Lead us not into temptation

We come to the next petition, which deals with temptation. Jesus has us pray, "lead us not into temptation."

Jesus realized the power of temptation in his own life as he was in the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by Satan. It was a wrenching time for our Lord. He had been fasting; now he was tempted to turn stones into bread, to fall down from the pinnacle of the temple, and was offered all the kingdoms of the world by Satan. Jesus didn't yield to any of these temptations, because doing so would have compromised his own mission.

Notice here the way the petition is worded. We are instructed that we would not even be in the place of being tempted! How strong are you not to yield when temptation comes? Do you have the stamina to resist no matter what?

I'm sure we would all recognize our own weaknesses when we are placed in tempting situations. That is why our Lord has us pray that we would not even be in the position to have to make a decision.

Jesus knows what is our good. We pray that we would not be put in a position where we would compromise who we are as Christians.

How have you handled temptation when it comes your way? Do you realize the force of this position as you pray the Lord's Prayer?

Forgive us our trespasses....

After we pray for our "daily bread" in the Lord's Prayer, we move into the area of forgiveness. We pray the words: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

Here we recognize and are reminded of the fundamental brokenness in our relationship with God. We have sinned and we ask for forgiveness. This forgiveness is something that has been accomplished for us in Jesus' life here on Earth. Jesus through his death on the cross has paid the penalty for every last sin we commit.

Note, that this petition assumes that we are those who forgive others. Yes, if we expect to be forgiven, we ought to be able to offer forgiveness to others. Jesus told a parable of the unmerciful servant who was forgiven the debt he owed to the king whom he was serving, yet failed to forgive his fellow servant who owed a much larger debt. Matthew 18: 21-35

Why is it that we find it hard to forgive others? I believe it can only stem from the fact that we have not recognized the full extent of God's forgiveness to us. If God does offer forgiveness for each and every one of my sins, how can I not forgive the sin of someone else? Dare I be selective? If we cannot forgive others, then we must examine our own relationship with God.

We pray here for forgiveness, as it reminds us that we sin daily. It reminds us to of the mercy that God is willing to extend to you and me. As we pray for this great gift from God, may we be ready to forgive others!

Do you have any difficulty forgiving someone who has wronged you? If so, will you reassess what God has done for you?

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

As Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he included a petition for their earthly needs. He instructed them to pray, "give us this day our daily bread."

Food is basic for our survival, but in these words we are praying for everything we need. Martin Luther gave these words as an explanation in his Small Catechism: Everything that belongs to the support and wants of the body, such as meat, drink, clothing, shoes, house, homestead, field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful magistrates, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like. Luther captured the full breadth of this petition.

The word "daily" should also be of note to us. We come to realize how dependent Jesus wants us to be for what we have. We need to recognize each day that what we have comes from the gracious hand of God. Think back to the Israelites who were in the wilderness and had to live on manna. God only provided enough for them to live one day at a time. It was so that they would learn to depend on their Creator for all that they had and not worry about the next day.

For us who live with so much, it might be a challenge to pray this petition. I would hope that as you pray these words, you would not take for granted what God has given you.

Your kingdom come, your will be done....

We begin the Lord's Prayer by focusing on God. As we direct this pray to God, we are reminded that we are praying with the whole church in mind. We are stating that God is in heaven and has the power to influence what we might bring in prayer.

I move forward now to the next part of The Lord's Prayer, where we say: "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We are praying for God's kingdom to become more of a reality among us. God's kingdom is not some territorial domain, but for God's rule to come into our hearts. We are asking that God would reign through us and that we (and others) would experience the full force of the kind of life that God desires for us. We are praying that we not only would live a righteous life, but also be able to be of influence where we can make this world a better place.

This request is connected to doing God's will. It's easy for us to want our will to be done. We might have everything laid out precisely in terms of what we should do, but in the end, we are directed to leave it up to God. I believe that reaching spiritual maturity involves surrendering my will to God's will. Jesus desired that we would place everything into the hands of God and seek what God desires for us.

Where do you see any in-breaking of the kingdom today? Outside of The Lord's Prayer, do you pray often for God's will to be done in your life?

The Lord's Prayer

I begin a series of posts over the next several weeks on a prayer used by Christians throughout the world. It is a prayer that we have from Jesus himself, commonly known as "The Lord's Prayer."

The prayer came from Jesus teaching about prayer. The modern day prayer that we use in worship is a combination of the versions of this prayer we find in Matthew 6 and Luke 11.

The prayer begins, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." As we begin this prayer note that it it is with the word "our" and not "my." We become aware that we are praying with Christians throughout the world. While it may be a solitary prayer if used alone by oneself, we cannot forget our connectedness with other Christians.

We are praying to God in heaven. We are focusing our attention on the one who has the ultimate power to make changes in our personal lives and in our world. By beginning the prayer in this fashion, we remember the majesty and glory of the one to whom we are addressing.

Then, we continue with the phrase: "Hallowed be your name." We are asking that we would keep God's name holy. Respect for God's name is not only in whether or not we use God's name carelessly in our speech, but also in how we honor God by our entire way of life.

Notice here that there isn't the inclusion of our needs right at the start; rather, we are focusing on our relationship with God and honoring God in our lives. How many of us start our prayers with our needs before affirming and honoring God?

The Lord's Prayer is to draw us into closer communion with the God who has made us. We are to use this prayer since the very words came from Jesus himself.