Shalom,
We should be grateful that God's steadfast love has been manifested by the shedding of the spotless blood of the Lamb of God on Calvary. Because of His sacrifice, we get forgiveness and salvation. More than that, God's Word also has the power to change our lives, and the Holy Spirit controls us to be on the right path.
The Word of God today teaches us about prayer. What did Jesus teach the disciples about prayer? In Luke 11:3-4 it is written, “…Give us day by day our daily bread. 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.”
From the verses above, it can be concluded that the prayer taught by the great Master to His disciples – the early church’s fathers to be – uses structured and systematic language containing:
- Moral/ethical/value messages about courtesy and respect for Heavenly Father in praying; not saying God’s name in vain; there is humility to ask forgiveness for mistakes made and not be selfish.
- A spiritual message with the emergence of longing for the Kingdom of God as well as the situation and condition of the Kingdom of Heaven that was lost due to disobedience.
Jesus as the Teacher of this prayer is not just anybody, but He is the living Word, and His disciples are the future apostles / pillar teachers / early church pillars. The teaching of this prayer has a goal that must be achieved by human beings because they have lost so many things such as: the glory of God, the atmosphere of the Kingdom of Heaven, the fellowship with the Creator and the eternal life.
The prayer that Jesus taught comprises everything from the initial mentioning of Heavenly Father (alpha), forgiveness to the last (omega), which is about the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’ disciples requested Him that they be taught how to pray due to the divine jealousy towards the disciples of John the Baptist who could pray really well. The disciples of Jesus felt they had nothing to contribute except to watch their Teacher perform miracles. They might even feel that in praying, they were not as eloquent as John's disciples (Luke 11:1).
Jesus granted their request by teaching “the Lord’s prayer” (vv. 2-4), which contains both moral and spiritual messages. In our prayer, the utterance of “Our Father in Heaven” should be straightly directed to Him because in other beliefs, the leaders never teach their followers to say “Heavenly Father” as the Creator of the universe. Do you know that we mention “Our Father in Heaven”, it is certainly not the work of human spirits as men have failed to obey God's commandments? It is evident that the Holy Spirit enables us to say “O Abba, Father” because we are children of God who are led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14-15). In other words, no one can call God as the Heavenly Father and honor Him except by the work of the Holy Spirit in that person.
Apart from Luke 11:3-4, “the Lord’s prayer” is also written in Matthew 6:9-10. The main topic also talks about moral and spiritual messages. This prayer is to beseech God to restore the ambience of the Kingdom of Heaven and the lost fellowship/relationship that creates a crisis of peace and tranquility on earth so that many quarrels arise in the households, lots of unhealthy competitions among companies, various diseases that absorb finances occur and so on. All this happens because the world has become a dumping ground for those who fail to obey God's commandments.
Take heed that whenever and wherever we worship, we must have the orientation to the Kingdom of Heaven – the new heaven and earth – and not to the world even though the world panorama is very beautiful.
Actually, at the beginning of creation, God never planned to afflict His creatures. He provided food and drink for animals and men. However, in “the Lord’s prayer”, Jesus teaches us to eat in moderation (Matthew 6:11). Why is that so? Failed to obey the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) in the Garden of Eden, men have been struggling to obtain sustenance from the soil that produces thistles, making them stressful and even depressed.
The Apostle Paul reminded that the we, members of church, have been betrothed to Christ and he feared that our minds would be misled by the preaching of other gospels (2 Corinthians 11:2-4), including the gospel of prosperity and success which focus merely on material and temporal wealth. As the prospective bride of Christ we must focus more on spiritual teachings that generate faith. Illustration: it costs a lot to gain knowledge by inviting lecturers from abroad. Then, how about Jesus’ case as the Supreme Master who comes from a high place to give spiritual teachings for us to gain salvation. We should value the teaching of the cross more and not exchange it for any kinds of teachings that focus more on clothing-food-board businesses. With strong faith, we will not easily fall when the earth and heaven are shaken by God (Hebrews 12:26-27).
The key to Jesus' teaching is forgiveness (Matthew 6:12). Asaph claimed his life was like that of an animal when he was near God (Psalm 73:22). Men who lose the Kingdom of Heaven and fellowship with God fall drastically from being in the image of the Creator to being in the likeness of animals. That is why the forgiveness of the blood of the Lamb of God is so important that our lives are justified. Also, the prayer of the righteous has a great power (James 5:16). Don't be long-winded and hypocritical before God (Matthew 6:5)!
Notice, God's Word targets our lives to be renewed and led by the Holy Spirit to return to the place that was previously provided for us but lost due to disobedience. Jesus paid a heavy price for our lives (1 Corinthians 7:23). Illustration: Jesus purchases us like buying very cheap things at an auction house. It is true that the auction house looks cheap in value but there are additional costs (bank closures, courts, sales tax, vacating the house etc.) that must be borne by the buyer. It turned out that the house was still inhabited by the old occupants who failed to pay their debts at the bank. Because the business is complicated, prospective buyers are reluctant to redeem things at the auction house. If Jesus as the “potential buyer” cancels the purchase/redemption of our lives, with the cases we have committed, then, the old occupant namely Satan will still be our host. That way, our lives will still be evil and unclean. It is clear that the evacuation of the “old dwellers”, Satan, the father of murder, is not cheap but has been paid for by His own blood.
“The Lord's prayer” also teaches us not to be led into temptation (Matthew 6:13). Actually, God never leads us into temptation. Even if there are trials, they do not exceed our strength (1 Corinthians 10:13). The trials have even become a kind test to increase our faith and fellowship in God. Do you know that men are tempted by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life that come from the world (1 John 2:16)? The wisdom in this pandemic time is that we are taught to no longer focus on the luxuries of the world but on Christ, the Head of the church, who unites us so that we are restored and worthy of receiving that "special gift," which is His Kingdom.
The involvement of the Triune God in the teaching of this prayer is clear. God the Father is mentioned at the beginning of the prayer, then, Jesus, the great Teacher, who has paid for our sins that cannot be solved by animal blood and the Holy Spirit is given to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13). Are we, without the Holy Spirit, able to call "Abba, Father"?
Let us pray exactly as Jesus has taught us without hypocrisy so that we become people who are forgiven by the blood of Christ, justified by God's Word and guided by the Holy Spirit till we arrive at the final target that is the Kingdom of Heaven and stay with Him forever. Amen.