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Hans teaching outside Philippi

Have you ever struggled with a morning prayer pattern? Does your mind tend to wander?

Here is the prayer pattern that I’ve used for years. It was passed to me from my spiritual father.

The Biblical Foundation for my morning prayer pattern is the temple-service Numbers 28: 1- 4 and Daniel (Dan 6:10) 

These passages show us that God’s people could pray “linked” to the temple-service even if the temple at that time was in ruins!

We can also see that the early Church seemed to have this focus:

We see this with Peter and John in Acts 3:1 on their way to pray at the evening/afternoon prayer.

We also see this with Peter himself in Yafo (Jaffa) praying in Acts 10:9. Just like Daniel, Peter seems to be praying three times per day. Peter and John probably learned this pattern from Jesus himself!

Yet, this didn’t end with the Apostolic Age!

The tradition of praying at fixed times during the day (morning-prayer included) was passed on through the centuries. A good example of this is the monasteries who have prayed this way for almost 2000 years.

I was inspired to pray this way by my spiritual father. He follows a fixed order (just like the monasteries).

I’ve altered it somewhat so it fits me all the better. I believe that this is spiritually sound- We inherit an order but we’re free in Christ to change a fixed order so that it fits us personally “like a hand in a glove”.

So here´s my order – You should also feel free to change this order so that it fits you as well. 

1. Greeting of the Lord (standing):

“Lord, let us see your grace and give us your salvation! Honor be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, as it was from the beginning, now is and shall be forever and ever, Amen!”

2. Confession and Absolution (kneeling)

“I confess to you holy and righteous God that I have sinned with thoughts, Words and deeds. Think on me with mercy and forgive me for the sake of Jesus Christ the sins that I have committed.”

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Here I add my own Little addition: “In Jesus name! In the blood of the Lamb!!!” I often proclaim this with a loud voice. This is especially appropriate when I’m under spiritual oppression.

3. Psalms (from now and also during the Gospel standing or sitting)

Here I read 3 psalms. I just flip open the pages and take the first three psalms I see in the book of Psalms. It´s probably even better to have a fixed order (that’s the way my spiritual father prays), even though I’ve been amazed through the years at how many times God has spoken to me prophetically through my “random” reading of three psalms. If it´s a long Psalm (like 119) than it’s of course ok not to read the whole Psalm.

4. Gospel

Here I read one passages/section from any of the four Gospels. I do it the same way as I do with the psalms and also here a fixed order of reading might be preferred.

5. Benedicamus- The blessing (from now and on standing)

Here I read (as my spiritual father does) the prayer of Zechariah in Luke 1: 68- 79. It truly has become a treasure for me but this is the section of the morning- prayer that I would suggest for you to omit if you want to shorten your morning- prayer.

6. Our Father (The Lord’s Prayer)

A suggestion is to try to pray it not to quick but to take a minute to reflect on at least one of the passages in Jesus prayer.

7. Free Prayer 

This section is, of course, totally flexible and that´s a great strength. If you´re in a hurry perhaps you will only pray for 30 seconds. If you have time, it´s an awesome privilege to take some time and now let the anointing of the Holy Spirit just lead you where He wants to go.

You can also include some soaking-time perhaps combined with some specific things he leads you to pray for.

Even though I try to “go with the flow” there is a pattern that I most often follow:

• I start with thanking the Lord for all the good things He has blessed me with. This often creates joy, thankfulness and faith!
• I pray for others in the following order:
  • Family
  • Ministry
  • People I think I’m going to meet that day
  • People I don’t yet know that I´m going to meet.
• Then I pray for myself.  I try to pray with boldness, knowing that I am secure in the grace, love and promises of God. 

8 . Blessing

I finish the prayer with proclaiming a blessing over my family and myself. I will often use the priestly blessing in Numbers 6: 23- 24.

This prayer time can take less than 5 minutes to pray if there´s no “free” prayer.

I think it’s important to point out that it doesn’t take a longer time to pray just because you pray following a specific order. The only difference in my opinion is that this order gives you focus!

This is, not the least, due to this order being founded in the Word of God! 

Because of the power in prayer I have seen in those who have used this biblical pattern,  people who follow this pattern might finding themselves praying longer than they expected.  They may not be able to resist to take time to rest in the anointing during the “free” prayer.

This prayer time has been transformational for me. I pray that if you choose to follow this scriptural prayer pattern that it will be a blessing to you as well.

In Christ,

Rev. Hans Weichbrodt

Spiritual Teacher, Break Forth Journeys

Please note: We’ve seen miracles during our prayer ministry times throughout our Break Forth Journeys trips. Hans, Arlen and Elsa choose to lead trips of spiritual impact. If you want to learn more about our upcoming trips, please email us at journeys@breakforthministries.com.

Hans sharing about the accuracy of the Word of God as confirmed by the Dead Sea Scrolls.

One of the highlights of any of our Break Forth Israel trips is visiting Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discouvered.  Now – a stunning new discouvery has been made.  Read on to learn more . . .

After more than 60 years, a new Dead Sea Scroll cave has been discovered and excavated on the cliffs west of Qumran, near the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, by Hebrew University archeologists in “Operation Scroll”. The excavations prove that Dead Sea scrolls from the Second Temple period were hidden in the cave, and were looted by Bedouins in the middle of the last century. With the discovery of this cave, scholars now suggest that it should be numbered as Cave 12.

The surprising discovery, representing a milestone in Dead Sea Scroll research, was made by Dr. Oren Gutfeld and Ahiad Ovadia from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology, with the help of Dr. Randall Price and students from Liberty University in Virginia USA. The excavators are the first in over 60 years to discover a new scroll cave and to properly excavate it.

Fragments of jars that contained stolen scrolls

Excavation of the cave revealed that at one time it contained Dead Sea scrolls. Numerous storage jars and lids from the Second Temple period were found hidden in niches along the walls of the cave and deep inside a long tunnel at its rear. The jars were all broken and their contents removed, and the discovery towards the end of the excavation of a pair of iron pickaxe heads from the 1950s (stored within the tunnel for later use) proves the cave was looted.

Until now, it was believed that only 11 caves had contained scrolls. With the discovery of this cave, scholars have now suggested that it would be numbered as Cave 12. Like Cave 8, in which scroll jars but no scrolls were found, this cave will receive the designation Q12 (the Q=Qumran standing in front of the number to indicate no scrolls were found).

Remnant of scroll when removed from jar

“This exciting excavation is the closest we’ve come to discovering new Dead Sea scrolls in 60 years. Until now, it was accepted that Dead Sea scrolls were found only in 11 caves at Qumran, but now there is no doubt that this is the 12th cave,” said Dr. Oren Gutfeld, an archaeologist at the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology and director of the excavation. “Although at the end of the day no scroll was found, and instead we ‘only’ found a piece of parchment rolled up in a jug that was being processed for writing, the findings indicate beyond any doubt that the cave contained scrolls that were stolen. The findings include the jars in which the scrolls and their covering were hidden, a leather strap for binding the scroll, a cloth that wrapped the scrolls, tendons and pieces of skin connecting fragments, and more.”

The finds from the excavation include not only the storage jars, which held the scrolls, but also fragments of scroll wrappings, a string that tied the scrolls, and a piece of worked leather that was a part of a scroll. The finding of pottery and of numerous flint blades, arrowheads, and a decorated stamp seal made of carnelian, a semi-precious stone, also revealed that this cave was used in the Chalcolithic and the Neolithic periods.

The excavation was supported by the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria, by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), and is a part of the new “Operation Scroll” launched at the IAA by its Director-General, Mr. Israel Hasson, to undertake systematic surveys and to excavate the caves in the Judean Desert.

Archaeologists Oren Gutfeld & Ahiad Ovadia survey cave

This first excavation to take place in the northern part of the Judean Desert as part of “Operation Scroll” will open the door to further understanding the function of the caves with respect to the scrolls, with the potential of finding new scroll material. The material, when published, will provide important new evidence for scholars of the archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea caves.

“The important discovery of another scroll cave attests to the fact that a lot of work remains to be done in the Judean Desert and finds of huge importance are still waiting to be discovered,” said Israel Hasson, Director-General of the Israel Antiquities Authority. “We are in a race against time as antiquities thieves steal heritage assets worldwide for financial gain. The State of Israel needs to mobilize and allocate the necessary resources in order to launch a historic operation, together with the public, to carry out a systematic excavation of all the caves of the Judean Desert.”

*Photo 1 by Arlen Salte. All other photos Casey L. Olson and Oren Gutfeld