Luke 11:1-13 Romans 12:2 “Transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
The changing of mind and heart - life and its circumstances can be overwhelming in such a way as to distract us from what is true - robbing us of the peace we have as God’s children and replacing that peace with fearful and anxious thoughts.
God does not want us anxious and distracted, but at peace with Him - in and through everything - trusting the truth that He is “for us”! (Romans 8:31)
Anxiety is a restrictor of the mind, a constrictor of the heart, and a distracter of prayer.
Lies are the fuel for anxiety - the more we entertain the lie the tighter the squeeze - and the tighter the squeeze, the more we doubt the truth that our Father loves us, and “...works all things for the good of those who love Him…”. (Rom 8:28)
These lies often begin as everyday thoughts and concerns in our minds, but once entertained and engaged, these thoughts and concerns begin to swell, taking up more and more space, until finally they overwhelm and distort us, and begin to cause us to doubt what is true, then the Truth, then the One who is Truth and Truth giver, and then, because everything is now out of perspective and proportion - it makes the truth out to be a lie.
So, we call out and hope that maybe God will answer… but, not having dealt with the lies, even the gift that God gives us in response to our calling out (because He DOES answer - because He always does) doesn’t look like what it (actually) is. (bread vs. stone) He knows what we need before we ask - the question is, can we see it for what it is as God’s loving response and intention? (James 1:1-18)
Changing Our Mind
The transformation of the attitude of our mind by the renewing of our mind - what you know to be true: comparing our thoughts to the Truth (2Cor 10:3-5)
● Remember the truth
● Read the truth
● Recite the truth
● Repeat the
● Ruminate on the truth
Heart - Change and Transformation of the Heart
As the mind (is being transformed) changes, anxiety is stilled and the heart begins to relax. As it relaxes, peace and clarity descend (Rom 12:2; Phil 4:7). and this, in turn, changes our prayers and perspective as our perspective and prayers are being aligned with the (Spirit of) Truth. Who reminds us always of Truth - Jesus - and the truth of who we are in Him. (John 15:26; 16:13-15; 4:23-24; 14:17; 1John 4:6; 5-6)
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Philippians 4:7 “...the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
So When We are Anxious, Angry and Complaining…
…and we continue to entertain those conditions - our mind becomes more and more confused and chaotic, this condition of our mind, if not dealt with and transformed by truth, makes in us an increasingly constricted heart
But, the Spirit, whether we know it or not, faithfully intercedes by reminding us of our Father… Coming to our senses, we remember the Truth, most importantly, about our Father… (Luke 15:17)
Luke 15:17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!”
Remembering, reading, reciting, repeating, and remunerating on the truth we are properly, restored.
(Psalm 1:2; 16:7; 63; 77; 86; 119)
Through this our…
● Mind is transformed, diverted from anxiety to proper thought - perspective and proportion
● Heart is rerouted, distorted desires to proper desire and intent
● Prayer goes from distracted, frustrating and selfish to compassionate, gracious and blessing.
○ What is “blessing”?
■ To speak well of… wanting favor, favoring what is best (in God's eyes - including for self - which might mean pain and sacrifice)
■ Wanting, preferring what is best for others - to confer (to honor with) what is beneficial - which might mean your apparent loss - (prior (or) flesh) perceived loss - which in God’s (actual) blessing (want and prefer what is truly Good) loss = gain, no = yes, give = get, suffering = joy
● Now, exhibiting (the) self-control or self-discipline of the Spirit in us, our anxiety quelled, we are able to pray… (2Tim 1:7; 1Peter 4:7)
Praying in and about a recent stressful circumstance
I was incredibly anxious and distracted - I could not settle down or keep my prayers straight, I was so frustrated. Then, I remembered, read, recited, repeated and ruminated on the truth… about my Father.
My prayers - without my realizing the transition - suddenly shifted from chaos and confusion, frustration and fighting (within myself to change what my kind knew was a selfish prayer) the prayers I was praying to this moment of clarity and grace where my prayers were now compelled to be for the person involved - and the prayers were no longer mine from my confused and confounded mind, but the expression of a heart released to love graciously the person I should have been praying for
And then, truly trusting God for the outcome, whichever way it would go - that all would be blessed
This may be the process of seeing and affirming God's will
I could not change my mind!
The action and attitude of my mind - couldn’t make it do what I wanted it to do, what I knew was the right thing to do, and do it in the right way
Only the truth could change my mind which in turn releases my heart and thus permit the Spirit inside of me to - pray - on my behalf what it wanted to pray (which is always good and right) and my spirit released to agree with the Spirit in me and join in the prayer “the amen”
This is prayer and petition, this is garners thanksgiving, this changes our definition and perspective of blessing - as it changes stones into bread, snakes into fish, scorpions into eggs,
Not necessarily changing the moment and circumstance, but providing transcending peace within the moment and circumstance.
And the Miracle is not that God plucks out of the circumstance, that is simple. We might even be able to do that ourselves, but the miracle is that He gives us a sense of peace in the midst of the circumstances. And this peace is not a peace that is fleeting, but a peace that transcends understanding – or a peace that should not exist in the confines and context of the circumstance – a peace that (then) guards hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:4-8)
Helping us keep the right perspective, the right attitude, right understanding, confidence, and prayers
God has given us everything we need to do this
Sometimes on our own… but many times, we need help. Sometimes we need to pray with somebody who will remind us of the truth, will encourage us to be renewed in our thinking, someone who can walk with us through the changing of our mind, and pray with us that our mind and heart would be changed
There can be an awkwardness to prayer, as the flesh truly wants what’s contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit to the flesh. So our minds can be our own enemy when it comes to prayer. We feel anxious, awkward, embarrassed or ashamed. Just having the courage to overcome those things, to engage with God’s truth - that He is good and He is God and He gives good gifts. To believe that He prefers the best for his children. That we would engage Him openly and honestly.
