Insights on the Lord's Prayer

Insights….. on the Lord's Prayer

Matt 6:9-13  ( NKJV )

9 Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

13 And 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.

Our Father in Heaven

Jesus had a connection to God, stating the obvious, but it is important to know that Jesus wasn’t connected to a ‘force’ or a ‘sense’ or a wispy ethereal entity. Jesus was connected to God – the Father, personified for focus, and paralleled as a human ‘father’ for our better understanding, so that we – the mentally weak – may grasp just what is at spiritually stake.

This very first line is a good example of something God does which I call ‘Pre-emptive Conditioning’; meaning, when words are spoken or events that happen are created before an actual temptation to steer people wayward occurs, the Lord gives us instruction ahead of time to avoid a bad decision and put us in the rightness of what God intends. An example of this occurs very early on in Genesis when God creates the vegetation BEFORE He creates the sun, as if to focus us in understanding that God is the life-giver and not the sun. Therefore we can rightly worship God instead of the sun, which, of course, is considered a ‘life-giver’. Yet, we find throughout history many people that elevate the sun as god over our Creator. But to those that ‘hear’, we worship God and leave the sun to wander the galaxy as it should – as another creation of God.

In this pre-emptive conditioning 'moment', Jesus instructs us to look to God as a ‘Father’, and as we are obviously familiar with our earthly fathers, we may understand the connection that God intends for us as well. This intention should nullify the philosophy of God being in everything, in the trees, in the rocks, in our fingers – therefore preventing us from believing that we are ‘tapping’ into a power found in physically created things. This philosophy, by the way, is called Pantheism, which is simply, God is in all things. We believe that our Father is in heaven, and rightly so.

It’s also interesting to note that Jesus actually says in Matt 23:9-10 - Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Yet, we have a very prominent religion doing this very thing, calling priests father – amazing. Actually, there are many practices that are traditionally done by well-meaning, good-hearted Christians, but if they actually studied God’s given scriptures, their eyes would see that those traditions have no basis from the bible.

The Jewish community was very steeped in traditions, as we are now.  Jesus addressed that in Mark 7:5-9 “ Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?" 6 He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'   "For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men--the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do."

It is amazing that we repeat the very thing that Jesus brought to our attention two millennia ago; it is as if we not only forgetting the past – but have no interest listening at all! If they see but do not heed then…  2 Thessalonians  2:11 states: “and for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie”

Unfortunately, in our humanness, we see the sinful example of our earthly biological fathers and / or are one ourselves, and we tend to compare God to the ways of our own father. But, we cannot equate our behaviors onto God as He is perfect, full of wisdom and kindness and holds us in unconditional love. We have at times, thought of God as an exacting dictator or a cruelly judgmental vindictive soul looking forward to our expected and deserved demise. That is so far removed from what the scriptures clearly states - 1 John 4:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love,  and if you read the definition of Love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 – that can hardly constitute as a vindictive angry God. In fact, from Genesis to Revelation, our Lord tries to teach us the importance of loving Him and each other; the very basis of what constitutes the Ten Commandments.

God, obviously, is of no gender but the allusion to being Father acquaints us with a reality of a ‘Person’ who stands in authority and is due the same respect as a father ( especially he who has the ‘proper’ presence of being a wise and loving father ). If we attune to God in this perspective then our obedience and trust toward this magnificent Father can be better understood.

The words from Jesus are well calculated, nothing He ever ‘utters’ is idle or casual, so when He teaches His disciples in the manner in which they should pray, He does so that the very principles of the Scriptures are highlighted with thought and meaning. He does it with a pre-emptive conditioning so that strange philosophies can’t sweep you away – so easily. Yet, those who are not well grounded will be as spoken in Ephesians 4:14 “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.”

Heaven is the place of God’s dwelling, Jesus speaks of it here – it’s pretty simple really, it is God’s ‘Home’. In the philosophy of Pantheism and actually quite a few other strange doctrines, people have been led to understand that God dwells in ‘all things’ and is ‘everywhere’. Some religions actually measure a sense of ‘power’ allotted to created things so incantations and properties can be ascertained according to energies that it may possess. Yet, scripturally thinking, God’s creative signature is in all things and the properties within are there for us to discover. God or the essence of His Being is not inside some object waiting for us to extract it for our own benefit, good or bad. By the way, another name for God’s dwelling is the Sanctuary.

Hallowed be Your Name

In the book of Isaiah 6:2,3 we are given this image - Above it stood Seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!"

So holy is the Lord our God that even the angels cover themselves and declare it. So holy is the Lord God that His earthly priests will not even utter His name, they will write it but never speak it – that would be sacrilegious. Jesus impresses us to take care that we too understand the hallow-ness of our Creator and not to bring Him down to careless commonness. This is also well expressed in the Ten Commandments as well - Ex 20:7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” This is a sin, one that will bar you from God’s presence indefinitely, one that will exclude you from the glory of what Heaven offers – forever. That’s a pretty strong declaration, yet, we curse God’s and Jesus’ name without a scant understanding of where it’s leading us. The use of God’s name as a ‘common’ expletive is peppered throughout TV and the movies! It’s so mild and inoffensive of an expression to us that we teach our children without concern of its consequences; we would rather hear God’s name in vain than any other profane ‘swear word’ – are we daft?? As Isaiah utters as he beholds the glory of God in Isaiah 6:5 "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts."

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

When Jesus began His ministry, when He was baptized under the auspices of John (the Baptist) and announced by God Himself, the reign of His kingdom was inaugurated. Some Christians believe that upon Jesus second coming, He will, at that time, begin the reign of His kingdom as the rightful heir; but the Scriptures are clear that as Jesus began His ministry with that baptism, so did His reign as King and Lord. As stated in the Book of Mark 1:14-15 Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

While God’s people dwelled in the lands He set aside for them, and were instructed by prophets and priests, they multiplied and became a nation. They should have been obedient and allowed God to lead them directly, yet they wanted a king cut from their own people – to God’s dismay. For a thousand years, the nation of God were led by a human king and suffered all the fruits of their king’s humanness, as God had warned they would. Then Jesus, being the Son of God, became the direct descendant to be the King and Lord of God’s people, and He came at the ‘appointed’ time to rightfully claim ownership of God’s chosen. So well said in John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Jesus didn't just want nation – he wanted the whole world to be apart of His kingdom, He has no desire that anyone miss out on salvation. Ezek 33:11 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. But, God is a God of freewill and if a human chooses evil over God, then God will respect that choice – thy will be done. Jesus will come again, not to ‘establish’ His kingdom, because that is already done – but to rightfully claim that which is His and remove the rest that have no desire to be.

Don’t miss the parallelism, On Earth as it is in Heaven. The significant part of that thought is that which is glory in Heaven will be also be in this Earth. Our planet isn’t just another place where God’s creation gets to dwell, another sinless stop in a universe of planets with many many different inhabitants. It will be God’s new home, Jesus’ Kingdom where, from adversary, people chose to worship God and overcome the evil ever present and be ‘reborn’ and ‘renewed’ to live life everlasting.

Isaiah 65:17-19 says, "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people” AND Revelation 21:3 mentions, “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.” Therefore Jesus teaches; Your kingdom come. Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

As much as the Scriptures are literal, there’s deep symbolism as well. The bible can’t be a casual read – it has to be discovered, treasures have to be searched, compared and understood so that the whole forest can be grasped, yet the tree has its significance too. This verse doesn't just imply that we pray for daily sustenance, which is one aspect, but for spiritual sustenance as well. Jesus alludes to His encounter with Satan at the end of His 40 days in the wilderness. Matt 4:4 speaks, “But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"  Jesus here was actually quoting Scripture to Satan from Deuteronomy 8 which has a great meaning as God chastises His people – it reads: 8:1 "Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.” It’s interesting to note that Moses and Elisha and Jesus all spent 40 days in the wilderness – all without sustenance – but all communing with God.

Jesus IS our daily bread – the words He speaks, the actions He does, the life He led is the life we should attain to. Like the manna given to the Hebrew’s as a daily miracle during their 40 year wandering in the wilderness, Jesus too stepped down from His heavenly home and became a wondrous miracle for us. He says it better in John 6:32-35 : “Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always." 35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors    

Jesus is a great psychologist; if there is one thing we weak-minded humans love to carry is baggage of guilt and grudges, but He knows how to remedy that before it becomes a burden. The only thing standing in the way of our guilt and grudges is our pride. Following Jesus is a very humbling experience – confronting our fears and ‘demons’ constantly, but the selflessness of serving God and your fellow human is very very rewarding.

There’s two distinct levels at play here; firstly if we say we're sorry – sincerely – we get this great response from the recipient, its “OK” or “I forgive you” and we both can drop the crime and continue with life. Yet, it must be made clear that sin has consequences; you can’t get pregnant and say your sorry and be – un-pregnant, you can’t shoot a person and avoid jail; but the ‘stigma’ of the sin will be considerably lessened and you can move ahead with support, hopefully. When the victim accepts your plea of forgiveness it helps both parties, even if it’s too late to be good, close friends, at least your sleep won’t be haunted – it’s a verbal contract between one another. Now, if the victim doesn't accept your apology, the world and God will know that you have tried to fulfill your end of the contract and you stand righteous. If your pride will allow you to seek forgiveness from your sins committed unto others, Jesus knows that you can heal mentally very quickly. 1 John 1:9-10 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. “

Another level is the carry-on baggage we hold close. How hard is it to hold a grudge on someone who is repentant and truly sorry for their actions. But what if someone does something to you and isn't unrepentant? Do you carry the sign of victim all the rest of your days? Do you become untrusting and fearful of being that victim again and again? For some, sadly, the answer is yes, but Jesus instills in His followers a way to deal with it – a sense of peace - Philippians 4:7 “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  

For our own mental healing we must learn to let go of sins done against us – some things do require time and assistance – no doubt; but if you can’t learn to forgive despite your enemy’s hatred, you may carry that hurt for a very long time. Yet, the person responsible may never know or understand the crime they did against you – its your obligation to try to forgive them – Jesus adds this – Matt 6:14-15 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. “

It’s understandable to be wary of being put in the same situation that can get you hurt again, especially if you have no control over it. If it is impossible to ‘reach’ the person who sinned against you because of their distance, death or cold heart then give it to God directly as Jesus had at the cross - Luke 23:34 “Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."  The same applies if you have sinned against someone who you can’t reach. Forgiveness is something that must be understood more fully than what this short write can expose, especially since it affects the very psyche of our being. Hatred can rot the soul – allowing yourself to forgive is very ‘good’ in healing it.

And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one

People are interesting; many times we find ourselves in precarious situations and instead of swallowing our pride, being honest and confessing or setting something right, we employ deceit, lie or set the blame onto someone else. Ahh the web we weave, just to ensnare the self. Of course, being honest is wisest but under the pressure of being ‘found out’ even the most honest have buckled – and that example is riddled throughout scripture, take Jacob’s deceit for instance. God gives us a clue how He helps us here – if we would only watch and pray, as it says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

God will not allow anything to ‘overtake’ you – there is always room to escape so you can ‘bear’ what ever befalls you. It may take eating humble pie, or worse facing criminal justice but it can be done – if your pride is willing. God knows how weak we are – knows that faced with the same temptation we fall again and again and again and again. To some, there seems to be an endless cycle of weakness and we never seem to overcome. Yet, how hard have we really tried to break our compromise or our addiction, we see people overcoming their difficulties all the time, but for us it seems impossible. Matthew 26:41 “ Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

We need to put on armour to ward off our cause to trip - Ephesians 6:10-18 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God “

If it was only that easy – but actually the secret is quite simple – like anything, practice makes perfect, God is patient, try Him, ask Him and allow yourself to be moved away from being the victim of the Devil’s harassment. If you have faith or allow it to grow then it will start to manifest within you; the more you look up and ask when that crossroad is coming, the easier it will be to ‘resist’. Funny thing, we have always been taught to ‘Resist the Devil and He will flee from you” but in reality we miss the key component -  James 4:7-8 “ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”  Submitting to God means to ‘follow His advice’ and if you are obedient – the devil will not be able to get a hold of you. Its brilliant!! But that takes faith – you have a measure already – just exercise what you have.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever

Whose is the Kingdom, Power and Glory? Not us lowly unwise humans; we’ve laid waste to our kingdoms, corrupted by even a notion of power and elevated war to our glory – hardly smart – hardly fitting. But for He who created all things…. Hebrews 1:10-12 "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.  They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail."   

Jesus was tempted in the beginning of His ministry by Satan that if Jesus would bow down and worship him, then Jesus can lay claim to all that is in the world as His own…as it is written… Matthew 4:8-11 “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." 10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it i written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

Jesus leads us to have a greater understanding of the bigger controversy that stirred in heaven – who will you worship? For God is the ultimate Power and Glory – to worship Him is righteous, and to be apart of His kingdom – is forever. To worship Satan is the ultimate failure for your soul, yet Satan believes that this world is his domain – and sadly, even if you don’t worship him yet do not pay homage to God – that still is counted in your loss.

Jesus’ prayer that He teaches His disciples – and you and I – is meant to be a spiritual lesson for a greater understanding of His will in our lives, if we allow Him. It points to many aspects He brought forth in His teachings to us – all we have to do is listen.

Amen.

William Stacy