Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV) 9“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
We are looking at the weapons that God has provided for us with which to resist the devil. In our last post we looked at the weapon of prayer, specifically Jesus’ teaching on prayer in Matthew 6, our main example of prayer that resists the devil’s agenda on the earth and in our own lives. In Luke 11:1 we see the disciples asking Jesus to teach them how to pray. With all that they had seen and heard following Jesus, it is a powerful endorsement of prayer as Jesus practiced it. They seemed to understand that all the power and wisdom manifested in the life and ministry of Jesus on the earth was somehow connected to how he prayed.
There is much in verses 5 through 8 of chapter six about the proper attitudes surrounding effective prayer. He ends that section of his teaching by revealing “how we should pray. Although I am not saying that it is wrong to recite what we call “the Lord’s prayer”, we must note that he said, “pray in this manner.” He did not say, “pray these words.”
I believe this is a template containing some powerful attitudes and areas of faith that can help us construct effective prayer. If we are not careful, simply repeating these wonderful words can become the “vain repetition” Jesus warned us about. If we pray these words from our heart, making them our own, it can be a powerful prayer. However, if we take the elements expressed in these words and include them in our prayer life, they will be even more. Let us examine the elements of this prayer pattern and see what we might learn
Jesus opens his prayer template with “Our Father in heaven.” Jesus says “our Father” is in heaven. He is not limited by the earth. He is the God of everything, everywhere. Yet even though he is in heaven, he is here with us right where we are. I have heard discussions about the proper posture for prayer. Webster defines posture as the position or bearing of the body; also, a pose or a mental/behavioral attitude. I believe that Jesus is showing us the proper posture the words “Our Father.” Prayer flows from relationship. Some pray like they are approaching a dignitary, we should pray like we are approaching a loving Father.
I think the understanding that we are coming to our Father puts us in the correct posture to pray. Coming to Jesus as our Lord would be similar. In both cases we are approaching prayer from the posture of relationship with someone who loves us. We are not coming to a God who is impersonal or who sees us as just one of countless worshipers. He is someone who knows us personally and cares about us individually. When we approach him from that perspective, we will not be afraid to pour our hearts out to him nor ask for what we need according to his Word.
The second part of the first phrase of his prayer is “Hollowed be your name.” The balance to understanding that God is our loving Father is to remember that he is also almighty God. The Amplified Bible expands “hallowed” as “kept holy.” We are approaching our Father, but our Father is holy. We must keep this understanding as we approach him in prayer. As a father, I always want my children to come to me with their needs. They know I will help them in any way I can. However, if they approach me with an attitude of disrespect, or discounting my experience and lifestyle, I am hindered in my ability to help.
When we pray to “our Father”, we must never forget who we are dealing with. It is an honor that he would invite us into his Prescence. We do not have to earn our way in; we are always welcome. However, if we approach him in disrespect or simply forgetting that he is almighty, we will be limited in our ability to receive. He is much more than a sympathetic ear we can share with. He is the solution to every problem and the answer to every question. He has standards for us designed to enable us to live the best life possible. We must approach our Father with open and obedient hearts. We must do what he says we must do. We must repent if necessary. Not because God is angry with us nor to earn his acceptance, but because he knows us better than we know ourselves and what he asks or demands of us is always for our good.
Another element of the proper posture for prayer is to make sure we approach him from the right motivation. Jesus does this by placing the will of God above his own will. God is our Father and our king. One of the most important responsibilities we have is to be agents for the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the earth. As we pray, we must be open to putting God’s kingdom above our own needs. This is not because our Father does not care about them, it is because putting his kingdom first will always lead to our needs being met.
Matthew 6:31-34 (NKJV) 31“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32“For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
God is concerned about the things we need to live. Making one thing clear to ourselves and our adversary the devil, keeps our perspective in the right place. I am putting God’s kingdom first. I will not compromise to get what I want or even what I need. I will not give in to selfishness. I do not have to because my Father knows I need these things. I will not worry for the same reason. Instead, I will seek his kingdom and his righteousness, understanding the promise connected to this choice. If we seek his kingdom first, we have a guarantee from the God of the universe that all the things we need will be added to us!
When God’s kingdom is established on the earth, his will follows. As we pray, we have the power to establish his kingdom in our part of the earth. When we do so, his will for our lives follows. It can also be said that we are praying that his will be done in the whole earth, and that is true, but as we continue in this prayer, we see that it is really a very personal prayer for us. I want God’s Kingdom to be established in my life, which will lead to the establishment of his will there also.
Establishing this posture in our prayer life will open the door for an effectiveness that we can see in no other way. As we progress through this model, we will see that God is concerned about us and that he wants to meet our needs. However, we will also see the proper perspective from which to ask, and some things that hinder us from receiving when God wants to provide. We will continue to look at this powerful prayer template in our next post.
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