“Give us this day our daily bread.”
This is a hard lesson.
Note the petition is to give “us.” This pronoun includes ourselves and others. It is not a prayer for “my” bread, or a prayer for what “I Need," but a prayer for all God’s children to be nourished and maintained. At creation, God endowed the earth with the ability to feed and sustain every human being who would ever be born. There is no justification for hunger and poverty anywhere in the world, except for mans naked sin. Hunger is the monument of our greed. If we want more than simple bread; when we want cake and donuts; when we take more than we need; we rob others. If we try to store-up manna, we cause others to lack.
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
I have often felt this statement is best read backwards, as in a mirror. The first move is ours. “As we forgive; pardon us.” It appears to me the initiative is clearly with us either way you read the sentence. Remember Yeshua is praying here with believers, those who have already accepted His grace. He clearly wants us to understand and then to acknowledge the nature of our sins when we ask for their absolution.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Perhaps this is the passage in the prayer that causes us most pause. We are elsewhere told that God does not tempt. As we actively sought forgiveness in the previous sentence; we now pray to never return to sin again. We pray that we are never again near enough to be enticed. We here actively seek God’s assistance in our sincere effort to avoid sin.
“Amen”
Our human “Amen” is a petition, it is our request that it may be so. God’s Holy “Amen” is His grant, His statement that it shall be so. It is here spoken by Yeshua.
This is a hard lesson.
Note the petition is to give “us.” This pronoun includes ourselves and others. It is not a prayer for “my” bread, or a prayer for what “I Need," but a prayer for all God’s children to be nourished and maintained. At creation, God endowed the earth with the ability to feed and sustain every human being who would ever be born. There is no justification for hunger and poverty anywhere in the world, except for mans naked sin. Hunger is the monument of our greed. If we want more than simple bread; when we want cake and donuts; when we take more than we need; we rob others. If we try to store-up manna, we cause others to lack.
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
I have often felt this statement is best read backwards, as in a mirror. The first move is ours. “As we forgive; pardon us.” It appears to me the initiative is clearly with us either way you read the sentence. Remember Yeshua is praying here with believers, those who have already accepted His grace. He clearly wants us to understand and then to acknowledge the nature of our sins when we ask for their absolution.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Perhaps this is the passage in the prayer that causes us most pause. We are elsewhere told that God does not tempt. As we actively sought forgiveness in the previous sentence; we now pray to never return to sin again. We pray that we are never again near enough to be enticed. We here actively seek God’s assistance in our sincere effort to avoid sin.
“Amen”
Our human “Amen” is a petition, it is our request that it may be so. God’s Holy “Amen” is His grant, His statement that it shall be so. It is here spoken by Yeshua.
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