Sorry about not posting yesterday. I was at the BSf Retreat in Jacksonville where 25,000 attended a wonderful weekend of teaching, singing and visiting friends. We got back late Sunday night and yesterday was just a typical Monday...grocery shopping, laundry and planning dinner for everyone. I had "leaders training" at 5:00 which pushed everything early. So the day was full and now I have the family back in order (as only Moms can do!). (If you are not familiar with BSF let me encourage you to find a class in your area. To do so you can go to http://www.bsfinternational.org/ )
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Also thanks for the encouraging words on "Prayer 101". I hope you all will find this look at praying refreshing and that it encourages you to pray more...I know it is already doing that for me.
Have you ever thought of prayer as a privilege? I know we are repeatedly told in Scripture to pray…we are even commanded to do so…but have you ever thought of it as a privilege? It really is…to have access to the Living God is something many don’t have. Since time began, men and women have been raising their voices in the air to Sun-gods, Mother-gods, Mother-earth and so many countless false gods that really their words went up into the air and came flat down! It is only the one true and Living God who can hear the prayers of His people. It is like those old telephone circuits where a woman sat and could hear the voices of hundreds of people but it was not until the connection was made that the people were able to hear and speak to one another. What a privilege it is to speak to God, not only on our behalf but on the behalf of others.
Scripture is full of prayers and we are going to look at many of them. There prayers for spiritual wisdom; Col 1:9-14…
to ask for mercy and grace in time of need: Heb 4:14-16; Ps. 86; Ps 88: Ps 102…
Intercessory prayer : John 17:1-26, Daniel 9:3-16…
Prayer for salvation: Ezekiel 11:19; Ps 85:7; Ps 119:41; Ps 51:12…and prayers of petition. These are just but a few. There is also the “model” prayer that Jesus gave to his disciples when he was teaching them how to pray. This prayer had been recited over and over the centuries…some say it almost as a “mantra” with little thought to the words. Others have made it the prayer of their hearts…
“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 today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
As we also forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from the evil one.” Mat 6:9-12
Jesus sets up this prayer in verses 5, 6, and 7, of Matthew by saying “And when you pray…” Here is the command…He does not say to us…”if you pray” or “may you pray” He tells us to pray and then to He tells us “how to pray” verse 8. Isn’t just like our Lord, when he gives a command He gives us clear direction on how to obey the command.
And Jesus begins by saying “Our Father”. We have to acknowledge a relationship with Him. Jesus begins to show us to pray to God you must have a relationship with Him. And this relationship is unlike any other here on earth…it is a Divine relationship…one that supersedes all others. We are told to “love the Lord YOUR God” above all others. It is the first Commandment. This relationship is one of tenderness, closeness, approachability. BUT before we make this relationship more cozy than it ought to be, Jesus says “Hallowed be your name”…there is the perfect balance. Before we get to comfy with our Daddy, let’s remember who He is…hallowed. Yes He is our Father BUT He is also our Creator and the Holy One. There must be a reverence for Him…a sense of awe before His presence. When we “hallow” His name we praise Him above all things. We see His holiness...his separateness from all creation. We see Him in His Glory…as Isaiah saw Him “Seated on the throne, high and exalted and the train of His robe filled the temple.” Isaiah 6:1. Or as Psalm 97:2-6 says “Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne…the mountains melt like wax before the Lord…the heavens proclaim His righteousness” Once again what seems to be a paradox is in complete harmony…Yes we have this loving relationship with The Father BUT He is to be praised...He is Holy. Acknowledging that He is hallowed underscores His supremacy in greatness.
Then Jesus goes on again to lead us in prayer by reminding us it is God’s kingdom which will prevail and if we are His child that should be our desire. He tells us to pray for His kingdom to advance here on earth. “ Thy kingdom come, thy will be done” Again the focus continues to be on God Himself. We delight in His way and desire more than anything for His Glory to be preeminent here on earth. And that leads us to “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. It is not our will but His. Just as He rules the heavens, He rules the earth. We must desire for God’s will to be our will…to exchange the temporal for the Eternal…the flesh for the spiritual.
I noticed that we are half way through this model prayer and our focus has been exclusively on God Himself, His Holiness, His kingdom and His will. It is only with that proper focus that we can then begin to ask for ourselves. Jesus has reminds us to pray for the “bread of Life” before we even can think of any other form of sustenance. When Jesus tells us to pray asking God to “give us our daily bread” we ask for the immediate need...daily…often meal to meal…that is dependency. Sometimes when we ask God for a long term provision it moves us from dependency to independence. It is like the manna which the Israelites received every day and at the end of the day it spoiled and fresh manna was given the next morning. Our focus moves from the spiritual, which we also depend on every moment, to the physical which must also be a seeking daily.
So we move from our vertical relationship (Us towards God) and then the first thing Jesus asks us to do with our horizontal relationships (us towards others) is to forgive. Interesting we could not have this vertical relationship with God as our Father UNLESS we had been forgiven. How else can we have a relationship with anyone unless it also begins there. Jesus says “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” Forgiveness begins with confession. We confess our sins to God the Father who forgives and we also confess our sins to one another so forgiveness can take place. Notice it is in the past tense…we can’t even pray before we have offered forgiveness or asked for forgiveness. For true prayer to happen we must be sure we have “made it right” with others.
Matthew 5:23 says “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come an offer your gift.” Notice it says “if you know your brother has something against you” It is not if “you have something against someone”…It is our responsibility as children of God to seek forgiveness whenever we know someone may have something against us. Later in this same passage verse 14 Jesus says “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sin, your Father will not forgive your sins.” We saw last week unconfessed sin hinders prayers…unforgiveness is a sin.
Finally Jesus ends the prayer with “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one”
We tell our children to flee evil and pursue good. It is only through God’s protection can we do that. Oh that we may see the evil one’s schemes and flee! That we may know our weakness and ask God to reinforce them so the evil one would have no means to come in. That we also would see the weakness in our children and pray for God’s strength and power.
Praying this way is God glorifying. Praying this way is God-centered. We begin in the height of heights…the heaven of heavens and move down to the lowly. We understand that our position comes from Him…our dependency is in Him.
Can we ask ourselves the hard question…How often do we pray this way?
Why is the willingness to ask or extend forgiveness an essential part of an effective prayer?
Is there someone in our lives that we must seek out to forgive or ask to be forgiven?
Do we know our own weaknesses? Have we taken them to Christ for protection? Have we done that with our children? Loved ones?
Father in heaven,
Who is like you? Who knows our comings and our goings? You are worthy of all praise and honor. Your majesty fills the earth…your mercy upon me is evident everyday. May your Word go out today to save those lost. May your kingdom advance through me. Show me ways that I may encourage others, warn loved ones, declare your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to those who are perishing. Spend me in ways that would last for eternity. Give me a heart for your divine ways…make your Word present in every thought or utterance so your kingdom would be manifested here.
I pray for your provision. For your Word to be fresh in Jessica’s, Kaity’s, Hannah and Josh’s mind. May they be faithful to obey and flee evil. Replenish me with your Spirit… Give David favor today in his business attempts and work. Bring others around him that he may share your Word.
Forgive me of laziness, when I have trusted men more than you. Forgive me of fear…for that is not of you. Increase my faith so I may be fearless. Show me whom I may have offended and give me a quick heart to humbly go and ask forgiveness.
I pray for your protection over those I love…over those who are being persecuted right now for your name. Grant them rest and peace as they are in the front-line. Help me to know how to pray for the kids…give me special insight into their struggles and expose their hearts so I may seek your power on their behalf. Protect me and this family from the evil one…I am your servant who asks because apart from you I do nothing.
Amen
Tomorrow a look at a prayer of Thanksgiving from Ephesians 1
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