Dick Leggatt, President of Derek Prince Ministries – USA and this comprises his September 11, 2015 Newsletter.  Click here to receive the Derek Prince Ministries emailed E-devotional.

 

Do you ever feel like an orphan?  Like you are all alone in the world?  Feeling as if you are a lost child struggling to catch sight of your parents in a crowded marketplace?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful at those times to realize you have a loving Father who is close by?  That His eye is upon you — that He is constantly moving toward you to take your hand the instant you reach out to Him?

In this letter, you will probably be surprised to discover that Derek Prince also felt loneliness like you and I occasionally face.  It wasn’t until late in life that Derek experienced a dramatic remedy to this situation.  Suddenly, in one important moment, he knew beyond a shadow of doubt that God was his Father, watching over every aspect of his life.

You and I can have that same assurance.  This life-changing truth is the theme — not only for this letter, but also in the free materials we are offering.  Join with me in the sections ahead as we focus on the Father.

Taking You by the Hand

One of my fondest memories of my own late father was a habit he maintained for many years whenever we were walking together.  Every time Dad and I were about to cross the street, he would reach out and take my hand.  The fact that he continued this instinctive habit even after I was a grown adult might have been embarrassing at times — but the thought of his gesture is completely endearing to me as I remember it now.

Our town was certainly not a large, bustling metropolis, and I could have made it across our main street safely without his help.  Yet he persisted in the habit.  Every time we stood on the curb together, I could count on him taking my hand in his as we made our way across.  Such a vivid memory — and such a perfect reminder of our heavenly Father’s care for us.  As He promises us in Isaiah 41:13: “For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand.”

A Meaningful Greeting

It is no mistake that the Apostle Paul frequently focused on the Father.  At the beginning of almost every letter he wrote to the churches he established, his first words were these: “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (See the first verses of the epistles to the Romans, the Corinthians, the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians, the Thessalonians, Timothy and Philemon.)  Right from the start of these letters, Paul is reminding every believer that the source of grace and peace in this life is our relationship with Father God, and with His precious son, our Lord Jesus.  That truth by itself is so powerful that the apostle could have ended each of his letters right there.

But in the first chapter of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul expands his focus on the Father.  By the way, Ephesians 1 is a wonderful place to camp out any time you are facing one of those dismal, lonely times we talked about earlier — where, like the old spiritual says, you sometimes “feel like a motherless (or fatherless) child.”

Here is what Paul says we receive as God’s beloved sons and daughters.  Our heavenly Father — bestows upon us every spiritual blessing (v. 3);  chooses us in love (v. 4);  adopts us as sons and daughters (v. 5);  accepts us as part of His family (v. 6);  gives us redemption and forgiveness (v. 7);  reveals the mystery of His will to us (v. 9);  provides an inheritance for us (v. 11);  causes us to reflect His praise and glory (v. 12);  seals us with His promised Holy Spirit (v. 13);  offers us wisdom and revelation (v. 17);  allows us to know Him better (v. 17);  bolsters us with hope regarding our calling in Him (v. 18);  bestows His power upon us (v. 19);  seats us with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, in heavenly places (v. 20; see also 2:6).

Would you like to shout “hallelujah” now or just wait until a little later?

A Remarkable Experience

The key to all the benefits outlined above is a dynamic relationship with our dear, loving Father.  But, as you will see from the excerpt below, experiencing this kind of intimate bond with our Creator can sometimes elude us.  In fact, we may find ourselves facing what Derek Prince describes — knowing all the truths from Scripture, yet not experiencing the vitality of relationship with the Lord to the degree we desire.

As Derek testified in his message, Father God — which we are making available to you for free in this letter — knowing God as our Father changes everything.  Here is Derek’s testimony of what happened to him while he and Ruth were traveling together:

Each morning we would sit up in bed, pray, worship and also take communion together.  One particular morning after we had worshiped, we were praying while sitting in the bed.  Something very unexpected, very objective, very physical began to happen to me.

I found a power that was moving in my feet, then in my legs, and then up my body.  But, at the same time, I was aware of something that was like a long arm stretched out from somewhere over my right ear, trying to press down a black skullcap on top of my head.

It was as if I was caught in a conflict between these two powers.  (Ruth told me later that my whole body was affected by this struggle.  She said, “Your color changed to purple.”)  It was totally objective, not something subjective.

For a little while I didn’t know what was going to happen, and then the power that was working in me overpowered this arm that was trying to stretch out the black skullcap and force it on my head.  It was withdrawn — and something happened. Immediately, I knew God as my Father.  It became totally natural for me to say Father.

Now, I want you to know — I had had the doctrinal knowledge for many years.  In fact, I had even preached a series of three recorded messages entitled, “Knowing God as Father.”  I had all the theory — and it was true.  It was correct.  There was nothing incorrect or insincere.  But what I didn’t have was the experience.

Removing the Obstacles

Maybe a transformation similar to what Derek described has also happened to you, and there are no barriers to your relationship with Abba.  We certainly hope that is the case.  But possibly, as is the case with many of us, this is an area where you struggle for one reason or another.  Like me, you may long to relate easily to your heavenly Father, but regularly hit some blockages in that interaction.  If that is true for you, let’s make the following declaration together.

Abba, I see clearly from Your Word that You are indeed my Father.  I know as well that Jesus Christ came to this earth to reveal You in that role to all who believe in Him.  I don’t know why there is a barrier for me to understand this and flow in it, but there is.

With this prayer and proclamation, I step by faith into a new depth in my relationship with You.  I affirm that You are my loving heavenly Father.  You have received me as Your child and You love me deeply.  Because of Your love for me, You have provided everything I need — spiritually and physically.  You delight in caring for me in every aspect of my life.

I release myself into Your hands, asking for Your help in removing any obstacles that block my way to knowing You in a deeper way.  I open my heart to you, Abba.  Thank you for being my loving Father.  Amen.

Beginning the Process

I believe the Lord is very pleased to respond to the proclamation you and I have just uttered. In fact, I believe we will begin seeing fruit in the days, weeks and months ahead from what we have just declared.  By our faith-filled words, we have initiated the process Derek described in his testimony.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the tools to help us in this process is Derek’s wonderful teaching entitled Father God.  Please use the link below to download the entire message.

It is our joy to provide this free material to you — just a small token of our thanks for your prayers and your generous financial support.  Thank you for doing your part in sustaining this ministry as we expand our outreach here in the U.S. and around the world.

A Vital Message

Regarding this marvelous theme of our loving heavenly Father, Derek Prince believed this to be a pivotal message for each of us — and especially for younger generations.  Here are some important comments he shared in that regard:

Basically, we have all around us an identity-less generation.  A generation that has no sense of identity.  They’re sometimes called the X Generation.  What does X stand for?  The unknown quantity.  They don’t know who they are.

I believe that if we could transmit this message to them, there would be a tremendous response.  I believe there are millions of young people just milling around — lost, confused, perplexed — because they don’t know the Father.  I don’t believe anything will really ever change them sufficiently until they come to know the Father.

Already, our office has begun distributing this message among college-age young people.  The booklet was recently taken to college conferences in various states.  One of our continuing priorities here at DPM–USA is to reach out to people in that age group.

We would appreciate your added prayers and partnership in this important outreach.  As always, we extend our deepest thanks to you for every prayer you offer for this work, and every gift you send our way.  You play a vital role in helping to make Derek’s materials available to so many who are seeking the life-changing truths of the Word of God.

Walking in a New Reality

I hope what we have discussed in this letter will be a transforming experience for you.  Certainly, the reality of what Derek shared is available to each of us as we increasingly ask Jesus to make the Father known to us.

We look forward to staying in contact with you.  It will be our privilege to continue our prayers and communication with you — as together, we focus on the Father.

 

All the best,
Dick Leggatt
President, DPM–USA

P.S.   We are very grateful for your partnership with us. Please take us up on our offer and download Derek’s MP3 message, “Father God.” Thanks again!

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Materials used by kind permission of Derek Prince Ministries.