I thought some of you may find what I have posted below helpful in your prayer lives.
(Also see Here)
In answer to the request of the disciple in Luke 11v1, in Luke 11v2-4, the Lord Jesus then gives them a “pattern” of how to pray (i.e. this is the “pattern” He had used during the first thirty years of His life at Nazareth and in His Earthly ministry, except He had NO sin to confess in connection with the phrase “and forgive us our sins/debts, Matt 6v12, Luke 11v4). This “pattern” is commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer,” however, it is not an actual prayer, but the “pattern” of how we should pray (Greek, “proseuchomai” (Strong's NT4336), which is used in both Matt 6v9 and Luke 11v2). This is the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] place in the New Testament where this “pattern” has been recorded, the first being in Matt 6v5-15 (esp. v9-13).
Matt 6v9-13 states:
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is 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 evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
Luke 11v2-4 reads:
“And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”
The Essential Attitudes Of Heart And Mind In Prayer.
Jesus tells us the attitudes of heart and mind that bring a knowledge of God, a fullness of the Spirit and answered prayer.
We must realise our position in Christ, we are sons of God.
“When you pray, say, Father.” In Jesus we have a new and blessed relationship with the Father; we are brethren of Christ, joint heirs with Christ, and God's own beloved children. 1John 3v1, John 15v9, 17v23, Rom 8v17, Heb 2v10-20, 6v13-20. Hallelujah!
We must have a continual spirit of worship.
“Hallowed, revered, and honoured, be thy name.” God is seeking worshippers, not empty flattery, which God deplores. True worship recognises with sincere gratitude and deep love that we owe everything we are, have and will have to our Creator and Redeemer. John 4v23,24, Matt 15v7-9, Mark 7v6-9, God is worthy of all our respect, adoration, love and esteem. Rev 5v11-14.
We must desire to see God's kingdom and will to be manifested on earth.
“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” There is not only desire and longing; there is positive action and costly sacrifice, under God's direction, to see His kingdom extended. This is a personal matter between ourselves and God, we must always be very careful to distinguish between people who put pressure upon us to build up their personal kingdoms, or other human pressure groups, and the will of God. John 21v19-22, Matt 10v37-42, Acts 15v25,26.
We must be free from anxiety over material needs.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” We must believe, as it is absolutely true, that our heavenly Father loves us intensely and will meet all our needs. Phil 4v19, Matt 6v25-34. A spirit of materialism and worldly anxiety will effectively incapacitate us from useful service for the kingdom of God. 1John 2v15-17. This does not mean, of course, that we have to neglect our families, those who do this “have denied the faith,” and are “worse than unbelieving heathen.” 1Tim 5v8.
We must have a tender conscience and repentance from any known sin.
“Forgive us our sins.” In Luke 11v4, Luke uses the word “hamartia,” “sins;” whereas, Matt 6v12 uses “opheilemata;” a word that Paul uses in Rom 4v4 to speak of legal debts. Christ obviously used both; He taught that our sins are debts to God and others. Wilful sin closes our hearts to the blessing and love of God. Heb 10v19-39, 1John 1v5 to 2v6.
We must have a forgiving spirit towards those who have sinned against us.
We must beware of roots of bitterness and an unforgiving spirit, for Jesus warns us that we can only ask for forgiveness “in proportion as, or like as,” “hos,” we forgive others, a truly solemn warning, which is reiterated by Christ elsewhere. Matt 6v12,14,15, Mark 11v25,26. Jesus tells us to rebuke Christians who sin against us, and IF they repent, we must forgive them. Luke 17v3,4. Let us make every effort to achieve reconciliation and forgiveness with Christians, and make it easy for those who have offended us to repent, and exercise a forgiving spirit to them. However, Jesus said that repentance is necessary before fellowship can be restored, and failure to repent after the procedure laid down in Matt 18v15-17, means that a person looses their rights to be treated as a Christian. Let us remember that God's forgiveness is always conditional upon repentance. Matt 5v23,24, 18v20-35, Mark 11v22-26, Luke 6v37, 23v34, Eph 4v30-32, Gal 6v1-3, 1John 4v20,21. Jesus certainly did not try to be reconciled with Israel's religious leaders; His attacks upon them were extremely contentious. Matt 23v13-39, Luke 11v39-54. Christ asked the Father to forgive the soldiers who were crucifying Him, they really did not know what they were doing; however, there was no such prayer for the religious leaders of Israel, who knew full well what they were doing, Jesus said they had seen God and hated Him. Luke 23v34, John 15v22-25. Stephen manifested a forgiving spirit to his implacable enemies, and asked God not to lay his murder to their charge; however, God could not forgive them, for He cannot forgive unrepentant sin, even though He may long to restore and pardon. Acts 7v59,60, Matt 23v37-39, Luke 19v41-44. Christians who hurt and offend others, and do not repent, face an inevitable discipline from their heavenly Father, and so do those who fail to forgive others, when those who offend them repent. We know that we have a genuine revival when Christians get right with each other and fervently love each other. Rom 12v14-21, 2Cor 13v1, Gal 6v1. Our enormous debt to God should keep us from fighting over our comparatively trifling debts to each other. Matt 18v21-35, Heb 12v14,15.
We must allow God to lead us from dangerous paths.
Christians should have a fear of sin, and a fear of getting out of the will of God. As someone has said, “lead us not into temptation,” is an Eastern way of saying, “Father, please keep us from going out of your will, into paths that lead to spiritual danger or sin.” God can, by various means, stop us from going into spiritual danger, if we are prayerful and willing to be led by Him. Psalm 141v4, 1Cor 10v13, Acts 16v6-9. We should always be prepared for our heavenly Father's stops or diversions.
We must trust God to deliver us from evil, and the Evil One.
In the phrase, “lead us not into temptation,” Jesus was speaking of dangers and temptations that can be avoided by prayerful living. See Luke 22v40. Here He speaks of conflicts with evil that we cannot avoid and must face. These conflicts demand a prayerful life and a real faith in God, for we cannot defeat Satan on our own, we must draw near to God before we can effectively resist the Devil. James 4v6-8. Persecution or opposition of some kind or other will always come against the consecrated child of God, and supernatural opposition from Satan is often channelled through his earthly friends. Matt 4v1-11, Acts 13v50-52, 2Cor 1v8-10, Eph 1v2, 6v10-20, 2Thes 3v1-3, 2Tim 2v12, 3v12. We must believe that God will deliver us, and will answer our prayers, as we follow and obey our Lord's pattern of prayer, and if our prayers accomplish anything, we must remember that His power has brought it to pass, and we must give Him all the glory.
Yahweh Shalom
(Also see Here)
In answer to the request of the disciple in Luke 11v1, in Luke 11v2-4, the Lord Jesus then gives them a “pattern” of how to pray (i.e. this is the “pattern” He had used during the first thirty years of His life at Nazareth and in His Earthly ministry, except He had NO sin to confess in connection with the phrase “and forgive us our sins/debts, Matt 6v12, Luke 11v4). This “pattern” is commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer,” however, it is not an actual prayer, but the “pattern” of how we should pray (Greek, “proseuchomai” (Strong's NT4336), which is used in both Matt 6v9 and Luke 11v2). This is the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] place in the New Testament where this “pattern” has been recorded, the first being in Matt 6v5-15 (esp. v9-13).
Matt 6v9-13 states:
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is 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 evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
Luke 11v2-4 reads:
“And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”
The Essential Attitudes Of Heart And Mind In Prayer.
Jesus tells us the attitudes of heart and mind that bring a knowledge of God, a fullness of the Spirit and answered prayer.
We must realise our position in Christ, we are sons of God.
“When you pray, say, Father.” In Jesus we have a new and blessed relationship with the Father; we are brethren of Christ, joint heirs with Christ, and God's own beloved children. 1John 3v1, John 15v9, 17v23, Rom 8v17, Heb 2v10-20, 6v13-20. Hallelujah!
We must have a continual spirit of worship.
“Hallowed, revered, and honoured, be thy name.” God is seeking worshippers, not empty flattery, which God deplores. True worship recognises with sincere gratitude and deep love that we owe everything we are, have and will have to our Creator and Redeemer. John 4v23,24, Matt 15v7-9, Mark 7v6-9, God is worthy of all our respect, adoration, love and esteem. Rev 5v11-14.
We must desire to see God's kingdom and will to be manifested on earth.
“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” There is not only desire and longing; there is positive action and costly sacrifice, under God's direction, to see His kingdom extended. This is a personal matter between ourselves and God, we must always be very careful to distinguish between people who put pressure upon us to build up their personal kingdoms, or other human pressure groups, and the will of God. John 21v19-22, Matt 10v37-42, Acts 15v25,26.
We must be free from anxiety over material needs.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” We must believe, as it is absolutely true, that our heavenly Father loves us intensely and will meet all our needs. Phil 4v19, Matt 6v25-34. A spirit of materialism and worldly anxiety will effectively incapacitate us from useful service for the kingdom of God. 1John 2v15-17. This does not mean, of course, that we have to neglect our families, those who do this “have denied the faith,” and are “worse than unbelieving heathen.” 1Tim 5v8.
We must have a tender conscience and repentance from any known sin.
“Forgive us our sins.” In Luke 11v4, Luke uses the word “hamartia,” “sins;” whereas, Matt 6v12 uses “opheilemata;” a word that Paul uses in Rom 4v4 to speak of legal debts. Christ obviously used both; He taught that our sins are debts to God and others. Wilful sin closes our hearts to the blessing and love of God. Heb 10v19-39, 1John 1v5 to 2v6.
We must have a forgiving spirit towards those who have sinned against us.
We must beware of roots of bitterness and an unforgiving spirit, for Jesus warns us that we can only ask for forgiveness “in proportion as, or like as,” “hos,” we forgive others, a truly solemn warning, which is reiterated by Christ elsewhere. Matt 6v12,14,15, Mark 11v25,26. Jesus tells us to rebuke Christians who sin against us, and IF they repent, we must forgive them. Luke 17v3,4. Let us make every effort to achieve reconciliation and forgiveness with Christians, and make it easy for those who have offended us to repent, and exercise a forgiving spirit to them. However, Jesus said that repentance is necessary before fellowship can be restored, and failure to repent after the procedure laid down in Matt 18v15-17, means that a person looses their rights to be treated as a Christian. Let us remember that God's forgiveness is always conditional upon repentance. Matt 5v23,24, 18v20-35, Mark 11v22-26, Luke 6v37, 23v34, Eph 4v30-32, Gal 6v1-3, 1John 4v20,21. Jesus certainly did not try to be reconciled with Israel's religious leaders; His attacks upon them were extremely contentious. Matt 23v13-39, Luke 11v39-54. Christ asked the Father to forgive the soldiers who were crucifying Him, they really did not know what they were doing; however, there was no such prayer for the religious leaders of Israel, who knew full well what they were doing, Jesus said they had seen God and hated Him. Luke 23v34, John 15v22-25. Stephen manifested a forgiving spirit to his implacable enemies, and asked God not to lay his murder to their charge; however, God could not forgive them, for He cannot forgive unrepentant sin, even though He may long to restore and pardon. Acts 7v59,60, Matt 23v37-39, Luke 19v41-44. Christians who hurt and offend others, and do not repent, face an inevitable discipline from their heavenly Father, and so do those who fail to forgive others, when those who offend them repent. We know that we have a genuine revival when Christians get right with each other and fervently love each other. Rom 12v14-21, 2Cor 13v1, Gal 6v1. Our enormous debt to God should keep us from fighting over our comparatively trifling debts to each other. Matt 18v21-35, Heb 12v14,15.
We must allow God to lead us from dangerous paths.
Christians should have a fear of sin, and a fear of getting out of the will of God. As someone has said, “lead us not into temptation,” is an Eastern way of saying, “Father, please keep us from going out of your will, into paths that lead to spiritual danger or sin.” God can, by various means, stop us from going into spiritual danger, if we are prayerful and willing to be led by Him. Psalm 141v4, 1Cor 10v13, Acts 16v6-9. We should always be prepared for our heavenly Father's stops or diversions.
We must trust God to deliver us from evil, and the Evil One.
In the phrase, “lead us not into temptation,” Jesus was speaking of dangers and temptations that can be avoided by prayerful living. See Luke 22v40. Here He speaks of conflicts with evil that we cannot avoid and must face. These conflicts demand a prayerful life and a real faith in God, for we cannot defeat Satan on our own, we must draw near to God before we can effectively resist the Devil. James 4v6-8. Persecution or opposition of some kind or other will always come against the consecrated child of God, and supernatural opposition from Satan is often channelled through his earthly friends. Matt 4v1-11, Acts 13v50-52, 2Cor 1v8-10, Eph 1v2, 6v10-20, 2Thes 3v1-3, 2Tim 2v12, 3v12. We must believe that God will deliver us, and will answer our prayers, as we follow and obey our Lord's pattern of prayer, and if our prayers accomplish anything, we must remember that His power has brought it to pass, and we must give Him all the glory.
Yahweh Shalom
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