A blonde finds herself in serious money trouble…
Lost her job and she’s in dire financial straits.
She’s desperate so she decides to ask God for help. She begins to pray… “God, please help me. I’ve lost my job and if I don’t get some money, I’m going to lose my house as well. Please let me win the lottery.”
Lottery night comes, and somebody else wins.
She again prays… “God, please let me win the lottery! I’ve lost my job, my house and I’m going to lose my car as well.”
Lottery night comes and she still has no luck.
Once again, she prays… “My God, why have you forsaken me? I’ve lost my job, my house, and my car. My children are starving. I don’t often ask You for help, and I’ve always been a good servant to You. PLEASE let me win the lottery just this one time so I can get my life back in order.”
Suddenly there is a blinding flash of light as the heavens open.
The blonde is overwhelmed by the Voice of God, Himself….”Sweetheart, work with Me on this…. Buy a ticket.”[i]
We all pray. Most likely (and hopefully) we pray on a regular basis; all throughout the day. But we also tend to pray like the blonde in the joke. We go to God to ask for things but we aren’t necessarily considering that He wants us to participate in the process.
What are some of the reasons we pray?
-to thank God
-to ask for guidance or direction
-to make requests for ourselves
-on behalf of others
-to talk things out
-to praise Him
-for quiet time to hear Him or to allow the Spirit to move within us
“Prayer is the heart language for all believers in Jesus Christ.”[ii]
Prayer is one of the most basic aspects of Christian life. Children are taught to have nighttime prayers and to pray blessings over meals.
Despite growing up in different homes, we all could most likely recite our childhood prayers together with few variances.
“Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. God bless…..Amen.”
“God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. By His hands, we are fed. Give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen.”
It’s been many years since I’ve said prayers like that. I used those when my girls were very young, but I can still recite them word-for-word because I have them memorized.
The Lord’s Prayer is very much the same way. We’ve all memorized it, but we may have neglected to emotionalize it. And we should because it’s the template that Jesus gave us in order to teach us how to pray.
The Lord’s Prayer is recorded twice in the New Testament. Once in Luke and once in Matthew.
Luke 11:1 NKJV “11 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.”
Luke writes that one of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them.
The Lord’s Prayer is given in Matthew within The Sermon on the Mount. If you look at both entries (Luke & Matthew), the context surrounding the model of prayer is very different which could indicate that there were two instances in which Jesus taught how to pray which is very feasible. As much as Jesus Himself prayed, why wouldn’t He have spoken on how to pray on multiple occasions?
Matthew 6:9 NKJV “In this manner, therefore, 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 this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 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.”
No matter the reason for our prayer, whether it’s for praise, quiet reflection, or intercessory, Jesus gives us elements in The Lord’s Prayer that we should implement when saying our own prayers.
The very first words of the prayer acknowledge God as our Father in Heaven. Corporately and individually, He is our Father. This reference is a reminder of the relationship we should have with Him; God is our Protector, Provider, One Who loves us and disciplines us. A Father who guides us, rejoices over us and who has our best interest at heart. When we think of His fatherly characteristics as we converse with Him, our prayers are less robotic and more emotional.
“Hallowed be Your name”. Hallow means to set apart as holy.[iii] 1 Samuel 2:2 tells us “There is no one holy like the Lord.” In this model prayer, we recognize that even His name is holy.
Ancient Jews and some modern-day Jews will, in fact, refuse to say or even write God’s name because it is so holy. They won’t say His name or write His name for fear of using it in vain. They will refer to Him as Adonai which means “Master” or “Lord”[iv] when they are reading or speaking of Him. The only exception to that was in the Holy Temple of Jerusalem and that exception is based on Deuteronomy 12. The temple is the only place they would say God’s name aloud.
“But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling[c] place; and there you shall go.” (Deuteronomy 12:5 NKJV)
“then to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 12:11 ESV)
“21 If the place which the Lord your God will choose to put his name there is too far from you, then you may kill any of your herd or your flock, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your towns as much as you desire.” (Deuteronomy 12:21 RSV)
Do you believe that we hallow His name?
Exodus 20:7 HCSB “Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God, because the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses His name.”
The third commandment says that we are not to take or use the Lord’s name in vain. The word “vain” means “empty,” “nothing,” “worthless,” or “to no good purpose.” [v] Or, in other words, we are to hallow His name.
I’m sorry to say that I don’t think we do hallow His name. Most prevalent are those people who say, “Oh my God!” or “Jesus” as an exclamation. Christians and non-Christians do this. But there are other ways as well. People who identify as Christians (meaning Christ-followers) and don’t live their lives in a Christian manner are misusing God’s name. What about someone saying “I swear to God”? How about saying “God bless you” when someone sneezes? It’s my belief that if we are sincerely asking God to bless that person, that’s fine. But to say it flippantly without any thought of God is possibly taking His name in vain. And I must wonder about when we say His name over and over in a prayer. If you think about conversations you have with other people, more than likely you don’t use their name as every other word, but sometimes, when praying, that’s exactly what we do. If His name is spoken multiple times in a sincere and thoughtful manner, then I believe that’s showing reverence and honor to Him. But we may be guilty of using His name for no good purpose when we say it over and over without thought of how His name is being used. I think it has to do with our hearts and our sincerity. God knows more than we do if we’re saying His name in a heartfelt manner or just using His name as a conversation filler.
The first request made in the Lord’s Prayer is “Your kingdom come”. What does that really mean?
“Thy kingdom come” is a request that the reign of God be fully established.” “In asking for the kingdom to come, Christians commit themselves to living as if that kingdom were already in place by obeying God and praying for the needs that they see around them.”[vi]
Asking for God’s kingdom to come, we are essentially saying to God, “I want whatever You want.” I’ve got to be honest here. It’s a whole lot easier to want what God wants when it applies to other people. Am I right? It’s standard practice to pray for God’s will no matter what that entails as long as it doesn’t affect us or our family. But, when our prayer request concerns us or someone close to us, we think God’s will sometimes needs a little tweaking or at least, some suggestions from us.
That entire phrase, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is a rather bold statement. We all know that when we get to Heaven, we will experience perfection, holiness, peacefulness, and an environment filled with God’s presence. Sounds glorious, doesn’t it? But to petition God for His kingdom to come and for His will to be done here just like in Heaven requires our participation. We need to surrender our lives, our wills, our suggestions, and submit to Him. How much more heavenly would this world be if we did that?
Give us this day our daily bread. Simply put, we ask God for His daily provisions. What we need; nothing more and nothing less. It’s not just physical nourishment, but also spiritual and emotional nourishment. It’s our way of recognizing our reliance on God daily. We will never stop needing Him. Not ever!
Forgive us our trespasses, debts, sins, wrongs, or shortcomings (depending on the translation) AS WE FORGIVE OTHERS. If we really understood what we were praying, we might just skip over that last little bit or at least say it real fast and hope God didn’t hear it because if God forgives us according to how we forgive others, we may find that many of our sins are still pending.
“But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” (Matthew 11:25 NLT)
This is serious and requires help from God. Perhaps we should ask for the Holy Spirit to bring to mind any unforgiveness that we are harboring. I recently discovered a grudge I thought was long gone. The uncovering of it was surprising to me because I honestly thought it no longer existed. It didn’t take much for it to resurface and I struggled for several days with it. It’s only through God’s eyes that I will be able to see this person differently and from a new perspective so that I can be freed from any hostility or resentment.
The bottom line is that nothing anyone has ever done to you or not done for you is worth sacrificing forgiveness from God. That realization occurred to me during this resurfacing of unforgiveness. By holding onto grievances and hard feelings towards others, it’s as if we are saying to God, “I’m sacrificing Your forgiveness of my wrongdoings so that I can remain bitter about theirs.” Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Jesus died so that all of us can be forgiven – you, me, and anyone who has done us wrong.
Lead us from temptation and deliver us from evil. Because we have free will and have a sinful nature, we are often tempted to make poor choices. God knows our weaknesses better than we know them ourselves. It’s wise to ask God to keep ourselves focused on other things rather than those things that tempt us and to rescue us from sinfulness.
The last bit of “For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory” is known as a doxology- an “expression of praise to God.”[vii]
Depending on your translation, it may not even be included in the latter part of verse 13 of Matthew 6. There’s debate on whether this was actually said by Jesus or added later. I, personally, don’t think it matters. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful. This doxology is a perfect summation of how our prayers should end. Praising God and glorying Him for Who He is and all that He does. Barnes’ commentary says it best. “This “doxology,” or ascription of praise, is connected with the prayer by the word “for,” to signify that all these things – the reign, power, and glory of God – will be manifested by granting these petitions. It is not because we are to be benefited, but that God’s name and perfections may be manifested. His glory is, then, the first and principal thing which we are to seek when we approach him.”[viii]
One last word: Amen. The word means “so be it” or “let it be so”.
If we pray using the elements that Jesus gave us, we would:
-recognize God as our Father
-reverently approach His Holiness, giving our full attention to Him
-submit our lives to His will even if it means sacrificing
-trust Him with our needs on a daily basis and be satisfied with what we’re given
-forgive others, let go of hostilities and grudges, then ask God to forgive us – not the other way around
-want our free will to guide us only to where God wants us meaning we voluntarily give up what we know is sinful
-desire His kingdom, His reign, and His authority in our lives no matter what
-want Him to receive all glory and honor; not ourselves.
Then closing with “Amen” is our way of saying, “let it be so.” “If we recite an amen without its full gist of meaning — without affirming it with all our hearts — we could be lying to God. Therefore, when we say Amen, we are to mean it.”[ix]
Many years ago, I heard the testimony of a mother whose infant daughter had been diagnosed with cancer. She talked about rocking her baby girl late in the evening on the day she had received the diagnosis. She sat rocking her all night long, sobbing, and praying. She prayed to God for healing but also said, “God I know she’s Your child and You have just loaned her to me. If it’s Your will to make her time here on Earth short, I will be heartbroken, but I also submit to Your will. Amen.” The next day as she was watching her daughter play and behave like a normal, healthy baby, the mother knew that she hadn’t really meant what she had said. She went back to God and said, “About what I said late last night, I didn’t really mean that. I want my daughter to be free from cancer and to live a long, healthy life.”
We all laughed at her honesty, but I also greatly admired it. Because let’s be honest. We sometimes pray saying what we think God wants to hear and not what we really mean. And then we close the conversation with an amen – so be it! But that’s not always the truth. And here’s the thing that we all know – God knows our hearts better than we do. He knows if what we are saying is sincere or if we are just trying to impress.
If prayer is the heart language, then it needs to come from the heart. Mother Teresa said, “Prayer to be fruitful must come from the heart and must be able to touch the heart of God.”
Jesus was intentional to teach the disciples [us} to pray. Prayer is powerful and changes everything. It aligns our hearts with God’s. We learn to pray by praying.[x]
There are few things sweeter than a child’s prayer. Their prayers are usually very simple, honest, and definitely from the heart.
I’ll close with a prayer said by a child.
“Dear God, I don’t think anybody could be a better God. Well, I just want you to know that I am not just saying that because You are God already.”[xi]
[i] 85+ Pray Jokes And Funny Puns – JokoJokes
[ii] Credit to Andy Cauble
[iii] Hallows – definition of hallows by The Free Dictionary
[iv] What Does Adonai Mean? Hebrew Name for God Explained (christianity.com)
[v] What Does It Really Mean to Take the Lord’s Name in Vain? | Crossway Articles
[vi] What Is Biblical Meaning of the Phrase “Thy Kingdom Come”? (reference.com)
[vii] Doxology Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster
[viii] Matthew 6:13 Commentaries: And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’ (biblehub.com)/Barnes
[ix] What Does Amen Mean and Why Do We Say It? (biblestudytools.com)
[x] Credit to Andy Cauble
Beacons of Light 