayer is all about entering into a state, if you will, of knowing God in our deepest kishkas. It's like a Yiddish word. It means the deepest of our inside. The goal of prayer is to know God. We can pray about a lot of things and we should talk to God about everything. But if we're really living in the type of mindset that God wants for us, our greatest prayer is going to be to know him. Jesus said, "This is eternal life, to know God and Jesus, Yeshua of Nazareth, whom the Father sent." You see, part of authentic prayer is being, first of all, concerned, beloved one, with what God wants for you, rather than what you want for yourself. If you and I are ever going to be satisfied, and you can be satisfied, because Jesus said that if we would yield to him, if we would submit to his mastery in our life, his spirit within us would become like a well of living water, springing up to eternal life, so that we would hunger and thirst no more. Yeshua said, "If the son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Jesus said, "I have come to give life and to give it more abundantly." But the challenge for many that are naming the name of Jesus is that they're looking for this abundant life, they're looking for this satisfaction that Jesus spoke of by asking God to add to their life the things of the world. But the Bible says, "All that's in the world, everything that we see, it's not from the Father, but it's from the world." For all that's in the world, the scripture says, "the lust of the eyes." Everything that we see, "Oh, I want that. Oh, I want that. I want that." We see it, we want it. But the Bible says, "All that's in the world, the lust of the eyes." Those things that we see that we want, "the lust of the flesh." Food, sex. "The boastful pride of life." We want to be somebody in the world. The Bible says, "All those things, they're not from the Father, they're from the world." See, what God has for you and I is a totally different level. It comes from way down deep. It comes from knowing Father, knowing that security of relationship with him. It's building this relationship so that you don't feel alone anymore. So the goal of our prayer should not be religious language and somehow learning how to pray like some religious technician. It's not about memorized prayers. The goal of our prayer should first of all be, beloved one, that we would know God. This is what the whole purpose is, that we would be conformed to the image of his son. And what is the purpose of the son? The son existed for the Father. Remember Jesus said, "I have food that you don't know about. My food is to do the will of him who sent me." So when we speak about authentic prayer, we have to understand that if we want to move into the deep places in our prayer experience with the Lord, we have to let go of wanting so much and praying so much about those things that we desire that are from the world. And we need to instead be asking ourselves, "Father, what do you want for me? What's your desire for my life? Where do you want to connect with me? What do I need to forsake? What do I need to let go of? How can I enter into a deeper place with you so that I can fulfill your purpose for my life?" Authentic prayer happens when we transition from just asking from the Father the things that we want that are from the world to instead say, "Father, I want the deeper things. I want to enter into a reality that the world can't take away. I want to lay a hold of you so that when I get old and my hair is gray, my leaf will not wither. That I'll have joy even in my old age, because my joy won't be dependent on the world or my status in the world. It'll be dependent on the relationship that I have forged with you, on connecting with you in the deeper realm." Remember when Jesus taught us to pray, he said, "Pray in this way." And of course, we know the Lord's Prayer, but how did Yeshua end the Lord's Prayer? And how did he begin the Lord's Prayer? He said to pray in this way, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." He made the prayer, when he taught us how to pray, listen, he made it all about the Father's will. That's where he began, "Our Father who art in heaven." Right? "Holy is your name." He was, first of all, focused on the Father, on the holiness of the Father, on being pleasing to the Father. He wasn't looking to the Father to first just meet his personal needs. He was, first of all, concerned about the glory of the Father. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Now, some of you, this might not be of interest to you, and if it's not, it's possibly because you're not connected to the Lord in the right way. But for those of us that hear that deeper heartbeat of the Father, I trust that the words that I'm speaking are resonating with your soul. The scripture says, "Why are you searching for me in cisterns that hold no water, and you've forsaken the fountain of living water?" Of course, the Lord is speaking of himself as the fountain of living water. Remember the woman at the well, she said to Jesus, "How are you going to get some water out of the well? The well is deep," she said to him, "and you don't have anything to get down there and draw the water out with." And what did Yeshua say? He said, "Woman, if you knew who was speaking to you right now, you would ask and I would give you rivers of living water." This is what our heartbeat is in prayer, beloved, to receive the river of life so that our heart won't grow cold and so that our leaves will never diminish. We'll be like a tree planted by rivers of living water. Authentic prayer is about questing after the real things. I mean, I'm so thankful the Lord has blessed me in so many ways. But I promise you this before the Lord, I never walked or looked for or desired or pursued the outer things first. My quest has been to know God, to have victory in his spirit. And so authentic prayer is about desiring the things that God desires for you rather than coming to him simply for him to fill in the missing blanks in your life, those things that you think are needs, which often times are just temporary, fleshly things that the world has to offer.
Guest (Male): You're listening to Discovering The Jewish Jesus, and Rabbi will be right back in just a moment. But before we continue, have you followed us on Facebook? There you'll find powerful short videos from Rabbi that are filled with biblical wisdom and lots of encouragement. You'll also get weekly updates about our TV and radio airings so you never miss an episode. Just search for Discovering The Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider on Facebook today. We are so glad that you're here, and our prayer is that this program, that it blesses you right now and in this moment today. And you know, we couldn't share this message without the support of listeners like you through radio and podcast. And if the Lord is putting it on your heart to support this ministry, call us at 800-777-7835. Visit DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com. Thank you for your support. And now, back to Rabbi.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: So what we did, we turned to Psalm 51 as an example of authentic prayer. And of course, Psalm 51 was written by David. We call him David Melech, the king of Israel. And David wrote Psalm 51 after he had sinned with Bathsheba in order the death of her husband. And David began his prayer in Psalm 51 by asking the God of grace to blot out his sin, his transgression in his compassion. And this is where we begin in prayer. We first have to repent. We have to realize that we are in need of mercy. You see, authentic prayer, beloved one, begins with a humble heart. Paul realized that he was a sinner saved by grace. Paul realized that he was still striving in his life to overcome evil. Paul wrote in the book of Romans, "I find that evil dwells in me," Paul said, "the one that wishes to do good." He said, "God, who's going to help me?" And then he said, "Thanks be to God that gives us the victory." We come to the Lord looking for mercy with a humble heart. We don't come before him proud with some kind of religious spirit. Some people when they pray, they pray so as to be seen in front of other people praying. That's what Jesus accused the Pharisees of. He said, "You guys, you know, you say these long religious prayers. You think God's going to respond because of your many words. You do everything to be noticed by men." Some of us don't realize that when we're in church or we're praying with Christian friends, that when we're praying, we're really not praying out of a humble heart before a Father of grace. What we're really focused on is how religious and sanctified do we sound to the people around us that are listening to us pray. We got to separate ourselves from that demonic, defiled mindset. It doesn't matter what anybody thinks. We don't do what we do to be noticed by men. Authentic prayer requires a humble heart. You know, it's interesting, I think about in the tabernacle, remember, in the book of Exodus, where the Lord told Moses, he said, "I want you to build me this tabernacle." In Hebrew, it was called the Mishkan. It was the place where God met his people. And the Lord told Moses, "Now I want you to build me this Mishkan. I want you to build me this tabernacle, because I desire to meet with you there. I want to dwell with you." So the Mishkan gives us insight into where we can meet God and how we can allow God to dwell with us. And then the Lord told Moses, "Now you need to build this tabernacle," the Lord said, "exactly according to the pattern that I show you." So every piece of the tabernacle, which later became the temple in Jerusalem, it was the tabernacle when they were in the wilderness moving towards the Promised Land. It was a temporary structure that they picked up and carried whenever they moved. But when they finally entered into Israel, then they took the pattern that God gave Moses that they built the tabernacle out of and they transferred it into building a permanent temple there, applying the same principle and the same furnishings that were in the tabernacle. So all of it was through a divine blueprint and it all means something. And so the Lord said, "Moses, I want you to build it exactly according to the pattern that I show you." And what happened was when you entered the tabernacle, and when you entered that holy place in the temple, you entered a room. And in that room, it was completely cut off, it was completely concealed with animal skins. So there was no wind that was able to enter the room. It was completely cut off from the natural world. The only light in the room was through a seven-tiered menorah, a candle that was continually burning, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, that we must live not by the natural light of the sun, but by the supernatural light of the Holy Spirit. There was no natural light in the tabernacle. There was only the supernatural light from the menorah. But also in the tabernacle, which is the point that I was driving toward, also in the tabernacle, in that holy place, beloved, was an altar of incense. And the Bible tells us that the incense represents the prayers of the saints. Inside the holy place, within the tabernacle, there was an altar of incense that continually was burning. And the scripture tells us that that incense that was burning in that meeting place where God met his people, the tabernacle, the Mishkan, that incense represents the prayers of God's saints. And remember what I said a moment ago, and there was no natural wind that could get in, because it was completely covered with animal skins, which means that as that incense was burning, the smoke ascended straight up. Because there was no wind. Like if I lit incense where I'm at right now outside, the smoke of that incense would not go straight up, because there's wind blowing here. It would go out to the side. It would go with the direction of the wind. But in the tabernacle, the smoke went straight up. It ascended right to HaShem, right to Father God. What's my point? True authentic prayer, beloved one, ascends straight up to God. Unfortunately, many of those that name Jesus, when they pray, their prayer is not ascending straight up to God. It's blowing to the side towards the people next to them, because they're more focused on impressing the people next to them. They're more focused on making a good religious impression on the person standing beside them than they are with actually talking to God. And that type of prayer, beloved, has to stop. If we want to be heard by the Lord in such a way that he responds with joy to our prayer, if we want to move his heart, we need to be humble. We need to recognize we're standing in his presence. And we need to talk to him, not trying to impress other people. David in Psalm 51, he started his prayer with a humble heart. And so he began saying, "Lord, I know I'm a sinner. Blot out my transgressions and remove my sin from me, for I know that you're a compassionate God." And then David went on to ask God to wash him. Paul, like I said earlier, he realized that he was still dealing with the principle of evil inside him. Paul said in Romans, he said, "I find within myself that evil dwells in me." Paul said, "I'm wanting to do good. I agree with God, and yet I find that there's still evil in me." And so David continues his prayer and he said, "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know," David said, "my transgression and my sin is ever before me against you, and you only, I have sinned." Today, beloved, let's take a moment. Let's humble ourselves before the Lord. When the two sinners went to pray, when the Pharisee, I should say, and the sinner prayed next to each other. The Pharisee congratulated himself. He said, "Lord, I thank you that I'm not like one of these sinners." We all know the story. The sinner said, "Lord, forgive me a sinner." Father God, in Yeshua's name, I confess on behalf of all those that are in agreement with the truth right now. Father, we're sinners. Thank you for your loving us. Thank you for your compassion. Father, we ask you now to wash us and to cleanse us thoroughly and completely of our sin. Father, thank you for making us blameless in your presence. And thank you for washing us by your word through the regenerating power of the Ruach HaKodesh. In the world, when we give, that means we have left over. That's the natural realm. But the supernatural realm is this, Jesus said, "Give and it will be given back to you, pressed down, good measure and running over into your lap." The Bible says, "With what measure we give, it will come back to us. If we give bountifully, if we sow bountifully, it's going to come back to us bountifully." I want to encourage you to believe for God to supernaturally bless your finances as you give. It's going to come back, beloved, according to that which you measure, pressed down, good measure and running over into your lap.
Guest (Male): If the Lord is calling you to give a gift to Discovering The Jewish Jesus, a gift of any amount, make sure to call us right now. Our number is 800-777-7835. That's 800-777-7835. Or you can also text your donation to the number 88777. Just type the keyword "give" to the phone number 88777, and you'll have simple instructions right there on your screen. You know, your faithfulness it allows us to spread the good news far and wide. What that means is all over the world. We're an international ministry. We're reaching the far-flung corners of the globe, and we're also all over the United States. It allows us to fulfill the Bible's mandate to bring the gospel to the world. But we're not just bringing the gospel to the world, we're reaching Israel as well. We're reaching Jewish people with the gospel. And you know what? Jesus said himself that he won't return until Jewish people say, "Baruch Haba b'Shem Adonai," that's, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." So you know what? If we want Jesus to return, we've got to reach Jewish people with the gospel. And you can help us do it. Would you join us in encouraging men and women all over the world to take that step of faith, especially Jewish people? Give online at DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com. And I just want to say, you know, a lot of people think that their gift doesn't matter, that they won't make a difference. But I've got to tell you that because a lot of people feel that way, people don't give and then no one is giving. So I want to encourage you if you're listening to this show today and, you know, you've never taken that step to give, and this ministry is blessing you and you think it would be a blessing to others, I just want to ask you to support us. You don't have to give some big gift or anything. Just take the step of faith. Follow whatever God is leading you to do. Thank you so much. We love you. God bless you. And now here's Rabbi with the Aaronic Blessing.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: Blessings trump curses. And in the book of Numbers chapter 6, we find the Aaronic blessing that God commanded Moses's brother Aaron, the high priest, to speak over the children of Israel. There's power in blessing, beloved ones. So take part in receiving Father's blessing upon your life today. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance and the Lord give you, beloved one, his peace. And now, in Hebrew. Y'varekhecha Adonai v'yishmerecha. Ya'er Adonai panav eilecha v'yichuneka. Yissa Adonai panav eilecha v'yasem l'cha shalom. God bless you and shalom.
Guest (Male): I'm your host Dustin Roberts, and this program is produced and sponsored by Discovering The Jewish Jesus. Join us again when Rabbi Schneider explains what happens when we get real about transformative prayer. That's Friday on Discovering The Jewish Jesus.