Praying as Jesus Taught Us

In this column we will follow two strands of thought: namely, the Kingdom of God and prayer. Our text will be the familiar but always inspiring words of Jesus on prayer from the Sermon on the Mount. In the first couple verses, Jesus offers some introductory comments to guide our thinking and practice on prayer. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:5-8). If we take this instruction to heart it will help us not to “pray” the wrong way and to approach the throne of God properly which will result in effective and powerful prayer.

Next Jesus offered an example of prayer, “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one’” (Matthew 6:9-13). This prayer is popularly known as “the Lord’s Prayer.” It can be prayed as such, although we should be careful to pray with meaning and not just recite it. Properly understood, I believe what the Lord taught us was a pattern of prayer. If prayed this way you can pray the Lord’s Prayer in minutes or hours.

Note that Jesus taught us to begin with the salutation “Our Father.” God is the Father of all who have become His children through faith in His Son (see John 1:12). We cannot really pray this with confidence until we know for certain that He is our Heavenly Father. Do you know Him? Analyzing the body of the prayer, we see that it evenly divides into two sections. Part one deals with God’s concerns and Part two involves our needs. When we pray we should remember this order and put God’s things first and ourselves second (too often it is the opposite). We are to pray for God’s Name to be sacred. His Kingdom to come (presently and future), and His will to be done (in our lives and others). We can ask for our daily sustenance, forgiveness from sins and relief from temptation.

Lastly, do not overlook the important matter of forgiveness that Jesus repeated and elaborated upon. The reason that forgiveness is so critical is that if we do not forgive others we will not be forgiven—which means our prayers will go unanswered.

Remember...Don't Forget

In Deuteronomy 25:17-19, the Scriptures state: "Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!" First, I want to make a couple of observations about this text. A) This is the Lord speaking--not some human being. B) What is called for is national retribution and not personal revenge. Exodus 17:8 describes what actually happened. The Amalekites were Bedouin people who attacked the rear of the Israelites and those who were "lagging behind"' the rest. It was probably the old, the young and the weakest. Therefore, God wanted these people who had shown no mercy to receive the punishment that was due them. Many years later God would charge Saul, Israel's first king, with the responsibility of carrying out this order (see 1 Samuel 15:2-3). Even though five hundred years had gone by, God's command stood. He wanted Saul and the Israelites to carryout His orders. Second, having explained the context of this text, [a text out of context, someone said, is a pretext.] I want to use these words, "Remember, don't forget" and share some thoughts for the New Year. Some examples of things that people should "remember and not forget" are: The Jewish people and the Holocaust, Blacks and slavery, Americans and our heritage, families and their ancestry, etc. People who become successful should remember from where they have come and those who have helped them along the way. Some other things that we should "remember and not forget" at the beginning of the New Year are: unfinished business from the past year, lessons to be learned, new resolutions... Third, I want to end by noting an appropriate text: 2 Peter 1:5-7: "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love." These seven qualities are supposed to be part of our faith or Christian life--and we should be "possessing these qualities in increasing measure" (v. 8). The Apostle Peter wrote that if we are growing in these qualities, "The will keep up from being ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 8). Peter goes on to warn, "but if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins" (v. 9). Some might argue that people could not forget something like their salvation, but if this were the case, Peter would not have written this under inspiration. As we enter and progress through the New Year, let us resolve to grow and develop these qualities in our lives. "Remember, do not forget" or you will be "ineffective and unproductive" along with being "nearsighted, blind, and forgetful."