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"And when thou prayest..."
A Deeper Understanding of Matthew 6:5-13
A Deeper Understanding of Matthew 6:5-13
Let us take a deeper look at the instructions Jesus gave His disciples as how they were to pray...
The prayers of the hypocrites that the Lord is referring, certainly did not please Him... These men loved to pray in public, not for God,, but to elevate themselves... They wanted everyone to think that they were great religious men.... Outwardly, they appeared as men of God, but inwardly they were far from Godly... Remember that God always looks at a man's heart, at the reason for his action... The Lord tells us that if we are tempted to pray in the manner and for this reason.... Then we had better pray in secret, than fall into this temptation... (These Verses are clearly not a command to pray in secret... Rather they are instructions to look within oneself as to the motive of his/her prayers...
VERSES 7&8..."Pray not as the unbelievers..."
The Lord is instructing us to pray with clarity and purpose...The heathen pray for the sake of praying...Their prayers are repetitious with many words, but no meaning... God's responce to prayers depends on our attitude and need... He knows our needs before we ask and will not gratify our selfish desires... For, the purpose of prayer is not to notify God but to express our trust, faith, expectation, and our heart desire... Ultimately God uses prayer to change us so that our desires align with His will... Not to change His will to accommodate our desires...
VERSE 9..."Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name"...
Family and lineage were a very important part of the Jewish tradition... By praying to our Heavenly Father, rather than calling Him God, we acknowledge our spiritual relationship to Him... This spiritual relationship surpasses all nationalities or races... We are one family (Must be in Truth), with God as the authoritative head of the family... To Hallow God's name is to acknowledge that He is not common... That He alone is Holy and He alone deserves all Glory, Honor, and Praise...
VERSE 10... "Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven"...
We do desire for the Lord to return and set-up His kingdom here and take His rightful position on His throne... However, this verse is not referring to then, but we are told to set-up His kingdom now... This is established through the salvation of souls... Salvation and reconcilation comes by the call of the Gospel of Jesus Christ... We are to pray for God to touch hearts and give them the desire to spread the Gospel...(Matthew 9:37,38..."For the harvest is truly plenteous, but the laboreres are few")... Through salvation one becomes new creature who's spirit is made alive... Our reborn spirit gives us the ability to recognize the Lordship of Jesus... Placing His will before our own...
VERSE 11..."Give us this day our daily bread"...
Christians who pray constantly for God's kingdom and will, cause much distress to Satan... We will sooner or later draw down upon ourselves Satan's assaults... If Satan could keep us in worry concerning needs, it would effect our walk with God... We should only be concerned about our immediate needs, situations, and temptations that effect our lives today... That certainly give us enough to deal with... (Matthew 6:34 "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself... Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof")... As we have seen, God knows our needs before we ask, but by asking we are exercising our faith... The stronger our faith becomes the easier it is to have peace, joy, and trust in God no matter the situation... If we keep our eyes on God not our circumstances, Satan cannot bind us...
VERSE 12... "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors"...
Day by day even true believers cannot avoid offending God in so very many areas... Although these may not all be specificate defined sins, nonetheless, can be debts... Examples: What should be done and has not been done is debt; What should be said and has not been said is also debt... Each night before going to sleep we need to reflect on how we may have caused offense to God... By confessing these offenses before God we can have a clear conscience... In order for our prayers to be effective we need a clear conscience... Notice, that we are to ask God to forgive us in the same manner which we have forgiven those who offend us... If a person holds something against another, his heart is not right and his conscience can not be clear... Therefore how does he have the right to ask God to do for him what he is unwilling to do for others...
VERSE 13... "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"... The Lord's choice of the word LEAD is to show us that a changed heart will also be a willing follower... Thus, surrendering our control and placing our life in His hand... God does not make ways for us to be tempted, but may allow Satan's attacks... So our prayers is for God to restrain Satan's ability... Satan and his fallen angels are in greater authoritative position then us... Therefore, it is not our place to go against them... The elect angels don't even attempt to do this... It is God's position...(2Peter 2:10b,11 "Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities (fallen angels), Wereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord")...Also, see Jude 9...
..."For thine is the kingdom and power, and the glory, forever, AMEN"...
Finally, the Lord teaches us to praise God for these three things... Such praises declare to all including Satan, that the Kingdom is the Father's, the Power is the Father's and the Glory, is the Father's... That it is the Father alone who deserves all Honor, Glory and Worship... The Lord teaches us to pray according to these principles revealed in Matthew 6:5-15... Our conversations with God can be in any form, but when we petition God for His Divine Intervention, these principles should form the basis for our prayers...
*...And excellent book for a deeper look into prayer is: The Prayer Ministry of the Church by Watchman Nee...
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