How Does One Pray?
Samuel Smith
23 Jan'19
5
LESSON 3
HOW DOES ONE PRAY?
You are welcome to another edition of Insights from God's Word, a Bible study programme that is committed to sharing God's Word by allowing the Bible to speak for itself.In this edition, we continue with our series on Biblical Perspectives on Prayer and Fasting. The topic for this study is: How Does One Pray? There are numerous forms of prayer in the various religions of the world. In Christianity alone, diverse forms of prayer abound. Usually, new converts to the Christian faith have pondered over the question: "Is there a form of prayer that I can safely follow to communicate appropriately to the Almighty God?" Thankfully, the Holy Bible does not leave us in doubt. The Bible provides several examples of appropriate forms of prayer by God's people from which we can learn to communicate with God ourselves (see
Amidst the several examples of model prayers in Scripture, one particular type stands above them all. This format of prayer is usually referred to as the Lord's Prayer in Christendom. From the gospel of Luke, we learn that as Jesus finished praying in a certain place, one of His disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples (
6:10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
6:13 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."
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Many Bible expositors have tried to expound on this beautiful treatise of prayer that Jesus taught His disciples. Some have noted that just as the Ten Commandments (see
1) OUR FATHER
Several times in Scripture, Jesus had utilised the affectionate word 'Father' in His own prayers (Moreover, even though sin had marred the original relationship we had with God, through Christ heaven and earth are now bound by a family tie that will grow stronger until the day the race of Adam behold the face of their heavenly Father (see
2) WHICH ART IN HEAVEN
In utilising the phrase "which art in heaven", Jesus sought to differentiate the Creator God from our carnal human fathers. Many are those who abhor the concept of fatherhood due to their own negative experiences with their earthly fathers. In this model prayer, Jesus helps all such to understand that their fathers on earth may have disappointed them in so many ways, yet they can trust in the goodness of their heavenly Father (Moreover, even though the concept of "Our Father" describes a close parent child relationship that we have with God, yet the adjectival phrase "which art in heaven" points to the reality that we are separated from Him. The prophet Isaiah makes it clear that it is our iniquities that have separated us from God (
3) HALLOWED BE THY NAME
This portion of the Lord's Prayer deals with the holy name of God. As we come to God in prayer, we must hallow His holy name. We do this in two main ways. First, we must have respect for the name of God. We must not mention or use it anyhow as the worldlings do (Second, we must be careful not to indulge in negative behaviour that will bring God's name into disrepute. When we seal our commitment to God through baptism, we tell the whole world that we are now children of God (see
4) THY KINGDOM COME
This portion of the Lord's Prayer is our petition for God to hasten His universal kingdom wherein will dwell righteousness (seeYet now, as we come to believe in Jesus and follow Him day by day, the coming kingdom of God is born in our hearts (
5) THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH
In the present time, God's will is perfectly done in heaven (This portion of the Lord's Prayer will one day make true the promise that "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea" (
6) GIVE US THIS DAY
This portion of the Lord's Prayer is a request for God to supply our basic needs for survival. Even though the text specific mentions bread, this prayer basically includes other necessities of life such as air, water and clothing. "Give us this day" suggests that we must be dependent on God each day for the basic necessities of life. Just as God made the Israelites to depend on His providence for food one day at a time in the wilderness (seeHowever, many of God's people have enough provisions of basic necessities stored up for several months to the extent that they forget that it is God who provides for them one day at a time. Sometimes, when everything is going on well and there is enough stored for several months, we tend to think that it is our own efforts that provides us with bread and the other necessities of life. We tend to spend little time in asking for God to provide for us, and spend even far less time in thanking and praising Him for providing our basic necessities daily.
In storing basic provisions for several months, we hoard the blessings that God has provided us for the benefit of others. One satanic concept that has gained roots among God's people is the concept of being financially independent. Friends, this concept of financial independence is a humanistic concept which is against the clear teaching of Scripture. Whiles the Lord wants us to be dependent on Him one day at a time for our daily needs (review
Through this portion of the Lord's Prayer, Jesus challenges His people to put away the sin of trying to be financially independent, and rather depend on the providence of the Almighty God even one day at a time. For there are rich lessons of faith that God desires to teach us but can never provide this teaching unless we become dependent upon Him. Leaning upon God one day at a time does not mean we must not work hard and make the necessary money to take care of ourselves, family, the poor and God's business. The concept basically is that as God blesses our work and provides us with means, we must not hang on to them. We must rather be channels of grace through whom God can trust to bless more and more of His children.
7) FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS
The Scripture plainly declares that "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (This portion of the Lord's Prayer has a condition attached to it. The full text basically states: "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (
Someone may say, "Well, this is easier said than done". And of course that it is true. If you have to forgive someone who just stepped on your toes in a queue, that basically wouldn't be an issue. But then if you have to forgive someone who has used you, molested you, persecuted you, and left scars in your life that can never go away then that's another thing. Just as Jesus requested for grace from on high to do the will of God in Gethsemane, so He expects that we seek grace from on high in prayer to be able to forgive those who have hurt us beyond our willingness to forgive. When you come to God and tell Him, Father, you know very well what Mr. A has done to me. You know how I hate him, and don't want to forgive him. But based on your words in Scripture, based on the conditions of forgiveness you have given me, I want you to help me to forgive Him. Father please help me to forgive Him. As you pray and cry out your heart of pain to God, Our loving Father will give you the desire and strength to forgive no matter the hurt and pain you are going through.
We must always bear in mind that God's condition of forgiveness for us is the same irrespective of the hurt we have gone through because of someone. When we take our eyes from those that we are struggling to forgive and look at the cross of Calvary where the Son of God died, we can understand better God's condition of forgiveness for us. We will come to understand that it was because of our sins that God's Son was crucified and died an ignominious death on a cross. When we behold the Lamb of God on Calvary's cross and see Him carrying the penalty that we ought to have paid ourselves, we will yield quickly to go out and offer forgiveness to whoever has wronged us. For we will come to understand that we ourselves deserve more grace for our numerous sins than the person we are withholding forgiveness from. As we follow the command of Christ to forgive those who have wronged us, there will flush into our hearts a sense of peace and joy that come only from the Holy Spirit.
8) LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION
Through this portion of the Lord's Prayer, Jesus makes it clear that we must intentionally ask God for strength to resist temptation. Just as Satan tempted our mother Eve to sin against God in the paradise of Eden (Before we step out from our home to pursue the various activities of the day, we must humble our hearts before God, asking Him to lead us not into temptation. We must seek for His strength to overcome every temptation that the enemy has designed to lead our souls into sin, and away from our Maker. Those of us who are living in this 21st century need to say more of this prayer than the generations that have come before us. For our culture has become so permissive of sin that sin is no more regarded as something negative that is to be abhorred.
On the internet and social media platforms today are all forms of immorality that many have come to accept as the norm of the day. But we must not forget the fact that in as much as the world has lowered her standards to embrace sin in all its forms, our God is still the same yesterday, today, and forever (
9) BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL
The Bible paints a picture of Satan as a roaring lion who walks about seeking whom he may devour (The Bible is filled with several promises about how God has pledged to protect those who put their trust in Him. From the psalmist, we read that "The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them" (
Even though God has pledged His protection upon His people, sometimes in the arguments that border on the faithfulness of His children in the great controversy battle, He may allow Satan to bring evil upon them (see
10) FOR THINE IS THE...
As we conclude our prayer to God, we affirm His sovereignty, omnipotence and exceeding glory through the words: "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever" (KINGDOM -- We affirm to God our belief that the kingdom of this world belongs to Him (see Deuteronomy 10:14). Even though Satan has usurped the dominion from Adam (see
POWER -- We end our prayer with implicit trust in the omnipotent nature of our heavenly Father -- the God who has encouraged us that there is nothing too hard for Him to accomplish (see
GLORY -- As we conclude our prayers, we begin to give God the glory for what He is about to do in our lives. In a state of expectancy, we claim the promise: "And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him" (
11) AMEN
The word 'Amen' literally means let it be so. It is a plea to God to answer the petitions that we have put before Him. Moreover, the word 'Amen' is also the name of Christ. From the beloved apostle, we read the following in relation to this point: "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God" (Jesus made this point very clear when He made the following statements: "13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it" (
Friends, earlier on in this study, we noted that the Lord's Prayer is divided into two broad segments; the first portion dealing with our relationship with God (review
*praising and thanking God;
*asking for God's forgiveness;
*asking for the Holy Spirit;
*praying for others;
*praying on personal issues;
*accepting the will of God to be done in our prayers;
* and praying in the name of Jesus with thanksgiving and praise.
Exhortation: From what we have gone through so far, it is clear that the Lord's Prayer is a model prayer that is filled with several key spiritual lessons for our Christian walk and maturity. The following words from an anonymous author challenges us to review our lifestyle whenever we say the Lord's Prayer:
"I cannot say ‘our’ if I live only for myself. I cannot say ‘Father’ if I do not endeavor each day to act like his child. I cannot say ‘who art in heaven’ if I’m laying up no treasures there. I cannot say ‘hallowed be thy name’ if I am not striving for holiness. I cannot say ‘thy kingdom come’ if I’m not seeking to hasten the blessed hope. I cannot say ‘thy will be done’ if I am disobedient to his word. I cannot say ‘in earth as it is in heaven’ if I’ll not serve him here and now. I cannot say ‘give us this day our daily bread’ if I am selfishly hoarding for the fu-ture. I cannot say ‘forgive us our debts’ if I harbor a grudge against anyone. I cannot say ‘lead us not into temptation’ if I deliberately place myself in its path. I cannot say ‘deliver us from evil’ if I do not long for holiness. I cannot say ‘thine is the kingdom’ if I do not give Jesus the throne of my heart. I cannot attribute to him ‘the power’ if I fear what men may do. I cannot ascribe to him ‘the glory’ if I’m seeking for my own honor. I cannot say ‘forever’ if I’m living only for temporary earthly rewards."In our next study, we will consider the topic: What is the Correct Posture to Assume in Prayer? The Bible Study references for this study are
Stay blessed and keep shining for King Jesus.
Maranatha!
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