One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
Here in Luke we have an abbreviated version of "The Lord's Prayer". Whole sermon series and books have been written mining this prayer down to each word, it is so deep. Therefore, what my thoughts are, today, on this passage are probably completely different than what I would emphasize the next time I look at it, but isn't that the beauty of God's word! One thing I see is that Jesus didn't just preach on prayer but He did it. People were watching and therefore His words were effective. My parents taught me about Jesus, growing up, but it was seeing them out witnessing, it was seeing them invite neighbors to a Bible Study at our house, it was seeing them having a quiet time that made their teachings have an impact. I hate the phrase that some parents use laughingly, "Son, do as I say not as I do." Why should kids, especially in the future? Kids see that what parents say is meaningless because it had no effect on the parents' lives, why should they listen to it? Jesus prayed. The disciples saw Him pray and they wanted it.
The other thing I see is a continuation of what Jesus has been preaching. There is a Kingdom of Heaven that we are headed to or away from in the future, with a King that loves us so much that He lets us call Him Father and actually cares enough about us to listen to us whenever we call on Him. He loves us so much that He will always meet our daily needs so we will never want.
That being said, Jesus came to introduce us to the reality of that kingdom and to tell us that it is not just a future reality but it is a present day truth that transcends what our earthly eyes see. Jesus came to, as I said in the previous blogs, unlock the door that is blocking the way into that kingdom, that door being sin. Once we have received the forgiveness of sins by faith receiving Christ's vicarious death on the cross, we have a new citizenship. We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. We have a new king, we follow new laws, and we have a new adversary. Since our home is not here anymore but in a mansion being prepared even now for us (John 14:2), we don't fear the things we used to - death, evil men, political oppression, poverty, unpopularity, sickness, aging, germs, etc., but what we fear is things that separate us from our king - the one we love and live for, and it is Satan's desire to separate us from Him. Why? Because He hates God and doesn't want us or anyone else to be added to His Kingdom. Therefore if he can make us live a life of sin by tempting us, we can't have a relationship with God. If we live a life of hypocrisy, no one else will want to accept our invitation to join the Kingdom. If we are unforgiving we won't want to give good news to that person. And lastly, if we live a life of disobedience we have to wonder if we really ever wanted forgiveness of sins.
When the disciples asked Him how and what to pray for, and what He was praying for, this was it. It wasn't about all the prayer requests we get or give like travelling safety, health, stressors, etc, but Kingdom prayers. May we be focused on eternity today and on what things really matter.
That being said, Jesus came to introduce us to the reality of that kingdom and to tell us that it is not just a future reality but it is a present day truth that transcends what our earthly eyes see. Jesus came to, as I said in the previous blogs, unlock the door that is blocking the way into that kingdom, that door being sin. Once we have received the forgiveness of sins by faith receiving Christ's vicarious death on the cross, we have a new citizenship. We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. We have a new king, we follow new laws, and we have a new adversary. Since our home is not here anymore but in a mansion being prepared even now for us (John 14:2), we don't fear the things we used to - death, evil men, political oppression, poverty, unpopularity, sickness, aging, germs, etc., but what we fear is things that separate us from our king - the one we love and live for, and it is Satan's desire to separate us from Him. Why? Because He hates God and doesn't want us or anyone else to be added to His Kingdom. Therefore if he can make us live a life of sin by tempting us, we can't have a relationship with God. If we live a life of hypocrisy, no one else will want to accept our invitation to join the Kingdom. If we are unforgiving we won't want to give good news to that person. And lastly, if we live a life of disobedience we have to wonder if we really ever wanted forgiveness of sins.
When the disciples asked Him how and what to pray for, and what He was praying for, this was it. It wasn't about all the prayer requests we get or give like travelling safety, health, stressors, etc, but Kingdom prayers. May we be focused on eternity today and on what things really matter.
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