Prayer 2021 - April 17 - The Lord's Prayer pt 1

Scripture For Today:

2 Thessalonians 1:11

“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling, and that, by His power, He may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by Faith.”

The Lord’s Prayer pt 1

Almost everyone is familiar with what is traditionally called, “The Lord’s Prayer.” It is in Matthew 6:9-13. What Jesus is saying in these passages of scripture is not, necessarily, a prayer for us to pray word for word. But in it, Jesus gives us some principles in connection WITH prayer that will work for us today.

Matthew 6:9-13, “After this manner therefore, pray. Our Father which is in Heaven, Hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread. Forgive us of our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the Glory, forever, Amen.”

Some things that people have said about the Lord’s Prayer are a little misleading. You see, this prayer is not “The Lord’s Prayer” in the sense that Jesus taught this for the Church to pray. Jesus gave this prayer to HIS DISCIPILES to use when they asked Him to teach them how to pray.

Certainly, this prayer is not how the New Testament church should be praying. For this is the method Jesus taught His disciples to pray BEFORE His death, burial and resurrection. In other words, Jesus gave this prayer to His disciples to use at a time when they were still, technically, under the Old Covenant.

Actually, the Lord’s Prayer was given to the disciples as a way to pray during the transition between the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and the beginning of the New Covenant. In that sense, Jesus was giving His followers a way to pray during that interim period between covenants. Jesus’ followers had a sort of “promissory note” on their salvation because they believed in Jesus. Amen.

Under the Old Covenant, no one asked anything in the Name of Jesus. But, as we have already talked about previously, under the New Covenant, when the Church prays, we are to pray to the Father IN THE NAME of Jesus.  There are some things, however, we can learn from the Lord’s Prayer. That is what we will be going over, starting today, and running the next few days.

First, we need to PRAY TO THE FATHER.

Jesus began by saying, “After THIS MANNER…”

That indicates a PATTERN. Not a word for word diatribe! I know that steps on the theological toes out there. But get over it. Amen!  Don’t shout me down when I’m preaching good!

We know that everyone is not a child of God. Under the New Covenant, ONLY those who have been born again are considered CHILDREN of GOD.

Jesus followers could pray this way, saying “Our Father…” because, as I just said, they basically had a “promissory note” from Jesus that, because they believed in Him, they were going to be born again soon after His resurrection. 

The unsaved today could pray this prayer all day long, but the only effect would be like someone reciting some poem from memory. It means nothing in their heart.

The word “FATHER” is not for the unsaved. It is ONLY for those who have been “born again.” It is ONLY for those who are in the  Kingdom of God.

A very simple example, would be, let’s say one of your friends was the son of a very wealthy and influential billionaire. He invited you to spend the weekend with him at the family estate. There are several sibling of this person and they all refer to their father as “Father.” Not dad. Not daddy. Not Mr. So and So. They call him, “Father.”  That is perfectly natural and shows respect and, at the same time, demonstrates they are part of the family.

How would it sound, if you, when addressing this same man, called, “Father” instead of “Mr. So and so?”  It would seem a little awkward, right? You may even get some quizzical looks, perhaps some rebuke. Why? Because YOU do not have the relationship they do. YOU are not part of the family unit. You are an outsider. You have no right nor authority to address him by the term used by his children, “Father.”

Well, this is the same way concerning “The Lord’s Prayer.” It is ONLY to be used, effectively, by born again children of the Most High God. Amen!

Let’s Pray!

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