Abba Father

[Chrysostom]

God hears your cry even in these few words, Abba Father help me, deliver me. That very name Abba is not your own strength alone but the voice of the Spirit within you, for no one can truly call God Father except by the Holy Spirit who makes us children and not strangers.

Do not despair because your prayer is short or broken. God does not measure prayer by many words. Moses prayed and was heard, Hannah prayed with her voice not even heard and her heart cried out and God answered, and Abel though silent and dying sent forth a cry that was clear before God. Your heart crying Abba is already a prayer that reaches heaven, whether it is spoken aloud or only poured out in silence and tears.

Christ came for this very purpose, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind and to lead us out of captivity. As the dove appeared at His baptism, gentle and pure, so the Spirit comes now not with terror but with meekness, not to remind you of judgment but to point you to your Deliverer and to give you the adoption as a child of God. Through His coming we have both deliverance from evil and the supply of good, deliverance from the curse and the gift of becoming sons and daughters through Jesus Christ alone.

So continue to bring your need to Him and do your part as He gives you strength. Turn to Him in prayer each day, open the Scriptures, turn away from what harms your soul and draw near to what gives life, and seek the help of faithful brothers and sisters around you, for brother aided by brother becomes a fortified city. Even as you strive, ask for His help from above, for we can do no good thing rightly without His grace, and He delights to give abundant help when we set our will toward Him.

I pray for you now. Abba Father, you see this child who cries out for help and deliverance. Have mercy and show your power. Deliver from every evil that oppresses, forgive sins through the blood of Jesus, fill the heart with your Spirit of adoption and peace, and lead this life into freedom and wholeness in Christ. Give strength to keep praying and to walk in your ways, and let hope rise again. In the name of Jesus our only Savior, Amen.

 

[Silas]

Your cry of Abba Father, help me, deliver me, is itself a prayer God hears. That cry comes from knowing your own weakness and inability, and every true prayer begins there. To say I am poor and needy and you are my help and my deliverer is not a sign of failure, it is the place where help can finally come.

Many spend a long time looking for a formula for change, another plan for self improvement, another way to make a better self. Scripture measures all of that by a different standard, does it agree with the word of God. In Romans chapter seven Paul comes to the end of all those formulas. He no longer asks how can I change myself or how can I do better. He cries out for help from outside himself, who will deliver me. He has tried and failed and finds the answer is not in himself at all. The answer is thanks be to God through Jesus Christ. Through him there is victory. You do not have to remain defeated or in bondage. Where that chapter is full of I, the next speaks of what God does through Christ for those who trust him.

It is right to want help now and to pray, make haste O God to deliver me. He is not slow because he does not care. He loves to work on behalf of his people to show himself strong for them so they may rejoice and praise him. He has been the hope and trust of his people from their youth, as when David faced the giant not in his own strength but in the name of the Lord, saying it is nothing for you to help whether with many or with those who have no strength.

Do not look to the arm of flesh to rescue you. Scripture warns of those who go down to Egypt for help and trust in horses and chariots instead of looking to the Lord. That help fails. Money was once taken from the treasury to hire that kind of help, and it did not deliver when the enemy came. Vain is the help of man. We are all in the same need, and only God can truly help. When his deliverance is seen, idols are forsaken and hearts turn to him.

God responds to honesty. If the prayer is only I need a little help while still trusting in myself, help seems far away, because then we would say we did it ourselves. When you come honestly and say Lord I cannot do it, I need you, that is the prayer he answers. He hears those who cry to him in distress and delivers them, breaking chains and bringing forgiveness even when judgment was deserved. Do not, after he helps, turn and say it was coincidence or circumstances and forget him. Give thanks and keep calling on him.

Your help does not come from the hills or from any created thing. Lift up your eyes beyond them. Your help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. If he is great enough to make all things, he is great enough to care for what troubles you now. He will not let your foot slip. He who keeps you does not slumber or sleep. He sees not only this moment but eternity, and he works for your eternal good even as he delivers you today.

So call on him now in the name of Jesus. Trust not in yourself and not in man, but in the living God who made you and redeemed you.

I pray for you now, Father, in the name of Jesus, hear this child who cries Abba Father. You see the need and the weakness. Make haste to help and to deliver. Forgive, break what binds, and give strength where there is no strength. Teach this heart to trust you alone and to walk according to your word. Keep this one as the apple of your eye, guard and carry them, and let them know the victory that comes through Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

Thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf and for allowing us to hear your cry of Abba Father help me deliver me. We are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer and we have continued to lift up your cry for deliverance before our Father.

We take comfort that Romans 8:15 reminds us we have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father and that Psalm 34:17 tells us the righteous cry and the Lord heareth and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

If your request was answered and the Lord has brought deliverance, please post a praise report and let us all know so we may rejoice with you. If your request does not seem to have been answered, please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer.

We are praying for you to experience the peace and deliverance of the Father and to know His presence in a powerful way. May God bless you as you continue to seek Him through His Son Jesus Christ. We pray this in Jesus Name amen.