ON PRAYER (2)
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” — Matthew 6:9-13
Some time ago I was invited to conduct Sunday morning services for a small group of senior citizens in an assisted living facility. One request made by those in attendance was that the recitation of ‘the Lord’s prayer’ be included in each service.
Now I am not much given to ritual, but it seemed a relatively harmless request, and I have complied. In fact, the matter prompted a study of the prayer on my part and subsequent sharing with the little group, early on, some of the fruits of that meditation. It is, in fact, quite instructive and will provide the foundation of our consideration here over the next several weeks, Lord willing and enabling.
Upon reflection, ritual is very much a part of our lives, even those of us who are inclined to disavow it. Much of our habit of “Sunday worship” is, or threatens to be ritualistic. It is not the ritual that is the issue, but what the heart does with it that matters most. Too often, I fear, we go through the motions of “going to church” and sitting through the “ritual” of a prescribed “order of service,” checking our watches if the routine seems to take too long and leaving when it is “over,” often as empty of virtue as when we arrived. True worship can be missing from the routine. Similarly he recitation of a pattern prayer or a creed can be as empty as an inverted cup—but it does not have to be.
Thoughtfully considered, the Lord’s Prayer is a remarkable piece. Recall, as we noted last week, that it was born out of the disciples’ request after hearing the Son of God pray, “Lord, teach us to pray.” To that lofty request by His awestruck disciples the Savior responded with this now almost too familiar, but astonishing prayer. I say astonishing because of its brevity and its content—what it includes and what it does not include when compared to other prayers in the bible and to our prayers in general as reflected in the “prayer request’ segment of our public prayer meetings.
As to its brevity, it is, in this longest rendering of it in the King James Bible, just sixty six words in length and can be carefully uttered aloud in less than thirty seconds! As to its content, if the Lord wills we shall look at what is included in more detail over the coming weeks, but when set alongside our ordinary “prayer requests,” it is interesting to note some of what it omits. There is, for example, no mention of sickness or health. As for material necessities the only reference is to “our daily bread.” There is here no petition for the lost, nor any reference to ‘ministry’ or witnessing. And, there is very little focus on “us” and at least as much upon God. Granted, a study of all the prayers of the bible would give justification to many such requests and more in our prayers, both private and public, but the Lord Jesus did not include them in this response to the disciples’ plea, “Lord, teach us to pray.” It is quite amazing to note that the One through whom all true prayer must be directed (Cf. John 14:6, 13-14) responded to His disciples’ passionate request on so lofty a subject with such “profound simplicity.”
Obviously, if this prayer is taken just on its face value, long and complex prayers are not essential to reaching the ear and heart of God. He is not impressed with rhetoric. You may recall Jesus’ indictment of the Pharisees, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation [Matt. 23:14].” And again, His introduction to this prayer, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking [Mt. 6:7 - all my italics].”
In one of my churches there was a man who, due to a war injury, was a bit “different,” unusual and very direct. One morning as we met by chance on the post office steps, he bluntly said, “Good morning preach. Did you say your prayers this morning?” I replied, “Yes, Joe; did you say yours?” His quick response was, “Nope. I pray my prayers!” There was a lesson there I have never forgotten. Any prayer uttered just to be heard is only a ritual. But the heart cry that sincerely seeks the ear of the Father of Glory will not go unanswered.
“After this manner therefore pray ye.”
"Pastor" Frasier
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