The God-focused Prayer, Part Three

This is the third and last post in a group of three regarding the Lord's prayer. The design of the prayer draws the Christian to look to God and God's agenda: the coming of His kingdom on earth - that His name would be considered holy among those on earth, that His dominion and ruling would be ever present in this world, and that His will would be done in all things. Once this is a priority in the mind and heart of the believer, Jesus teaches us that we can then seek God's heart for His desire for personal needs on earth.

Let's look at the verse to see how this specifically applies: "Give us today our daily bread. 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 6:11-13 (NAS)

The first request acknowledges a physical need that we are faced with daily. My mother can attest to the fact that since I was a child, I have always enjoyed foods of all kinds, and needed food first thing every morning. The pains of hunger are something since birth that I have experienced every single day...that is roughly 10,195 days of eating! Yet I am reminded that each time I feel the urge or need to eat that I must realize my physical dependence upon the God of the Universe.

The second request acknowledges a spiritual need...one we also face daily. It speaks to our debt that we need forgiveness and release from by God. We need to seek the cross and redemption that Jesus offers for the incredible debt that we owe. The debt we all owe is caused by a lifetime of sinning. Just as I have hungered for food 10,195 days, I have also sinned everyday of my life, multiple times a day. What a horrible crime I've committed towards a holy and righteous God. Only Christ can remove the guilt of this sin. The removal of sin comes freely and flows from the love of God in Christ. Just as God's forgiveness flows freely, so should our forgiveness be towards others - lost or saved.

The third request acknowledges an emotional, physical, and spiritual need. We are daily challenged and tempted to continue in selfish and vain ambitions. God is able to lead us into victory and deliver us from ourselves and Satan! Tell God today how much you need Him!!! I am reminded of some song lyrics by Jill Paquette, "But I can't wait to be free, from this life of mindless sin that compromises me. I know one day I will be. There is a victory that You've won for me."

The God-focused Prayer, Part Two

In the last post, I wrote about God’s paternity and His position, as evidenced in the Lord’s prayer (the model prayer). When we come to God in prayer, we are to recognize that first of all, God is our Father and He is not of this world – He is totally other.

Yet the model prayer does not stop there. There are three phrases which are based upon verse 10c. The three phrases “hallowed be your name,” “your kingdom come,” and “your will be done” are to be read with the context of the following phrase “on earth as it is in heaven.”

This is a powerful prayer when we read it right. God’s name is hallowed already in heaven. God’s kingdom has come in heaven! God’s will is done in heaven! Now, knowing this, we are to pray that these three things will be accomplished on earth. This is not to say that the Lord’s will is not done on earth, for certainly, God is sovereign and His will is never thwarted. However, as believers in Christ, we are to pray with an earnestness that God’s name be considered holy on earth as it is in heaven; and that God’s kingdom would reign on earth; and that God’s will would be perfectly done on earth!

John Piper said it best: “The coming of God’s kingdom and the doing of his will on earth the way the angels do it in heaven is the victory of God. This is the consummation of the ages. This is what everything is moving toward. And Jesus says, Pray for it. Pray for it! Ask God to hallow his name. Ask him to bring in his kingdom. Ask him to make his will be done.”

Therefore, to have a God focused prayer, we must remember to come to Him knowing that life in this world is not about us. We should not come to the Lord primarily with man focused needs. We should be concerned with who God is, where God is, and what God wants to do.