Study 15
PRAYER
Before we begin our study, let us come before God and pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come to You in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Father, please bless this time with You. Please Lord God, teach us how we ought to pray. May Your Spirit be our guide that fills our heart and mouth with Your prayers. Help us to understand that because of the death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, the Heavens are now opened for us to enter into Your Throne Room and bring to You, with thanksgiving, our requests and petitions.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
This study was developed to be a companion to the previous two studies titled; “Reading the Bible” and “Walk and Live by Faith.” More specifically, it was written to help us in our prayer life. To accomplish this we will read and explore Jesus’ response to one of His disciple’s request for Him to teach them how they should pray.
We begin by reading,
[1] Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
To read Jesus’ response we go to,
Matthew 6:5-6
""[5] And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. [6] But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
In other words, we are not to pray in such a way as to draw attention to ourselves or to impress our fellow man. We are to humbly and respectfully enter into the Throne Room and present our requests to God the Father believing He will hear and reward us in accordance with His will.
In addition, we find that God is not interested in us coming to Him with vain, that is empty or not from the heart, repetitious prayer. No! What He desires is for us to confidently come before Him and express what is in our hearts. To see this, let us read from,
Matthew 6:7-8
"[7] And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. [8] Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
In other words, Jesus is teaching us that even before we come to Him God the Father knows what we need. Thus, He does not wish for us to try to impress Him by cleverly constructed prayers, but to share our hearts with Him in our own words.
With these principles in mind let us now explore the model Jesus gave us for the type of prayer our Heavenly Father desires. It is commonly called,
THE LORD'S PRAYER
To read it we go to,
Matthew 6:9-13a
""[9] This, then, is how you should pray: "'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 today our daily bread. [12] Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. [13a] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one…'"
To better understand the above example or model for prayer, we will examine or expand upon some of its key elements. Specifically, we will explore the fact that we are to:
1. Pray to Almighty God, our Father.
2. Pray for His Kingdom to come upon this earth.
3. Pray for His will to be done in our lives and others.
4. Ask for our daily needs.
5. Ask for His forgiveness.
6. Ask to not be led into temptation.
7. Ask to be delivered from the evil one.
Our Lord Jesus Christ begins by teaching us that we should begin our prayer as follows,
OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED, THAT IS HOLY AND SACRED, IS YOUR NAME
Here our Lord Jesus teaches us that we are to pray to our Father in Heaven. Then, to deter us from entering into prayer in a casual or offensive manner, our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that we are to recognize and address our Father in a manner worthy of Him. To help us do this and better comprehend who our Father is and to Whom we are praying, let us explore the fact that our God is: (1) all powerful, (2) sovereign, (3) faithful to His Word, (4) unsearchable, (5) omnipresent, (6) omniscient, (7) long suffering and (8) more loving than we can imagine.
We begin by exploring the fact that,
Our Father is all Powerful and Created All Things
This truth is beautifully expressed in,
Psalm 33:6-9
"[6] By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. [7] He gathers the waters of the sea into jars ; he puts the deep into storehouses. [8] Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. [9] For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm."
In addition to being all powerful and creator of all things, we find that,
God is Sovereign
To illustrate His sovereignty let us read from the following Psalm,
Psalm 103:19
"[19] The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all."
We also find that our God is not fickle, for the Bible teaches us that,
God is Faithful
When God promises something, He does it. This attribute of God was clearly revealed during the time when the false prophet, Balaam, explained to King Balak, that even though he desired to curse Israel, God would not change His mind about blessing them. Let us consider what Balaam said to the king.
Numbers 23:18-19
"[18] Then he uttered his oracle: "Arise, Balak, and listen; hear me, son of Zippor. [19] God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?"
As we read the Bible further, we also come to realize that in addition to being all powerful, the creator of all things, sovereign and faithful to His Word,
God is Also Unsearchable
In other words, some of His ways and actions are not for us to know. To see this let us read what Moses once said to the people of Israel.
Deuteronomy 29:29
"[29] The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law."
The Bible also reveals to us that God’s greatness is beyond our comprehension. For example let us read from
Psalm 145:3
"[3] Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom."
The Holy Scriptures teach us that
God is Omnipresent
In other words, God is everywhere. To see this, let us read what the Holy Spirit through Paul said to the men of Athens. The Apostle Paul spoke these words after he saw all the idols the people of Athens were worshipping.
Acts 17:24-28
""[24] The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. [25] And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. [26] From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. [27] God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. [28] 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'"
In verse 28 we discover that it is in Him we live, move and have our being. In other words, He is everywhere. Thus, we can not hide from our Lord. For another way to see let us this read the following observation by King David,
Psalm 139:7-12
"[7] Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? [8] If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. [9] If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, [10] even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. [11] If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," [12] even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you."
In addition to being omnipresent,
God is Omniscient
In other words, our God and Father is all knowing. To see this, let us return to the Psalms and read from,
Psalm 147:4-5
"[4] He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. [5] Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit."
And now let us read from,
Proverbs 5:21
"[21] For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths."
In addition to all of our God’s majesty, power and magnificence, we also discover that, because of His compassion,
God is Long Suffering
To see this, let us read the prayer the prophet Nehemiah once said concerning the disobedience of Israel and God’s long suffering over them. As you read this prayer, try to hear how much God suffered over the disobedience of His people while He watched them waste away their lives.
Nehemiah 9:28-31
""[28] But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time. [29] "You warned them to return to your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, by which a man will live if he obeys them. Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen. [30] For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you admonished them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you handed them over to the neighboring peoples. [31] But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God."
In other words, throughout the Scriptures we learn that,
God Loves Us More Than We Can Ever Imagine
There is no better testimony of God’s love for us than the fact that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins and give us eternal life with Him.
John 3:16-17
""[16] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
SUMMARY
As we discovered in previous studies, we, a born again believer, a child of God, with the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, find the following to be true,
Romans 8:15
"[15] For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father.""
And so we can pray,
Matthew 6:9
“[9] …. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,"
After teaching us that our prayers should be addressed to our Father in Heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that we should express to Him our desire for His Kingdom to come upon this earth. Thus, we are to pray,
YOUR KINGDOM COME
To help us to understand this portion of our Lord's prayer, let us recall in previous studies we discovered that even though the born again believers are citizens of Heaven (Philippians 3:20) the rest of the world remains under the influence and dominion of the evil one. To refresh our memories, let us read from,
1 John 5:19
[19] We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one."
If there is any doubt about the truth of the above Scripture, consider all the suffering, sin, corruption and misery that is within this world. This clearly is not what God has in mind for His people. Consequently, we who have their citizenship in Heaven find ourselves living in what could be considered as enemy territory. Thus, our Lord asks us to pray for His return to earth, the resurrection of the dead and the restoration of His Kingdom.
Now when our prayer is answered and Jesus returns, we, the children of God, those that belong to Him will have attained the goal of our faith. Specifically, we will be given our new bodies and will spend eternity with our Lord and God in a place that is called the New Jerusalem. To read what it will be like in those days let us read from,
Revelation 21:1-5
"[1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. [2] I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. [4] He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." [5] He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.""
And so our prayer becomes,
Matthew 6:9-10
"[9] Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, [10] your kingdom come, ..."
The next instruction our Lord Jesus Christ gives is that we are to pray and ask for,
GOD’S WILL BE DONE
This brings up the following question; “How can we know God’s will for our prayers?” To answer this question let us reread what we studied in Study13.
First, the Holy Spirit living within us will help us. To see this let us read from,
Romans 8:26-27
[26] Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. [27] Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Secondly, to have a better knowledge of God and His ways so we can pray in His will, we are to read the Bible. In addition, throughout the Bible there are very good examples of prayers that were said by God’s prophets, apostles, elders and His people. Thus we find the following exhortation Jesus gave to His disciples and now us. It is an excerpt from His parable of the vine. The Scripture of interest is,
John 15:7-8
[7] If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. [8] By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. [9] “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
In reflecting upon the above, one might ask, “What is the consequence if we do not pray or desire for His will to be done?” One of the consequences of praying for our own desires or wants is that often times, in His Mercy, He will not grant our request. Consider the following Scripture,
James 4:3
"[3] When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
The reason God will not answer us during these times of self indulgence is because in His Mercy, Love and Concern for us, He knows what we want or asked for is not in our best interest. However, if we continue to keep asking for things to satisfy our own interests, the most fearful consequence is that He just might grant us our request
The message of all this is that God, Who created us, knows what is best for us. He, contrary to our own egos, knows what we need and what will harm us.
Thus, the model for our prayer now becomes,
Matthew 6:9-10
"[9] Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, [10] your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
In the next verse of our Lord's Prayer, that is Matthew 6:11, Jesus teaches us we should,
ASK GOD TO PROVIDE US OUR DAILY NEEDS
We do this by asking Him to provide us our daily portion of food. It is noted that He does not instruct us to pray for riches, material prosperity, worldly status or power. In other words, Jesus instructs us to pray in a manner consistent with what is written in the following set of Proverbs.
Proverbs 30:7-9
"[7] Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: [8] Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. [9] Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."
Hence, our prayer now takes on the following form,
Matthew 6:9-11
"[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 today our daily bread."
After teaching us to pray for our daily needs, Jesus then teaches us to,
ASK FOR FORGIVENESS
Let us carefully read exactly how our Lord phrases the request we should make. It is given in,
Matthew 6:12
"[12] Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."
Notice the condition! I cannot tell you how many times I have repeated this verse and never realized what I was saying; until Jesus related it to what He said in,
Matthew 6:14-15
"[14] For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. [15] But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
To further illustrate the significance and importance of this issue, let us read the parable of the unmerciful servant,
Matthew 18:21-35
"[21] Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" [22] Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. [23] "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. [24] As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. [25] Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. [26] "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' [27] The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. [28] "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. [29] "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' [30] "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. [31] When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. [32] "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. [33] Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' [34] In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. [35] "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.""
Let us now return to our prayer and read the form it has now taken on,
Matthew 6:9-12
"[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 today our daily bread. [12] Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."
Continuing in Jesus' instruction we now find we are,
ASK GOD THE FATHER TO NOT LEAD US INTO TEMPTATION
As we read the Scriptures we know this is not a request for God to not tempt us to enter into sin. We know this because the Bible teaches us that God will never tempt us to sin. This is clearly taught in,
James 1: 13-15
[13] Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. [14] But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. [15] Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
However, this is a petition to not be led into temptation is to ask God to keep Satan away from us. The Bible teaches us that in order to afflict or attack God’s people Satan must ask God for permission.
God does hear our prayers and many times He does prevent the evil one from afflicting us. However, there may be times when God will, for our benefit and/or His glory, give Satan permission to afflict us. For an example let us explore,
Jesus' Conversation with Peter
Just prior to Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, Jesus prepared Simon, who is Peter, for the trial that he (Simon) was about to go through. This conversation is recorded in,
Luke 22:31-32
""[31] Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. [32] But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.""
Let us notice the following verses,
31 … As he did for Job, see Job 1:6-12, Satan asked permission to sift Peter like wheat.
32(a) … Jesus told Peter that He asked the Father to not allow Peter’s faith to fail. Notice, Jesus did not ask God the Father to prevent Satan’s sifting.
32(b) … This part of Jesus’ conversation with Peter gives us a clue as to why there may be times God will allow us to go through hard times. Specifically, this attack that Peter was going to go through was allowed so that Peter’s faith would be strengthened and purified. Thus, God was using the hatred of Satan for the benefit of Peter. Consequently, Jesus told Peter that when he, Peter, recovers from the attack and returns to Him, he should go and strengthen the rest of the believers.
There are times when we too may find ourselves under trials and tribulations. When this happens, let us first remember that as Jesus prayed for Peter, He is also interceding for us. This is recorded in,
Romans 8:34
"[34] … Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."
Secondly, we must remember that, as was the case with Job and Peter, trials and tribulations come to prove or test our faith to be genuine. To see this, let us read the following words of encouragement in,
1 Peter 1:3-7
"[3] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [4] and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, [5] who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. [6] In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. [7] These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."
As we continue to read the Gospel according to Luke, we find that Satan did sift Peter like wheat. In fact, Satan’s influence upon Peter was so strong that Peter denied Jesus three times. We also find that just as Jesus foretold, Peter recovered and from that time on Peter became a faithful apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, the greatest blessing Peter inherited was the promise of eternal life with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Thus, our prayer now becomes,
Matthew 6:9-13(a)
""[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 today our daily bread. [12] Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. [13a] And lead us not into temptation ...'"
Now just as it was with Job, Peter and Paul, there may be times when persecution and/or affliction do befall us. As we found in previous studies these attacks cannot be fought off in our own human strength. Thus, in the last portion of our Lord's Prayer, Jesus teaches us to,
ASK GOD THE FATHER FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THE EVIL ONE
The attacks we are seeking deliverance from come to us in two forms: (1) Satanic attacks of persecution and trials and (2) temptations to enter into sin.
The Times of Persecution or Affliction
A good example of praying during an attack of persecution or affliction comes to us through the Apostle Paul. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul describes how he asked God to deliver him from a messenger of Satan. To read it, let us go to,
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
"[7] To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. [8] Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. [9] But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. [10] That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Let us notice the following verses,
7 … The purpose of the attack was to prevent Paul from becoming conceited or spiritually proud. Also notice the torment came from Satan.
8 … Three times Paul pleaded with God to have it removed.
9(a) … Unlike with Job and Peter, this thorn was not to be a temporary condition. Thus, for the rest of his earthly life Paul had to contend with persecutions and afflictions. In this case, God was actually using the evil of Satan to prevent Paul from sinning. Sometimes this is how God keeps us humble and close to Him.
9(b)-10 … After Paul received God's answer to his prayer he realized that the afflictions were for his eternal good. Thus, not only did Paul stop praying for the removal of his afflictions, but gratefully accepted them.
The Times of Temptation to Sin
On the other hand, when the evil one or the tempter comes around for the purpose of enticing us to gratify the lust of our flesh or our eyes or to boast of what we have or accomplished (see 1 John 2:15-16 and Matthew 4:1-11), we know it is God’s will for us to not yield to these types of temptations. As we saw in our previous study, to receive deliverance from these types of attacks we are to follow God’s defensive plan as provided in,
James 4:7
"[7] Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
To refresh our memories of what we covered in our previous study, let us notice:
1 … We are to submit to God. In other words, we are to pray and ask for deliverance.
2 … We are to resist. Specifically, we are to stand in the armor and strength of our Lord (Ephesians 6: 10-18) and not give in to the temptation.
3 … Then, the devil or evil one will flee.
CLOSING
Now, with all we have covered in mind, let us return once more and close this study by reading our Lord's Prayer,
Matthew 6:9-13
""[9] This, then, is how you should pray: "'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 today our daily bread. [12] Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven 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
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