Notes towards an article on father like spirituality!

What is a father’s spirituality? What does it look like? Firstly it is a person in direct relationship with Father God. One who reflects His Ways—thoughts and heart. One who is concerned but never worried. One who leans in, and fully incarnates, but is not traumatized by darkness. One who instead is in but not of, is fully suffering with, but is also living in the hope and knowing of resurrection.

When I meet true spiritual father’s they have that mixture of grieving with Christ, and hope in Christ. They have that type of paradox. And they tend to enjoy paradox, or the yet, unsolved riddles of life. They love, but are not looking for the simple solution, but rather the one which ushers in the most love and transformation on all sides. In short, they walk in mercy. Not in denial of all that is vial in themselves, others and the world, but in full redemptive hope. They are trying to be agents of redemption in each situation. How would father redeem this, and make it beautiful.

They are also, by their own presence, walking in His, calling forth beauty around them.

Wisdom hangs out on ridges rivers and rims—crossroads, where people and ideas meet. The gates, the places of exchange. Some fathers are always posted at these spots in life. Just to be in Him. Find them, and you find life.

A fathery perspective above all always has Peace in it. Come let us spiritually reason together. Let us consider how God is moving in and through all the events around us. And let’s do so, in His I Am Peace of knowing. That practice of staying in His Peace is paramount in our days.

Jeremiah felt it all, but remained in dialogue with God. Daniel knew so much, yet remained faithfully present in God. There times were much as ours. They set their minds to gain understanding of His Ways. The disciplined and bridled themselves, and their hearts daily, even hourly into His. This must be our spiritual practice in our times. To abide more constantly “in Him”. Then we will be drawn to what He loves—His Father, His church, His people etc. We come to love what the one we love most loves. And as we grow in Father’s Life, we find ourselves soaked in and pouring over Love. Love is the hallmark of the spiritually mature.

I’ve also found that most fathers have a greater interest in His Ways, than just what He is doing in the moment. They want to enter the patterns of His Being. They want to know the why from His Perspective, more from their own. They have yielded their thoughts to His, and want to enter more deeply in His higher perspective of the passing situations of life. Father, how do you interpret this situation I’m considering. Show me your interpretation of this matter. And then, perforce, we must listen well to God. We have no choice but to become great listeners. And I’ve seen this with each spiritually mature person I’ve met. They listen deeply and humbly even to the weakest.

Since we live in times such as Daniel’s and Jeremiah’s, it’s good to look at them as models of how to remain steady in very unstable times. Their personal spiritualities are examples and contain keys for us.

They were both prophetic, intimate friends with God, had the ear of kings and leaders, but also willing to suffer for their intimacy with God.

Prophets are basically more concerned with being near God than people, and yet by doing so, gain His Heart and words for people. They are intimates firstly, like priest. Then, they have a heart for people to understand how richly loving and communicative Father towards each of us. The prophet’s role is to make that clear and manifest. To overflow from that Fount of all blessings.

Yes, they are messengers, but more they are impartations of His Presence. They carry Him with them, and His messages and words. But their personal spiritualities are always about intimacy and receptivity to Him Himself.

You can only prophecy to the measure that you have His Love imparted. And your words can only go in to the degree that the soil in another’s heart is prepared by Love. Finding the good soil is part of maturing in the prophetic ministry.

It is Wisdom to find good soil for His Seeds. Often a prophet will have “the word” but the soil is not yet readied to receive. So they must hold that gap in fellowship with His suffering, knowing that He is trying to speak into the situation, but has not yet been allowed. I’ve experienced that many times over the years. It’s tough to sit with Him in that space. It’s a very good place to pray and intercede from though!

Then your prayers have authority. To the degree you are willing to fellowship with Him in that already not yet suffering, your prayers will have authority to ready the soils!

You are looking in ministry, for the part of the other’s heart which receives living water, rather than repels it. If that area repels it, then you start looking to remove blocks or stones. Or praying that they be removed, so that area can be receptive to growth again, or for the first time in Him. This is basic in counseling, and often occurs in prayer firstly.

Often I’ll pray before counseling, asking Father, what part of this person are you loving into. I think that is the role of a father for the other person. To seek to be in Father’s Presence, and to touch only and in the tone and way that the Father is intervening and incarnating the life of His Son into this person’s heart.

Eventually we become more concerned with other’s whole formation than just solving momentary problems. We look at roots, not just fruits. If the roots are cared for, the fruits take care of themselves, as one mentor told me.

Jesus came, that we would know The Father. When we love Him, we are guided into the Life of His Father. Once there, we like and in Him, want to share from and impart that Life. Counseling and helping others, is basically the art of doing that—imparting the Father’s Life and Ways into other’s hearts! This can only occur in the Peace of His Presence. For apart from Him, just like Jesus, we can do absolutely nothing of eternal significance for others. So our practice is to be coming to know and love and be intimate with The Father at all times. That is the spirituality of a father. To live with and in the Father in all realms at all times. To stay close to Him, and continue to grow into His Ways. When someone has been doing this for a long time, you know it. The fruits of the spirit are present in their lives, and the loving concern of the Father’s Heart is ministered almost automatically.