And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.This is personal one on one time with the Lord. He knows all of our deepest and darkest secrets and He loves us anyway. There is nothing to hide from Him and no reason to. The Bible says He will forgive us all of our sins. We just need to confess them before Him. This is also a time to pray for God to reveal those areas in our lives that we overlook. Those areas that are sinful that we might brush past not even realizing we are in need of forgiveness. If we approach God in humble surrender, He will illuminate for us the areas we need to be seeking His forgiveness in.
Likewise, this is also the time to express our own forgiveness towards those who have wronged us. This too is often blocked from our sight. We can carry grudges with the best of them. We can "forgive" but not forget - which is no forgiveness at all. We can place the burden on the other person and claim we have done our Christian duty so now it is up to them. But what does God teach us?
So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. - Matthew 5: 23-24 (ESV)
Note the careful way Jesus says this. If we know that our brother has something against us! It does not matter if it is not our fault. It does not matter if we think we have done our Christian duty. If we know that our brother holds something against us we should not even be lifting up the sacrifice of praise without first resolving the situation with our brother. Beloved that is powerful. In a world where holding grudges is a sport and seeking revenge is a movie genre, forgiveness is an antiquated notion. But it most certainly is not for God! It is so important, Jesus made it an integral part of any prayer.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
The final portion of the Lord's Prayer involves the acknowledgment of our sinful nature and our weaknesses. It displays a complete and total reliance upon God in such areas. This is even more important in these last days as sin abounds and the church no longer preaches about it. While the church dabbles in self help the Lord's Prayer reminds us that we are of virtually no help to ourselves. It is only through reliance upon God that we can expect to see deliverance from the wiles and schemes of the evil one. We even saw this in the temptation of Christ Himself. With each passing temptation, Jesus relied upon God and His Holy Word solely to be delivered from the temptation before Him. When the devil tempts us with our needs we remember our sustenance comes from God alone. When the devil tempts us with the riches of this world we remember that God is our provider. When the devil tempts us in our pride we remember who we are compared to the God we serve.
This is also an excellent time to pray specifically about those weaknesses we know full well we have. Those areas the devil always comes to attack us in. For some it may be pride or greed. For others it may be lust or loneliness. In our deepest moments of prayer it is crucial that we bring these to the Lord. He can remind us of who we are in Him. David said he hid the Word of the Lord in his heart so that he might not sin. The devil is having a field day in the modern church that no longer concerns itself with sin. That is not the way it ought to be. Lastly in this area, it is good to pray that God show us the areas we might not realize we are weak in. We do a great job of lying to ourselves but there is no lying with God. He alone sees all. He alone is omnipotent. He alone is omniscient. If we pray He will answer.
There are no needs for drawing circles beloved. There is no "bolder" way to pray than what our Lord and Savior has so graciously outlined for us. Any attempt to add to it cannot measure up. Hallow who He is. Seek only His will. Pray for our needs and the needs of others. Ask for God to expose those areas of sin that need an axe laid to their roots in our lives. Pray for the power to forgive as we have been forgiven. Submit to God in all areas of our lives and pray for His mighty protection in these dark days. Some Bible versions have an added doxology to this prayer that reads:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Just as we started prayer in humble reverence, so should we end it. Praise Him for who He is. Praise Him for listening and answering prayers. Praise Him Praise Him Praise Him. After this teaching on prayer, Jesus offered up a brief teaching on fasting as well:
"And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. - Matthew 6: 16-18 (ESV)
We see some similar themes to the teaching on not doing our acts of righteousness to be seen by others here. Fasting is a time to draw closer unto the Lord by denying ourselves and our flesh. It is a very personal time between us and God. Yes it is true that churches may choose to fast together but that is not what Jesus is admonishing here. Once again this is a matter of the heart. Why are we fasting. If the goal is to have others see us fast then we have received our reward when they see us. I understand it can be difficult. Our flesh wants to be seen. People ask how we are and we reply that we are fasting. That defeats the purpose of denying the flesh by in fact feeding the flesh. Denying oneself food but feeding our carnality with pride and the accolades of man is no denial at all. It is in fact better to not fast then. Eat the food and stop the gorging at the trough of carnal approval.
Do not fall for the latest Christian fad beloved. The Word of God provides us with everything we need, including very specific guidelines for prayer. Not to mention this was offered by Christ as answer to the disciples when they were asking about prayer! Our relationship with God must be deeper than an hour and a half on Sundays and must be firmly rooted in His Word, not our feelings. I pray we always remember these teachings, in Jesus name, Amen.
Reverend Anthony Wade - April 7, 2015
