The Lords Prayer

While Jesus was praying the disciples were watching him. There was something about watching Jesus pray that made them want to learn how to pray as Jesus prayed. There was something magnetic about the prayer life of Jesus, and the way He prayed, showed something of His relationship with God the Father.

Jesus saw their desire to experience the same joy and peace that reflected through Him when he was lost in prayer, full in union with God the Father. So, Jesus invited/invites his disciples into a deep personal relationship with God, encouraging them to call upon God using the same name he uses — Abba, Father. He invites his disciples to call upon God as children, call upon a loving parent, trusting that they belong to God and that God wants for them what is good and life giving.

“Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, only how to pray. He did not speak much of what was needed to preach well, but much of praying well. To know how to speak to God is more than knowing how to speak to man.”(Murray)

The Lord’s prayer shows us to come to God as our Father, here and now. It rightly recognizes whom we pray to, coming with a privileged title that demonstrates a privileged relationship.

Jesus wanted us to pray with the desire that the will of God would be done on earth as it is in heaven. In heaven there is no disobedience and there are no obstacles to God’s will; on earth there is disobedience and there are at least apparent obstacles to His will. The citizens of Jesus’ kingdom will want to see His will done as freely on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus speaks about an everyday thing like bread in such a majestic prayer like this. It is a prayer for daily bread – our everyday requirement, not a warehouse of bread (to store and sell bread). “The prayer is for our needs, not our greed. It is for one day at a time trusting and depending of God – knowing He will provide and satisfy us. It also reflects the precarious lifestyle of many first-century workers who were paid everyday and for whom a few day’s illness could spell tragedy.”
Jesus introduced God as Father, the one who knows and loves us, and whose often mysterious providence is there in everything that befalls us.

Just as real as the need for daily bread is, there is the need for daily forgiveness. We often feel the need for food is more; but the need for forgiveness is real, whether it is felt or not. For when we also forgive, we assume that the forgiven one will show forgiveness to others in return (The Servant with 1000 Talent Debt ideally in his turn should have forgiven his fellow Servant).

Lord, for tomorrow and its needs I do not pray. Give me your love and grace just for today. Amen.