12/14/2022
When we pray where do we begin? Do we begin with those things that are near to us, or those which are near to God? When Jesus taught His disciples to pray He started by calling on God as He identified Him as our Father, then who He is, Hallowed (or Holy), and thirdly where He lives, in heaven. Then, after reaching out to God, He instructs us to pray for the world by asking that God’s kingdom and will come to us. Only then does Jesus teach us to mention our own needs. Is this how we pray when we enter into our personal time of prayer? Do we begin with those greater things of God before we ask for the lesser things that are about us?
“Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:9-10 ESV
Jesus taught us to pray by beginning with who we are praying to, and then for the larger world as a whole before we begin to turn our attention inward, or to those things that we find are near and dear to our own lives, and isn’t this how He also lived His life?
In the Lord’s Prayer the first three petitions are directed to God, and the final four to our human needs and condition. Not until Jesus was dying on the cross did He speak again like this of His own intimate needs. Listen to the final seven words he spoke from the cross as they move from asking for our forgiveness, then moving ever closer to His more personal issues and desires…
The first three statements were for others:
“And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.”
Luke 23:34 ESV
“And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.””
Luke 23:43 ESV
“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”
John 19:26-27 ESV
Then the final four were of a personal: nature:
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””
Matthew 27:46 ESV
“After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.””
John 19:28 ESV
“When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,”.”
John 19:30 ESV
“Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.”
Luke 23:46 ESV
Jesus died as he lived, and as He prayed, by placing God, then the world, before Himself. When we look at this and meditate on it, how do we conclude that are we living, and praying, in our lives, and how do we determine that we will eventually enter into death?
“For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”
Romans 14:7-8 ESV
One Sunday morning I listened to my pastor as he spoke of a saintly woman in a church he once pastored. She had lived a remarkably faithful and righteous life, and one day she came to him and confided that she had been told by her doctor that she was dying. Then, and I paraphrase, she asked him if he would walk with her through her final days. She said, “I have shown you how I lived as a Christian, now let me show you how I will die as a Christian”
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”
Ecclesiastes 12:7 KJV
How do we each live our lives in Jesus; how do we pray as He did, and finally, how will we die? Once we have spent our earthly lives loving God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, will our prayers end as Christ’s did; will we die as we have lived and prayed? I pray that all of our final breaths will be as Christ’s was… with God, and God’s will, being foremost, and ourselves humbly last.
So, how do we pray? In what order are our priorities voiced, and is our life properly ordered as well?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for loving us enough to send your only begotten Son to redeem us through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Thank you for His obedience to your will that brought us forgiveness for our sins, and for providing for us in all ways. Thank you for hearing our prayers as we pray in the manner He taught us, and in His Holy Name. Great are you our God, and precious the blood of Jesus.
Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who knows no equal, and loves us without limit. Praised be your name for every blessing and provision that you mercifully, and graciously give to us. Great are you in all ways as you help us to obtain righteousness, and lead us towards eternity with you. Wash us in the blood of Jesus, and cleanse us of all sin through it. Transform us Lord into His image, and judge us to be worthy… not of our own accord, and works, but by His life and death that cover us with a cloak of prayer, worship, and faith unending.
“Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Matthew 6:9-10, 12-13 ESV
Rich Forbes