There is the moment in the scriptures, in the gospel of Luke (chapter 11) when the disciples of Jesus see him praying in a “certain place” and so they ask him, “Lord, teach us how to pray.”
“John the baptist taught his disciples to pray, will you teach us?”
Which is telling in and of itself,
to the truth that prayer is not necessarily EASY for people…is not necessarily something that comes naturally to people.
Even Jesus’ own disciples, who spent every waking moment with Jesus, walking with him, talking with him, watching him, gleaning off of him.
I mean, They must have heard him pray a thousand times.
How many moments were there before this in which they had watched him pray and had the opportunity to ask and learn from him… But when it came time for them to do it, they still felt inadequate,
so they ask Jesus a very human question.
A timeless question that is still just as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago.
“How do you pray?”
and so Jesus gives us what we know now as “The Lord’s Prayer.”
Its the same prayer that we read about in the sermon on the mount, when he first directs us that when we pray, it should be in secret.
It should be in a quiet place where nobody else can hear you - Jesus says “Don’t be like the hypocrites who love to stand in the synagogues and pray loud prayers on street corners so that the public can see them…
and pat them on the back.
Jesus says that when you pray, you should go into your room, shut your door, and pray to your Father.
The Lord’s prayer, unlike the prayer of faith that we learned about last week, is a private prayer.
But not only is it a private prayer. It is a very specific prayer.
It is not a long prayer.
It is not a prayer filled with empty phrases that don’t mean anything to God. It is a prayer of a very few words, and those words are:
Our Father who art in heaven
Hallowed by thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
First of all,
this prayer seems like a distant prayer to distant God who is off in some far away place…
And for many who hear the term “Father,” all you want to do is run as far away as you can.
Because if this Father is anything like your Father, then you want nothing to do with him…
Some of us have had great dads, and if that is you there is probably nobody you would rather be your personal image of the face of God than your father.
but a lot of peoples image of a Father is, at best,
a distant one.
A person who was never around, or who didn’t take care of them.
But Fathers like that are Fathers who did not do their job. A Father’s job is take care of his children. The word Father means supplier. It means the one who will provide everything that you have need of.
And I always loved how the language was plural. Our Father.
This is a private prayer but it is a petition on behalf of a community as much as it is on behalf of yourself.
“God. TAKE CARE OF US. God TAKE CARE OF ME. I know that it is in your nature because that is the nature of a Father.”
and in those days even moreso than today, the Father’s job is to provide for the whole family.
Jesus is making a very clear distinction here… His Father will provide.
and when it comes to his Father… you can go him with anything.
and then it says who art in heaven…
and we have talked about this a couple of times on Sunday’s. But at first glance —- “our Father who art in heaven” sounds, at best, like a deadbeat dad who lives in a trailer park in the South somewhere, hardly ever visits, and sends a child support check once in a while when he gets his SSI.
He is there.
We are here.
We get some of him, sometimes.
But are always left wishing for more.
But the word for heaven is actually the Greek word ouranos (uw ron ase) and it can actually be translated as “air.”
The most valuable commodity in all of the world… the one thing that we all rely on every single day… the one thing that has never not come through for planet earth.
The thing that is in every room with you, every moment you are alive.
“Our supplier, who is as close to me as the air that I breathe.”
Hallowed by thy name.
Hallowed is the Greek word “hagiazō” (hag-e-ots-o) and means to render or acknowledge something.
Philippians 2:9 says that “He is the name above all names” and when you hallow his name you acknowledge his power.
You acknowledge, “God, there is no other name above yours. and you are all that I need.”
Now, the Greek word for name is “onoma” (on-a-ma) and this word is powerful. Pastor Brad in New York taught me this. Essentially, the word means “power of attorney.”
It means that everything God is, you have access too.
Which becomes the most powerful statement in the world when you realize that God literally holds the entire world in his hands.
Are there needs in this place? Are any of you sick? Are any of you going through something emotionally right now that you can’t seem to manage?
Are any of you uncertain of the future? Of what is next?
Certainty is in the name.
No, we do not know what tomorrow holds but we do know that God holds it.
and that is powerful.
There is healing in the name.
Acts 3:16 tells us that healing comes in the name of Jesus, and faith in that name.
You have “the power of attorney” - and it is in God’s name.
“Our supplier, who is as close to me as the air that I breathe.
We acknowledge that you are the name above all names, and that you have given us all power in your name.”
Your Kingdom come your will be done.
This line speaks of something, of infinite importance.
Something that we will do a series on one day, and that is the Kingdom of God.
A lot of people minimize salvation down to a “get out of jail free” card… a one time decision that flips the switch from darkness to light and that changes the course of your eternity forever…
and it does. If you give your heart to Jesus, he will do those things for you.
He wants to share eternity with you.
But if you minimize your salvation to an experience then you will miss the bigger picture of all of your life and of God’s mission for the church.
And of your roll in that mission.
Everything about what Jesus came to do was for the purpose of establishing a Kingdom.
A Kingdom right here and now, that is different from the one that we are experiencing when we aren’t walking with him.
This prayer re-centers us on our purpose by taking our minds off of the cares of this earthly kingdom, like our relationship problems and our financial problems and the things that we can’t solve in our own strength or with our physical paycheck.
It reminds us that we truly are citizens of a different kingdom, with a different currency.
“Bring that Kingdom to earth through me today, God.”
And then he says:
“On earth as it is in heaven.”
and this is powerful.
You see, there is already a Kingdom established, and its beautiful. And it functions at the highest capacity imaginable and it is good.
What we are saying when we saying “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN” is we are saying:
“God, let our lives be the image of the invisible here on earth.”
Let our daily lives be a reflection of what your Kingdom looks like already.
Its an amazing concept of self-evaluation.
You look at your life, and your schedule, and your routines and your habits and you ask yourself “Which of these things are as they should be?”
“What areas of my life truly reflect the God that I claim to serve?”
Or am I living in my own kingdom, and abiding by my own rules, and hoping to glean the benefits of the Kingdom of God?
If you want the benefits, then you have to accept the citizenship… and if you accept the citizenship, then you have to follow the constitution.
“Our supplier, who is as close to me as the air that I breathe.
We acknowledge that you are the name above all names, and that you have given us all power in your name. Let my life on this earth be a reflection of your perfect and eternal Kingdom.”
“Give us this day our daily bread…”
Now remember, everyone in that culture knew the Torah.
They knew all about daily bread, because Moses wrote about it.
When the Israelites were wandering for 40 years, each and every day God gave them daily bread, and it was exactly what they needed for that day.
but every time they tried to store up more, it went bad…
Because God was trying to teach them something.
“I will take care of you.”
and the moment that they tried to take care of themselves and take matters into their own hands, the process became cursed, the bread went bad, and they wasted all that time and effort trying to do something in their own strength that God promised to do in his.
You can’t depend on God and depend on yourself all at the same time, and if you constantly are trying to get to a higher and higher place then you are showing God all of the reasons that you don’t need him, and making yourself impossible to work through.
Its like what Proverbs 30:8 says:
“Give me neither poverty nor riches; lest I be full and deny you and say “Who is the Lord?”
Give us this day our daily bread is literally saying,
“God, we trust you to take care of us, lest we fall into the lie of our own strength.”
“Our supplier, who is as close to me as the air that I breathe.
We acknowledge that you are the name above all names, and that you have given us all power in your name. Let my life on this earth be a reflection of your perfect and eternal Kingdom. We trust you to take care of us, lest we fall into the lie of our own strength.”
“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”
Grace matters when you are praying.
There is a moment in Hebrews (4:16) when the writer tells us that “with confidence we should boldly approach the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy.”
We should be able to go the God in prayer confidently expecting the grace that we do not deserve, because of two things.
- The first reason is simply because it is part of the nature and character of God to forgive. To be gracious. To grant us new mercies every single day. But it is impossible to boldly approach the throne of grace if you have not done the second thing…
- and that is show grace.
Grace is the apex of the Christian faith.
Without it we are nothing and because of it, nothing in our lives should ever be the same again.
Including our character.
If we truly are becoming more and more like Jesus every single day, then we should be becoming more gracious.
and I can’t speak for everybody, but I would have a really hard time boldly approaching the throne of grace if I didn’t work my hardest to live graciously toward others… offering grace at every opportunity… erring on the side of grace in all circumstances.
It is like when Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18 (21-35)
His disciples ask him, how many times should we forgive our brother who has sinned against me? Up to seven times?
and Jesus tells them, “not seven times, but seventy times seven, and all on the same day.”
and then he compares the Kingdom of heaven, that same kingdom that we are told to pray daily that it will come to earth… he compares the Kingdom of heaven to a king who wished to settle all of his accounts…
and one of the ones that he wanted to settle up with pleaded with him because there was no way that he could ever pay the amount that he was owed so instead the King graciously forgave him of that debt after the man fell on his knees and begged.
But then that servant went out and found one of his servants who owed him far less, and he had the man thrown in prison because he could not pay.
of course, when the King found out about what had happened, he was furious, and he too had the first man thrown into prison until he could pay back every penny.
but what is chilling about this is that Jesus ends this parable by saying this:
“So also will my heavenly Father do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
We should have a heart that can approach the throne of grace boldly knowing that we have modeled the same grace that we are expecting.
Jesus doesn’t ask us to be perfect, but he absolutely demands that we be gracious toward one another.
Being gracious toward each other, and bolding approaching the throne of grace, are the only two things standing between us and God.
Forgive each other.
In fact when Jesus gives the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 (5-13), he ends it by saying “If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
It all rides on this one.
Forgive each other.
Every single time.
Don’t harbor it or hold it in your heart.
Bitterness truly is one thing that could cost you eternity and I know that sounds harsh but its completely biblical.
it is worst than most things.
and it will certainly hinder your prayers here on earth.
“Our supplier, who is as close to me as the air that I breathe.
We acknowledge that you are the name above all names, and that you have given us all power in your name. Let my life on this earth be a reflection of your perfect and eternal Kingdom. We trust you to take care of us, lest we fall into the lie of our own strength. Forgive us of the times that we have wronged you, as we forgive others for every wrong thing that they have done against us.”
“lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”
You are simply saying - “Guide my steps Jesus.”
“God you know everything. Every right turn and every wrong turn. Give me the wisdom to know right from wrong, help me to steer clear of the problem areas of my life…
“and deliver me from my sinful nature.”
What this is saying is “Lord, give me “self control,” that my flesh would not have dominion over me.”
We all know what our struggles are… and this part of the prayer is asking God to help us overcome the problem areas in our lives… the areas we struggle in… deliver us from those areas.
“Our supplier, who is as close to me as the air that I breathe.
We acknowledge that you are the name above all names, and that you have given us all power in your name. Let my life on this earth be a reflection of your perfect and eternal Kingdom. We trust you to take care of us, lest we fall into the lie of our own strength. Forgive us of the times that we have wronged you, as we forgive others for every wrong thing that they have done against us. Guide my steps, that I may walk in the light, and deliver me from my sinful nature and my sinful desires.”
That is the Jacob translation.
pieced together from things that I have been taught and have read over the years by people who are far smarter than I am.
Now…
The thing that is so incredible about this prayer, is it teaches us a lot about what it means to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God.
And its so simple.
We rely on God, trusting that he is totally dependable, that there is more power in his name than any power on in this broken world…
We live our lives outwardly,
looking out for others and trusting that God will take care of us.
We don’t seek to climb ladders and rankings and gain power, instead, we trust that we have all the power that we need in Jesus name…
and we trust he gives us what is right for us.
We don’t desire wealth, nor do we desire poverty. Instead, we desire God’s best for us so that we can move the gospel forward without getting distracted by our stuff.
Wealth can be an asset until it becomes an obsession.
“God, give me only as much as will further your mission without distracting me from it.”
But its important, even with money, to trust, “God gave me all of this. Its all his. I didn’t do anything.”
And then grace.
We show it.
We get it.
and it is the currency of the Kingdom of God.
It is what keeps us from evil, and from falling into bitterness, and other very dark places in life.
This prayer truly does show us the best way to live,
by showing us to ask God to give us a simple, kingdom minded life.
