Matthew 6:5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
I included the few verses before the prayer itself because I wanted to draw some attention to the circumstances of Jesus' time and how they don't really differ from those of today. The thing I find most fascinating in the prelude to the prayer is that Jesus assures us that "our Father knows what we need before we ask Him." I find this comforting because in any kind of loving relationship, don't we usually know what our loved one needs or wants before they even ask? That is if we are 'in tuned' to that person? When my boys were little, I knew what they wanted before they asked because we were so close. Even though Rick and I are just humans, from the time we first met, we seemed to 'know' what the other needed or was feeling. And this isn't some kind of mystic thing... it's a form of communication. Back in the '70s when I was in college we talked a lot about nonverbal communication. And the more you knew someone else, the more 'in tuned' you were to their nonverbal ques. God is like that. He created us, He loves us, He wants the best for us, and He knows what is in our hearts. The thing He desires most is a relationship with us that is based on communication. Even though I knew what my boys wanted, I enjoyed hearing them tell me what they desired. Then when I was able to give that desire, my heart overflowed with joy at seeing their response and hearing them say 'thank you'.
Tomorrow, I want to talk a little about the couple of verses in what we call The Lord's Prayer.
Don Moen has this beautiful interpretation of this lesson on prayer given by Jesus, our Lord. You might also like to take a look at little Zoei's song... find her video under "Out of the mouths of Babes" And this little girl was only about 2 1/2 when she say the traditional Lord's Prayer.
TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2008
Our Father that art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name
Aren't these beautiful words? For me, I envision my loving Father in Heaven... maybe He's walking among friends and family who have already been called home, or maybe He is sitting in a comfortable room talking with Jesus who sits at His right hand... but what ever He is doing, He's in a place where He can see all His children and all at the same time. And as I think upon the rest of this verse... hallowed be thy name... I think to myself about what does the word 'hallowed' mean? The dictionary describes it as: "regarded as holy; venerated; sacred". A synonym would be "blessed". Venerated means to treat with with reverence. And reverence is a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe... and that's what I think of most when I think of God my Father... awe... in the big things (like my salvation) and in the more simpler things like the flowers of the fields. As you listen to the music of the video below, think about the Father who is in Heaven who is worthy of all our praise, worship, and awe. And then as you go through your day, look and see all the small blessings He sends to tell you how much He loves you and be thankful in all things.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2008
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
When we talk to God about His kingdom we are recognizing His kingship over all. The dictionary explains this as follows "kingdom: the domain over which the spiritual sovereignty of God or Christ extends whether in Heaven or on Earth". The verse goes on to say "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" That says to me that I need to pray for those things that are all ready in heaven as being here on earth at this very time... not necessarily in the future... but right now. And what do we know about those in heaven?... there shall be no sickness or pain, no suffering or fear... there will be rejoicing... Should we not then pray for those things right now in our life? And that in and through Jesus we can walk each day as if in heaven even though we are on earth... we are in the world, but we're not of the world.
THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2008
Give us this day our daily bread.
I find it interesting that this part of the Lord's prayer is so brief, yet within it's meaning is something so important for us to never forget... The NIV Bible interprets this verse as "Give us every day the food we need". And as soon as I read that, I was reminded of another verse that talks about our needs... "Luke 12: 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!"
FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2008
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
For some, this may be one of the harder things for us to do because in order for our 'debts' to be forgiven, we also must forgive those who are our debtors. The comma in this sentence acts as the center point of a scales or a teeter-totter... both sides of the sentence are equally important. The Amplified Bible puts it this way... "12And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven ([b]left, remitted, and let go of the debts, and have [c]given up resentment against) our debtors."
SATURDAY, JULY 26, 2008
13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
In this part of the Lord's prayer, Jesus is teaching us that we can come before our King and ask him to help us to over come temptation. He doesn't say we won't have temptation in our life, but he tells us to ask God to keep us from it. And then Jesus goes on to say "deliver us from the evil one" some versions of the Bible out right say 'the devil'. Back when I was growing up in the 60s/70s there was a common saying "the devil made me do it"... he may try to make us 'do it' but we have Jesus word that we don't have to be lead into that position (temptation) and we don't have to be 'tricked' by the devil, or the evil one. Through this we know that God understands that we face evil every day. And just like any loving Father, he wants to do all He can to help his children... even in times of their being tempted... when the storm of temptation is so strong, He is there to deliver us.
2 comments:
Sue I met Don Moen several times at Kingdom Bound in Buffalo NY. He is a powerful witness of Jesus.
I often pray using the Lord's Prayer as my template. I have this printed out sheet that our Pastor made years ago. I know it my heart now, maybe I'll send you a copy I think you'd like it.
Thank you, Kathy, I'd love that :) Thanks for stopping by.
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