2006-02-03
Good Morning Treasured of God,
You may be wondering why spend so much time writing about the Lord's Prayer [MT 6: 9-13] in this series, including returning to the subject repeatedly in a lot of my writing. At the direction of the Holy Spirit, the Father wants all of us to know this is His chief teaching, through the Son, on how to pray. In mentioning all three personalities of the Trinity, I am saying that every aspect of one's faith experience and personal relationship with God is impacted by the Lord's Prayer. It is helpful in going back in time to the era before we had compact and convenient Bibles to study to see a method that God inspired man to use to learn what He wanted remembered. It's called index sentences. These were simple sentences given in order to prompt the memory. However, before I get into that, we need to briefly review the issues taken up in the Lord's Prayer along with some helpful cross-references. Later, I'll return in more depth to the index sentences.
Worship: "Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name." PS 117: 1, "Praise the Lord, all nations! Praise Him, all peoples! His love for us is strong, and His faithfulness is eternal." This citation shows us some reasons why God deserves our worship. Allegiance: "Thy Kingdom come.." IS 11: 6-9 describes unknown peaceful relationships between animals and humans, now enemies. Verse 9, "On Zion, God's holy hill, there will be nothing harmful or evil. The land will be as full of knowledge of the Lord as the seas are full of water." 2 SAM 7: 12-13 tells us of the Davidic covenant, that two-way promise in which God tells us a Descendant of David [Jesus Christ] will rule forever in God's Kingdom. DN 7: 13-14 is the part of Daniel's vision which allows us to see the Father giving His Son the authority to be Judge and to rule in His Kingdom. Submission: "Thy Will be done, one earth as it is in heaven." PS 135: 5-6, "I know that our Lord is great, greater than all the gods. He does whatever he wishes in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in the depths below." 2 CH 20: 6, [King Jehoshaphat] "prayed aloud, 'O Lord God of our ancestors, You rule in heaven over all the nations of the world. You are powerful and mighty, and no one can oppose you...'" Petition: "Give us this day our daily bread..." EX 16: 4, "The Lord said to Moses, 'Now I am going to cause manna to rain down from the sky for all of you. The people must go out every day and gather enough for that day. In this way, I can test them to find out if they will follow My instructions.'" JER 29: 11, "I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, not to bring disaster, plans to bring about the future for which you hope." PS 78: 20, "So the people ate and were satisfied; God gave them what they wanted." Confession: "And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." PR 24: 17, "Do not be glad when your enemy meets disaster, and do not rejoice when he stumbles." PS 25: 11, "Keep your promise, Lord, and forgive my sins, for they are many." Deliverance: "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil..." PS 121: 7-8, "The Lord will protect you from all danger; He will keep you safe. He will protect you as you come and go now and forever." PS 124: 6-8, "Let us thank the Lord, Who has not let our enemies destroy us. We have escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap; the trap is broken, and we are free! Our help comes fro the Lord, Who made heaven and earth." A return to worship: "For Thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen." PS 115: 1, "To You alone, O Lord, to You alone, and not us, must the glory be given because of Your constant love and faithfulness." RO 11: 36, "For all things were created by Him and all things exist through Him and for Him. To God be the glory forever! Amen."
In reading through the cross-references given here, you will notice that all but the very last one were from the OT. Each category has plenty of cross-references in the NT too, and the ones from the OT are not the only ones that fit each category. This was done on purpose, so that it can be seen that God's principles are not only consistent, but have been so throughout mankind's history. That's why the person saying, for example, "there is no teaching on forgiveness in the OT, it's so harsh," is really incorrect. By mentioning the existence of index sentences, I am purposely leaving a "teaser" for some of my upcoming messages. So, don't think I've forgotten that I brought it up. There are lots of different formats for composing prayers that all very acceptable, but this is the one that the Lord Jesus taught; thus, it is worthy of the time we will spend on it. As a person who coordinates a huge and daily active prayer chain for my congregation, I have come to realize that everything a spiritually healthy, Christ-led congregation does us impacted by prayer. This is not highlighting my own importance, but instead shows how prayer is the foundation of godly relationships and activity. That someone like me, who began her life without prayer can know this, is strong testimony to the power and compassion our awesome God has. Let me urge you to spend some time in contemplation of how prayer impacts your own lives, a most worthwhile exercise that is bound to enrich ones' relationship with God and with other people.
PRAYER: O Lord, as we stand before Your throne today, You have taken us to the opening gate in a journey that will lead us to a better understanding of prayer's importance in our lives and appreciation of the Lord's Prayer. You know that we are challenged every day by the evil one, who is trying to destroy our faith in You. We will not allow Him to do this, because we recognize that You have opened the way for us to have continual and immediate access to You through prayer. Prayer helps us make decisions. The Psalmist understood this when he wrote PS 119: 10, " With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments." You answered this in PS 32: 8, "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with Mine eye." When we are deeply burdened with our trials, we can turn to You in prayer. PS 55: 22, "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit honest men to be defeated." Prayers help banish fear and worry. PS 64: 1, "Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; preserve my life from fear of the enemy." IS 41: 13, "For I am the Lord, your God, Who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, 'Do not fear; I will help you.'" You listen to our prayers and answer them in Your own time and way, the perfect time and way. PS 116:1, "I love the Lord because He hears our prayers and answers them." 2 CH 7: 15, "Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place." You have stepped out on a limb and told us that if we pray for things in line with Your teaching, then you will respond as we hope. MK 11: 24, "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." We need never feel alone and out of touch with You. IS 58: 9, "Then you will call, the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say, 'Here I am!'" There are times, Dear Abba, when You hold back from answering us immediately, but this delayed response is never for an unrighteous reason. Instead, it is to instruct us in something You want us to know. Your love for us is constant and real. We bow down before You in thanks, worship, and praise forever and ever. In Christ's holy name, we pray. Amen.
My reason for including a lot of Scriptures in today's message is the Lord instructs me to reveal His will not from my words, but from His. In next week's message, we will take a secondary look at each of the above categories of prayer which Christ includes in the Lord's Prayer for a deeper understanding of why He includes it. If the Holy Spirit allows me to build in each of you the same curiosity about those index sentences to come in a later message, then I've done my job. On a personal note, I must observe that I detest the "teasers" and "promos" on the nightly news broadcasts, but have the opposite reaction when such things come from the Holy Spirit. It must be His power over me. I know that He is preparing us for important lessons for our lives, not just sensationalized news stories to which I generally cannot relate. No devotion or sermon, in my humble opinion, should be written without a reminder of why we should be faithful. It is the extraordinary and unparalleled sacrifice that was made by the Father and the Son in the Latter's death on the cross for us. The Father had to have felt the awful pain and sorrow of knowing the only way to save mankind was to have His only Son suffer as no being had ever suffered before. The worst of it was His own need to be apart from Him temporarily. After all, Christ was taking on the sins of the world, and sin is separation from God. As for the Son Himself, He had the choice of not going through with obeying His Father, and He never took it. Surely we owe it to our loving Abba and the Son Who would do this for us to give our lives and service to His glory! No greater love has ever been!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn