Truth Seekers Newsletter
May 20, 2007: Lord, Teach Us to Pray!
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Lord, Teach Us to Pray!
Do you remember how Jesus came to give His Disciples the Lord's Prayer?
Luke 11 tells us that one of His Disciples came to Him after He had been out
praying and said, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his
disciples."
There are many possibilities as to why they asked. Since Jesus had been out
praying, they may have witnessed His Power up close and they wanted to be
able to be as close to God as He was. Perhaps they wanted something that
would identify them as Jesus' Disciples, just as John's Disciples had been
identified.
Were they looking for a short cut prayer to God? Did they think it came
down to formula instead of conversation? We don't know.
Jesus Answers!
No matter what their motivation, Jesus used their request as an opportunity
to demonstrate communication with God. He never missed the teachable
moment! He knew that if He could satisfy their initial hunger, what He fed
them would be so good, they would want more!
The Powerful Lord's Prayer, Which Begins with "Our Father"...
Note Jesus did not say, "My Father" or "Your Father". He said, "Our
Father." Do you remember that puzzling event we discussed last week when He
said, "Who is My Mother?" and then He went on to say that His Brothers and
Sisters and Mother were those who obeyed God. We decided that this
statement was not an exclusion of Mary, but an inclusion of us!
Jesus was telling us that kinship with Him was not just about biology and
blood lines. He was telling us that we could all be related to Him through
obedience to His Father. In our special relationship with Jesus, we are one
in the Family of God. He is the Father of us all!
The Wonderful Nature of the Trinity!
We have previously discussed the mystery of the Trinity. God, as Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. Through Jesus, the Son, God gave us a picture of how
He wanted to relate to us. He knew that we could understand the concept of
fathers and children. God showed us through Jesus that we are also His
Children.
Who is the Son of God?
Most of us would answer with assurance, "Jesus." But what if I ask you ...
are you the Son or Daughter of God? Some people become uncomfortable. Can
we say that? Are we on the same level as Jesus?
John 1:12 tells us "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in
His Name, He gave the right to become children of God." You are a child of
God! Imagine when you pray that Jesus is sitting right next to you and He
is holding your hand and saying, "Now let's talk with Our Father."
Where is This Father?
The Lord's Prayer tells us that He is in Heaven. Does that mean He is far
away? No, Heaven and Earth are really joined. It is we who separate them.
Jesus told us in Matthew 5:34-35 that Heaven is God's Throne and the Earth
is His Footstool. It is all one to God!
Coming into God's Presence!
In the past weeks, we have learned that we come into His Presence first by
submission to the great God that He is. We recognize Him as Our Father. We
recognize that His Ways are higher than our ways. And then we enter into
His Presence with thanksgiving and with praise. "Hallowed (or Holy) is Your
Name."
Your Kingdom Come on Earth, As It Is In Heaven...
Is Earth now like Heaven? Unfortunately not. However, Jesus tells us that
we should keep on desiring that Earth become just like Heaven. How does
this happen?
Your Will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven. Heaven and Earth will no
longer be separated in anyone's mind, when everyone on Earth does the Will
of the Father. Our submission to God's Will is what will turn Earth around
toward Heaven.
Our Daily Bread
Jesus says to ask, "Give us this day our daily bread." Do you think He was
just referring to physical food or was it something more than that?
John 6:27-58 tells us about bread. Jesus said He was the Bread of Life. No
one who comes to Him will be hungry. He reminded His Followers that
physical food , even that specifically provided by God, such as the manna
God's chosen people received in the desert, is only a temporary fix. While
God will give us daily bread, He wants to provide much more than that!
Jesus is our Daily Bread. He wants us to remember Him before we eat or
drink. He wants to be fresh within us every day, to give us Life forever.
The interesting thing about feeding on the Word of God is that while it will
give us eternal life and satisfy us, it will also give us a great hunger for
more.
The more we learn about the Word of God, the more we want to learn! It is
like putting together a puzzle. The more pieces you put together, the more
you want to put more together, so you can see more of the picture!
Forgive Us Our Sins As We Forgive Others...
Jesus next said, "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against
us." Many of us read that in a casual way. "Lord, forgive my sins. I'm
going to forgive others ... some of them right now ... some of them one day when
I'm not as mad at them as I am right now ... some of them, maybe never,
because they have done really bad things to me."
But go back and read that again. "Forgive us our sins AS we forgive
others." That brings up the standard that Jesus talked about in Luke 6.
Judge not that you also be judged. By the measure you use, it will be
measured unto you.
Matthew 18:23-35 tells the story of a man who was forgiven much, but refused
to forgive even a little. The Master was not pleased. In fact, in the
story, the penalty imposed by the Master for unforgiveness was turning the
unforgiving one over to the jailers to be tortured. Then, just to punctuate
what He meant, Jesus added this chilling statement, "This is how My Heavenly
Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your
heart."
What Does It Mean to Forgive from One's Heart?
Ever had the thought, "Well, ok I'll forgive them, but I tell you one thing ...
I'll never forget what they did to me." Is remembering the sins of others
really forgiving them from the heart?
Many of us seem to have a closet labeled "forgiven, but not forgotten sins."
Sins not forgotten have a nasty way of returning. Many times those who made
the original cut that wounded us are long gone. However, when we keep
remembering what they did to us, it is as if we are figuratively holding on
to the knife they used to cut us. This time we are reopening the wound
ourselves by choosing to remember.
Does God have such a closet for our forgiven sins? No! Hebrews 8:12 tells
us how God forgives. "I will forgive their wickedness and remember their
sins no more."
How Do You Forget Something?
First of all, give God the knife. Ask for forgiveness for holding on to any
memory of past wrongs, and let them go. Ask His Help in keeping you from
being tempted to pick up the memory again. (Perhaps there is a reason why
the next part of the Lord's Prayer is "lead us not into temptation"!)
Jesus told us not to curse the darkness, but to turn on the light. He was
teaching a very important principle. You don't forget something by
remembering it. You forget something by overwriting it. When satan tries
to bring to mind all the wrongs committed against you, start quoting every
Bible verse you can remember. Overwrite Him! Turn on the Light!
Lead Us Not Into Temptation!
Jesus knew how hard it would be to resist temptation. He told His sleeping
Disciples, "The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." His Wish for us
was that we not even have to grapple with temptation.
But Deliver Us from the Evil One...
Jesus knew that satan would continue to prowl around, seeking who he could
devour. Jesus wanted us to know that satan, while very real and powerful in
his own right, could not hold a candle to God's Awesome Power. He wanted us
not to be led astray by satan, but if we succumbed to his siren call, Jesus
wanted us to know that there was deliverance through God!
Power and Glory Forever!
Some late translations add, "For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the
Glory forever." Jesus' Prayer thus ends as it began, recognition of God,
His Kingdom, His Power and giving Him Praise and Glory forever!
Are You Still Hungry?
After this teaching on prayer, I believe I would have been so full that I
would have just sat down and said, "Thank You, Sir." But Jesus used this
opportunity to teach them more. After this brief prayer came much more.
The Lord's Prayer was just the appetizer. I encourage you to keep reading
in Matthew and Luke to see what else Jesus had to say!
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