Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Prayer for Alleviating Fear

Ever have a situation where you were felt hopeless because of fear? You didn't think you could pass the test. You didn't think you could launch into a new phase of your life. You didn't think that you could climb that mountain.

You were stymied because of the fear of what could happen or because you didn't have the confidence to go forward.

Listen to the words of the psalmist who felt the strength of prayer: "Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. With the Lord on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me?" Psalm 118:5-6

Having the Lord on your side can make all the difference. That is why it helps to bring your challenges before God in prayer. You will have the confidence. You will have the strength of God to move ahead on what seems to be insurmountable. You need not fear what any human being could do to you.

Put your faith in God. Be open to tell God what challenge is before you. With God at your side, what do you have to lose?

Have you ever been at an impasse because of what you feared?

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Prayers in the Throne Room of God

I am currently engaged in doing a sermon series on the book of Revelation for Sunday worship. Last Sunday, I came across an interesting passage about prayer. It is where John, the author of the book, sees in his vision the throne room of God. Around God's throne are the 24 elders and the four living creatures. Then we have the words:

"And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." (Rev. 5:8)

When you pray, you might be thinking about the person or circumstance for which you are praying. How often have you thought about your prayers being in the actual presence of God?

The fact that incense was mentioned refers to the Old Testament tradition of incense being used and prayers ascending as incense. (see Psalm 141:2) As the smoke of incense would go heavenward, it was thought that the prayers offered would also go up.

In the prayers that are offered in Sunday worship or our individual prayers, we can imagine them going up to the throne room of God. We can believe, too, that our prayers will not fall on deaf ears.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen

We come now to the very ending of the Lord's Prayer with the words "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen." It is an ending that is not used by all denominations. This realization comes home to me when I do weddings and funerals and have a mixture of religious backgrounds represented. In fact, this ending is not even found in the Lord's Prayer as recorded by the Gospel writers Matthew and Luke.

From where then did this ending come?

The ending was added later in the history of the church. There has been the suggestion that the words are similar to what we find in 1 Chronicles 29:11. Here is where King David is lifting up praise to God for preparations in building the Temple. He is giving materials generously and so are the families of the tribes of Israel; yet, it is left for his son Solomon to do the actual building. Here we have David proclaiming: "Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all."

This ending to the prayer is a way of giving praise to God. We are ending the prayer on a strong note. We dare not forget the greatness of our God!

What about the word 'Amen.' It's important for us to remember that it is not like a period at the end of a sentence. It does more than just bring closure. It literally means, "Yes, it shall be so." This one word is a strong affirmation of all that we have prayed. We do not end the prayer with doubt but with trust.

How often do you use the Lord's Prayer in your own life? Is it just in times of worship on Sunday? Or do you find occasion to pray it at other times?

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Deliver us from evil

We come now to the last petition of the Lord's Prayer, which is "deliver us from evil."

This petition is for our protection. We are praying that we would be spared from anything that would cause us harm - from an unruly person bent on doing us harm or from someone who is out to take advantage of us.

This phrase could also be translated, "deliver us from the evil one." This translation reminds us that Satan is at work to wreak havoc in our world until the end of time. We read in John 10 that the "thief (Satan) comes to steal, kill, and destroy." Satan will seek everything possible to bring ruin to our own personal lives and also that of the church.

No wonder that Jesus included this petition in the prayer he taught his disciples. Satan is still a present reality. If you don't believe it, just look out into the world today and look at people who were seen as being respectable and upright, and yet were led into personal ruin.

We need to pray this petition. If we want to live as fully as we can as followers of Jesus, we need to be spared from evil.

Next week, I conclude this series on the Lord's Prayer with the special ending that is attached to this prayer.