Matthew 6:9-13
9 “This, then, is how you
should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one."
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one."
Familiar words, memorized by most of us, source of
information concerning our prayers, taking on spiritual perspectives applied to
life, and direction for our steps. These
are only a few of the descriptions which various Bible scholars have given to
those verses we know as "The Lord's Prayer." Other gospel writers either allude to the
prayer or give a little longer version of it, but the basic meaningfulness of
these words constitute, in the words of Jesus, "how you should pray."
We've heard sermons preached about the prayer, studied it on
our own or in discussion groups, yet I am wondering if we actually take this as
a sense of direction in our prayers. For
a world of people who are prone to thinking of spiritual matters only in one of
life's emergencies and looking for a bail-out from our troubles, Jesus is
telling us in the model prayer, that our prayers, too, need to be about the
kingdom, God's will, our daily needs, forgiveness as we have been forgiven, God
leading us away from temptation and delivering us from Satan.
For our weekend meditation, let's consider an application of
that last part, verse 13. "Lead us
not into temptation." It's easy for
us to say the words in a prayer, but so difficult for us to talk about feeling
the Lord's direction when we are tempted.
Or do we believe at all, that God actually leads his people today?
We sing songs about his willingness to lead, but are we
missing one of the grandest blessings of all when we overlook God's leadership
and ask his help for the steps we take?
The indication we get from Jesus himself is one where God will help us
and be our strength when we are tempted.
The latter part of that verse, "but deliver us from the
evil one," needs similar questions asked.
If we have difficulty recognizing God's ability to lead us in the right
way, away from temptation, do we sense his power in delivering us from Satan's
influence over us?
One Bible commentator suggests that word deliver, is
actually a stronger word than we imagine.
It carries with it the idea that we are asking God to grab us or snatch
us aggressively from Satan's control over us.
May we pray with boldness and confidence about God's
direction and power.
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