Jonathan (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} boomerangaz) wrote,@ 2006-08-15 21:49:00 |
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Lord, Teach Us To Pray
(Luke 11:1)
An Exposition of "The Lord's Prayer"
Part 1 of 3
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This exposition of "The Lord's Prayer" was transcribed From a message delivered by Harold Camping, host of "Open Forum" program, which is broadcast over Family Radio. |
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The Lord's Prayer is given to us in the Word of God in two passages, Luke 11:2-4, and Matthew 6:9-13, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debs, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." |
"Our Father"
When Jesus prayed, He addressed God as His Father. Amazingly, God commands us to also address God as "Our Father." We do not fully understand such condescension on God's part, but we do know that the Bible speaks of the Father as the giver of every good and perfect gift. We read in James 1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
The greatest gift of all, which is also the focus of the Lord's Prayer, is the gift of salvation. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
The Old Testament also has references to God as our Father. For example, Psalm 68:5, "A father of the fatherless and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation."
In the Bible, the fatherless is a reference to the spiritually destitute, the unsaved people. We are of God our Father through creation, but our sins have estranges us from God. Spiritually we are orphans, but God comes to us as a Father to the fatherless. God will be a Father to those who acknowledge their orphaned condition, their spiritual bankruptcy.
The Lord Jesus is spoken of as the everlasting Father in Isaiah 9:6, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
We read in Psalm 103:13, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him." God cares for those who love Him.
See also Isaiah 63:16, Isaiah 64:8, Romans 9:21, Romans 8:15-17, John 6:44, Luke 15:18.
"Which art in heaven"
God has revealed many things, but who God is remains a mystery. Mankind by nature wants to have a god whom they can see, the sun, an idol, or a river. Even if they become identified with the Christian religion, they may have all kinds of paraphernalia in their place of worship, because they want to see something tangible that they hope relates to God.
When we become saved, our relationship to God is a relationship of faith. In faith we believe that which we cannot see. We believe with fervency, abandonment, and trust.
Some say, "Well, we can see the Father in the Lord Jesus Christ." Jesus said in John 14:9, "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father." It is true that He is the express image of the Father, but that does not tell the whole story. Jesus was on this earth to pay for out sins; He emptied Himself of His glory. He was not seen as the glorious God He really is, and He prayed to the Father while He was on this earth. He is the Father and yet the Father is a separate person, which is a mystery that our minds cannot comprehend.
If we sincerely pray, "Our Father who art in heaven," effectively we are saying, "Oh, God, we cannot see you with our physical eye, and we have no idea of how majestic, infinite, and great you are, but we know that you are the one to whom we look for redemption."
"Our Father who art in heaven," means that our salvation is rooted in heaven. Some people passionately want a salvation of this life and of this earth. They long for a day when they will see Jesus on this sin-cursed earth, but our salvation is infinitely more glorious than anything this earth can produce. We have become citizens of heaven, and eternally we will be with God in the new heavens and the new earth.
"Hallowed be thy name"
The word "Hallowed" is the word "holy," which means "set apart." Holy is thy name. Holy (set apart) is thy name. Each of us has a name to identify us among the people of the world. God needs no such identification because He alone is God. God does give Himself many names, such as Jesus, Christ, the Lord of Hosts, Faithful, True etc. These names describe attributes or characteristics of God.
The references in the Bible which speak of the "name" of God are speaking of God in all of His fullness, in all of His essence, everything that God is. And He in all of Hiss fullness is set apart (hallowed) as the only God, whom we are to fear, revere, obey, glorify, serve, and worship. He alone is supremely righteous. He is the creator of the world and upholds it by His power. He alone is the Savior; He is supremely holy and majestic.
"Thy kingdom come"
We read about the
Jesus is talking about the kingdom that God has established though the Lord Jesus Christ, which we enter into when we are saved. The
We are also saying, "Oh, Lord, we want thy kingdom to go out into the world and encompass all who are to be saved. We pray that the program of salvation which you design from before the foundations of the earth will come to fruition."
