As we think about Jesus’ Example Prayer, we should also look at Jesus’ life. Jesus is God the Son. He is equal with God the Father, but chose to submit Himself to carry out His Father’s will. Jesus is worthy of worship. We are not. Why do we think that our own will should be put before God’s? Yet how often do we put our kingdom first?
Friends, keep talking to God. He will show us how we need to live. He will make His way known as we seek Him. His way is worth it.
Jesus’ Example Prayer continues with “Thy kingdom come.” This is an easy thing to say, but harder to do. Telling God to allow His kingdom means I have to give up my own. I think we mean well trying to build our own kingdoms. We think our plans are going to help build God’s. However, if we don’t carefully spend time in prayer, we risk putting our agenda in place of God’s.
This is the beauty of prayer. When I am willing to give up my kingdom and ask God to build His instead, I gain so much more.
There are some who think God’s expectation of worship (Jesus honoring God’s holy name is The Disciples Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13) is a sign of arrogance. Friends, God is NOT filled with sinful pride. We are. We think we are wise, but our thinking is inherently flawed. The book of Romans reminds us of those flaws. We need God’s wisdom. James 1:5-8 tells us how to gain God’s wisdom. When we have truth in our hearts and minds we will understand how God is worthy of honor.
Honoring Him is a blessing to me. God is so good.
The first petition in Jesus’ Example Prayer in Matthew 6 (ESV) is “May Your name be honored.” What does that really mean? I have read different commentaries as I studied to write my posts on Jesus’ Example Prayer. The NIV Application Commentary talks about honoring God’s name as a part of our worship. God is worthy of worship. Unfortunately, we spend too much time and effort on pursuits that do not draw us closer to God.
Jesus’ Example Prayer reminds us of who God is and where our worship should be directed. Any lesson Jesus taught is worthwhile learning. I hope this is a lesson you are seeking to learn.
God is so good.
Jesus’ Example Prayer shows us how much God cares. The Greek word used at the beginning of this prayer is “Abba”. This word is a personal term – the same as a child saying, “Daddy”. God is a loving father who wants us to talk to Him. He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins (something we should remember all year – not only Easter weekend). This is a love too great to fully comprehend. However, I will keep trying. God is so good.
If you don’t understand what my blog (or this post) is about, please ask me. I would be thrilled to share with you what I have learned about God. He is real. He is true. My beliefs don’t mean anything unless they have a solid foundation. God is that foundation. You can contact me at pleadinginprayer@gmail.com. I would be happy to talk to you.
I have talked about prayer in most of my blog posts this year. Prayer is something God is teaching me to do more. I spent several weeks talking about what we often call the Lord’s Prayer. It can be found in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. We call it the Lord’s Prayer because Jesus prayed it. However, it would be better titled either the Model Prayer or the Disciples’ Prayer. This is an example of how we should pray.
I was reminded that Jesus’ Model Prayer has much depth. It is possible to go through the prayer again and find new treasures.
God gives us so much.
Any time we study verses in the Bible, we should look at the complete context. Jesus Model Prayer is great to read alone, but we should look at the verses around it as well. Matthew 6 reminds us that we need to live for God and not our own purposes. Some want to do good things and pray to be seen by others. Jesus told His disciples that we should do these things without others noticing. That can be hard to do. However, as we seek to draw closer to Jesus, prayer will give us something better than the praise of men. We will draw closer to Christ and become more like Him. There is no better goal. No greater fulfillment.
As humans we like to be accepted. This gives us a feeling of belonging. The challenge comes in when we look for acceptance in the wrong place. The only acceptance that is worthwhile is God’s. His way is perfect (Psalm 18:30). The Psalmist prays that his words and thoughts would be acceptable to God. We should too.
I have found it easy to be confused about where I have control. I start with correct thinking such as, “I am responsible for my actions”, but I can fall into thinking that I can control the results. Proverbs 16:9 gives us insight into what God does in our lives. We can make plans, but ultimately God directs through His Sovereignty.
What control do I really have? Not much, but I can spend time in prayer asking for help to make wise decisions. Then I can eagerly watch (Psalm 5:3) for what God will do.
I was thinking last night about choices. We have a lot of freedom to make the choices we want. Along with that freedom of choice comes the freedom to experience the consequences. We don’t like negative consequences. We only want the happiness we think our choices will bring.
Friend, I pray you are aware of the direction your choices take you. The only way to make good choices is to take time daily to ask God to guide us. When we submit to His guidance, we will be more joyful and content with the decisions we make.
Keep pleading in prayer.
Last week I posted the story of help that came my way after a hefty snow storm. I was worn out from shoveling and thoroughly enjoyed the help. However, what happens when it feels like (or is really true) that help is not close at hand? We are looking at more snow tonight and after 52″ total snowfall in February, we are weary.
I have been praying the last few days knowing that more snow was coming. The prediction, of course, changes as we get closer to the storm (meteorologists don’t know what God will do, they simply look at weather patterns and make educated guesses). I am tired of shoveling and still getting everything else in life done. Complaining can come all too easily. However, God is still good and will use this time to perfect me. So I go back to praying. I need God’s help to keep up with life. Both the normal aspects of life as well as the storms. In this case it is another snowstorm.
So friend, whatever storm is in your life or will be coming – just keep praying. God will give strength and hope as you seek Him.
God is so good.
Pleading in Prayer 