Proverbs 8-14
Matthew 6-10
I Samuel 6-10
In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus instructs us in the principles of prayer. He says in vs. 9 "In this manner, therefore, pray..." The presupposition is that we, as His disciples, will be praying. If we are to "read and heed the word", then prayer is a vital element of our devotional life. As you read through these verses allow them to shape the manner of your conversation with the Lord.
"Our Father in heaven," presupposes a relationship with God. We can come to Him in prayer because we are His children.
"Hallowed be Your name." We are to come to the Lord in a reverently, seeking to glorify Him.
"Your kingdom come," We are to pray with an attitude of expectation. We know that His kingdom is coming and we long for the day when it will be established upon the earth.
"Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..." As you pray ask the Lord to manifest His will in your own life. When we pray for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven we need to remember that we are on the earth, and the one part of the earth that we have some control over is that part of it upon which we ourselves exist! Are we willing to submit our own will to His? When we pray this prayer we need to recognize that it is a prayer of submission. Lord, Your will be done in my life, as it is in heaven, should be the flavor of this petition.
"Give us this day our daily bread." We are to recognize that the Lord is the source of all our supply. He is the one to whom we should look for sustenance and provision. He opens the doors that we are to walk through, He is the one who enables us to do the things that we need to do to provide for ourselves and our families. If we are in need, He is the answer.
"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Of all our needs, the greatest is forgiveness. Inherent in this petition however is the expression of our willingness to forgive those who have wronged us. We cannot expect God to forgive us, if we hold aught against others. Forgiving others is not always easy, but by the grace of God we can purpose in our hearts to obey the Lord in this matter.
"Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." There is and should be, an element of spiritual warfare to our prayer. We must recognize that we are in the midst of a great spiritual battle and that though Jesus has already won the victory, we still need to enter into the victory that He has won! In this petition we are asking God to give us the strength day by day to resist the temptations that we are facing and to deliver us from the snares and traps of an enemy that seeks to destroy us.
"For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." We end as we have begun, hallowing the name of the Lord. We begin in praise and we end in praise, for the Lord is worthy of the kingdom, the power and the glory, not just today, but every day!
This prayer, is a model prayer. It is not a prayer to be mindlessly recited, but meditatively contemplated. Each petition represents an aspect of our conversation with God and introduces a topic that is worthy of our attention as we commune with the one who made and loves us. May the Lord richly bless you, as your read and heed His word this week!
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid." Proverbs 12:1 (ESV) No one likes to be told when they are wrong, it doesn't feel good, but if we learn to appreciate it we will not only show ourselves wise, but we will become wiser in the process. When corrected, our attitude should be gratitude; if we become offended because of correction we show how "stupid" we really are.
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