Teach Me to Pray: Yours is the Kingdom

 

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

We have spent the past several weeks studying the Lord's Prayer and its implications for our lives. He will not share His glory with another.

I don't know about you, but I have been finding myself challenged in my walk with Christ. I love Him. And I never want to do anything that would put up walls between us.

Challenge, or difficulty, creates a space of discomfort. If you're like me, discomfort is not something we hope to experience. But Paul instructs, "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer" (Romans 12:12 ESV). 

What does this have to do with the Lord's Prayer? More specifically, the final line, "For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen" (Matthew 6:13b)?

From the beginning of this study, we learned that Jesus instructed his disciples to go into the "secret place" or their "closet" and pray where they would not be seen, where no one knew of their contribution to the spiritual realm. Jesus was not impressed by those who performed good deeds to be seen. "They have received their reward," he said (Matthew 6:2, 5).

It's easy to act Christ-like when performing before an audience. But integrity isn't proven in the public square. It's how a person is when no one is looking that reveals their true character. The Cambridge Dictionary defines integrity as "the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles" (Cambridge Dictionary, Integrity n.d.).

Charles Marshall

When we endeavor to go deeper with the Lord's Prayer, living out each request made, it is imperative we are committed to laying down our own ideals, opinions, and agendas in order that we might surrender wholly to our Father, God, and King.

And this is ultimately what is required in order to fulfill Jesus' instructions to us, to be unlike the hypocrites. Throughout Scripture, we are commanded to come out and be separate from them. Not only did Jesus speak out about those seeking to be seen when doing "righteous acts" to be seen by men, He put a finger on those praying on the street corners, using many, and often repetitious words, thinking they would be heard for their vast vocabulary (Matthew 6: 5-6).

So is praying this iconic prayer vain repetition?

Only if you say it out of duty rather than devotion and a heart to live it out.

When we seek to live for Christ, live out the Lord's prayer by making it personal, knowing that when I pray "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," (Matthew 6:10-11), He will answer my prayer. It is His will that His kingdom fill my heart and that I grow and change to become more like Him every day. In order to become more like Him, I will need to take up my cross DAILY and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). The cross is the place where my flesh with its desires for self dies. It's the place of discomfort and change.

It's where growth will begin.

King Solomon was known as the wisest of all kings. He had great wealth and honor around the world. Dignitaries from all over came to see his wealth. But he didn't come by this on his own. As a young king, he asked of the LORD to grant him wisdom. And the LORD poured out upon him more than he could've imagined. At the end of his life, he'd amassed so much, including more than 700 wives, many of whom enticed him away from his devotion to the LORD. Once he'd spent his life on folly, we can see through his writings in Ecclesiastes that he realized his error. He closes this book with "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

Even Solomon in all his splendor realized his source was God alone.

When studying to gain depth to the last line of the Lord's Prayer, I found one commentator who stated there isn't much study on this part. He reasoned that this lack was likely do to the inconsistency of its appearance across translations of Scripture. Many scholars don't believe it was part of the original.

Personally speaking, to close the prayer with this doxology seals it up. It begins with adoration and ends with adoration. And the Lord is woven throughout the prayer.

Yes, the middle parts are requests for provision and safety, but one might argue as stated in previous lessons that Jesus is the one who provides these things. Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus is our strong tower. Jesus is our rest. He is our healer, redeemer, and soon coming King. And when he comes:

"After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,"

and then

 "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure--"

... for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints (Revelation 19:1, 6-8).

Courtesy Google Images

And the glory of Jesus will be revealed: 

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords" (Revelation 19: 11-16).

 Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He conquered death and hell.

I cannot claim even a sliver of His great power; although, through Him I can walk in His power and authority. Without Him I can do no good thing. 

So, attribution of glory and power goes to the One who alone deserves it.

And we shouldn't find it strange when, endeavoring to wrap ourselves in His glory, we become aware of the oppression around us, threatening to weigh us down in anxiety and stress. Instead, we can settle into His cloak of righteousness and rest while He wields His sword against our enemy, the devil.

As mentioned at the beginning, I've been challenged in my journey with Christ these past few weeks. I firmly believe that the teacher always has the opportunity to learn (through experience) the lessons they are sharing. (It lends to credibility.) 

During a personal and professional storm, I found myself holding to frustration and anger towards people, forgetting that "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12),  But once the Lord reminded me, I took up my armor once again, remembering that it is He who is my shield of faith, helmet of salvation, sword of the Spirit, belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, and my shoes that keep me ready to carry the gospel of peace wherever I go (Ephesians 6: 12-20).

Whether the storm continues to rage for any of us, we are invited to rest in the presence and power of Jesus. And through it all, He will be glorified, magnified, and seen by all who see how He leads us through the roughest waters.

And as we look upon His glory, we will be changed to be more like Him.

Until next time, Karlene J 💝

Teach Me to Pray: Lead Me Not into Temptation

 

In this manner, therefore, 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 this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Matthew 6:7-15 (NKJV)

Courtesy Google Images: Promise

So often believers are encouraged by the promises of God, yet find themselves struggling with maintaining hope in a seemingly impossible situation, long and difficult season, or what appears to be the opposite of blessing on our lives. We grapple with belief when hope is deferred. We turn our faces towards the God who can never lie and say, as the father did for his son who was overcome by a demonic spirit, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24 NKJV).

We can see that Jesus was talking with this father, asking questions, and the father said, "If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." To which Jesus replied, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." The New Living Translation says it like this:

"The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on. us and help us, if you can."

"What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes."

The father instantly cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"

One might ask what this story has to do with the Lord's Prayer (alternatively named The Model Prayer), we need to determine what is being referred to as temptation or evil. What do we mean when we pray for the Lord to not lead us into temptation or to deliver us from evil?

Courtesy Google Images: Path

A quick word study of the words temptation and evil will give us some insight.

In the Scripture Matthew 6: 7-15 the word temptation means trial, test, affliction, calamity, putting to proof/proving, as well as temptation to sin. We know from James 1:13 that God does not tempt us with evil, so it would be likely that the word in Matthew 6 is a test, trial, affliction, calamity, or something that would stretch us emotionally, physically, and probably psychologically. The temptation to sin would follow when we are faced with that metaphorical fork in the road. We can see the struggle and several options present themselves. One or two are definitely not the answer. But there are a few that have some merit.

For instance, this past week our family was faced with some stressors we had not anticipated in addition to the stack of stressors already weighing on our shoulders. On a personal level, I am weary. We've been battling a certain issue in our family. It seems never-ending.

In the past, we would resort to reason and logic to answer the problem. We would shift one item to fill the hole of the missing piece and hope to cover the lack we'd created in the other spot. But this is not always the answer. Working two and three jobs to make ends meet are not only exhausting, but at what cost? Family time? Rest? Marriage?

No. 

The first stop must be to drop to our knees and seek the Lord for wisdom, direction, and His peace. And this is how I ultimately responded. Because I have tried every other avenue and found only anxiety waiting for me.

This brings me to the point that a trial, hardship, or struggle is permitted by God to bring us to a deeper understanding of His grace and strength in our lives. When we are weary in the struggle and temptation to sin and take matters into our own hands will wait for us to give in.

If you do well,  will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it. ~Genesis 4:7 ESV

Now, the word for evil is found 77x in the New Testament alone. Its definition is negative, meaning bad, wicked, crime, unsound, malignant, malevolent, slothful, inactive, envious, and covetous--to name a few. If we are asking the Lord to deliver us from evil, we need to link the request with "lead us not into temptation". 

Why?

Generally speaking, we are aware of our weaknesses, addictive tendencies, or struggles. It would be counterproductive to ask God to deliver us from something we are inviting into our lives.

For example, if I were to spend my days sitting on the sofa, watching television, and failing to seek and secure a reputable source of income. Eventually, the lights will be turned off, heating/cooling will be unavailable, and probably an eviction notice will find its way to my hands.

I could declare the promises of God for provision and sit under a tree and wait for the landslide of cash. I could become angry that God failed to provide. Or I could accept responsibility for inviting trouble into my life by not adhering to God's word that says, "For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10 ESV).

Conversely, if I were doing everything I knew to do, and circumstances out of my control presented themselves. It is not unreasonable to think that God would provide a way out of the situation.

I will confess, of the innumerable times my family and I have found ourselves in some sort of struggle, whether by our own making or uninvited, God has been faithful to strengthen, direct, and encourage us in some way. He has given us opportunities and creativity as a way to provide for monetary and physical needs. So when age-old familiar struggles taunted our morale, I turned into my little office to sit in the darkened room and call on the only One who could help. Confessing to Him, the problem in our situation is not His Word, His promises, or His power to fix things. The problem lies with me. I am a broken human who is in desperate need of my Savior to mend the shattered pieces.

So I cried out like the father in Mark 9:

LORD, I believe. Help my unbelief. Deliver me from the evil one.

The Lord is not surprised by our struggle to hold onto faith and belief. He knows our trials--testing, proving, temptation--are both to strengthen our faith and show us how mighty he is to all who will see.

Until next time,  Karlene J 💜