The Everyday Prayer

For the past several days we have been asking the question, “What was He thinking?”  We have imagined the pictures that Christ had in His mind as He prayed.  Consider, today,  “for thine is the kingdom, power and glory”.  These words speak confidence, don’t they?  Did the Lord have “memories” of Heaven and the throne room of God?  A confidence builder, for sure.   Whether He did or not, somehow, Jesus lived a life of RADICAL OPTIMISM!  He believed that all events, all relationships, all disappointments will eventually be “pulled back together” into a beautiful whole. Do we?  Before you finish this week, will you imagine the victory that He has promised?  Will you stand with Jesus and look forward into the future that He sees?  You will not be disappointed. You will not be disappointed.

The Bible describes God as “the Lord of hosts”.  Host is an ancient word for army, angels armed and ready for battle.  The Lord is the commander of this fearful fighting force!  When Jesus prayed “Deliver us from evil”, save us, rescue us, He was thinking of God in this way.  He was thinking of the fight that the Chrisitian life is.  He was thinking of the resources we all have for victory.  He did not indulge in double-talk.  He would not pray for deliverance if deliverance is unavailable.  Friend, have you surrendered the idea that you can live free from the patterns of sin that have so long neutralized your witness and broken the heart of the Lord?  Call out to God!  Ask Him to deliver you. Resist the Devil in the strength He supplies.  “Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24-25)  Will you ask the “God of armies” to come and fight for you?

What was He thinking, when Jesus taught us to pray “lead us not into temptation”?  Did He have in mind His own struggle with the evil one? (Wilderness temptation, Matthew 4)  Perhaps, He was remembering how powerful the enemy is and that we would all face him in the time of our own temptation.  Was he recalling with gratitude the leadership that the Father gave Him as he meditated on the scriptures and realized what God wanted from Him?  To DO what God is commanding is to NOT DO what the enemy is suggesting.  Active obedience is the key, but we cannot obey unless He leads and we listen!  Dear Father, lead me today!  Call to my mind the words of your instruction.  Help me to DO what you say. Your voice is not a suggestion, it is my salvation!

When Jesus taught us to forgive the debts that others owe us, what was He thinking?  He was probably thinking of all the people He knew whose hearts had become hard by holding on to past hurts.  He likely had in mind those who kept insisting on an apology.  He was thinking about the freedom that comes from letting “God be the judge” and the privilege that grace gives us to become like the Father–loving those who do not deserve it.  If God has forgiven me, what possible reason could I give for not wanting to be like Him in this kindness?  Like Father, like Son. When the prodigal came home he put on a robe and a ring.  He relearned the rules of the Father’s house.  This is something else that God deserves from me (see yesterday).  I am to be like Him in mercy.

When Jesus taught us to pray “forgive us our debts”, what was He thinking?  Since a debt is something owed and unpaid, He was probably thinking of all the things that God deserves from us but doesn’t receive.  Day after day, He deserves my whole heart. I give Him part.  He deserves my childlike/bridelike trust.  I give Him anxiety and independence (same thing).  He was thinking how we would all profit from a daily, honest accounting of our failure from the perspective of what God deserves.  Painful?  Yes.  Humbling?  Yes.  Assuring?  Yes.  It does not affect our standing with God, but it does affect our fellowship.  If prayer is honest conversation between people who love each other, shouldn’t we be honest about what is owed and unpaid?  “If you know these things, you will be blessed if you DO them”  (John 13)  When will you take time to admit your debts and ask the Father to forgive?

For the past few days, we have begun this blog moment with the same words, “What was He thinking?”  It is no small question.  True Bible study and , therefore, true prayer (for what we know of prayer we have learned via the scripture’s picture of the Lord in His own prayers) has as it’s first concern the original meaning of the author.  Today as you pray the Lord’s prayer, I hope you will think about Jesus saying these words.  I hope you will imagine how He prayed and why He prayed and what He mean’t.  Don’t be afraid to think! Ask yourself questions.  This is the God who wants us to love Him with our minds.  We will continue this discussion this week.  I just wanted you to know what I was thinking when I ask you “What we HE thinking?”  PS Holly and I had a great few days away at a wedding of a dear Florida friend.  I am anxious to see you on Wed night(study of the book of Acts) or this coming Sunday(John 14).  My love to you all.

What was He thinking?  When Jesus asked God for daily bread after discussing such majestic ideas as God’s kingdom and will, He as probably thinking that the Father sees no sharp difference between His cosmic purposes and our welfare.  We are on His short list of priorities!  Part of His grand purpose is to care for us.  So, Jesus was thinking that asking for help would be helpful.  It helps us to recognize the Father’s provision when it comes.  It continues to break down the wall of independence/ insecurity that normally governs our inner life.  Praying for what we need allows us to to think whether we really do need it or whether we just want it because we are afraid, in which case, the NEED is really something else.   When Jesus taught us to ASK for daily bread it was because God is willing to help.  Asking is just part of the process.

“Yet not as I will , but as you will”. (Matthew 26:39)  I do not pray this prayer easily.  (I do not think Jesus prayed it easily.)  It is hard for me to surrender–what I think, what I choose to do.  Sometimes I pretend respect but then do what I was thinking in the first place because I think my wisdom is best.  (Or maybe because I am just too lazy to challenge old pattens and adopt new ones).  I am probably the only one who does this.  Jesus was more humble than I am.  Go figure!  As a man, He was completely surrendered to the will of the Father.  He welcomed the choices of God, the timing of God, the provision of God.  Praying for God’s will was an sincere exercise for Jesus because He was convinced that God’s will is God’s wisdom.  Our only wisdom is to learn this same lesson.

What was He thinking?  When Jesus prayed for the Kingdom to come, what images filled His mind?  Buckingham palace?  Something similar?  Crowns, thrones, royalty?  Or did He think of His own coming? “I will come again”, he said in John 14 with the main thought being His presence (the King) among His people again.  It was the thought of good government, of order and safety, of protection and prosperity.  Kingdom was a key concept in the mind of the savior.  It was His most hopeful aspiration.  It was what He prayed for and hoped for–that day in the future (already here, but even more glorious later) when all things will be restored to order by His own management.  Is this true for you, dear friend?  Do you look forward to the day when the ONLY important fact is that a good and kind King has come and all things are  subject to His control?

What was He thinking?  When Jesus prayed for God’s name to be hallowed, He was thinking that the human race needs to notice God more than we do and respond with respect.  To be honest, there are days (weeks?) that we move through life without a single moment of recognition/reverence that He is near.  When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up (Isaiah 6), he cried out “Woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips”.  To hallow the  Lord, therefore, is to experience an APPROPRIATE DISCOMFORT with our own failure, and an APPROPRIATE SURRENDER to a glorious, worthy God.  Today will you ASK God to create a new awareness in your heart that God is near?  Will you ASK Him to cause a holy reverence to fill the hearts of your children, your friends, the leaders of your church and country?  Consider what the world will be like when He answers this prayer.