Prayer #7 (Matthew 6) - 2012.02.25

ON PRAYER (7)

“Give us this day our daily bread.” —Matthew 6:11

From my perspective, this is the most remarkable verse in this short prayer; not by what it includes, but in what it does not! It is the only “gimme” verse in the whole prayer, and that alone should tell us something. How much would be eliminated from the average prayer life (that is, of those who do pray) if the only material request was for “survival rations?” If all I ever asked from God was just enough to stay alive?

It is certainly not in the nature of man to be satisfied with that. One of our favorite words is “more.” It has been said that when John D. Rockefeller was asked how much a man has to have, to have enough, he responded, “A little bit more.” Certainly our era would make that premise true. Whether at the top of the economic spectrum or at the bottom, man is never satisfied. If we have a house, we want a bigger one. A car, we want a newer one. A meal, we want a better one or a different one. And on it goes. We are always looking for greener grass—and more of it. And this kind of mentality all too often creeps (or leaps) into our prayer life. 

The fact is that the gospel of Christ does not indicate that “God wants you to be rich,” but, as the context will show, He wants us to be righteous—and content. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all [necessary] things shall be added unto you (See, and meditate on vss. 24-34).” 

The reference to “daily bread” doubtless stands for life’s basic necessities. As we cultivate that attitude in prayer that seeks only what God is pleased to provide, we are reminded of at least two things. First, that we are dependent upon God for everything. We are tragically tempted to think that “daily bread” comes from the supermarket by way of the weekly paycheck. But it does not. God “opens [His] hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing [Ps. 145:16].” If He should close His hand, and nothing grew, we would perish. Second, God does what He does “daily.” He wills a sustained communion on our part that eventuates in His provision “one day at a time.” If we sincerely pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we will pray every day!

The great illustration and commentary on all this is Israel’s experience in the wilderness. Released from the hand of their adversary by the “mighty hand of God,” they faced one major crisis: the need for “bread” in a barren land—enough to meet the need of six hundred thousand men, plus women and children every day! When the Israelites complained against Moses, God responded, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no [Exodus 16:4, italics added].” Bread from heaven, every day—for forty years!—but they were not satisfied. They wanted “more!” The whole account is astonishing, and we cannot pursue it further here, but it is a remarkable backdrop for the Savior’s ordered petition in this “model” prayer, and an important checkpoint for our prayer life.

What are you asking God for? Or, what are you working so hard to obtain that you do not have time for prayer; especially a prayer that solicits only survival for His glory? It is one of the great challenges of this prayer seldom thought of when the prayer is “recited” in an ecclesiastical ritual. 

Not only can we have to look back to Israel in the wilderness to learn something of the Lord’s perspective, but we can look ahead to the epistles to see the principle in view spelled out. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the apostle Paul speaks of “…men of corrupt minds, destitute of the truth, [who suppose] that gain (“God wants you to be rich”) is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment (“survival gear”) let us therewith be content…For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows [Cf. I Tim. 6:5-10 and context].” 

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me [Heb. 13:5-6].” Could I limit my prayer to a petition for “daily bread” if I had no funded healthcare? No 401K? No social security? No stash for retirement? No subsidy for “fun?” For a believer it is a question well worth asking. 

May God enable us to answer in concert with the apostle, “…I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me [Phil. 4:11-13].” It will change the way we pray. “Pilgrims (can) travel light.”

"Pastor" Frasier

Prayer #6 (Matthew 6) - 2012.02.18

ON PRAYER (6)

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” — Matthew 6:10

The Savior’s first words in response to the disciples’ request, “Lord, teach us to pray [Luke 11:1],” directs to worship. It is the first and primary element in prayer. The next verse, following Matthew’s account, directs the worshipper to the divine agenda as his first concern. “Thy kingdom come…” It is interesting that just before His return to “the right hand of the Majesty on high,” this concern was on the minds of His disciples, who inquired, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom unto Israel [Acts 1:6].” Not surprising, since in the brief time between His resurrection and ascension Christ had been “speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God (v.3).”  They, however, were thinking provincially, whereas His consideration was on a much larger, indeed a universal scale. 

This world will never be right until the King returns and “the kingdoms of this world…become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ…[Who] shall reign for ever and forever [Rev. 11:15].” This is God’s grand objective, and its realization should be uppermost in every believer’s heart, manifested in the way believers pray. The proper objective is to see God’s will, which is even now fulfilled in His holy habitation, realized upon this planet “to the praise of the glory of His grace.” Oh, glorious day!

However, most of our praying and much of our living is aimed at improving our lot in “this present evil world,” rather than focusing on and striving toward “the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus [Phil. 3:14].” Health, wealth and personal “happiness” form the substance of most of our prayers rather than the glory of God. 

When we have truly learned to pray, His will will be more important to us than self preservation and our personal welfare. The evidence for that is seen in the Mount of Olives where we have a glimpse of the Savior Himself in prayer. He “kneeled down and prayed,…Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me,” revealing that natural instinct to shrink from suffering and death. Recall, however, the ruling motivation in His life:

“Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me…Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God [Heb. 10:5,7].”

Again, the will of the Father was more important to him than His necessary food:

 “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work [John 4:34].” (see also John 5:30, 6:38)

So, in that prayer on the mount, He concludes, “Nevertheless, not My will, but thine be done [Luke 22:42].”

If we pray from the heart for the coming of His kingdom and the realization of His will on earth, there will be an underlying prayer that His will may be done here and now in our lives—at whatever cost. What that may be specifically for each individual believer one cannot say, but what it means in general is fairly evident. 

“This is the will of God, even your sanctification… [I Thess. 4:3].” Though the context refers to sexual purity, the principle is of much broader application. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your  mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God Rom. 12:1].” When a desire for His will to be “done in earth” dominates our prayers, a passion for holiness will dominate our lives.

Another aspect of God’s will confronts us when the Holy Spirit declares, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance [II Pet. 3:9].” The negative “not willing” discloses God’s will that getting the gospel out to a perishing world should take precedence in our lives over getting worldly goods and comforts in. When that aspect of of His will is incorporated in our prayer, we will be praying for the direction of our own energies toward the same end.

If we are really praying and longing for the return of the King of glory and the establishment of the kingdom “wherein dwelleth righteousness,” we will remember that He said, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come [Matt. 24:14 my italcs].” If we are really praying, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done…” then our lives will be aiming in that direction. 

“For where [our] treasure is, there will [our] heart be also.” (Luke 12:34)

“Lord, teach us to pray!”

"Pastor" Frasier

Prayer #5 (Matthew 6) - 2012.02.11

ON PRAYER (5)

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” — Matthew 6:9

Prayer is addressing God. The Savior’s directive would have us approach Him as “our Father,” a term of benevolence, encouraging a cordial encounter. “Which art in heaven” affords a reminder that notwithstanding the gracious ground upon which we approach Him, He is “high and lifted up;” His ways higher than our ways, His thoughts higher than our thoughts. The proper reaction to this on the part of God’s children is “hallowed be Thy Name.”

There should be nothing frivolous or superficial, nothing simply ritualistic when (if) we really come before Him. Awe and reverence are the proper reaction to such an encounter. God’s name is not merely a title or designation. It is interwoven with His person and His character. In John 17 Jesus concludes His great prayer to the Father by saying, “I have declared unto them Thy name…” J.B. Phillips paraphrased this, “I made Your name known to them and revealed Your character and your very Self…” W. E. Vine offers in definition, “for all that a name implies, of authority; character, rank, majesty, power, excellence…of everything that the name covers.” His name does not merely embody His person, it defines Him.

This helps us understand something of the significance  of the commandment, “Thou shalt not  take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain [Ex. 20:7].” And, it adds great weight to this seemingly simple, easily overlooked clause, “hallowed be Thy Name.” “Hallowed,” according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, means “greatly revered or respected.” The psalmist caught the significance of it when, for example, he cried, “Oh Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy Name in all the earth! Who has set Thy glory above the heavens [Psalm 8:1].” When he prayed, God was not merely on his tongue, but on his heart. So, if I understand this verse correctly, should it be with us. 

The God we address when we (really) pray is “the everlasting God’ (Gen. 21:33); “the Lord most high”(Ps. 7:17); “the Lord Who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 124:8), just to sample the significance of His Name.

There is more in the “name.” The Savior here refers to the name of the Father, but it is of no little importance to remember that He said in one place, “I and my Father are one.” In fact, when His complex name is revealed by the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah, He is called “Father.” “…His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, “The Prince of Peace [Isa. 9:6].” (Too often relegated to Christmas!) That cryptic distinction was assigned before the incarnation. After the incarnation, passion and resurrection of Christ, you will recall, it is written, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father [Phil. 2:9-11].”

Thus when we approach the “throne of grace” we ought in the spirit to honor (“hallow”) the name of the Father and the Son. Jesus said, “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him [John 5:22-23].” Added to that let us also recall His word of indictment, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men [Matt. 15:7-8].” Though the reference is to doctrine (teaching) rather than to prayer, the principle is the same. How much of our praying actually takes the name of the Lord in vain? His title is on our lips, but we are oblivious to His character and glory. 

“The Lord’s Prayer” is a reminder that when we pray mind and heart should be first occupied with God. Through Christ our relationship with Him can be cordial, even familiar; but it should not be superficial!

Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.  - Ps. 99:3

LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY!

"Pastor" Frasier

Prayer #4 (Matthew 6) - 2012.02.04

ON PRAYER (4)

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven…” — Matthew 6:9

It is my personal opinion, but not without some justification I fear, that most Christians if and when they do pray seldom pause to think of what it means really to pray. We fail to  consider the fact that we are coming into the presence not only of a benevolent Father Who devotes Himself to all our care and upbringing—as well as our eternal destiny—but Who is also our heavenly Father and the Lord of glory. 

Prayer is conversation with God. That is an awesome and incredible thing. If we even begin to sense it, it should change the way we pray. And if it is anything less than that, it is probably not prayer at all. Scripture affords us a number of illustrations of what it is like to really “come before the Lord.”

Perhaps the most telling is Isaiah’s account of “seeing” the Lord.

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple…Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” —Isa. 6:1, 5-7

Awe and wonder were accompanied by a profound sense of humiliation: “I am undone…” 

When the prophet Jeremiah was confronted by “the Word of the Lord,” he, too was “cut down to size” as it were and cried, “Ah, Lord God! I cannot speak: for I am a child.” (Jer. 1:(4)-6) 

Ezekiel gives a vivid, if incomprehensible, description of his encounter with God and concludes by saying, “This was the appearance of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard the voice of one that spake. And He said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee [Ezek. 1:28-2:1].”

Daniel recounts an experience in prayer in the tenth chapter of his prophecy when God revealed Himself and communed with him. “And when He had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my Lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, neither is there breath left in me. [Dan. 10:15-15].”

Granted, these are exceptional incidents and extraordinary encounters with God, but they are also remarkable insights as to what it means to really “come before the Lord.” And we are reminded by the Holy Spirit in the epistle  to the Hebrews that even the high priest could not enter the holy of holies “without blood, which he offered for himself,and for the errors of the people [Heb. 9:7].” We are authorized to come before “our Father Who is in heaven” because “Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us [Heb. 9:11-12].” Prayer is an inestimable privilege purchased for us by the sacrifice of “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God,” and as such have access to one who is “our Father,” but, our heavenly Father.” Before Him Isaiah was “undone;” Jeremiah was rendered speechless; Ezekiel fell on his face, and Daniel was left breathless! Even the high priest entered His presence with a measure of fear and trembling.

Let us, then, pause as we enter the throne room and reflect upon Who it is before whom we have come!

“Lord, teach us to pray!”

"Pastor" Frasier