Matthew recorded the incarnation of Christ under divine inspiration - the earthly birth of the Christ so spoken by the prophet at least 700 years before, was to become the unique approach of man to God.

It is important that we comprehend the uniqueness of Matthew's quoting of the Messianic prophecy. Not only does the Holy Spirit give through Matthew the glorious account of the Son of God, but does indeed establish the mighty doctrine of the trinity. "And she shall call His name Immanuel."

Matthew adds the explanation that Immanuel means "God with us." I find no record of Christ ever being called Immanuel while on earth. He was always called Jesus. However, the wording of Matthew clearly establishes that Jesus, born of the virgin Mary was God.

Here we are to understand that a new era had dawned upon the history of God's dealings with the human race. Man shall have only one avenue to God - only one way to approach the throne, and that is through the Son of God Who is even now at the right hand of God the Father. Only through the aid of the indwelling Holy Spirit and in the blessed name of Jesus can we properly approach God in prayer.

My message to you this Lord's Day morning is one that bears heavy upon my mind and challengers me early each day as I approach God in prayer. In my mind's eye, I visualize the very throne of Jehovah God with Christ Jesus at His right hand and, sensing the blessed Holy Spirit within me, I bow in humble adoration to speak and listen to the One true Creator of all things.

This message is for the purpose of making clear our approach to God in prayer. Jesus instructs us to pray to the Father which is in Heaven. He's on His throne! Bowing before the throne, we are made conscious of His triune being. The two-fold purpose of my message to this congregation is: (1) to encourage you to pray more and, (2) to persuade you to pray correctly.

GOD IS A TRINITY

God is three persons in one being. God is Trinity…by this we believe that in His tri-personal existence is one Godhead. As Jehovah Father, Jehovah Son, and Jehovah Holy Spirit, Jehovah is three distinct persons in one God.

In that the Godhead exists in three personalities, we must develop a working relationship with each one. To approach the throne of Jehovah in prayer correctly, we should pray in full knowledge of His triune existence. This is so clearly expressed by Porter Barrington: "God the Father is the fullness of the Godhead, unseeable (John 1:18; God the Son is the fullness of the Godhead, bodily (John 1:14); and God, the Holy Spirit is the fullness of the Godhead, indwelling (I Cor. 3:16).

IT TAKES FOUR TO PRAY

In that the Godhead exists in three personalities, it takes four persons to pray correctly: (1) God the Father, (2) God the Son, (3) God the Holy Spirit, and (4) You, the saved sinner.

TO PRAY CORRECTLY

If we, as God's children, are to pray correctly and receive answers to our prayers, we must study the Trinity and establish a workable and knowledgeable relationship with the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. This may be difficult for some to do, in that we have in our own sincere way prayed rather hurriedly at times. May I urge you to think deeply and create a person to person relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, forcing yourself to speak to the three personalities as you pray.

To pray as our Lord taught His Disciples to pray will bring extended joy and happiness as well as confidence to your heart. Some pray to be heard, and often speak to the ears of others who listen. Some give thought to good grammar so as to impress others. While good grammar is not necessary, proper respect and reverence is!

ARE YOU COMPLETE IN HIM?

Matthew 3:16,17 reveals the doctrine of the Trinity…we see Christ being baptized in water…the Father speaking from heaven…the Holy Spirit descending as a dove. We are baptized in the "name" (not names) of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Paul challenges us to be complete and whole in the faith. I Thess. 5:23, "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly and pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

GOD, THE FATHER

It is more important that we individually establish a relationship with our Creator. The many false conceptions of God puts any man in a precarious situation. Often a person, attempting to establish a concept of God, creates, in their thinking, "their own god." An inferior concept of God makes it absolutely impossible to live a life of success and happiness.

We can all build a personal relationship with God the Father by reading daily His Word and praying for greater revelations of Him. We can only know Him by revelation. His grace, and His goodness we become consciously aware that He is all-powerful and always faithful. Problems of the day seem to melt in the light of His presence. The more we read, the more God is revealed to our hungry hearts. We cry forth the commitment of John the Baptist, "He must increase, I must decrease."

When the personality of God the Father is defined in your mind, there remains yet an incompleteness of His divine nature. There are four definitions of God that give true but partial light as to His nature. God is love (I John 4:8), God is light (I John 1:5), God is consuming fire (Heb. 12:29), and God is Spirit (John 4:24).

The attributes of God testify to the nature of God as being Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent. He is all-powerful, all knowledgeable and all present everywhere at all times. The Psalmist speaks of God as filling the universe with His presence (Ps. 139:7-10).

Is it possible to have a relationship with God the Father? Yes, but only through the shed blood of Christ, the only begotten. Is it possible to have prayerful fellowship with such an awesome Creator of everything? Yes, but only through the new birth that transforms us and makes us a child of the great I Am.

GOD, THE SON

To build a proper relationship with Christ, one must first be born again. For the person who boasts of a "good buddy" relationship with the Son of God simply does not understand the sinfulness of man nor the holiness of Jesus. To bring Christ down to our level is to cancel any hope of prayerful communication with Jehovah.

The cross of Christ is the one foundation on which we can build a relationship with Christ the Lord. Paul wrote (Col. 1:20), "To reconcile to Himself all things on earth or things in Heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross."

It is a sad truth that many people endure the Christian life rather than enjoy it. They have hope of Heaven. They know what it is to be forgiven of their sins, but their daily life does not speak of a successful relationship with Jesus.

Stephen Alford describes that barrenness and frustration of some professing Christians as a vast gap between their initial experience of saving faith and that final experience of truly seeing Jesus.

I call upon every believer in this congregation to examine your relationship with Christ. Your relationship and your fellowship with Christ depend fully upon the cross…the death, the burial, and the resurrection of God the Son, Jesus Christ. Our proper relationship is summed up in the words of the Apostle Paul: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Gal. 2:20)

It is Christ within me…the only hope I have of glory." To have a proper relationship and fellowship with Christ, I must die to self.

May I suggest to all believers in this congregation that we give a daily period of time in meditation, allowing every detail of Christ's death on the cross to press heavy on our minds the suffering and shedding of blood that redeems our sinful soul. Let us build a close personal fellowship with our resurrected Saviour.

GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is God and is equal to the Father and the Son. Building a personal fellowship with the Holy Spirit is vital to our growth as a believer. Our relationship and personal fellowship with the Holy Spirit demands that we maintain complete surrender to His guidance and control.

We live in a day that has warped and confused the doctrine and work of the Holy Spirit. Satan has, in his deceptive way, carried well-meaning people to such extremes that they forget the truths that are made so beautifully clear in Scripture.

Time will not allow me to speak fully of the tremendous need of building a personal fellowship with God, the Holy Spirit. All truly born-again Christians have the indwelling Person of the Spirit, or else they would not be a Christian. God's Word clearly says, "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." (Romans 8:9)

May I say in closing this message to you, a most attentive congregation; it is one thing to be indwelt by the Spirit and another thing to be infilled by the Spirit. It is one thing to have the Holy Spirit, it is quite another thing for the Holy Spirit to have you.

Approach the triune throne of God properly and claim the promise of His Word…"Draw nigh unto Me and I will draw nigh unto you."

(This message was first delivered from the pulpit and condensed and edited for printing. W. Clyde Martin is editor of the online magazine "The Prayer Life", a ministry dedicated to promoting deeper prayer life for the redeemed).

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