The Lord's Prayer

Actions may be similar, but the motivation behind them can be strikingly different. Two parents, one genuinely concerned about their child, and another solely concerned about the public scene their child has caused, may appear to have similar looking discipline. But the heart behind it is entirely different.

Christ warns us about the variety of motivations behind prayer. Some have spiritual actions so as to be seen by others in their spiritual zeal. Their prayers are long, have the wafting scent of spirituality, and are loud enough for everyone to hear. In short, they are not praying to be heard by God, but others (Mt. 6:5-6). But Christ has taught us another way to pray.

Let’s consider the prayer of our Lord:

“Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Reverence is essential when approaching the King. His throne is in heaven, and we are right to address Him with the reverence that He demands. He is active throughout His creation, but His abode is in heaven, which is only heaven because He dwells there. Yet, He is our Father and we have full access to Him. Every care that we might have is also now a care of our Father. Joyfully and reverently beseech our Father in heaven.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

It is not our will, but the will of our heavenly Father that we are seeking. This is perfectly displayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is not the will of the One offering the prayer that will come to pass, but the will of the One receiving the prayer. Prayer is one of the means by which His will is done throughout His creation. Our desires are brought to Him, but conformed to His ultimate purposes.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Nothing more than continued dependence is requested. Enough to sustain us through this day, but not too much so that our dependence upon the Lord will be masked by the temporal things of the world.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Dear brother or sister, are you flirting with evil as though it were an amusement? The temptations of this world are just that, temptations. Your flesh will only hand you over to them, so continually beseech our Father to deliver you from evil. The ambrosia of the flesh will always lead to death. Pray that God will continue to sustain you as we journey from this day until glory.

Redemption, do not forsake this gift of prayer that is afforded to God’s people. As we saw last week, prayer makes known to us the surpassing love of Christ. It is also the way that the will of God is accomplished for those who have been forgiven and seek continual deliverance from evil.

Blessings,

Jake and the elders