PRECEPTS
OF PRAYER
LUKE
11:1-4
(See
also Matthew 6:9-15)
Luke
11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he
ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John
also taught his disciples.
Susan: Luke
does not specify in which particular place Jesus was when He was praying, nor
whether it was a public or private prayer. But we know His disciples were
present because one of them entreated Jesus to instruct them in effective
prayer.
Susie: It was
a common practice for rabbis to teach their disciples a prayer to be recited or
after which to model their own prayers. Apparently, John the Baptist had given
his disciples this type of instruction in prayer.
Susan: Obviously,
Jesus’s disciples desired the same benefit from their Master.
Luke
11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed37 be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in
heaven, so in earth.
Susie: Jesus
responded to the request with what is often called “The Lord’s Prayer” or more
appropriately, “The Model Prayer.” It
is significant that Jesus taught His disciples to address God as “Father.” The
concept of God as Father is relatively rare in the Old Testament and usually
has more the connotation of God as Father in that He created us, God as Father
to the nation of Israel, or having the relationship as Father toward certain
individuals (Isaiah 64:8, Malachi 2:10, Psalm 68:5). However, Jesus most often
used the more intimate term, the Aramaic “Abba,” which was what children called
their father. In Christ, our relationship to Holy God becomes that of parent
and child. We found a good article on the subject of God as Father here:
Susan: Once,
when I was deep in intercessory prayer, God spoke to my heart that for Him, His
favorite position was not that of Creator, nor King of kings, but it was that
of Parent. In other words, the intimate, guiding force in our lives is the most
favored, most fulfilling position God holds in His heart toward us.
Susie: God is
seen as on the throne in Heaven, but the term Father makes Him approachable,
accessible to individuals.
Susan: “Hallowed”
is not a word in common use these days, so we looked it up to be sure we all
understand the nuances of the term.
The
New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible:
hallowed37
- hagiazo – to make holy,
i.e. (cer.) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate – hallow, be holy,
sanctify
American
Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828
VEN'ERATE,
verb transitive [Latin veneror.] To regard with respect and reverence; to
reverence; to revere. We venerate parents and elders; we venerate men
consecrated to sacred offices. We venerate old age or gray hairs. We venerate
or ought to venerate the gospel and its precepts.
Susie: To
hallow God’s name is not just to value what He is called. The name refers to
the character, the person, the reputation. Therefore, we are to have the utmost
respect for the Lord, to value Him above all others, and to have the heart’s
desire that He be respected by everyone. We are to pray that all glory and
honor would be accorded to our Father God.
Susan: We
want the totality of His essence, His very being, and every layer of His
personality to be held in the highest esteem and be exalted.
Susie: What
exactly do we mean by the “Kingdom of God?”
Susan: When
Christ returns, He will be the Ruler of an earthly Kingdom; but in a sense, His
kingdom is already here within the hearts of believers. When we receive Jesus,
the rule and reign of God as our Sovereign King manifests in the choices we
make, in our obedience to His word and will.
Susie: We all
long for the day when Jesus has returned, the dead in Christ rise, and we are
ultimately with Him forever in His kingdom. However, as Susan said, we are
already citizens of that kingdom and subject to His rule over us if we have
surrendered our lives to Him.
Ephesians
2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus
Philippians
3:20 (CSB) but our citizenship is in
heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Susan: We are
to pray that perfect obedience to the will of God will become a reality on the
earth as it is always in Heaven.
Susie: That
prayer will not be fully answered until Jesus returns. However, each day we
need to surrender our will anew to the Lord, that His will be done in each of
us.
Luke
11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
Susan: This
is a prayer that God will meet our basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter
on a daily basis. We are to be so connected to the Lord that we are confident
that our Father is the source of our provision and our safety.
Susie: Notice
the prayer was not for a four- course meal served on expensive china. We are to
pray for our NEEDS and praise Him for the blessings that far exceed the basics.
Luke
11:4 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.
Susie: When
we trust Jesus as Savior, He forgives our sins—past, present, and future.
However, as long as we are on this earth, we will still sin and are instructed
to confess those sins and ask for forgiveness in order to be cleansed from the
guilt that makes us feel separated from the fullness of our relationship with
the Lord.
1
John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Susan: Our
salvation does not depend upon our forgiveness of others, but our daily
cleansing does.
Matthew
6:14-15 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you: But if ye forgive not men
their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
MacArthur
Study Bible note on Matthew 6:15:
6:15
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. This is not to suggest that
God will withdraw justification from those who have already received the free
pardon He extends to all believers. Forgiveness in that sense—a permanent and
complete acquittal from the guilt and ultimate penalty of sin—belongs to all
who are in Christ (cf. John 5:24; Rom. 8:1; Eph. 1:7). Yet, Scripture also
teaches that God chastens His children who disobey (Heb. 12:5–7). Believers are
to confess their sins in order to obtain a day-to-day cleansing (1 John 1:9).
This sort of forgiveness is a simple washing from the worldly defilements of sin,
not a repeat of the wholesale cleansing from sin’s corruption that comes with
justification. It is like a washing of the feet rather than a bath (cf. John
13:10). Forgiveness in this latter sense is what God threatens to withhold from
Christians who refuse to forgive others (cf. 18:23–35).
Susie: We are
to forgive others as we have been forgiven by the Lord—completely, freely,
without strings. Since Jesus forgave me even though I did not deserve to be
forgiven, what right do have to withhold forgiveness from someone who has
wronged me?
Colossians
3:13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance
against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Susan: We
must ask the Lord to lead us away from anything that would cause us to stray
from His word, His will, and His way.
Susie: God
does not tempt us or lead us in the direction of temptation but will certainly answer the
prayer to draw us away from threats to our relationship with Him.
James
1:13-15 (NIV) When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God
cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are
dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives
birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
1
Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to
man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye
are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may
be able to bear it.
Susan: By
asking the Lord to deliver us from evil, we are asking to be set free from the
predisposition to sin, delivered out of the grip of Satan who is the father of
sin, protected from evil men, and guarded from evil afflictions. This is
sometimes translated “evil one” which would mean Satan, but he is the source of
all evil, so all of the above could apply in this petition.
Ponder
this and Apply it: In some churches, reciting this prayer (usually
the version found in Matthew’s gospel) is a common occurrence, maybe even each
week. That is not necessarily a bad thing or a good thing. It is a great
reminder of how to pray and the fact that we need to pray. As children, many of
us recited prayers; and even if we did not totally understand them, we were
gaining a sense of the importance of prayer. Memorizing the Lord’s prayer has
this same benefit. It also has served me well when in a situation so dire I was
at a loss for words. Reciting the Lord’s Prayer focused my brain and calmed me
enough to be able to pray more specifically. However, it is most useful as a pattern to
formulate our own specific conversation with our Father. Write out your prayer
for this day using the model of revering God, praying for His will, petitioning
Him to provide for specific needs, and asking for forgiveness and the grace to
forgive others.
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