Friday, January 13, 2017
The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew, Chapter 6) is more than just a model prayer, it is THE model prayer and all our prayers should be patterned by it. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught His audience the right way to pray. He knew, that many of His followers desired to know more about it and even though His Disciples were present on that day, they too would later ask Him to teach them how to pray. (See Luke 11) I suspect some of you, at one time or another, have wondered if you are praying the right way. Well, as we analyze the prayer more closely today, perhaps your question will be answered.
Jesus begin His prayer this way: “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (vs 9) All our prayers should begin with our acknowledgment of God and our praise to Him. We can’t just barge in and start talking when we come into the presence of someone who is worthy of honor, and who can be more worthy than God Himself? To do so, would be as disrespectful as those who sit down to eat a meal and start chomping down the instant the plate is set before them. Verse 10 reads: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Most bible scholars agree that this is one petition that has not been fully answered yet. Nevertheless, every genuine child of God should always want His will to be done and it should be acknowledged in every one of our prayers. That is not always easy to do but we all admit that God’s way will always be better than ours. Verse 11 says: “Give us this day our daily bread.” It should not be difficult to realize that every good thing we need in order to survive comes from Him. That is why the writer of Psalm 100 added: “it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves.” Verse 11 reads: “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Those who never forget How merciful and loving God was when He forgave their sins should have no trouble whatsoever in forgiving those who have wronged them. The original prayer ended with verse 13, which reads: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” This should serve as our reminder that we need the Lord’s help and protection continuously. We can’t make it on our own and the devil would wipe us out immediately if he could. Finally, we see that the prayer ends just as it began, with our acknowledgment, gratitude, and praise to God. I wish I could have been more specific, but I trust this was of benefit to you nonetheless.
As soon as you have the opportunity, please read and meditate on the first part of this chapter. (Mt. 6:1-8) In it, you will learn some valuable things regarding prayer in general, as well as fasting. You will also learn the things you would like to avoid when lifting up your prayers to your Heavenly Father.
God’s word for today: (James 5:16 KJV) “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
