When it comes to prayer, we always are to pray to our Father in Heaven or to Jesus in Heaven, not to the Jesus who is in us. Placing great emphasis on the "God" who is in us is the mark of the false religionist, the False Prophet.

And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. (Acts 7:59)

Notice that Stephen (above) was not looking inside himself for strength to endure martyrdom but was calling out to the Lord Jesus in Heaven.

And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. (Acts 7:56)

We always are to pray and look to our Lord in Heaven, not to the "God" who is in us.

If we would bear a true and faithful witness of the Lord Jesus we must give attendance to the forming of Christ in us. We must keep the commandments of Christ so God will love us and God and Christ will make Their eternal abode in us.

We must always cultivate the Presence of Christ so as we go forth to the work of the Kingdom, Christ is working with us. When Christ is not working with us the mouse is trying to move logs by himself.

We always are to look to God in Heaven and Jesus at the right hand of God. If we have been baptized into the crucifixion of Christ, then we have been raised with Him to the right hand of the Father, there to triumph each day over all the power of the enemy.

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places) in Christ: (Ephesians 2:6)

We have been raised with the Lord Jesus to the right hand of the Father. This is true today as we walk on the earth. But the hour will come when we literally ascend to be with the Lord in Heaven. As Paul said, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Christ returned to the Father after He was crucified. One day we shall go to be with the Lord Jesus.

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (II Corinthians 5:8)

Cultivating the Presence of the Lord

The Presence of the Lord must be cultivated. We must make an effort to gain and keep His Presence at all times and under every circumstance.

As we go through life, seeking to grow in Christ, to do our part in building the Body of Christ, to bear witness to the world of the atoning death and triumphant resurrection of Christ, we find many various ideas coming to us. "Maybe I should try this. Maybe I should do that. This might be a good plan. That will help me gain my objectives."

But we are not to act on these impulses. We are not to go about following our ideas, the ideas of others, or our fleshly enthusiasms.

To be continued.