Declaration of My Total Dependence on God, My Everything
Abba Father, my All-sufficiency,[i] I acknowledge that in my outer man, I am weak and helpless; without You I can do nothing[ii] for in my flesh dwells nothing good.[iii]* I am completely dependent on Your mercy, grace and loving-kindness to sustain the new me in Christ Jesus and to sanctify my outer man.
By being one with You in Him,[iv] You graciously give me all good things according to Your perfect will and pleasure,[v] filling the new me with the fullness of Yourself.[vi] Through the Blood Covenant, You have given me Your free gift of fullness and of never-ending life in Christ Jesus, my Lord, and now I (the inner man) am complete in Him.[vii]
Therefore, help me to trust in You with my whole being, walking by faith (believing, trusting, relying, resting) in You rather than by walking in unbelief caused by relying on my natural sight that leads to a darkened intellect and alienation from Your life, all because of ignorance of Your life and Truth.[viii]
Prompt me to acknowledge You in all my ways so that You can correct and direct my steps[ix] (beliefs, perceptions, motives, thoughts, affections, decisions, words and behavior) by Your word of truth, the whole Gospel of Christ. Keep me alert to receive and apply by faith with thanksgiving every provision and blessing from You so that my outer man may be healthy and do well[x] to love and serve you unhindered all the days of my natural life.
I delight in a love-based, reverence for You[xi]** that assures me of Your constant presence and Al-mighty power, ever working on my behalf, enabling the new me to overcome and cast out all ungodly fear by consciously abiding in Your perfect love for me.[xii] I have received Your abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness and I now reign in life through the One, the last Adam, Jesus Christ,[xiii] through whom I am more than a conqueror.[xiv]
Therefore, I reject all anxiety (fear of the unknown) about anything. In everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, I ask You, Father, for all that I need, knowing that You supply everything I need for life and godliness. I do so in tongues and with my mind.
Holy Spirit, please bring to my mind what to ask for, in Jesus’ name ________________. I receive Your peace which passes all natural understanding and guards my new heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.[xv]*** Cause me to consistently draw upon all the benefits of Your Blood Covenant, which You included the new me into, through faith in Christ Jesus, the Lamb,[xvi] the Lion of Judah[xvii] and the Lord of Hosts.[xviii]
[i] 2 Corinthians 3:5 “..not that we are sufficient of ourselves to reason out anything as out of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.”
[ii] John. 15:5 “I am the Vine: you (are) the branches. He that remains in Me, and I in Him, this one bears much fruit. For apart from Me you are not able to do anything.”
[iii] Romans 7:17-18 “But I no longer work it out, but the sin dwelling in me. For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good. For to will is present to me, but to work out the good I do not find.”
*Note: The word flesh in this context does not refer to a believer’s physical body because it is not evil, per se. If it were intrinsically evil, it could not be a temple of the Holy Spirit or be used as an instrument of righteousness. Rather, Paul is naming something that dwells in the believer (like an infectious splinter) which must be denied control. See Footnote # 134 for a good strategy against the flesh in this context.
[iv] Colossians 3:3 “… for you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God.”
[v] Ephesians 1:3, 5-8 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ, predestinating us to adoption through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to (the) praise of (the) glory of His grace, in which He favored us in the Beloved in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace … .”
[vi] Ephesians 3:19 “…and to know the surpassing knowledge and love of Christ, that you may be filled to all fullness of God.” Also see John 1:16.
[vii] Colossians 2:9-10 and Romans 6:23 “For in Him dwell all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and having been filled, you are in Him, who is the Head of all rule and authority….” “For the wages of sin (is) death, but the free gift of God (is) everlasting life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Also see 1 Corinthians 1:30 and 1 Peter 3:4.
[viii] Ephesians. 4:18 and 2 Corinthians 5:7 “…having been darkened in the intellect, having been alienated (from) the life of God because of the ignorance being in them because of the hardness of their heart.” “… for we walk by faith, not by sight….” Romans 4:19.
[ix] Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”
[x] 3 John 1:2 “Beloved in regard to all things, I pray (for) you to do well and to be in health, as your soul does well.”
[xi] Isaiah 11:3 “And His (the Messiah’s) delight shall be in the fear of (reverence for) the Lord.…”
**Note: The Bible speaks of two kinds of “the fear of the Lord.” One is based of a negative fearfulness of God’s just wrath for violating the Law. This might seem to deter sin; but this attitude is itself sinful because it is based on faith in one’s performance to preserve oneself from punishment rather than on trusting God by faith. The other is a positive faith in Jesus’ finished work and a corresponding love-based response to let the Holy Spirit live in and through us to manifest His fruit. This second kind characterized Jesus’ response to His Father in Whom He delighted, as prophesied in Isaiah 11.
[xii] 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love but (knowing God’s) perfect love casts out all fear … .”
[xiii] Corinthians 15:45. “For if by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one (the first Adam), much more the (ones) receiving the abundance of the grace and the gift of righteousness shall rule in life (zoe, God-Life) through the One, (the Last Adam) Jesus Christ.”
[xiv] Romans 8:37 “But in all these things we more than conquerors through the (One) loving us.”
[xv] Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious of nothing, but in everything by prayer and by petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts (feelings and affections) and your minds (thoughts) in Christ Jesus.” See also 2 Peter 1:3 and John 15:7.
***Note: In scripture the word heart can mean many things, depending on the context. It can mean spirit (essence), motives, affections, emotions or the organ that pumps blood. Some think it is the combination of the soul and spirit. I believe its use here refers to emotions because I (my spirit being, inner man, essence) am already seated in Christ in God in the heavenlies where there are no troubles to experience.
[xvi] John 1:36 “And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said ‘Behold the Lamb of God.’ ”
[xvii] Revelation 5:5 “ … Behold, the Lion being of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, overcame (so as) to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
[xviii] Isaiah 24:23 “ … for the Lord of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before his elders he will manifest his glory.”
Coming Next Week: Chapter 7
life, that is, Jesus himself.