Lesson 4Prayer |
We have finished the first three lessons on prayer. Have you made a change in your attitude regarding the way you approach the Father in your request to him? Have you seen and felt your prayers to God become different? Are you drawing closer to Him? It is great that we are studying PRAYER, but it is no good if we do not put what we learn into practice.
Let us move deeper into our understanding of prayer by using Matthew 6:5 – 15. In verses 10 – 11, it reads as follows:
10. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11. Give us this day our daily bread.
The disciples understood the concept of kingdom. I believe that we who have not been under the rule of a king or queen do not understand this concept fully. We understand that kingdom means that the king or queen rules over an area or territory. However, what does that really mean? It means that the ruler is in total control of the area and its people, which means that nothing takes place without his or her permission and oversight. This concept of “kingdom” is an area that many people who are not under a ruler’s control or dominion have difficulty grasping fully. In fact, in this day and time, people might ask, “Why do I need a ruler’s permission to do anything?”
Do you remember the name Adonai and what it means? This name means Master, which implies that He is in control of you and the tasks that He is requires for you to do. Therefore, this concept of kingdom is going to require you to change your attitude about your relationship with God, the Father. He is our Master or Ruler. We are His servants.
The word KINGDOM means royal power, kingship, dominion, and rule, but it goes even deeper according to Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary page 344 - 345:
The kingdom of God is (a) the sphere of God’s rule. Since, however, this earth is the scene of universal rebellion against God, the “kingdom” of God is (b) the sphere in which, at any given time, His rule is acknowledged. God has not relinquished His sovereignty in the face of rebellion, demoniac and human, but has declared His purpose to establish it. Meantime, seeking willing obedience… In ‘Kingdom of God’, in its broader aspect, God is in antithesis to ‘man’ or ‘the world’, and the term signifies the entire sphere of God’s rule and action in relation to the world. It has a moral and spiritual force and is a general term for the Kingdom at any time. The Kingdom of Heaven is always the Kingdom of God, but the Kingdom of God is not limited to the Kingdom of Heaven, until in their final form, they become identical. (1985)
Therefore, the question comes down to this. Are you willing to let the Father add you to His kingdom? In doing this, you are seeing His Kingdom coming into your life. Now you see why it is easy to have an outpouring of the heart in times of persecutions, pain, joy and in the times of need to someone that you know has the ability to meet you at that moment; give you what you need at that special time; and to share it with you. In addition, an outpouring of thanksgiving and gratitude for how Someone has met your known and unknown needs.
Take some time to list the things you are willing to totally surrender over to His kingdom? This list will grow as you grow in the knowledge of the Father and His love and concern for you. Also how He took care of the last thing you totally surrender to Him. __________________________________________________________________________________________
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The other part of verse 10 is “…Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Can you tell me what Our Father’s will is in heaven? In fact, I would guess that most of you have not even thought about it before. Take some time and answer the question. ___________________________________________________________________________________________
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How can you ask for His will (desire, pleasure, inclination) to be done in earth when you do not understand His will (desire, pleasure, inclination) in heaven? It would be like going to work and not understanding the job responsibilities. So how can you do the job? Another example would be parents having children and not sharing with them the desires of your heart in the home. We would want them to know our hearts concerning the best in marriage, finances, retirement, etc.. Each of these things require a basic understanding of several things: how it came about, the plan to grow it, the targets for succeeding in these very special areas. In all of these things, we are always going back to the concept that it is the Father’s kingdom and that He has entrusted us with a great work in His kingdom according to His will in all things and in us.
With this greater understanding of these things in mind, it will be easier to allow Him to have the right place in our prayer life. Let us examine Job at this point in the lesson or even David facing Goliath. Read Joshua 24:15 and choose the kingdom to which you will submit yourself.
We have examined the concepts of “kingdom” and “will” in verse 10, but there are groups of words that need to be treated as a whole. These are “…be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” The word done means “to become” which is a change of condition, state, or to emerge as in come into existences. Therefore, Jesus is asking that we, His disciples, change to allow His Father’s kingdom that is in heaven to take hold of us. With this kind of mindset, we will see everything as it affects and effects the Kingdom of the Father. We just looked at David and Goliath and saw how David did not take Goliath’s insults and threats personally, but as attacks on the Living God of Israel.
Is there sin in heaven? This may seem like a dumb question. If you take a deep look into it, you will see the question goes very deep into the kingdom mindset. If we see that we are His kingdom, then we must ask for the promises that He gives us in order to do anything in that kingdom. It will change how we see sin and handle it. Yes, we all have sinned, but the idea is to move away from sin and into the fullness of His kingdom. It will take time for us to fully take hold of this new and expanded mindset, but remember that the word “done” means it will come into existence in us. You see, when you know the plan and the purpose, it is easy to do the hard work to bring it into a real condition of our lives.
Remember, we are talking about Prayer and what prayer is. Prayer is an outpouring of the heart in times of persecutions, pain, joy and in the times of need to Someone that you know has the ability to meet you at that moment, give you what you need at that special time, and to share it with you. Prayer is also an outpouring of thanksgiving and gratitude for how that someone has met your known and unknown needs. Therefore, as we are going through this condition of bringing His “will” from heaven to earth, we need to pour out our heart, mind and soul to Him to meet our needs.
I want to quote from Andrew Murray’s book “The Prayer Life” (pages 67, 69, 70 – 72.)
If we are not seeing ourselves as being in God’s kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven, then we do not understand our relationship with the Father. We must see how sin can and will put barriers in our relationship with God, so that we cannot complete His tasks assigned to us. Again, this is a growing process and it will be different for each one of us, but it will lead to the same place. This is why we keep going to God the Father (Adonai, Elohim, Jehovah, El Roi, Jehovah-M’Kaddesh, El-Shaddai). In Him we can reach the goal(s) He has set for each of us.Come with me to the beginning of the Bible. See there man created by God, after his image, and pronounced by his creator to be very good. Then sin entered, as rebellion against God. Adam was driven out of paradise and was brought along with the untold millions of following generations under curse and ruin. That was the work of sin. Here we learn its nature and power.
And now is there anything else that can help us to understand what sin is? Yes, there is. Turn your eyes inward, and behold your own heart, and see sin there. Remember that all you have already seen of the hatefulness and godlessness of sin should teach you what sin in your own heart means—all the enmity against God, all the ruin of men, all of its inner nature of hatefulness, lie hidden in the sin you have committed, guilt of every transgression against God. And when you remember that you are a child of God, and yet commit sin and allow it sometimes to fulfill its lusts, is it not fitting that you should cry out with shame: "Woe is me, because of my sin"? "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, Oh Lord" (Luke 5:8).
One great power of sin is that it blinds men so that they do not recognise its true character. Even the Christian himself finds an excuse in the thought that he can never be perfect and that daily sin is a necessity. He is so accustomed to the thought of sinning that he has almost lost the power and ability of mourning over sin. And yet there can be no real progress in grace apart from an increased consciousness of the sin and guilt of every transgression against God. And there cannot be a more important question than this: "How can I regain the lost tenderness of conscience and become prepared really to offer to God the sacrifice of a broken heart?"
Let the believer think not only of what redemption has cost Christ, but also of the fact that Christ is offered to him, by the Holy Spirit, as a gift of inconceivable grace, through whom divine forgiveness and purification and renewing have taken possession of him; and let him ask himself with what return such love should be repaid. If only time were taken to tarry in God's presence and ask such questions, the Spirit of God would accomplish his work of conviction of sin in us and would teach us to take an entirely new standpoint, and would give us a new view of sin. The thought would begin to arise in our hearts that we have in very deed been redeemed, so that in the power of Christ we may live every day as partners in the great victory which Christ obtained over sin on the cross, and manifest it in our walk.
What think you? Do you not begin to see that the sin of prayerlessness has had a more terrible effect than you at first supposed? It is because of this hasty and superficial converse with God that the sense of sin is so weak and that no motives have power to help you to hate and flee from sin as you ought. Nothing, nothing except the hidden, humble, constant fellowship with God can teach you, as a child of God, to hate sin as God wants you to hate it. Nothing, nothing but the constant nearness and unceasing power of the living Christ can make it possible for you rightly to understand what sin is and to detest it. And without this deeper understanding of sin, there will be no thought of appropriating the victory which is made possible for you in Christ Jesus, and will be wrought in you by the Spirit.
Oh my God, cause me to know my sin and teaching me to tarry before thee and to wait on thee till thy Spirit causes something of thy holiness to rest upon me! Oh my God, cause me to know my sin, and let this drive me to listen to the promise: "He that abideth in him sinneth not," and to expect the fulfillment from Thee!
From: Andrew Murray. (1981) The Prayer Life. Springdale, PA: Whitaker House.
Can you now see things that are in heaven taking place here on earth? Remember Jesus would not have asked the disciples to pray like this if it could not take place in reality. Remember He can create anything out of nothing. So why can’t he bring heaven to earth? This is so important that Jesus has this subject as the second thing that He teaches His disciples in how to pray. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we really need to not only understand this, but we need to believe it, act as if it is coming and expect its coming.
Psalms 27:13-14
13. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.14. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
Before we move into Matthew 6:11, let us take a moment to review our understanding of what is required to bring the kingdom to earth. Firstly, we have to see God as our Father. In addition, we have to know that He dwells in heaven that is higher than anything we know. From this position, He can see everything that includes the future, past and present all at the same time. Secondly, we must recognize that His name is hallowed, deserving from us all honor and reverence. In doing these things, we are recognizing our place in His kingdom and our need for Him to be involved in every part of our lives.
With this in mind you can understand verse 11 which states “Give us this day our daily bread.” In this verse we see that we need to ask God for the things which we need each day. Jesus is awesome with this teaching. How do you get your daily bread? Oh! Remember Jesus is the bread of life. Therefore, we are asking Him to feed us each time we need food. Think on this for a moment: having to ask him to give (deliver, grant, show, offer) us whatever we need to keep going on. WOW! The more we look into this model prayer, the more we discover the importance of the master/servant or King/servant role.
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