Dear TC-HOP Family,
Over the past few weeks I’ve been writing about prayers of supplication and asking God to bring change to our personal life circumstances and strength to our inner man. Most of our prayers fit into three requests: gifts of the Spirit or God’s power and favor, fruit of the Spirit or Godly character, and wisdom of the Spirit or insight and revelation. A prayer list I have been using that is very helpful is taken from the acronym F-E-L-L-O-W-S-H-I-P which combines the three main requests of gifts, fruit and wisdom.
The first letter, F, stands for Fear of God. The fear of the Lord is not something understood with the mind, but with the heart. The Holy Spirit will need to reveal to you personally what it means to walk in the fear of God. The more we comprehend God’s greatness, the greater our capacity to fear Him or reverence Him. He is a Holy God and cannot even look upon sin, and sin cannot stand in His Presence.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It is also the starting place for an intimate relationship with God. Ps. 25:14 says, ”The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him”
There is a difference in fearing God and being afraid of God. Our hearts have to be firmly established in the fact that God is good. A person who fears God knows this because they know God’s character, and will draw near to Him during hardship or trials because we believe God will bring forth good in the end.
When we don’t fear God and honor him as Lord we withhold a portion of the control of our lives. We will be in danger of being led by our opinions or other people’s opinions. When we begin to make decisions based on what would please God, what would God think, knowing He’s watching you, and if you answer to Him first and foremost, it is a beginning place for the fear of the Lord to arise in your heart.
So I am asking in prayer for the Father to release the fear of God into my heart, strike me with awe that I might tremble before Your majestic presence. I’m asking that I would always delight in fearing You. “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” (Is. 66:2)
Some verses I like praying concerning the fear of the Lord are Jeremiah 32:39-40, but putting them in my version; Lord, give me singleness of heart and action, so that I will always fear you for my own good and the good of my children after me. Inspire me to fear You so I will never turn away from you.
Psalm 86:11 says, “ Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth, give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”
Deut. 5:29: “O that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever.”
A holy fear will take us to a new place in the depth of our relationship with God. He is longing for intimacy and relationship with us. We were created for that very purpose. May God give us understanding of the fear of God, and put within our hearts a reverence, respect and honor for Him.
Next week I will continue with the F-E-L-L-O-W-S-H-I-P acronym.
Come join us in prayer this week at the TC-HOP.
Blessings,
Gary