Matthew 6: 9 – 13
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil on’”
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil on’”
Most of us, if not all, have heard this prayer. We have recited it at church and at funerals. We have probably even heard sermons on it. But how many of us have really stopped and thought about this prayer when we prayed? How many of us have really thought about what we were praying for when we prayed it? It flows so nicely and is pretty easy to memorize but what is Jesus saying when He teaches His disciples this prayer?
First of all Jesus acknowledges the existence and whereabouts of our Father. He is above us and knows all and sees all. He acknowledges His greatness, “Hallowed be thy name”. What does hallowed mean? It means holy or sacred. How many of us really stop and think when we pray that we are praying to the Father of all, the one and only God, the holy one, the sacred one? Jesus tells us that we need to first recognize who we are praying to and acknowledge that we are praying to the most holy one.
Second, Jesus says to the Father, “your kingdom come”. How often do we stop and think about God’s kingdom when we pray. When troubled times come we may pray “come quickly Lord” but in the good times we seem perfectly satisfied to be right here on this earth. But Jesus prays “your kingdom come” in a time that is not necessarily a bad time for Him. His ministry is just starting and He has followers, things are going pretty well. Jesus tells us to recognize that no matter how good it is on this earth our Heavenly Father’s kingdom is so much better.
Third, Jesus prays the hardest prayer of all, “Your will be done” but read on “on earth as it is in heaven.” Think about it, heaven is perfect, correct? In heaven the Father is in control, nothing happens unless it is the Father’s will. So, if we pray “your will be done” we are simply giving control to the One that is perfect. We are giving control to the one and only one who can make life perfect. So many times we don’t understand the reasons why things happen and we may think that it couldn’t be God’s will but when we recognize that God is in control and we ask Him for His will to be done we are acknowledging that He is Lord, the perfect and Holy One.
Fourth, Jesus asks for daily bread. Now many of us may say this indicates our physical needs, we should pray for our physical needs as well as spiritual needs and this may be true for God supplies all our needs. But as I read this I remembered what Jesus said to satan just a couple of chapters back in Matthew 4:4.
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%204:4&version=NIV1984)
And then again in John 6:35 He says:
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’”
Bread, it is the very word of God. Jesus spoke the word of God here on earth and He is the way to the Father. Could it be that Jesus is asking the Father to speak to Him? Give us your word, which is life, give us your word to sustain us through anything we may go through, give us your word to guide and direct, speak to us Father and we will listen. Is that maybe what Jesus was trying to say when He said, “Give us this day our daily bread”? I think so, because He immediately goes into other spiritual matters, He doesn’t say give us this day our daily bread and heal our bodies and make us well. He says, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” That’s a tough one too. Notice if we want Him to forgive we need to forgive as well. If we can not forgive our brother how can our Heavenly Father forgive us? We will talk more on that one tomorrow.
Lastly, Jesus asks the Father not to lead us into temptation but to deliver us from the evil one. Who is the evil one? Yes, satan. Have you asked the Father lately to keep the evil one away from you? We can’t assume that if we are Christians that the evil one won’t attack, he will and he does. The one who can protect us from the evil one is our Father in Heaven.
One last note, do you see that Jesus does not pray this prayer for Himself? He uses the word “us”. He does not say keep me from the evil one, He says, “us”. He does not say give me my daily bread He says, “us”. We need to pray for others as much as we need to pray for ourselves. How are you praying? Do you get so bogged down in your own needs that you forget the needs of others? Let’s remember to lift each other up in prayer for we all need to recognize His kingdom, we all need to listen to His words, and we all need to forgive others. This also indicates that we should be together, not apart from one another. Are you worshipping and fellowshipping with other believers? If not, I would encourage you to do so, in order that you can grow in Him and pray together. Even Jesus had a support group, a group of individuals that He could minister to and with.
I trust that as you pray today that you will remember who you are praying to and really stop and think about what you are praying for. I believe Jesus made it clear in His prayer that we need to be praying not for what we want but for what we need to make it through this life. We need to recognize who is in control and acknowledge to Him that we trust Him.
Next time you pray the Lord’s prayer, really stop and think about what you are praying for and continue to seek Him with all your heart so that you will find Him.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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