The purpose of this review is to recall the possibilities of prayer as we were taught by Jesus and to encourage our daily commitment to prayer.
Jesus’ prayer priorities: To pray as children, speaking to their Father because our eternal Brother urges it, showing us our relationship with our Father and our relationship with one another as brothers and sisters. God welcomes the prayers of all His children.
What we say in prayer matters. Our prayer life is not constrained; it is set free because our Father wants to hear us. Every heartfelt prayer is welcomed by our heavenly Father; from the simple spontaneous prayer of a child to the prayer of an eloquent pastor. God gave us the freedom to pray in our own words according to our heart’s concerns. No matter where we are in life, we have an opportunity to grow and mature in how, what and why we pray. The Bible teaches us the way of prayer, free and heartfelt, but also words for prayer that show us the heart of God.
We have wonderful references from the NT/OT: [Matt. 27:46/Ps. 22]; [Luke 23:46/Ps. 31]; [Matt. 21:16/Ps. 8:2]; [Matt. 22:44/Ps. 110]; [John 10/Ps. 23, Ps. 95]. These verses show us that Jesus memorized and prayed the Psalms.
During His public ministry, He used the verses below in prayer; therefore, when praying with Jesus it means praying Scripture. [Matt. 6:7-13]
The First Petition: “Hallowed be thy name.” [Matt. 6:9] Why is God’s holy name a priority? [1 Tim. 2:4] “In this petition God becomes everything and man becomes nothing,” Luther. The real God tells us who He is and what He intends and does for the world.
The Second Petition: “Thy kingdom come” [Matt. 6:10] There is a great deal of bad stuff in the world. The question is will the Word impact our lives or would we rather have some other ruler? The kingdom is all about good news! [Matt. 4:23] The kingdom comes when the Spirit works faith in God’s Word, God’s kingly rule comes to us. Only by faith do people become joyful citizens of His kingdom [1 Cor. 12:3]. God is ruling in other ways; such things as nature and government (a kingdom of power, not grace).
The Third Petition: “Thy will be done” [Matt. 6:10]; [Luke 11:1-4] does not have this petition. A holy name plus kingdom presence equals the accomplishment of God’s will. God allows rebel-lion because His will is not done automatically. It is the difference between heaven and earth that we pray. [Gen. 32:28] We seek God’s promised future, His loving will for people to have His salvation. God’s will is done when He hinders every evil plan of the world, our sinful nature, and when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die. We are capable of receiving God’s works and His counsels when our own pride ceases. We must become passive before God in our inner and outward activities.
The Fourth Petition: “Give us this day our daily bread” [Matt. 6:11] with [Ex. 16] as back-ground. The phrase “this day our daily bread”; refers to our most basic human needs and God’s daily provision. Jesus teaches us to pray not only for eternal blessings (the kingdom and the will of God), but daily blessings for ourselves and all [Matt. 6:26]. This petition curbs greed, lessens anxiety and leads to thanksgiving. We are connected to one another and we open our hearts to the needs of others as we pray for “our” daily bread and not “mine” alone [Phil. 4:6; 1Tim. 6:8].
The Fifth Petition: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” [Matt. 6:12] This leads us to confess our guilt and need for forgiveness. We recognize that our debt is greater than we can hope to pay [Matt. 18:23-35]. Christ became sin for us and He has won forgiveness for all of us. Forgiveness is not mine to keep for myself [2 Cor. 5:21; Luke 23:34; Eph. 4:32]. God draws us to Him so we may humble ourselves, lament our plight, and pray for help. Sin is a constant and evil surrounds us.
The Sixth Petition: “And lead us not into temptation” [Matt. 6:13] As we pray this petition, remember Satan. [1 Pet. 5:8] He seeks to tempt us to sin [Matt. 18:7]. Jesus, who was tempted for us, is our strength in temptation [Luke 22:40; Heb. 4:15]. God tempts no one! [James 1:13] Satan tempts God tests, so we learn to rely on Him. Our weakness is God’s strength because we are too weak to withstand the attack, but God is not. We rely on Him to keep us from false belief and despair [2 Pet. 2:1; Matt. 27:4-5].
The Seventh Petition: “But deliver us from evil” [Matt. 6:13] “Evil” summarizes the human problem, and the reason we need to pray. Our deliverance comes in Christ and will be total in the resurrection [Ps. 140:1-2, 13; Gal. 1:3-4]. Deliverance from every evil As individuals we have no strength against evil. [Rom. 7:19; Ps. 79:9-13] Jesus is faithful in preserving us against every evil of every sort. [2 Th. 3:3; Eph. 5:15-16]. Consider how God’s goodness overcomes evil. [Rom. 12:21] In Christ there is no evil and is able to overcome it [Luke 23:22] He does this via His atoning death and by the work of the Spirit who keeps us in faith to the end. [Gal. 1:4; 2 Tim. 4:18].
Amen! Yes, it shall be! Amen is translated as “truly.” We are saying that this prayer is pleasing to God, and reflects the assurance we have regarding everything Jesus teaches and accomplishes for us. [Matt. 18:3] When we pray, “Deliver us from evil,” nothing else remains needing our petition. We are secure and safe, against all things that the Devil and the world work against us.
Note: All quotations in this series are NIV.
May God bless your prayer life! Love, hank
10/09/2024 To Be Continued …
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