A vision of the Father for when we pray

Dear friend

Prayer is a quite unique form of communication. We normally close our eyes before we pray. When else would we do that to talk with someone? Perhaps it helps us be less distracted by visual stimulus. Or perhaps it signifies our utter unworthiness in comparison to God, to the extent that we should not, cannot, look upon His glory in our corrupt mortal state; a blessed mercy maybe. Whatever the reason, when our natural eyes are closed what do we picture in our mind's eye? Do we have an image of Heavenly Father as He lovingly listens to our stumbling statements of praise and petition?

If you want a visual image, you could borrow one from the Prophet Ezekiel. He had a vision of God on His throne. The description is brilliant, in both senses. It comes from the Old Testament, Ezekiel 1:26-28.

26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

So, in order to capture for yourself this Regal revelation, send your mind above the sky, past the upper atmosphere to the far reaches of the furthest stars. See a throne spectacularly shining with a bright blue hue. See Father seated thereon, with a golden glow of glorious fire emanating from the core of His whole person; a shimmering white-hot wonderment. Feel the warmth of pure love tingle on your face as He smiles at you personally and nods approvingly. You bask in His absolute affection and beautiful boundless beneficence. Surrounding this marvellous mirage is a full spectrum of rainbow-like radiance, an aura too magnificent for mere words. The holiness is humbling, the perfection is palpable. Hold that visualisation with as much mental clarity and spiritual sensitivity as you can muster. Let it sink deep into your soul.

Having imprinted our own version of Ezekiel's vision into our psyche, I hope we can recall it and use it to enhance our prayer experience. It made the Prophet fall on his face in complete obeisance. I pray that we might share in a portion of what resulted and so say with him "I heard a voice of one that spake".

Samuel.

Prophecy, parables and pyrotechnics

Dear friend

Some of the ancient prophets were shown our day, the latter days. I can't help wondering what they thought about what they saw. Surely some things must have appeared very odd to them. But whatever they thought of helicopters and hovercraft, we gain great benefit from what the Lord told them about these days. For example, from the Old Testament, Ezekiel 20:45-49.

45 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
46 Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
48 And all flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.
49 Then said I, Ah Lord God! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?

While prophets of olden times might have wondered about worldly works of our day, for our turn we too can wonder about the strange ways of the ancients; including how they wrote. From these verses it is helpful to understand that the Prophet Ezekiel was living in Mesopotamia at the time, and Judea was the land to the south of his location. Judea represents His chosen people who at times have been disobedient. "Drop thy word", according to other verses, simply means to preach the gospel. The forest refers to the people as if they were trees, like fruit or olive trees; which is a common device in scriptural prophecy. Many of these trees are unfruitful, good for nothing but to be burned. In the last days there will be a burning removal of the useless trees. This will be in preparation for Christ’s glorious return. And all the world will know of it.

The continual use of analogies, parables and such constructions is instructive, but we must put in some effort to discover the meanings, to seek out the mysteries that are in plain sight if we will but look for them.

I pray that we will "hear the word of the Lord", search it, and that it will "kindle a fire in us".

Samuel.