The Desire to Learn:
In Luke 11:1 Jesus is praying. Watching from a distance are his disciples. With the prayer done one of them asks him “Lord, teach us to pray.” I am trying to imagine what kind of prayer he said. Each word seemed to open the heavens. The prayer moved them into the very presence of the unseen God. The desire to learn to give such a prayer prompted the request. Teach us to pray!
12 Elements in the Lords Prayer:
Jesus introduces the “Lords Prayer.” He directs his disciples to pray in like manner. The Lords Prayer as in Mathew 6:9-13: “Pray then like this: ‘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 also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'” Embedded in the Lords prayer, there are 12 elements we need to adapt in all our prayers.
1. Understanding our relationship with God:
“Our Father who art in Heaven:”, when we say this we do not mean “My Father.” Our prayers are not about individualism. Its not a personal ATM where we get help out of our hardships. We are talking to our Father, to a Father who is looking out for many. His purpose is to bring us into unity with Him. He is not like many of our earthly fathers. His love is not conditional. He will never leave us nor forsake us. As a Father, God has a firm hand on us and has love that drives us to action. If we address God as Father, then we are acknowledging ourselves as His children. Then we are actually saying that we are guided by His wisdom and will be obedient in all things. We accept and seek His plan for our life. As His children, we will hold His honor, His character, His family as the objects of our highest honor. We are addressing our Father who art in Heaven that’s where we find refuge.
2. Understanding God’s identity:
“Hallowed by thy Name:”this means the words which we speak needs to be in reverence. “Holy and reverend is His name.” Psalm 111:9. We should come before the presence of God in awe. The angels veil their faces in His presence. The cherubim and the bright and holy seraphim approach His throne with solemn reverence. How much more should we, finite, sinful beings, come in a reverent manner before the Lord, our Maker! God has many names. He may have revealed himself to you as Jehovah Shalom – the Lord our peace. Maybe He has revealed Himself as Jehovah Jireh – the Lord our provider. He could have helped you win so many battles and come through as Jehovah Saboath – the Lord of Hosts. God is bigger than our thoughts and our understanding. We cannot put God in a box and try to define Him. We can learn aspects of who He is based on how we experience Him. Knowing this about God means that we approach his throne as coming before one who is is from known to unknown.
3. Understanding God’s Kingdom:
4. Understanding God’s will:
“Thy will be done:” our plea is that the reign of evil on this earth may be ended. That sin may be forever destroyed and the kingdom of righteousness be established. Only then will God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
5. Understanding God’s divide:
“On earth as it is in heaven:”this means that we begin to live on earth with the atmosphere of heaven. We can all do this by living in obedience to God’s law summarized. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
6. Gathering for the moment at hand:
“Give us this day:” is a request for the moment at hand. David says, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Psalm 37:3, 25. When we say “us” it means we are thinking of others as well and not only of ourselves. And we acknowledge that what God gives us is not for ourselves alone. God gives to us in trust, that we may feed the hungry. Of His goodness He has prepared for the poor. Psalm 68:10. And He says, “When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors….
7. Gathering our inheritance:
“Our daily bread:” The prayer for daily bread includes not only food to sustain the body, but that spiritual bread which will nourish the soul unto life everlasting. Jesus bids us, “Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.” John 6:27. He says, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.” Verse 51. Our Saviour is the bread of life, and it is by beholding His love, by receiving it into the soul, that we feed upon the bread which came down from heaven.
8. Removing hindrances I
“Forgive us our trespasses:” is a deep cry that is in the heart of each one many times in our lives. 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God’s forgiveness is not merely a judicial act by which He sets us free from condemnation. It is not only forgiveness for sin, but reclaiming from sin. It is the outflow of redeeming love that transforms the heart. David had the true conception of forgiveness when he prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10. And again he says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12.
9. Removing hindrances II
“As we forgive those who trespass against us:” this simply means what it says, we should forgive. “If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” He who is unforgiving cuts off the very channel through which alone he can receive mercy from God. We should not think that unless those who have injured us confess the wrong we are justified in withholding from them our forgiveness.
10. Overcoming our pride:
“Lead us not into temptation:” temptation is enticement to sin, and this does not proceed from God, but from Satan and from the evil of our own hearts. The bible says: “God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempteth no man.” James 1:13. He permits us to encounter obstacles, persecution, and hardships, not as a curse, but as the greatest blessing of our lives. Every temptation resisted, every trial bravely borne, gives us a new experience and advances us in the work of character building. If we commit ourselves to God we have the assurance, that He “will not suffer us to be tempted above that which we are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13.
11. Overcoming our egos:
“But deliver us from evil:” Christ will never abandon the soul for whom He has died. If our spiritual eyes would be opened to see what goes on whenever one is overwhelmed with temptation. We should see angels flying swiftly to aid these tempted ones, who are standing as on the brink of a precipice. The angels from heaven force back the hosts of evil that encompass these souls, and guide them to plant their feet on the sure foundation. The battles waging between the two armies are as real as those fought by the armies of this world, and on the issue of the spiritual conflict eternal destinies depend.
12. Understanding God’s time:
” For thine is thy kingdom, thy power, and thy glory for ever, Amen:” in this closing line of the Lords prayer points to our Father as above all power and authority and every name that is named. The power and the glory belong unto Him whose great purposes would still move on unthwarted toward their consummation. In the prayer that breathes their daily wants, the disciples of Christ were directed to look above all the power and dominion of evil, unto the Lord their God, whose kingdom ruleth over all and who is their Father and everlasting Friend.
Conclusion:
This makes me look at the Lord’s prayer in a very different way. These 12 elements if followed faithfully, will unlock for you the life of power in prayer. I pray that the Lord will grant each of you the grace and commitment to apply them in all your prayers. God bless.