LESSONS FROM THE LORD’S PRAYER
In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus spoke on prayer. He said that we ought not to pray vain repetitions. Thus, when He set forth the example of the Lord’s prayer in the succeeding verses of the Sermon on the Mount, He was not instructing us to simply pray it repetitiously but to pray in the same manner. As we look into the Lord’s prayer and other verses in the Sermon on the Mount that can relate to it, we glean precious lessons that are vital in our Christian walk.
It is very important that our spirits understand this truth that we may come before Him in trust. Our hearts are such that we only truly open up who we are before those we trust. We also only really pour out our needs before those we feel can help us. Thus, understanding the truth that we are praying before a God who is our Father and who is in heaven enables us to pray more truthfully and with confidence. To help us illustrate this point, imagine for a moment that you had a very urgent and big need, would it be easier for you to approach a total stranger for help or your own earthly father or anyone else from your family you are close to? The question therefore is when we approach God are we approaching somebody we really know or are we approaching a stranger? May we grow more intimately acquainted with God that we may approach Him as our Father in heaven.
However, the picture of how we are to approach God will not be complete without the succeeding statement, “Hallowed be Your name”. Yes, we are approaching our Father but we must understand that He is holy and thus He deserves our deep reverence. It is possible to come before God and have an unconscious image of Him as a spoiling father. This takes place if a believer rushes into God in his prayers and demand Him to do as he pleases. There is a growing stream today that promotes a kind of worship and prayer that is very casual and self-centered where one sings or prays as if he is speaking with a mere mortal and the message all gravitates on the person rather than on God. Let us be very watchful of how we try to approach a holy God. May we grant Him the honor and reverence He rightfully deserves.
The Lord’s prayer continues with “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done.” When we come before God in prayer, our foremost concern must be this. It is a tendency of man to think that men pray to receive their needs from God. However, this is contrary to what Jesus taught. Prayer is primarily about and for God. It is about His will being fulfilled in our lives, in His church, and in the nations. If our prayers were to be recorded, what will it be found concentrating on? Our needs or God’s purposes? What we pray about the most speaks of our priorities and the things that deeply affect us. What could this be? As we continue to walk with God, may our hearts be so transformed that just like our Lord Jesus, we will be about His business and not ours. Our Lord Jesus at 12 years old, when He was found by Joseph and Mary in the temple after being lost for three days, replied “Why did You seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” At a tender age, Jesus was consumed with the purposes of the Father. May our hearts find its preoccupation in seeing the Kingdom of God advanced and His plans fulfilled in our day rather than getting caught up with our personal concerns.
This matter can be related to another portion of the Sermon on the Mount which is the Lord’s message against worrying. One of the reasons why our prayers can be focused on us rather than on God is because of worries. Material needs and riches if not handled properly can either be a competition to the Lord in our fear or love.
The Lord Jesus points out several things regarding worrying. First, He says, “is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” There is more to life than material needs and wants. In fact, Jesus declared man does not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The Lord Jesus is calling us to lift our visions higher and seek after the more important things in life, our walk with Him and our relationship with others. How do we translate this to the practical? We simply have to observe what kinds of thoughts do our minds linger on, what things we often speak about, and what we spend most of our time and energy on. Is your mind always filled with worries? Where are we putting are best effort on? Do we give the same effort we are putting at work to seeking God? Do we put the same effort in praying for spiritual needs as we do for practical ones?
Second, Jesus reminds us that we are not to be anxious about such things because our Father knows and meets our every need.
An evangelist once said that God puts on a big breakfast every morning for the whole creation (Caram:114). Psalm 104:21 tells us that lions look to God for their food. Every living creature is dependent on the Lord’s provision to meet his needs. And if lions can look to God, shouldn’t we all the more? Further, Psalm 145 tells us that God satisfies the desire of every living thing. That means from humans to plants to animals, God watches over them and grants them their desires. If He has such a capacity to meet all the needs of all the living creatures, is that not enough to encourage us?
God’s faithfulness to provide is not limited to the material needs. He is a faithful Provider of comfort, encouragement, guidance, direction, strength, healing among others. He satisfies our every need. So if you have a need today, remember what lions do. Also, since our God grants to everyone his desire, this must caution us about what desires we keep and cultivate. For whatever we desire that we shall get.
Thirdly, the Lord Jesus reveals to us what is at the root of worrying - little faith. Let us ask God to increase our faith so that our thoughts and energies are not exhausted by anxieties over things that are temporal and that we may instead channel our lives to things that are eternal. The fourth thing the Lord spoke of on this matter is that the right thing to invest our thoughts, time, and effort on are the kingdom of God and His righteousness. The Lord spoke “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” These are the things we should be devoting our lives to, the things of God. Are we seeking to advance His kingdom purposes where He has situated us? Are we concerning ourselves with walking in righteousness before God? God is not only asking us to be concerned with these things. He is saying we ought to put these first. Like our Lord Jesus, may we be concerned over our Father’s business.
He then went on to say that we ought not to worry about tomorrow. We are being told that the grace we have for the day is only enough for today’s cares. Thus, we must not try to spend it on tomorrow or else we will run out on grace even for today. We must learn to discipline our thoughts. We are to compartmentalize our thoughts and not be worrying in bed over what will happen the next day. We can be easily consumed and tormented by entertaining thoughts such as “what if this happens tomorrow?” Let us not unnecessarily wear ourselves out. Most of the time, much of the torment comes not from the actual thing we are afraid of but on worrying about them.
Going back to the Lord’s Prayer, it continues with “Give us this day our daily bread.” Again, we are to commit to the Lord our daily needs. But what needs to be emphasized here is what bread must we be hungering for and asking God to provide. Yes, we must turn to God for our material needs and I am sure that all of us regularly ask this from God but how much do we ask God for the Bread of Life? How much do we hunger and plead with Him that He feed us with His Word? May the Lord increase our hunger for Him.
This may be related to another passage in the Sermon on the Mount that also deals with provision. As was mentioned earlier, if provision is not handled correctly it can compete with God for our fear or love. At this point, let us look at how material riches can compete with God for our love.
Moses as a young man had to make a choice on this and he made the right one, as we see in Hebrews 11:25-26. It is interesting that he had to make a choice when he was young. This tells us that this choice between pursuing God or this world must be made not when we are old but when we are still young. Because the decisions we make now sets us on a course. May we make the right choice today.
The Lord’s prayer continues to say “And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” As we pray before the Lord, it is necessary that we seek His forgiveness and cleansing everyday and in fact, at the moment conviction comes. The further thought here though is that God’s forgiveness of our sins is contingent on us forgiving those who have wronged us.
Then, the Lord says in the prayer "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil." There truly are times when the Lord allows us to be tested by Satan and his cohorts to prove and purify the saint. However, there are times as well when men are unnecessarily tempted because of their own doing because of their confidence in the flesh that they can endure being near sin and yet not succumbing to it. Thus, let us not set ourselves up for temptation. Let us not overestimate ourselves and take heed lest we fall.
Finally, the Lord’s prayer ends with "for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen." We must commit our keeping unto the Lord. Trust that He is able to keep us from falling (Caram: 97). How important that this truth becomes a living word to us personally, that by the mercy of God we will endure and stand fast. This promise becomes our hope especially in times of weaknesses and failures.
The Lord’s Prayer offers us many precious lessons. May its truths take root in us and become living Word in us.
Source:
Daniel G. Caram. The Sermon on the Mount-An Introduction to the New Covenant, Zion Christian Publishers, 2002.
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Matthew 6:9-13The Lord’s Prayer begins with “Our Father in heaven.” Obviously this is a prayer of believers because there is a recognition of a relationship with God. It is also noteworthy that Jesus said where the Father is - in heaven which signifies that the God we are praying to is one who is above us and has far greater power than we do. Thus, the Lord’s prayer is showing us that when we pray, it is important to do so in faith. There has to be faith that we are coming before the God of the universe to whom nothing is impossible and who is, in fact, our Father who loves us so much. He spared not even His only begotten Son for us.
In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
It is very important that our spirits understand this truth that we may come before Him in trust. Our hearts are such that we only truly open up who we are before those we trust. We also only really pour out our needs before those we feel can help us. Thus, understanding the truth that we are praying before a God who is our Father and who is in heaven enables us to pray more truthfully and with confidence. To help us illustrate this point, imagine for a moment that you had a very urgent and big need, would it be easier for you to approach a total stranger for help or your own earthly father or anyone else from your family you are close to? The question therefore is when we approach God are we approaching somebody we really know or are we approaching a stranger? May we grow more intimately acquainted with God that we may approach Him as our Father in heaven.
However, the picture of how we are to approach God will not be complete without the succeeding statement, “Hallowed be Your name”. Yes, we are approaching our Father but we must understand that He is holy and thus He deserves our deep reverence. It is possible to come before God and have an unconscious image of Him as a spoiling father. This takes place if a believer rushes into God in his prayers and demand Him to do as he pleases. There is a growing stream today that promotes a kind of worship and prayer that is very casual and self-centered where one sings or prays as if he is speaking with a mere mortal and the message all gravitates on the person rather than on God. Let us be very watchful of how we try to approach a holy God. May we grant Him the honor and reverence He rightfully deserves.
The Lord’s prayer continues with “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done.” When we come before God in prayer, our foremost concern must be this. It is a tendency of man to think that men pray to receive their needs from God. However, this is contrary to what Jesus taught. Prayer is primarily about and for God. It is about His will being fulfilled in our lives, in His church, and in the nations. If our prayers were to be recorded, what will it be found concentrating on? Our needs or God’s purposes? What we pray about the most speaks of our priorities and the things that deeply affect us. What could this be? As we continue to walk with God, may our hearts be so transformed that just like our Lord Jesus, we will be about His business and not ours. Our Lord Jesus at 12 years old, when He was found by Joseph and Mary in the temple after being lost for three days, replied “Why did You seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” At a tender age, Jesus was consumed with the purposes of the Father. May our hearts find its preoccupation in seeing the Kingdom of God advanced and His plans fulfilled in our day rather than getting caught up with our personal concerns.
This matter can be related to another portion of the Sermon on the Mount which is the Lord’s message against worrying. One of the reasons why our prayers can be focused on us rather than on God is because of worries. Material needs and riches if not handled properly can either be a competition to the Lord in our fear or love.
Matthew 6:25-31
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.At this point, let us look at how materials needs can compete with God over our fear. Instead of the fear of the Lord, our hearts can be filled with the fear of not having enough material possessions. As was already mentioned, a man’s prayers reveal his heart. If our prayers are filled with a lot of petitions on daily provision or material needs or our future, it may be indicative of an anxiety over material needs. “Will I have enough to pay for my rent next month?” “Will my salary be enough for my family’s needs?” “What if I get sick?” “Will I get to keep my job?” “Will I ever advance in my job?” Do such questions plague our minds?
The Lord Jesus points out several things regarding worrying. First, He says, “is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” There is more to life than material needs and wants. In fact, Jesus declared man does not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The Lord Jesus is calling us to lift our visions higher and seek after the more important things in life, our walk with Him and our relationship with others. How do we translate this to the practical? We simply have to observe what kinds of thoughts do our minds linger on, what things we often speak about, and what we spend most of our time and energy on. Is your mind always filled with worries? Where are we putting are best effort on? Do we give the same effort we are putting at work to seeking God? Do we put the same effort in praying for spiritual needs as we do for practical ones?
Second, Jesus reminds us that we are not to be anxious about such things because our Father knows and meets our every need.
Psalm 145:15-16
The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And You give them their food in due season.
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
An evangelist once said that God puts on a big breakfast every morning for the whole creation (Caram:114). Psalm 104:21 tells us that lions look to God for their food. Every living creature is dependent on the Lord’s provision to meet his needs. And if lions can look to God, shouldn’t we all the more? Further, Psalm 145 tells us that God satisfies the desire of every living thing. That means from humans to plants to animals, God watches over them and grants them their desires. If He has such a capacity to meet all the needs of all the living creatures, is that not enough to encourage us?
God’s faithfulness to provide is not limited to the material needs. He is a faithful Provider of comfort, encouragement, guidance, direction, strength, healing among others. He satisfies our every need. So if you have a need today, remember what lions do. Also, since our God grants to everyone his desire, this must caution us about what desires we keep and cultivate. For whatever we desire that we shall get.
Thirdly, the Lord Jesus reveals to us what is at the root of worrying - little faith. Let us ask God to increase our faith so that our thoughts and energies are not exhausted by anxieties over things that are temporal and that we may instead channel our lives to things that are eternal. The fourth thing the Lord spoke of on this matter is that the right thing to invest our thoughts, time, and effort on are the kingdom of God and His righteousness. The Lord spoke “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” These are the things we should be devoting our lives to, the things of God. Are we seeking to advance His kingdom purposes where He has situated us? Are we concerning ourselves with walking in righteousness before God? God is not only asking us to be concerned with these things. He is saying we ought to put these first. Like our Lord Jesus, may we be concerned over our Father’s business.
He then went on to say that we ought not to worry about tomorrow. We are being told that the grace we have for the day is only enough for today’s cares. Thus, we must not try to spend it on tomorrow or else we will run out on grace even for today. We must learn to discipline our thoughts. We are to compartmentalize our thoughts and not be worrying in bed over what will happen the next day. We can be easily consumed and tormented by entertaining thoughts such as “what if this happens tomorrow?” Let us not unnecessarily wear ourselves out. Most of the time, much of the torment comes not from the actual thing we are afraid of but on worrying about them.
Going back to the Lord’s Prayer, it continues with “Give us this day our daily bread.” Again, we are to commit to the Lord our daily needs. But what needs to be emphasized here is what bread must we be hungering for and asking God to provide. Yes, we must turn to God for our material needs and I am sure that all of us regularly ask this from God but how much do we ask God for the Bread of Life? How much do we hunger and plead with Him that He feed us with His Word? May the Lord increase our hunger for Him.
This may be related to another passage in the Sermon on the Mount that also deals with provision. As was mentioned earlier, if provision is not handled correctly it can compete with God for our fear or love. At this point, let us look at how material riches can compete with God for our love.
Matthew 6:24Jesus tells us that we can only serve one master. There is only one throne in our hearts and only one king can sit on it. We are being warned against trying to pursue God and mammon at the same time. Mammon represents materialism, love for the things of this world, and the quest for this world. Christianity calls for us to make a choice whether to serve God or mammon. There is no middle ground in the Christian life.
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Moses as a young man had to make a choice on this and he made the right one, as we see in Hebrews 11:25-26. It is interesting that he had to make a choice when he was young. This tells us that this choice between pursuing God or this world must be made not when we are old but when we are still young. Because the decisions we make now sets us on a course. May we make the right choice today.
The Lord’s prayer continues to say “And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” As we pray before the Lord, it is necessary that we seek His forgiveness and cleansing everyday and in fact, at the moment conviction comes. The further thought here though is that God’s forgiveness of our sins is contingent on us forgiving those who have wronged us.
Matthew 6:14-15The Lord shows mercy to those who are merciful.
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Then, the Lord says in the prayer "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil." There truly are times when the Lord allows us to be tested by Satan and his cohorts to prove and purify the saint. However, there are times as well when men are unnecessarily tempted because of their own doing because of their confidence in the flesh that they can endure being near sin and yet not succumbing to it. Thus, let us not set ourselves up for temptation. Let us not overestimate ourselves and take heed lest we fall.
Finally, the Lord’s prayer ends with "for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen." We must commit our keeping unto the Lord. Trust that He is able to keep us from falling (Caram: 97). How important that this truth becomes a living word to us personally, that by the mercy of God we will endure and stand fast. This promise becomes our hope especially in times of weaknesses and failures.
The Lord’s Prayer offers us many precious lessons. May its truths take root in us and become living Word in us.
Source:
Daniel G. Caram. The Sermon on the Mount-An Introduction to the New Covenant, Zion Christian Publishers, 2002.
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