After taking time to praise God, Jesus comes to requests. He tells us to ask for our needs to be met. This is a simple enough statement, but as flawed human beings we like to complicate matters. We too often ask for wants as though they were needs. We also ask for more than our daily needs. I believe in planning ahead, but I think we can fall into the trap of asking for more than is reasonable.
So when we pray for our needs, we should allow God to guide our prayers. He will show us what our needs truly are and then He will provide.
The Lord’s Prayer continues with “may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is also easy to say, but much harder to live consistently.
Those of us who have placed our trust in Jesus Christ have the help of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-16). He will lead in our lives to give us the desire to allow God’s will. However, the flesh is still at work and so we switch from being willing to live God’s way back to seeking our own (Romans 7:18).
This is one of the beautiful helps of prayer. In order to keep my heart and mind willing to follow God’s way, I need to humble myself in prayer (James 4:1-3). In order to let go of my own way to consistently accept God’s will, I need to seek God in prayer daily – even multiple times a day. Prayer is a beautiful time spent with God – my Heavenly Father.
I had a little bit of trouble finding information about this phrase. The basic Bible study tools that I own didn’t have much information. However, the Kindle version of the New English Translation (with full notes) had a well worded explanation.
“Your kingdom come represents the hope for the full manifestation of God’s promised eschatological rule reflected in the OT prophetic literature, the ongoing hope of the Jewish people, a hope which is subsumed by Christianity.”
Those of us who serve Jesus look forward to positive future times as described in the book of Revelation. The hope that we have is not just wishful thinking. Hope in God’s Word is a guarantee. He will always do what He says. God never fails.
This phrase of the Lord’s prayer shows a willingness to allow God to work towards something He has promised will happen. We need to cooperate with His will. And friends – when we allow ourselves to be open to God’s way, we are more likely to be satisfied. God’s gifts are always the best.
The next phrase in the Lord’s prayer is easy to say, but it is much harder to live. God is worthy of honor. His name alone is worthy of honor! Yet as flawed human beings we want to honor ourselves. It is in our nature.
The concept of humility has been heavy on my mind lately. I think we get confused about what that word really means. According to dictionary.com to be humble is “not proud or arrogant; modest”. Definition 2 is “having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.”
I think we get hung up on definition 2. We think if we put ourselves down then we are humble. However, “low self-esteem” is just as proud as thinking we are wonderful. Both concepts are centered around “me, myself and I” and therefore based in pride.
So how do we learn humility? Jesus is the perfect example. Philippians 2:5-8 tells us about how Jesus although worthy of worship, humbled Himself and obeyed His Father’s command to die on the cross. When I follow Jesus’ example prayer in Matthew 6, I honor the Father’s name. This is a good reminder that I am not worthy of honor.
Biblical humility needs to be a life-long pursuit. It is only obtainable by pleading in prayer.
As I mentioned last week, 2019 for me is about prayer. To start the year, I want to work through what is often called The Lord’s Prayer. Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. This is what Jesus said.
Jesus always gave perfect advice. I want to learn to follow His example. Here is my start for a prayerful 2019.
I have known many who choose a word for each year. It is something that they want to focus on throughout the new year. This year I want to focus on prayer. This is a lesson God has been teaching me for almost 5 years now. I have thought about it, written some blog posts about, but I want to spend more time studying what God says about prayer. After all, my blog is called Pleading in Prayer.
James 5:16 is the verse I am using for this coming year. There is much theological debate about what prayer accomplishes. I do not take this lightly. Studying Scripture should be done carefully. My plan is to look at this passage and others throughout the year, carefully studying what God has to say.
Do you have a word or verse for 2019? Feel free to share that in the comments.
Since I was 25, I needed to wear vision correction. My issue has been with distance vision. The farther away something gets, the more blurry it looks to me.
Glasses are a good illustration for how we see in life. If we don’t have the proper vision correction we won’t see clearly. The only way to get proper vision is to allow God to correct the issues. Just as I need to go to the eye doctor to find out what prescription I need to see clearly, I need to go to my Spiritual Physician to make sure I see life clearly.
As flawed human beings we tend to see things through our own selfishness. We need God to show us where we are wrong. The Psalmist knew this.
God has our best interest in mind. So ask Him to show you what you need to change. He will and He will help change you. God loves you that much.
I like the theme of this verse – the basics of how we need to live. Is this easy? Not for messy, flawed human beings; we tend to complicate things. However, God is ever faithful – perfectly faithful. As we go to Him, He will make this kind of life possible.
I know we all have times that are tough. Sometimes a close friend or loved one is facing the difficulty. Our first desire is to try to fix things. While I believe in seeking solutions to problems, I think we try to take God’s job into our own hands.
So when times get tough, go to God. He is waiting for us to take all our problems to Him. He will do what He does best; provide the best solution at the right time.
I want more of You. More of who You are. More of what you offer. More of You.
Please remove the obstacles to my becoming more like You. Help me to identify the issues in my life and deal with them as You would have me. Show me Your path and give me the strength to stay on it and not stray from it. Send the people who will direct me to You every time I falter (and even when I don’t falter). Keep me safe as I deal with people who would seek to take me from Your path. Please help me to love them as You do.
Pleading in Prayer 