Messages 2002

On Prayer.

March 6th, 2002

Received by H.

Cuenca, Ecuador.

My dear brother, in my last message, I told you how we left the village of Naym, and how Jesus guided us towards Mount Tabor. We did not stay at the foot of that mountain, but instead we ascended. And from above we could appreciate a spectacular view, embracing the plains of Galilee, down to the freshwater sea.

It was an appropriate place for meditating. It is easy to understand why the ancient ones built their sanctuaries on the summits of mountains. And we had a lot of luck with the weather, enjoying a sunny day with perfect visibility. When we had arrived at the peak of the mountain, Jesus began to pray in silence, and we tried to follow his example.

Then we sat down, and Jesus spoke to us again of prayer. He explained that it was, of course, an inner attitude with the intent of conversing with the Father, exposing to Him our problems, desires, yearnings and concerns, but that it was always very important to look for an appropriate atmosphere. At least once per week, we should look for a solitary place, where nature itself would inspire us and facilitate a close communication with our Creator. By the way, H___, this is advice that is still valid. It is not necessary to climb up a mountain or to hide in a forest to do so. It is sufficient to find a quiet corner, a pleasant atmosphere which may be in your house, maybe with some background music, Each one will know how to arrange this for themselves. It means to retire periodically from “this world” and to enter “another world,” where you will be able to be much nearer to God.

And it happened that Taddi, who heard all this for the first time, asked Jesus: “Master, I don’t want to appear stupid, but in fact, I don’t know how to pray.”

We kept silent. We had never asked this question, and to tell you the truth, none of us knew how to pray. Nobody had been taught it. It was something different to participating in the rites of the Temple, and to fulfill the norms of conduct as the Torah demands them, and with that to feel well, rather than to pray or to converse with somebody who we could not see. How can one speak to somebody who is invisible? How could we know if He was listening to us or not? So Taddi had formulated our question with courage and frankness.

Jesus smiled. He explained to us that eventually we would always feel the presence of God ever stronger. The eyes and the ears of our souls would open up and we would know that the Father was always with us, listening to us unfailingly and watching over us.

“And when praying,” he said, “do not use needless repetitions as the heathen do, for they expect to be listened to because of their multitude of words. Do not, however, imitate them, for your Father knows what things you need before you ask Him.

“Father definitely does not want words. He wants your longings, your true desire to be in communion with Him. Although the Father knows all that worries you or makes you happy, He needs you to express his desires to demonstrate your will to accept His guidance and His gifts, because He respects you. Even more, He loves you, and He will never impose His Will upon you.

“The Father in Heaven is like a magnificent King who grants an audience to all His people at all times. He likes to hear people telling Him of their happiness and He listens to their problems. And to all people who approach Him, He gives exactly what they may need. He is not like the imprudent ruler who, riding on his horse, parades through the streets of his city, throwing his gold among the people.

“This is prayer: The audience with our true King, informing him of our desires and problems, our happiness and sadness. When we open up our hearts, He opens up His, and when we need, He gives with wisdom.”

And then he gave us his prayer. I don’t need to describe it, you already know it.

H.: And was it exactly as Mr. Padgett received it?

No, not exactly so, this you should know already, but more or less so.

H.: Actually, I am referring to a special part of it. Jesus explained to Dr. Samuels the following:

I am here, again, to write you on the truths of the Father, and I wish to comment on The Prayer given to Mr. Padgett many years ago - the only one necessary to obtain the Father’s Love; and the Doctor is very much to be commended for his perspicacity in perceiving all the implications of the Prayer. It should be also understood that when I wrote, “through the death and sacrifice of any one of Thy creatures,” I was referring to the Hebrew custom of pardon through the sacrifice of lambs and bullocks, which were considered to take away sin. I did not at that time refer to myself as being one considered the equal of the godhead, for this prayer was originally given before any idea had entered the mind of man that I could be such a being; and it was not taught by me but simply inserted when given to Mr. Padgett in my capacity as the risen Christ, and in order to point out a false interpretation developed over the years. So it is understood that in the original teaching of the Prayer, these later words rejecting my person as being one with the “godhead” did not appear. (Revelation 24: Jesus explains passages from The Prayer and corrects more passages in the Gospel of John)

Because the phrase “It should be also understood that when I wrote, ‘through the death and sacrifice of any one of Thy creatures,’ I was referring to the Hebrew custom of pardon through the sacrifice of lambs and bullocks, which were considered to take away sin” entails serious implications, abolishment of Temple sacrifices would have cost the Jewish priesthood dearly.

On the other hand, there is another contradictory message received by Dr. Samuels:

When I came to Palestine to teach, I was very much aware of the evils found among the Hebrew priesthood and I also was convinced through my studies of the old prophets and the teachings of the Father that the priesthood was not essential to a religion calling for a direct communication between the human soul and the Heavenly Father through Love. But it was not my intention to harm or destroy the prevailing system which had been built up through the centuries to perpetuate the priesthood as an integral part of the organization of the Hebrew nation, whether Israel, Judah, or both, for the nation had been established as one consecrated to God with the priesthood as the intermediaries between God and the people, and the conception was to have the priesthood perform the religious functions of a special or national nature and be the religious leaders of a people designated to be a light to the gentiles - a people who would eventually lead the pagan peoples into the path of true belief and worship of the eternal God.

And the sacrifices of the animals seemed perfectly consistent with this plan, because these sacrifices enabled the priesthood to live, and in earlier times this priesthood had difficulties in making ends meet because the people were not generous in their contributions towards them. And for that reason the priesthood, as a class, organized for special duties within a society that had developed with those special duties in mind, were not to be attacked in my plan for the redemption of the Jewish people. (New Testament Revelations: The functions of the Hebrew priesthood)

All of this does not fit together. The above mentioned phrase from the prayer would have caused an enormous scandal and an uproar. Or did you keep it a secret?

No, not at all. How could we have kept it a secret being such an important part of the teachings?

Actually, as Jesus said, the prayer given to Mr. Padgett is the original prayer “in substance”, but not literally. This prayer in itself implies that God forgives and grants, because we ask Him to do so, and not because we kill animals.

Remember what Jack Kilmon wrote on the first line of the prayer. The Aramaic original expresses perhaps a thousand things more than modern translations.

But in order to continue with the story, at that moment, when Jesus taught us how to pray, it was so majestic that even up to now its recollection fills me with much emotion and happiness.

Finally, in the afternoon we went down and camped at the foot of the mountain. On the following day we would return to Kpar Nahum.

It has been a great pleasure to relate this history. You should not forget the circumstances. We were still under the strong impression of the events at Naym, and now, the Master’s words were so powerful in the most beautiful of scenarios.

Tomorrow, if God allows it and if you grant me the opportunity, we will continue.

Until then, God bless you,

Judas