Quick Reads #10 – The Lord’s Prayer
But you, when you pray, enter into your room. And shutting the door, pray to your Father in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly. But when you pray, do not babble vain words … for your Father knows what you have need of before you ask. (Matthew 6:6-8)
These are some of the things Jesus told His disciples when He taught us how to pray. The prayer He gave is for praise, asking little for ourselves other than forgiveness of sin: that we are kept from evil and given daily guidance through the Gospel, and the teaching of the Apostles. The Lord’s Prayer is remarkable in its simplicity yet can be tied to the Prophets, the Commandments and Psalms. It teaches us, our Everlasting Father is LORD of all. That by His will all things in Heaven and Earth are enacted,
and we are encouraged to seek His Kingdom.
The Prayer restates the third Commandment given to Moses and the second given us by JESUS. We must not use the name of the LORD as vulgarity, and we love our neighbour through forgiveness. But most of all the Prayer is about glorification of God and His wonder. It is not about what we want as Jesus has told us He knows our needs, these things are added when we honour God and keep His Commands. So, let’s look at a recent translation of the King James Bible that most will know.
Our Father, who is in Heaven, hallowed is your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil. For yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the Glory, forever. Amen (Matthew 6:9-13) MKJV
“The fundamental nature of the eternal prayer is to venerate God:
hallowed is thy name.
By it, we pray the Father reveals His true nature to us in Spirit. That we are open to the truth of Christ Jesus and His kingdom in us:
thy kingdom come.
By praying this prayer, we ask Jesus to dwell in us and us in Him:
your will be done.
And we pray to be continually guided and nurtured by His Holy Word and Spirit:
give us this day our daily bread.
And we ask in honesty of soul and spirit He will forgive our wrongdoing: forgive us our debts. And in asking, we enter into a contract that it is conditional upon us forgiving also: as we also forgive our debtors, for He has told us we are only forgiven when we forgive others.
And in confidence we pray that He keeps us free from harm and evil, as we declare He alone is the power and glory, and His kingdom everlasting. We then pledge ourselves in all we have uttered in saying so let it be. Amen.
The LORD’S Prayer is rightly named. It is for the honouring of Him and was given by Him. It marks a division between God and men as it raises Him in splendour, and we the subjects of His Kingdom.
And like JESUS it is eternal, past present and future. It is a great gift for us to enjoy that brings us closer to God; it is ours and was given to us by the One who redeemed us. It binds fellowships when we pray in unison or of comfort when we are apart. It needs no book to carry it, or device to recall it when a regular part of our life; it is in every respect our daily breath of faith and inheritance.
Do not lay up treasures on earth for yourselves, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up treasures in Heaven for yourselves, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)
In Peace and love as always,
James