Here is how to pray says Jesus. There are five things I wanted to deal with this morning in this prayer.
1. This is a pattern for prayer.
Or, a way to pray, it's a guide, it's given to us to help us know what to pray about, how to pray, etc, etc. This teaching from Jesus helps us to know various things to pray about, and how to pray about them.
2. This prayer starts with the words "Our Father"
"Our" it means, we, and us. So, our, speaks of others besides ourselves. We are one part of God's family. There are others like us. They have a relationship with God just as we do. So, the first thing here in this prayer, is that there are others who know Him, and walk with Him, and belong to Him.
3. This prayer is addressed to Our Father.
This is who we are praying to. It's our Father. By the way, this does not mean that we cannot talk directly to Jesus, or address our prayers to Jesus, or even to the Holy Spirit. But, Jesus is giving us a pattern for prayer. Generally, in the Bible, prayers are addressed in the way Jesus is explaining it. We pray to our Father.
And, in calling God, our Father, it speaks of the fact that we belong to Him as it were, and He belongs to us. We are in a relationship with Him. We were not always in that relationship, but now, having put our trust in Jesus Christ to save us, we now are God's children, and God is our Father.
4. This prayer teaches us that our Father is actually in heaven.
He is of course everywhere, He is omnipresent. But, His visible presence as it were, is in heaven. He is there, in that place, on His throne. We are here on this earth, in this physical dimension. The prayer brings to our minds that there is a heaven, and that we are not there yet. Even though God is in heaven, and we are here on earth, we can still communicate with Him. God does hear our prayers.
5.This prayer recognizes the greatness of God
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Hallowed, means consecrate, sanctify, be holy, dedicate, or to be kept holy. There is no one like God. God Himself in the book of Isaiah, repeatedly, spoke to Judah, asking them this question, "Is there anyone like me?" Of course the answer is no, there is not.
So, in this patter for prayer, Jesus is helping us to acknowledge the greatness and the supremacy of God in our lives. And, it can also be seen as a request, and that is, that God would help us to keep Him holy in our lives It's speaks of who God is, and where He belongs in our lives, and is in a sense asking that He be kept there in our hearts and minds.
Well, many blessings from God to you today. May the Lord help us understand how to pray, and might we then be people of prayer. Jesus anticipates that we would pray, and is here teaching us how to pray. May it be very, very helpful to you.
Pastor Bob Grenier.
A few additional thoughts for reflection and application.
1. You can pray.
2. Even if you don't pray, you can start now.
3. God wants you to pray.
4. God will hear your prayers.
5. God answers prayer.
6. God loves you so much.
7. You can grow in your prayer life and understanding of prayer.
8. May we all grow together.
