The Lord's Prayer



The Lord's prayer was meant as an example of how to pray, not a script for what to pray (Matthew 6:7, don't use vain repetitions). This prayer is shown twice in the Bible, in Matthew 6 and in Luke 11. In Matthew 6, the prayer is nestled in a chapter all about seeking the kingdom and righteousness of God first rather than focusing on the praise and acceptance of man and meeting your earthly needs. In Luke 11 It's shown in a chapter about receiving the Holy Spirit and unforgiveness for those who reject the Spirit. The context is not by accident, we can see that each line of the prayer points to seeking God's righteousness through His Spirit.

"Our Father which art in heaven" - it's only by receiving the Holy Spirit that God becomes our Father (Ephesians 2:18, Romans 8:15).  When we receive the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in new tongues we can then pray to our Father without it being vain.  If we call God our Father without having the Spirit, it is empty, meaningless, because anyone who doesn't have the Holy Spirit doesn't belong to Christ (Romans 8:9).


"Hallowed be thy name" - The word hallowed means holy, consecrated, separate from profane things.  When we acknowledge that God is holy, we are reminded that His command was for us to also be holy (Leviticus 19:2, 20:7). And it is through receiving the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth that we are made holy (John 16:13, 17:17, 19, Romans 15:16, 1 Corinthians 6:11, 2 Thessalonians 2:13).  


"Thy kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven" - the will of God is that the Spirit be poured out on all flesh (Acts 2:18, Joel 2:29, Ezekiel 36:26-27), without that Spirit, we cannot see or enter the kingdom of heaven (John 3:1-8).  When a believer prays in tongues, the Spirit intercedes according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27). 


"Give us this day our daily bread" - The gospel, the word of God (Christ himself and his commands) are often likened to physical bread/food/sustenance.  (Matthew 4:4, 1 Peter 2:2, Jeremiah 15:16, Hebrews 5:12, 14, Psalms 19:10, John 4:32-34).  Likewise, perversion of the Gospel and the commands of God is likened to leavened bread (Mark 8:15, Galatians 5:9). Luke 11:5-13 likens the Holy Spirit to food. How many times does the Bible encourage us to search the scripture (JOhn 5:39, Acts 17:11, 2 Timothy 2:15, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 119:105, Revelation 1:3, Romans 15:4, etc.)?  Likewise, believers are commanded to pray in the Spirit/tongues (1 Corinthians 14:14) often (Ephesians 6:18, Jude 20).  In fact, praying in tongues and hearing the Word of God are the only ways the Bible tells us we can build our faith (Jude 20, Romans 10:17).

"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" - It's through Christ's sacrifice that forgiveness is made available to us (Matthew 16:28, Acts 5:31, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14, Hebrews 9:22). We accept that offer of forgiveness by obedience to the Gospel (Romans 10:16, 2 Thessalonians 1:18, 1 Peter 4:17 ) Jesus preached; repentance, full immersion baptism, and the infilling of the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in new tongues (John 3:1-8, Mark 16:15-17, Acts 2:38-41). The scriptures tells us that baptism in water is for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38, Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3).  It's not the physical water that cleans and saves us, but the fact that we are responding to the command of Christ with obedience (1 Peter 3:21).  And part of that obedience is to then go on to pray until we receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7). Jesus even made it clear that anyone who is blaspheming the Holy Spirit cannot have forgiveness. Jesus Himself said that it was the Spirit that was upon Him that allowed him to grant forgiveness/pardon/freedom (Luke 4:18), and that's the same Spirit Jesus died to pour out and now offers to us (Acts 2:39, Luke 11:5-13, Romans 8:9-11).

"Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil" - Galatians 5:16 tells us that if we are walking in the Spirit (using it) then we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. John 16:13 reminds us that the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth (if we have the Spirit and are using it), and we know that the truth sets us free (John 8:32). Praying in tongues is even commanded after the armor of God (Ephesians 6:18).  It allows us to stand fully equipped for any battle.  Jesus said we receive power when we receive the Holy Spirit [with the evidence of speaking in new tongues, John 3:8, Acts 2:4, 10:46-48, 11:17-17).  That power, the Holy Spirit, gives us everything we need for this life and for godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

The entire Lord's prayer points to the Gospel.  And while we can use it as a guide for what kinds of things to pray (praising God first, praying for God's will, praying for daily provision, praying for forgiveness, praying for help to live holy, more praise), it first and foremost serves as a prophecy about the new covenant that Jesus came to establish, the Gospel that saves us, turning from our way to God's in repentance, full immersion baptism to bury the old life (Romans 6:4, Colossians 2:12...not simply a public declaration of faith), and the infilling of the Holy Spirit which always comes with the evidence of speaking in new tongues (Mark 16:15-17, John 3:1-8, Acts 2:38-41 and chapters 8, 9, 10-11, and 19). 

Need to get baptized or rebaptized (Acts 19:1-7) by someone who preaches the truth?  While there may be other assemblies under different names that preach the same salvation in the Bible, there are Revival Fellowships all around the world who absolutely preach that same message and would love to baptize/rebaptize you.  Part of my testimony is how I'd already been baptized twice, but just as the 12 learners in Ephesus were baptized again after they heard the full Gospel, I was too. Want to receive or hear more about the Holy Spirit. Jesus said everyone who persistently asks and keeps asking will receive the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:5-13). It's a promise to everyone the Lord calls (Acts 2:38-41). You're welcome to pray on your own, but just as the people who had believed in Samaria had disciples come pray with them (Acts 8), sometimes if you've prayed on your own and haven't received it can help to pray with someone else who already has the Holy Spirit. Reach out and I'd love to have some prayer with you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Journey from Church to Salvation

Image
I grew up in church from a fairly young age, though attendance was sporadic depending on which parent had me that weekend. At the age of 10, I was presented with the idea that we are all sinners needing salvation. By this point, I had already suffered enough physical, sexual, and emotional abuse that I felt a lot of shame and unworthiness. I felt like I was only lovable when I was doing what everyone else wanted, so when I heard that I could ask forgiveness for my sins and ask Jesus into my heart I really latched onto the concept. I thought, “at least I can do what Jesus wants and be loved by Him and what I’ve done won’t matter anymore.” So I asked Jesus into my heart at the age of 10, and because I was in the Baptist church at the time I got baptized. I went to many different denominations of churches from that time and I actually enjoyed all of them because, while I was there, I felt like I was doing the right thing. The problem was that I never felt better. It was a cons...
Read more

That Which I Also Received

Image
  1 Corinthians 15:1Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace whi...
Read more

Jesus' Command for Salvation

Image
During my last blog, I took a look at what the letter to the Ephesian church says about the work of the Spirit in a believer. Before that, we looked at what "faith" or "belief" means in the Bible. I think this is a good time to look at Jesus' command for salvation and what it is that, according to the Bible, makes a person a believer. One of the first Bible verses that a lot of people learn is John 3:16, so let's start there. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God loved the world so much that He gave His own son so that, whoever is fully entrusted, persuaded, and committed to him can have salvation. Can we be fully entrusted, persuaded, and committed without obedience? No! If we fully believe Jesus we will act on it by being obedient to His message. We will look at the context of John 3:16 in just a moment. Another one people learn pretty fast in chu...
Read more