IHOP Atlanta

Recently I had the opportunity to teach the interns here at the International House of Prayer-Atlanta on the Father Heart of God. So many times we teach what the Lord has been speaking to us and this time was no different. As the Lord talks with me on how I view Him as a Father, it has brought healing to my heart. 

I believe this generation is perhaps the most fractured and broken generation in American History.  Inner issues such as insecurity, feelings of rejection, loneliness, isolation and pain have manifested in external ways such as sexual perversion, violence, hatred, rebellion and immoral indulgence. Many of the problems that this generation manifests have at their root a father issue.

A wrong knowledge of God will cause us to live aloof and distant from our loving Father and in turn, we will live as spiritual orphans.  God fully answered the orphan mentality through the sacrifice of His own Son.  He so longed for fellowship with people, that He freely offered Jesus in order to restore fellowship, which had been broken between Himself and us.

The orphan mentality is not something you can simply cast out because it is ungodly beliefs and/or attitudes of our flesh that have been developing over a lifetime.  Over time, these attitudes and mentalities have become part of our personality and character. The orphan mentality must be displaced or put to death by revelation of the heart of the Father, personal experiences in the Father’s love and a revelation of the spirit of sonship.  This will require a re-positioning of our life and continual meditation and consideration of the word of God regarding this topic.

I have been repositioning my heart to receive His love as a Father and it has been really powerful.  The Lord has been speaking to me Mark 1:11 over and over again for at least the last 6 months and I wanted to share this verse with you.  It reads, “And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” These words are so powerful if we can set our hearts to receive them.  First, it is essential to understand how much the Father loves Jesus, in order to understand the Eternal Father’s affections for you.  In John 17:20 and 23 Jesus prays, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”  The stunning revelation of the reality of the Father’s love for Jesus is that the eternal Father loves you the very same way that He loves Jesus.  The same measure or amount of love that He feels for Jesus is the same amount of love He feels for you.  The same passion and zeal He has for Jesus is the same passion and zeal He feels for you.  The same delight and pleasure the Jesus brings to His heart is the same delight and pleasure that you bring to His heart! 

The Father loves you like He loves Jesus!  Your identity is this; that you are His son, and therefore you are well pleasing to Him.  Our Father in Heaven calls us His Sons!  You are His Son, whom He loves.  He is not mostly mad at you, He is not mostly displeased with you, but rather He declares;  “I am well pleased with you.” The Father spoke this to Jesus before He did any ministry!  Before you do anything for God, He is well pleased with you because you are His son!  Behold what manner of love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God. Because we are holy, blameless and above reproach before Him, we don’t have to be afraid that He’ll be disappointed in us (Col. 1:22). As we begin to get a revelation of this truth, it will keep us from striving before our Father.  We will no longer run around frantically looking to prove our worth to God and to others.   You have nothing to prove to God.  He loves you and delights in you.  He is well pleased in you because you are His son.  He is never disappointed!

Sample prayer:  Abba, Father I love you and I receive your love for me.  Fill me with the width, length, depth and height of your love.  I want to know your love in my heart and not just in my head, fill me with your affections and emotions for me, that I might be your Son with full confidence in your love and delight in me!