When you look at the western church today what do you see? Well, I don’t know about you but this is what I see both personally and when trying to look at it from a non-church-attendee’s point of view.
1. A building
2. Services on a Sunday
3. House groups - attended by about
10-20percent of attendees
4. The odd prayer meeting
5. Some social action
6. A cluster of peripheral groups
7. Occasional meals together
8. Some youth work
Now this isn’t, of course, the whole picture. Churches differ but the majority would have something of the list above about them. So then I look at the early church, a church started by Jesus and build upon Peter and I see.
1. Devotion to the apostles teaching
2. Devotion to the fellowship
3. Devotion to prayer
4. Devotion to the breaking of bread
5. All believers were together
6. All believers had everything in common
7. Together they met the needs of the fellowship
8. They met together every day
9. They met in public
10. They met in each others homes
11. They ate together
12. They praised God
13. They enjoyed the favour of all the people
And the result… The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
When you look at the two lists they are poles apart. So it begs the question when did the church change so much? To my mind the 13 points of the early church should be our basis for church today. After all it certainly worked as the Lord added to their number EVERY DAY! When was the last time we had even two consecutive days when the Lord added to our church those who were being saved? (don’t stop and try and work it out - you’ll be there far too long). We can look at the list and find some things that we are doing - I guess praising God would be the obvious one. However, I’d also guess that the first 9 are pretty far from what most churches are doing today. The word devotion would defeat most of our churches in the first four items, Yes, we pray as churches but could we honestly say that as a church we are devoted to prayer? In reality most of us pay prayer a bit of lip service and wonder why we don’t get answers.
When you look at that second list, don’t you just pray that we could capture something of that list in our lives and in our churches? Just think for a minute what it would feel like to be a part of such a church? Just think what it would feel like and how encouraging it would be to have people added to your church everyday not just once in a blue moon? To be apart of something that is vibrant and moving and united and encompassing and driven must be a wonderful feeling. The church has changed from a movement to a stop. When did the idea that a church had to be housed in a grand building separating it from the rest of the community come from?
When I look through the early church list something in my spirit yearns to get back to that. Do you feel the same? I’ve thought of a few ways that I might start - though most of the ideas I have hinge on finding likeminded people (it’s pretty hard doing church on my own). I’d love to find a couple or couples (or families) where we could meet each week and have a meal together and talk about Godly stuff. Where we can build such a depth of relationship that prayer, sharing, devotion to one another, praising God and learning from each other becomes natural, becomes the norm. I believe that God would use such a gathering powerfully. I’d challenge you to have a think about how you could implement an early church ideal in your life. I’d love to hear your ideas and any progress you make.
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
Monday, 25 January 2010
Prayer - what a lot of questions Part four.
Preparatory Steps to a Successful Time of Prayer.
1. Find a place of quiet. We live in a noise filled world and yet we are searching for a “still, small voice”. We need to find a place away from the busyness and noise and distractions of our everyday lives where we can just be and spend time with God.
2. Find a Time to Suit You. Each one of us has their own preferences, habits and schedules. We each need to find a regular time of day that fits in with who we are and what we do. Some people say that the morning is the best time to pray, but some of us are NOT morning people and this is fine. Find a time that works for you, but try to stick to it. Remember discipline is more than half the battle.
3. Remove Distractions. There in no point in finding a place of quiet if you know the kids are likely to burst in at any moment. You’ll be sitting there less in expectation of meeting with God and more in anticipation of being disturbed. Before you start to pray have a think about whether you need to take the phone off the hook or put the money out for the milkman to stop yourself being disturbed. It might be worth thinking about setting an alarm to tell you when to finish. It might sound silly but the last thing you want to do is constantly be thinking about the time and whether you should have left yet to go to your next meeting when you should be focusing on God.
4. Find the Correct Position
Think about finding a prayer position that works for you. You want to be comfortable but not so comfortable that you start to pray and 2 hours later you wake up!!!
5. Have a Notebook to Hand. This is useful for two main reasons. 1. As a help to removing distractions. If you start to pray and then it pops into your mind that you must remember to take the meat out for tomorrow, instead of focusing on that so you don’t forget, make a note in the notebook and refocus back on God. 2. If God shares something with you or a verse comes to mind, jot it down. Over the weeks you may find a pattern and looking back you’ll be encouraged by what God has been saying.
6. Have a Point of Focus. It can be quite hard to turn off from all you’ve been doing and focus on God. It may be useful to have something to focus on. Some people use a verse or two from scripture to centre themselves. However, some find it useful to focus on a candle, a cross or an inspiring photograph.
So, what now?
If I want to go and see the Queen I have to get a lift to the station, a train into London, a tube across London and then walk all the way up to Buck House. That’s before the nice guard at the gate tells me I haven’t got an appointment and therefore not a hope of meeting with the Queen. It’s not easy meeting or talking with people in high places, but with God it’s totally different. He is there just waiting for us to communicate with Him. It’s part of why He made us and we have access to Him 24/7.
So where do we start? It’s easy, it really is and yet we so often forget. If we want to visit the queen we need an invitation and a lengthy journey but God has made it some much more easy to meet with Him. How do we get to talk to God, how do we enter His presence? Quite simply, He says, we enter into the presence of God with thanksgiving. It’s not rocket science, we don’t need to wait for an invitation or go on a long journey. We enter God’s presence but being in an attitude of thanksgiving and praising him. So, having found our quiet place, the right time, position etc. and removed all distractions we start with thanking God. We have so much to thank God for even on our worst days.
So now we have entered the presence of God what happens next?
Now, this is a good question. Ask ten church leaders how to pray and you’ll get 12 different answers. However, in it’s most basic form now is when you have a conversation with God. No two conversations will be the same—sometimes you will approach him with boldness wanting Him to act—sometimes you’ll be very humble asking for forgiveness and sometimes you’ll just want to sit and listen to what He has to say. Most times it will be a mix of many different things.
How do I know what to pray?
Here are a few pointers to ask yourself when praying.
● Will the thing that I am praying fit in with a just and righteous life style, or is it superfluous and just born out of my fleshly desires?
● Am I being submissive to God's will, and will I gladly accept whatever God is willing to give me, if anything.
● If my prayer is answered will the result honour God?
● Will it harm or hurt someone else.
● Will what you pray for delight God?
● Does my request contradict or conflict with the Word of God.
● Will it further my spiritual growth. Will what I pray for bring me closer to God?
1. Find a place of quiet. We live in a noise filled world and yet we are searching for a “still, small voice”. We need to find a place away from the busyness and noise and distractions of our everyday lives where we can just be and spend time with God.
2. Find a Time to Suit You. Each one of us has their own preferences, habits and schedules. We each need to find a regular time of day that fits in with who we are and what we do. Some people say that the morning is the best time to pray, but some of us are NOT morning people and this is fine. Find a time that works for you, but try to stick to it. Remember discipline is more than half the battle.
3. Remove Distractions. There in no point in finding a place of quiet if you know the kids are likely to burst in at any moment. You’ll be sitting there less in expectation of meeting with God and more in anticipation of being disturbed. Before you start to pray have a think about whether you need to take the phone off the hook or put the money out for the milkman to stop yourself being disturbed. It might be worth thinking about setting an alarm to tell you when to finish. It might sound silly but the last thing you want to do is constantly be thinking about the time and whether you should have left yet to go to your next meeting when you should be focusing on God.
4. Find the Correct Position
Think about finding a prayer position that works for you. You want to be comfortable but not so comfortable that you start to pray and 2 hours later you wake up!!!
5. Have a Notebook to Hand. This is useful for two main reasons. 1. As a help to removing distractions. If you start to pray and then it pops into your mind that you must remember to take the meat out for tomorrow, instead of focusing on that so you don’t forget, make a note in the notebook and refocus back on God. 2. If God shares something with you or a verse comes to mind, jot it down. Over the weeks you may find a pattern and looking back you’ll be encouraged by what God has been saying.
6. Have a Point of Focus. It can be quite hard to turn off from all you’ve been doing and focus on God. It may be useful to have something to focus on. Some people use a verse or two from scripture to centre themselves. However, some find it useful to focus on a candle, a cross or an inspiring photograph.
So, what now?
If I want to go and see the Queen I have to get a lift to the station, a train into London, a tube across London and then walk all the way up to Buck House. That’s before the nice guard at the gate tells me I haven’t got an appointment and therefore not a hope of meeting with the Queen. It’s not easy meeting or talking with people in high places, but with God it’s totally different. He is there just waiting for us to communicate with Him. It’s part of why He made us and we have access to Him 24/7.
So where do we start? It’s easy, it really is and yet we so often forget. If we want to visit the queen we need an invitation and a lengthy journey but God has made it some much more easy to meet with Him. How do we get to talk to God, how do we enter His presence? Quite simply, He says, we enter into the presence of God with thanksgiving. It’s not rocket science, we don’t need to wait for an invitation or go on a long journey. We enter God’s presence but being in an attitude of thanksgiving and praising him. So, having found our quiet place, the right time, position etc. and removed all distractions we start with thanking God. We have so much to thank God for even on our worst days.
So now we have entered the presence of God what happens next?
Now, this is a good question. Ask ten church leaders how to pray and you’ll get 12 different answers. However, in it’s most basic form now is when you have a conversation with God. No two conversations will be the same—sometimes you will approach him with boldness wanting Him to act—sometimes you’ll be very humble asking for forgiveness and sometimes you’ll just want to sit and listen to what He has to say. Most times it will be a mix of many different things.
How do I know what to pray?
Here are a few pointers to ask yourself when praying.
● Will the thing that I am praying fit in with a just and righteous life style, or is it superfluous and just born out of my fleshly desires?
● Am I being submissive to God's will, and will I gladly accept whatever God is willing to give me, if anything.
● If my prayer is answered will the result honour God?
● Will it harm or hurt someone else.
● Will what you pray for delight God?
● Does my request contradict or conflict with the Word of God.
● Will it further my spiritual growth. Will what I pray for bring me closer to God?
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Prayer - what a lot of questions Part three.
Prayer that gets an answer.
Basically this couldn’t be simpler - or at least the theory of it couldn’t. What we’re looking to do is find the will of God and pray in accordance to that. We’re wanting to find out what God wants to do and then asking him to do just that. Often we are far too eager to wade in telling God what we want Him to do or even what we think He should do. What we fail to do is to ask Him what it actually is that He wants to do.
So, a friend becomes ill and we immediately start to pray that God would heal them. A brother loses his job and we pray for a new job, and quickly. A colleague get anxious over something and we pray for peace. To us it seems obvious the situations have changed - to us it seems for the worse - so our answer it to get God to reverse what has changed. Someone becomes ill we want them to be not ill, someone becomes unemployed we want them to be employed, someone is anxious we want them to be not anxious. Hang on a sec though, what if God wants to use these situations for teaching and instruction. People get sick and we pray for healing but God doesn’t heal time and time again. Does this not show us that it is not God’s will to heal (in those situations). We are therefore praying against the will of God. Not only is this futile and a waste of our time and energies but it is also a dent to our faith. If we are praying for healing and it is not forthcoming, over time, this will help diminish our faith in a God who heals. What if God wants to heal but only after a lesson is learnt or certain things have been done. We won’t know this until we search for the will of God. If God doesn’t want to heal in certain cases why fill the suffering person with false hope that He might. How much better is it to tell them god’s will and release them into that will. If it is known that it is God’s will for someone to die what an honour that is to know that. It gives the dying person time to put there house in order, have conversations that they’ve been meaning to have for years, tell their loved ones how much they love them and be a great witness of how God numbers our days and gives us a certain hope even in the face of death.
So, we need to take a step back. We need to tame our tongue and our emotions seek God for what He wants to do in any given situation. It’s not just a case of praying “Let your will be done”. It’s a case of asking God what his will is and then praying that with confidence. If we know the will of God we can pray knowing that God will answer with a great big YES. I always used to pray in faith knowing that God COULD do what I was asking, but with little faith that He WOULD actually do what I was asking. This was because I was asking God to do what I wanted Him to do not what He wanted to do. The Bible makes it quite clear that if we pray according to His will He will answer us - if we pray according to our will we enter the lottery of whether or not our will happens to coincide with the will of God. The Bible teaches us that whatever we ask in Jesus’ Name will be given to us. I used to believe that tagging the words “In Jesus’ Name Amen” onto the end of the prayer would give the prayer more power or more chance of being answered. I used it as some sort of magic formula for getting my prayers answered - and even though it didn’t work I continued it for years. I have now come to realise that praying in Jesus Name means praying with and under His authority. Praying in Jesus name, in essence, means the same as praying according to God’s will.
1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we have asked of him.
So finding God’s will and then praying that gives us a confidence in pray that we have never previously had. We can pray with the confidence and certainty that God will answer our prayers. Not that God could do it but that God will do it.
Part 4 will help us explore how we seek God’s will in practical terms.
Basically this couldn’t be simpler - or at least the theory of it couldn’t. What we’re looking to do is find the will of God and pray in accordance to that. We’re wanting to find out what God wants to do and then asking him to do just that. Often we are far too eager to wade in telling God what we want Him to do or even what we think He should do. What we fail to do is to ask Him what it actually is that He wants to do.
So, a friend becomes ill and we immediately start to pray that God would heal them. A brother loses his job and we pray for a new job, and quickly. A colleague get anxious over something and we pray for peace. To us it seems obvious the situations have changed - to us it seems for the worse - so our answer it to get God to reverse what has changed. Someone becomes ill we want them to be not ill, someone becomes unemployed we want them to be employed, someone is anxious we want them to be not anxious. Hang on a sec though, what if God wants to use these situations for teaching and instruction. People get sick and we pray for healing but God doesn’t heal time and time again. Does this not show us that it is not God’s will to heal (in those situations). We are therefore praying against the will of God. Not only is this futile and a waste of our time and energies but it is also a dent to our faith. If we are praying for healing and it is not forthcoming, over time, this will help diminish our faith in a God who heals. What if God wants to heal but only after a lesson is learnt or certain things have been done. We won’t know this until we search for the will of God. If God doesn’t want to heal in certain cases why fill the suffering person with false hope that He might. How much better is it to tell them god’s will and release them into that will. If it is known that it is God’s will for someone to die what an honour that is to know that. It gives the dying person time to put there house in order, have conversations that they’ve been meaning to have for years, tell their loved ones how much they love them and be a great witness of how God numbers our days and gives us a certain hope even in the face of death.
So, we need to take a step back. We need to tame our tongue and our emotions seek God for what He wants to do in any given situation. It’s not just a case of praying “Let your will be done”. It’s a case of asking God what his will is and then praying that with confidence. If we know the will of God we can pray knowing that God will answer with a great big YES. I always used to pray in faith knowing that God COULD do what I was asking, but with little faith that He WOULD actually do what I was asking. This was because I was asking God to do what I wanted Him to do not what He wanted to do. The Bible makes it quite clear that if we pray according to His will He will answer us - if we pray according to our will we enter the lottery of whether or not our will happens to coincide with the will of God. The Bible teaches us that whatever we ask in Jesus’ Name will be given to us. I used to believe that tagging the words “In Jesus’ Name Amen” onto the end of the prayer would give the prayer more power or more chance of being answered. I used it as some sort of magic formula for getting my prayers answered - and even though it didn’t work I continued it for years. I have now come to realise that praying in Jesus Name means praying with and under His authority. Praying in Jesus name, in essence, means the same as praying according to God’s will.
1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we have asked of him.
So finding God’s will and then praying that gives us a confidence in pray that we have never previously had. We can pray with the confidence and certainty that God will answer our prayers. Not that God could do it but that God will do it.
Part 4 will help us explore how we seek God’s will in practical terms.
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Prayer - what a lot of question - part two.
Part 2
So how do we pray?
If you’re like me I’ve heard more tips about how to pray than I have about gardening. Now you’re thinking and this is just another tip why should this one be any different from the hundreds of others I’ve tried and found not to work. Well, in truth it might not be, but to me it makes so much sense and at the end of the day what have we got to lose?
When we come to prayer it is usually our mouths we open first before our ears. God is longing to speak to us, Job 33: 14 if only we are ready to listen. So how do we pray? We pray with our ears and our mouths. God knows what we want before we even ask so it shouldn’t be our top priority to come to God with our requests. We see this clearly in Matthew…
“when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “
Jesus goes on to teach the Disciples how to pray in what we now know as the Lords Prayer. So, what is this teaching all about? These disciples ask Jesus how to pray and what they get in return is one prayer? Or do they get a template on how to pray? So what do we have? He had been in close communion with His Father and he knew the right way to approach and communicate with Him. The Lord’s prayer is template on how to commune with the father. Let’s have a look…
Our Father
Approach Him with respect recognising the right relationship between God and us.
In heaven
Let’s make no mistake who we’re talking to here, we are approaching the creator God of Heaven who made all that exists. Heaven is out of sight, and a world of spirits, therefore our conversation with God in prayer must be spiritual; it is on high, therefore in prayer we must rise above the world, and lift up our hearts.
Hallowed be your name
Hallowed - to make holy. Holy be your name, Holy is your name. A statement of Worship and statement of Praise. Psalm 100 tells us that we
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. “
Basically worship, praise, thanksgiving draws us into the presence of God. If we want to get God’s attention there is no better way than to praise Him.
Let Your Kingdom come
Let your rule, your reign, commence. Have your way with me. I am your servant. I am willing to be submissive to all you want to do in and through me. I acknowledge you are the King and ruler of my life.
Let your will be done
Not my will Lord, not my agenda, but yours. I want to know your will. I want to pray that Your will in all situations, whether I like it or not, be done. Now, I think this is a massively important point and one we continually pass over. We are so busy telling God what we want Him to do for us and those we know we miss what He might be wanting to do. We come with our shopping lists asking God to heal this person and help that person and give this person money and that person a job etc. etc. and we don’t stop to ask God what he would like to do in any given situation. We need to step back, say God this is the situation, what do YOU want to do in it? Seek God for His will and then ask Him to do it. When we find God’s will and then pray that into a situation we suddenly find God answers. Funny that!!
On Earth as it is in Heaven
We long for Christ to return and for God’s perfect rule to begin. Until then we are told that the Kingdom of God is at hand and we want to experience as much of that reality as possible. We are in the world but not of the world. We live here but are not under its rule. We want to usher in the Kingdom of God, we believe it starts in the here and now and we want that Kingdom on earth to expand.
Give us today our daily bread
So much can be taken from this one little line, in fact you can take it word by word.
Give
We are asking for the kindness of God. We’re not asking for a loan or for something we deserve or have earned we are asking for an unmerited gift from God.
Us
It is a term of inclusion. We’re not just asking for ourselves but for those around us. For those we love and care for.
Today
Here is our sense of urgency. As a new day is upon us we recognise the need for God’s provision. We need God’s provision for each day of our lives whether we recognise it or not.
Our
Here we recognise that we want God’s provision for us - we do not want the bread coming from others or due for others. We acknowledge that there is enough to go round and we don‘t want more than our share. We’re asking God to help us not to be selfish or greedy but to want what God wants to give us.
Daily
Thinking not of tomorrow, but trusting God for that, we ask for what is needed for today. We are aligning ourselves with our parts of the Bible that urge us not to worry about tomorrow but to stay focused on the here and now.
Bread
Here we are asking God for what is needed. Nothing fancy, simply bread. Yes, food to sustain us but also other everyday needs. God knows what we need and He is more than willing to provide that - we don’t need to spell out all our needs we simply need to acknowledge our need of God’s provision.
Forgive us our debts
An acknowledgement of our fallen, sinful nature; that we can be forgiven, redeemed and that God is the one who can forgive us. Taken in conjunction with the previous section the implication being that this is a daily request to continuously and constantly be forgiven. When this is prayed our slate is wiped clean once again.
As we also have forgiven our debtors
A call to duty. What good is it for us if we are forgiven but cannot forgive those who have wronged us? It is a great call to hope that if we can find it in our hearts to forgive those that have done wrong to us - how much more will God, whose forgiveness is perfect, readily forgive us.
And lead us not into temptation
We’ve admitted our sin, asked and received forgiveness and so it is natural that having a clean slate we ask for God’s help to keep it clean and not to err again. We are not saying that we believe God leads us into temptation but acknowledging the guiding hand and power of the spirit to lead us away from situations that may cause us to sin.
But deliver us from evil
We’ve asked for God to guide us away from situations that may cause us to sin. Now we are asking Him for His protection from the one who hounds us, the devil and all his agents. We are also asking for his deliverance from sin itself.
For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever Amen
And so we return to praise and adoration. Telling God what He has already told us. Affirming our hope that God can do all that we have asked of Him and so much more besides.
So Jesus was asked by His disciples how to pray and he gave them the Lord’s prayer. Now I don’t for one minute think that this was something that he came up with on the spare of the moment. We’re not told but my guess is that Jesus had been perfecting this prayer for years. Moulding it, perfecting it and using it as His own. If you look at each petition they are all petitions that will receive a YES from God. Does God want to give us what we need - YES. Does God want to forgive us - YES. Does God want to deliver us for the devil - YES. So how can we form our prayers so as to get more YES answers from God? We will see in part three.
So how do we pray?
If you’re like me I’ve heard more tips about how to pray than I have about gardening. Now you’re thinking and this is just another tip why should this one be any different from the hundreds of others I’ve tried and found not to work. Well, in truth it might not be, but to me it makes so much sense and at the end of the day what have we got to lose?
When we come to prayer it is usually our mouths we open first before our ears. God is longing to speak to us, Job 33: 14 if only we are ready to listen. So how do we pray? We pray with our ears and our mouths. God knows what we want before we even ask so it shouldn’t be our top priority to come to God with our requests. We see this clearly in Matthew…
“when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “
Jesus goes on to teach the Disciples how to pray in what we now know as the Lords Prayer. So, what is this teaching all about? These disciples ask Jesus how to pray and what they get in return is one prayer? Or do they get a template on how to pray? So what do we have? He had been in close communion with His Father and he knew the right way to approach and communicate with Him. The Lord’s prayer is template on how to commune with the father. Let’s have a look…
Our Father
Approach Him with respect recognising the right relationship between God and us.
In heaven
Let’s make no mistake who we’re talking to here, we are approaching the creator God of Heaven who made all that exists. Heaven is out of sight, and a world of spirits, therefore our conversation with God in prayer must be spiritual; it is on high, therefore in prayer we must rise above the world, and lift up our hearts.
Hallowed be your name
Hallowed - to make holy. Holy be your name, Holy is your name. A statement of Worship and statement of Praise. Psalm 100 tells us that we
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. “
Basically worship, praise, thanksgiving draws us into the presence of God. If we want to get God’s attention there is no better way than to praise Him.
Let Your Kingdom come
Let your rule, your reign, commence. Have your way with me. I am your servant. I am willing to be submissive to all you want to do in and through me. I acknowledge you are the King and ruler of my life.
Let your will be done
Not my will Lord, not my agenda, but yours. I want to know your will. I want to pray that Your will in all situations, whether I like it or not, be done. Now, I think this is a massively important point and one we continually pass over. We are so busy telling God what we want Him to do for us and those we know we miss what He might be wanting to do. We come with our shopping lists asking God to heal this person and help that person and give this person money and that person a job etc. etc. and we don’t stop to ask God what he would like to do in any given situation. We need to step back, say God this is the situation, what do YOU want to do in it? Seek God for His will and then ask Him to do it. When we find God’s will and then pray that into a situation we suddenly find God answers. Funny that!!
On Earth as it is in Heaven
We long for Christ to return and for God’s perfect rule to begin. Until then we are told that the Kingdom of God is at hand and we want to experience as much of that reality as possible. We are in the world but not of the world. We live here but are not under its rule. We want to usher in the Kingdom of God, we believe it starts in the here and now and we want that Kingdom on earth to expand.
Give us today our daily bread
So much can be taken from this one little line, in fact you can take it word by word.
Give
We are asking for the kindness of God. We’re not asking for a loan or for something we deserve or have earned we are asking for an unmerited gift from God.
Us
It is a term of inclusion. We’re not just asking for ourselves but for those around us. For those we love and care for.
Today
Here is our sense of urgency. As a new day is upon us we recognise the need for God’s provision. We need God’s provision for each day of our lives whether we recognise it or not.
Our
Here we recognise that we want God’s provision for us - we do not want the bread coming from others or due for others. We acknowledge that there is enough to go round and we don‘t want more than our share. We’re asking God to help us not to be selfish or greedy but to want what God wants to give us.
Daily
Thinking not of tomorrow, but trusting God for that, we ask for what is needed for today. We are aligning ourselves with our parts of the Bible that urge us not to worry about tomorrow but to stay focused on the here and now.
Bread
Here we are asking God for what is needed. Nothing fancy, simply bread. Yes, food to sustain us but also other everyday needs. God knows what we need and He is more than willing to provide that - we don’t need to spell out all our needs we simply need to acknowledge our need of God’s provision.
Forgive us our debts
An acknowledgement of our fallen, sinful nature; that we can be forgiven, redeemed and that God is the one who can forgive us. Taken in conjunction with the previous section the implication being that this is a daily request to continuously and constantly be forgiven. When this is prayed our slate is wiped clean once again.
As we also have forgiven our debtors
A call to duty. What good is it for us if we are forgiven but cannot forgive those who have wronged us? It is a great call to hope that if we can find it in our hearts to forgive those that have done wrong to us - how much more will God, whose forgiveness is perfect, readily forgive us.
And lead us not into temptation
We’ve admitted our sin, asked and received forgiveness and so it is natural that having a clean slate we ask for God’s help to keep it clean and not to err again. We are not saying that we believe God leads us into temptation but acknowledging the guiding hand and power of the spirit to lead us away from situations that may cause us to sin.
But deliver us from evil
We’ve asked for God to guide us away from situations that may cause us to sin. Now we are asking Him for His protection from the one who hounds us, the devil and all his agents. We are also asking for his deliverance from sin itself.
For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever Amen
And so we return to praise and adoration. Telling God what He has already told us. Affirming our hope that God can do all that we have asked of Him and so much more besides.
So Jesus was asked by His disciples how to pray and he gave them the Lord’s prayer. Now I don’t for one minute think that this was something that he came up with on the spare of the moment. We’re not told but my guess is that Jesus had been perfecting this prayer for years. Moulding it, perfecting it and using it as His own. If you look at each petition they are all petitions that will receive a YES from God. Does God want to give us what we need - YES. Does God want to forgive us - YES. Does God want to deliver us for the devil - YES. So how can we form our prayers so as to get more YES answers from God? We will see in part three.
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