Without a doubt I can say that Christians are to be people
of prayer.
READ Scripture-
This is the Word of God
And when you pray
We should pray privately on a regular basis, and we should
be a part of corporate, public prayer.
In the New Testament we are told that the Christians met together on a
regular basis to pray, they were even “devoted” to it, and we are commanded to
pray without ceasing. The Lord Jesus
proclaimed in the Sermon on the Mount that His followers were not to be like
the hypocrites. The word “hypocrite”
comes from the word used for a Greek actor who would where a mask and parade
around as various characters. There are
people who claim to be “religious” that are just putting on a show. They love to pray in public, and the Lord
says that they have their reward, that is to be seen by others which is no
lasting reward. They also like to use
vain repetitions as if they are going to persuade God with many words or show
some kind of religious stamina.
We know that Christians are to pray with other believers,
but the average day-to-day life of the Christian is to involve regular alone
time with God in prayer. In Ecclesiastes
5:2 we are told to let our words be few.
We are not to be like the self-proclaimed righteous. We are to approach God humbly as a servant
before his master, but also confidently as a child before his father.
This passage is teaching on prayer, not a prayer
itself. Model Prayer is better than Lord’s
Prayer.
Our Father in Heaven,
hallowed be Your name
We are a body of believers, and no one is on their own. Even when we pray individually, we still pray
in conjunction with the church.
Fathers will answer questions and petitions posed by their
children that they would not accept from anyone else in the world. God is our Father. We have a nearness, but that nearness is
balanced with “hallowed.”
The Father is in heaven.
It is important where God is when we pray. If God is not sovereign and supreme above all
then what good will it do to pray?
Your name- God has a name.
He revealed it as “Yahweh,” and then completed that revelation in the
name “Jesus” which means “Yahweh Savior.”
We want His name to be famous.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven
Adoration and submission come prior to confession and
supplication.
How radical of a change would it be if God’s will was completely
and thoroughly done in all the world? The
kingdom originates in heaven, but it is fulfilled in us. Luke 17:21 says that the kingdom is within or
among us. People make up the kingdom of
God.
Give us this day our
daily bread
Notice the corporate nature of the prayer once again.
“Bread” means “needs.”
We are to pray that God would give us each day what we need, not
worrying about the future or dwelling negatively on the past, but focusing on
today.
Any notion that Christians are above and beyond others,
assuming that we are promised wealth and prosperity, is done away with when we
read this line. We will face hardships,
and we need God to daily provide what we need. Our inheritance is not in this world, but the
new. Our struggles are not over in this
age, but in the next.
In this society, men were paid daily. They relied on God’s provision each day. If the crops failed because of disaster or
drought, then they had nothing to eat.
And forgive us our
debts, as we forgive our debtors
It appears that we should group verses 12-15 as instruction
on forgiving.
This does not mean that we can earn forgiveness by forgiving
others. What it does reveal is that God
will only forgive the sorrowful.
Remember the Beatitudes which began the Sermon on the Mount. True penitence is a forgiving spirit. I think our society proves that forgiveness is
an abnormal human act. No one wants to
forgive or ask for forgiveness. But we
are not of this world, are we? We are to
be holy- unique and different. We are to
be people of forgiveness.
And do not lead us
into temptation, but deliver us from evil
“Temptation” could mean “corrective discipline.”
Christians are those who ask to be saved. Things are not right in this world, primarily
because God’s will is not done on earth as it is in heaven. This is an outstanding entrance place for the
Gospel because most people realize that there is just something not right. We know exactly what the problem is and we
have the answer! Sin is the problem and
the Gospel is Jesus Christ is the answer.
We need to tell others
Conclusion
I am convinced that prayer is two things: relying on God and
communion with God.
We approach God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ knowing that He will hear our call.